1 week Ago By By Joe Taitano II Pacific Daily News
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on Monday vetoed a bill that seeks a 10% tax on vaping and electronic nicotine products, and also rejected a proposed five-year extension on the land lease telecom giant AT&T holds with the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission. The governor also vetoed Bill 328-37, which would change the procedures for appeals of procurement decisions made by the Office of Public Accountability.
Leon Guerrero, however, signed into law a measure to give free bus passes to those without reliable transportation and a number of bills related to CHamoru Land Trust Commission leases. The governor said she does not object to taxing “electronic nicotine delivery systems,” or ENDS, to include vape products, in her veto letter for Sen. Joe San Agustin’s Bill 193-37.
“It makes sense to implement a common-sense taxing structure on ENDS products,” she wrote. But the tax scheme laid out in the bill would cause “unnecessary confusion and inefficiency,” according to the governor. She said it would apply the tax to retail sales of vaping and nicotine products, adding the cost directly to customer receipts in a way no other product on Guam is taxed.
Guam’s 2006 Tobacco Control Act already allows for vaping and nicotine products to be taxed at the wholesale level, as “electronic cigarettes,” the governor writes. Senators should instead direct the Department of Revenue and Taxation to create rules for how to handle taxation of vaping and electronic nicotine products, and extend existing tobacco taxes, Leon Guerrero stated. Guam law provides a sin tax of $4 per pack on cigarettes, though it's unclear how the tobacco tax would be extended to vaping products.
A majority of 12 senators voted to pass Bill 193-37, enough to overcome the governor’s veto, if support holds. Telecom giant AT&T will not get another five years on its lease of Ancestral Lands property in Dededo, with the governor's veto of Bill 323-37. AT&T uses the property near Tanguisson Point as a landing station for an undersea cable, but the lease term expired on Sept.
30 and can’t be extended without a change in the law. “I am not dismissing the service that AT&T provides," Leon Guerrero stated in her veto message. But she noted that property values have changed since AT&T’s lease was secured in 2019.
“Rather than extending a lease that does not fairly compensate our island...
I believe it is time for GALC to negotiate a new lease,” Leon Guerrero stated. Residents that need transportation to attend appointments or get essential services can now get free bus passes with the Guam Regional Transit Authority, with Speaker Therese Terlaje’s Bill 286-37 signed into law. Daily and one-month passes can be obtained from the transit agency for availing of public assistance, medical or behavioral treatment, court or probation needs, Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority assistance, and Guam Department of Education appointments.
Passes will also be distributed to different agencies to hand out upon request. Many residents are unable to pay for public transportation, let alone buy a vehicle, Leon Guerrero stated in a letter to Terlaje. “The lack of transportation affects not just acquiring basic needs such as food and health care, but also hinders opportunities for economic advancement,” Leon Guerrero wrote.
The governor also signed bills from the speaker to move forward issuance of CHamoru Land Trust leases. Bill 247-37 would resolve legal issues with people occupying Land Trust property prior to 1995, after being displaced by federal land takings. Numerous “preoccupiers” were living on Land Trust property before the trust was actually created in 1995, and continue to do so.
Bill 334-37, meanwhile, will remove any “legal clouds” on leases that the Land Trust already issued. If any of the over 1,800 lessees living on Land Trust property were issued a lease that is contrary to law, they will be allowed to obtain a new lease that is compatible with the law. Leon Guerrero stated that the bills “cannot cure the injustice” of those who have waited years for land while others skipped the line, but will ensure future compliance with the law.
The governor also signed Bill 249-37, allowing the Guam Environmental Protection Agency to hire environmental lawyers..
