[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6540036,"mediaKeyId","3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810","parentId",3511911,"title","Guam senators advance bill to expand first- and second‑degree criminal sexual conduct penalties for 14‑ and 15‑year‑old victims","audioSeconds",3023,"startMs",314000,"endMs",3337000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810&start=314&end=3337","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810/thumbnail_314000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6540036/Guam-senators-advance-bill-to-expand-first-and-seconddegree-criminal-sexual-conduct-penalties-for-14-and-15yearold-victims","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6540036-af4554b67e5074d386c372cc04c8877a/orig.mp4?Expires=1773115814&Signature=SMFRauTJJNMXC6wS4RorNTeQbhCw4xcSC1UR1x5ahaO8FnV1rBZ2jzyoFHxnKzvkKiwGD0pCiLgEi368RnYbnpwkgyoy3YF2Q~Is~UoddMJH3Rn1MRf9381ORK5G5Aby9Xl3A3Fd8MQRCgx6ETzi6Sj~G-U1B7NGmo2bpowZmWLa6jw2cuoGiKIcr7utw2rHzASPLjk2jKkqiwUAPQGEwMWqXYzhBbL6mwtvcpD8O-fO4zaZXQvVLYr5yb37DWjSdMO6tTvIrNvtpCOpdRZjTVx8dyuURpJpZQIPf3WWVqfMtMLqHWEdZy78NoxmVTT87bZCYU29FzjIuFgQu318Tw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Guam Legislature","date","2025-05-27T02:06:47Z","article","Senator Duenas introduced Bill 33‑38 COR to amend Chapter 25, Title 9, Guam Code Annotated to expand who can be charged with first‑ and second‑degree criminal sexual conduct when the victim is 14 or 15 years old. The bill, as amended in committee, adds teachers and school aides, childcare and foster‑care providers, correctional facility workers, and people in dating relationships with a member of the victim’s household to the list of actors whose offenses would carry elevated penalties. \"This bill, as enacted, will increase the culpability of certain . . . offenders who . . . assault crime victims who are 14 and 15 years of age and applies the strictest penalties for these perpetrators,\" Senator Duenas said during floor remarks.

The measure clarifies affinity and relationship definitions, uses the federal definition of \"dating relationship\" to avoid overbreadth, and explicitly excludes \"Romeo and Juliet\" cases involving consensual relationships where both parties are under 16. The Office of the Attorney General testified in support during the public hearing and recommended the committee amendments that the sponsor incorporated, the sponsor said.

Supporters described the bill as closing gaps that allow adults who hold positions of trust or who are in intimate relationships with household members to escape the elevated sentencing that applies when the perpetrator is a blood relative or household member. \"We aim to ensure that offenders who abuse positions of trust face the highest levels of criminal accountability,\" one cosponsor said. Several senators urged specificity in the bill’s language to avoid unintended consequences in prosecution and on appeal; concerns focused on how a jury will determine when a relationship is a \"dating relationship\" and how Guam’s common‑law household arrangements interact with affinity rules.

Floor amendments approved without objection added \"adoption\" to the statutory definition of relationships that elevate a charge and created a definition of adoption in the statute. The bill was ordered to the third‑reading file after the sponsor proffered cosponsors and amendments.

Where it stands: the bill was advanced toward third reading after committee and floor amendments; no roll‑call vote on final passage appears in the provided transcript.

The transcript shows multiple senators speaking in support and asking clarifying questions; committee edits were made to address the Attorney General’s recommendations and to add adoption to the affinity language.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","38th Guam Legislature Regular Session - May 27, 2025 PM PT.1","oneSentenceSummary","Senator Duenas introduced Bill 33‑38 COR to expand Guam’s first‑ and second‑degree criminal sexual conduct statutes to include school personnel, childcare and foster‑care providers, correctional staff and certain dating partners, and committee amendments adding adoption were approved on the floor.","taxTitle","General Government Operations and Appropriations\t, Legislative, Guam, International","taxId",18139,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6540032,"Guam legislature advances Inafamalik Food Donation Act to protect good‑faith donors and reduce food waste",4274,3456000,7730000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810&start=3456&end=7730","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810/thumbnail_3456000.jpg","/articles/6540032/Guam-legislature-advances-Inafamalik-Food-Donation-Act-to-protect-goodfaith-donors-and-reduce-food-waste","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6540032-142e2a157c52df0fb3704d7133cb8299/orig.mp4?Expires=1773115814&Signature=L7a2bnQcsqPuVjMGqhFeazu85SCzzCyWp4Eu~bFvpDo-3MpF~Jnx1xPYs8VJm0OF78ZyRA1ha88fLlZxsqpNQPiCgqaM9WOV3Zu5g1v6VBCBZl24JmPN8JGZUePrrgiYbTUhuAI8sybDWcYu1cDNvp3cuk5WVjS1e1Wn5gvUTxU10lH9anq0ahIeWlsLgVeo73KHze9GgPn2tgr1w9IdlZqZp9ZQjXDpjfmcv~eTRR3zQN0aVs6QxsnSDf35UMedKHjw3qBcEQ4uJPOEO0OCiI~8j6v7da5~GaQLc1OsIldnxI65NnndLQSiL6eCUNpUOuIpwh72cQh83locjVMoJg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators moved Bill 89‑38, the Inafamalik Food Donation Act, into the third‑reading file after floor debate and several amendments that clarified definitions and rulemaking authority. The bill adopts protections modeled on the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to limit civil and criminal liability for donors who provide \"apparently wholesome food\" in good faith to nonprofit organizations, gleaners, or directly to individuals in need. Sponsor remarks cited a 2020 study estimating roughly 20,000 tons of edible food from grocery stores, restaurants and hotels is landfilled annually on Guam and said diverting even some of that supply could feed thousands.

