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Substitute Bill 30‑38 advances island‑wide garbage collection with customer assistance program
Summary
The Legislature accepted a substituted version of Bill 30‑38 COR to require residential subscription to island‑wide garbage collection, establish exemptions and a customer assistance program funded outside ratepayer revenue, and recognize Public Utilities Commission rate‑making authority; the substitute was ordered to third reading.
The Legislature accepted a substitute of Bill 30‑38 COR and moved the measure to third reading. The substituted bill requires owners of residential buildings to subscribe to public or private garbage collection services, sets multiple exemptions, and directs Guam Solid Waste Authority (GSWA) to establish a customer assistance program for eligible low‑income subscribers.
The substitute incorporates recommendations from the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and GSWA: it recognizes PUC rate‑making authority in legislative intent, removes a mandated lifeline rate language that the PUC objected to, and states that customer assistance should be funded through external subsidies (legislative appropriations, grants) rather than ratepayer revenue. The substitute also “highly recommends” that the PUC consider a lifeline rate with approval if appropriate.
Key provisions on the floor included: - Mandatory subscription to weekly garbage and recycling collection for most residential buildings, with exemptions for small rental buildings where leases require tenant subscription, vacant properties, properties that generate no municipal solid waste and properties served by a private hauler or self‑haulers using transfer stations. - A customer assistance program for households eligible for SNAP, Medicaid, WIC or SSI; the program must be funded through external subsidies such as legislative appropriations or federal grants, not through GSWA ratepayer revenue. - A disclosure that, under GSWA projections presented in testimony, residential rates could rise to $38 per month under current proposals but would drop to $22.50 per month upon full implementation (projected January 2028) because of economies of scale.
Floor debate focused on enforcement, exemptions, funding, PUC authority and the program’s potential to reduce illegal dumping. Multiple senators, the Guam Environmental Protection Agency and GSWA testified in committee and the substitute incorporated PUC recommendations. After a brief recess for review, the chamber accepted the substitute with no objections and placed the bill on the third‑reading file.