The bill requires the director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) to promulgate rules and regulations implementing the statute and to adopt standards consistent with the Guam Food Code. Floor amendments adopted during debate added an explicit statutory definition of \"good faith\" (\"a transaction done honestly and objectively with no deliberate intent to defraud the other party\"), codified the DPHSS rulemaking requirement, and clarified that donations must be \"apparently wholesome\" as defined in the bill and consistent with applicable food‑safety rules. The committee record and witnesses at the public hearing — including the Division of Environmental Health chief Tom Nadeau and community organizations such as Guahan Sustainable Culture and WestCare Pacific — supported the bill and provided implementation suggestions.

Senators asked detailed questions about how DPHSS will reconcile enforcement across noncommercial donations, temperature and time‑control protocols for perishable donations, and how the bill’s gross‑negligence standard for liability would be applied in practice. The sponsor said existing Guam definitions of \"good faith\" and a Guam Food Advisory Group working on an updated Guam Food Code would inform the implementing regulations. After several technical amendments and the addition of multiple cosponsors, senators recorded \"No objections\" and the bill was ordered to third reading.

Where it stands: The legislature advanced the amended bill to third reading and adopted language directing DPHSS to issue implementing rules; the transcript records no final passage vote in the provided excerpt.","Senators advanced Bill 89‑38, the Inafamalik Food Donation Act, toward final consideration after adopting amendments to define \"good faith,\" require DPHSS rulemaking, and align local standards to the Guam Food Code.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6540027,"Proposal to pursue public‑private partnership for Guam Memorial Hospital prompts questions on costs, oversight and staffing",873,7740000,8613000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810&start=7740&end=8613","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3511911-50ad4da4a9d535f36a40f9f0d11d1810/thumbnail_7740000.jpg","/articles/6540027/Proposal-to-pursue-publicprivate-partnership-for-Guam-Memorial-Hospital-prompts-questions-on-costs-oversight-and-staffing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6540027-93542ea51c9e73c70d9f2ef416c2d97d/orig.mp4?Expires=1773115814&Signature=boMFNZa2poHbQ8FZ1LoP~TXRO36mgXdJ-AGNSO46d4LImn-~g0yxheadd1Q29HcWU4gYnfxnCfox9A2FqbttwsoTFDS64UkO1gjEpZ~Za-Qa~Z2b~LN4qwrU33LMJez2LZdXoApDYvBMANBj-R18daRLkcJ-0NF-QrxwjguRGWDSzrbz2nKZLlbE2eL54o8rPHP5mftbdrwnZ8v3OU69-GomcdFZQkMjS5botYq5lMlDdXnENnRy58akn6y~q7Hz6R8jnfI8TweyechGx~hQE56bdduvhER~tBPg6ni-o-1zo6Y4NFCA7PbqQkaqSgRPYQEjgdoOsBbGkjmL62PPmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Therese M. Turlahi introduced Bill 13‑38 COR to authorize a public‑private partnership (P3) to address chronic operational and financial challenges at Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH). The bill establishes a P3 committee to develop a request for proposals (RFP) that would define the scope of a private partner’s role — potentially covering billing and collections, information technology, facility maintenance and clinical operations — and estimate contract costs and financing options for legislative consideration.

In opening remarks the sponsor said GMH has repeatedly required emergency appropriations and cited a history of unmet capital projects, revenue shortfalls and management decisions that left the hospital in recurring crisis. The sponsor noted past studies and a 2016 task force that recommended pursuing a P3 and that three private entities earlier signaled interest in an RFI. \"Our hospital has been in perpetual crisis and doing more of the same is simply not an option,\" she said.

Several senators supported exploring a P3 but raised detailed concerns. Questions focused on the lack of initial funding for issuing and evaluating an RFP, whether a private partner would be a manager, lessee or builder, and the consequences for classified government employees if the private partner assumes operational control. One floor discussion flagged a provision that would require a private contractor to retain non‑management classified employees and asked whether that requirement could dissuade bidders. Senators also asked about timelines, safeguards to prevent prioritizing profit over patient care, and what accountability mechanisms would ensure the new partner meets performance targets. The sponsor said the bill intentionally tasks a stakeholder committee (including AG and procurement assistance) to craft an RFP and that contract terms and funding would return to the legislature for approval.

Financial figures cited during the discussion included roughly $80,000,000 in GMH funding at the start of FY24 (including a $30,000,000 appropriation), an additional $30,000,000 appropriation in public law and $20,000,000 pledged from federal ARP funds; testimony also reported current vendor debts of about $20,000,000 and a $5,000,000 EHR expense that did not meet the hospital’s needs. The transcript ends during floor questioning; the bill was introduced and debated on the floor but the record in the provided excerpt does not show final legislative action on the RFP motion.

Where it stands: Bill 13‑38 was introduced and debated with wide recognition of GMH’s chronic problems; the bill would create a committee to draft an RFP and require legislative approval before contract execution. No final vote on authorization or appropriation appears in the excerpt.","Senator Therese M. Turlahi introduced Bill 13‑38 to authorize a public‑private partnership (P3) for Guam Memorial Hospital and create a stakeholder committee to draft an RFP for private management or partnership of hospital functions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Guam senators advance bill to expand first- and second‑degree criminal sexual conduct penalties for 14‑ and 15‑year‑old victims

Guam legislature advances Inafamalik Food Donation Act to protect good‑faith donors and reduce food waste

Proposal to pursue public‑private partnership for Guam Memorial Hospital prompts questions on costs, oversight and staffing