Guam Legislature adopts wide slate of third‑reading bills; public‑hospital partnership measure fails

The Guam Legislature completed a large third‑reading and final‑passage voting session on June 28, 2025, passing a broad set of bills by roll call while one prominent health‑care measure failed to win a majority.

Most of the measures on the third‑reading file passed, including bills affecting taxes, transportation infrastructure, emergency management and election law. Lawmakers also confirmed a slate of executive and agency nominations. One major measure to establish a public‑private partnership for Guam Memorial Hospital failed on the floor.

Why it matters: the package passed on the floor includes bills that change procurement and leasing authority at transportation agencies, adjust tax and business reporting rules, and create or amend programs affecting health, environment and elections; those changes will influence agency operations, local budgets and service delivery. The hospital measure’s defeat leaves policymakers and stakeholders still debating options for stabilizing Guam Memorial Hospital operations and finances.

Key outcomes (third reading roll‑call results) - Bill 78 (Meals for At‑Risk Households Act of 2025, restaurant meals program under SNAP): passed, 14 yays, 1 nay. - Bill 33 (expansion of elements for first and second degree criminal conduct): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 89 (protections from liability for food donations): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 13 (public‑private partnership for Guam’s public hospital): failed, 7 yays, 8 nays. - Bill 27 (firearms silencers provisions, chapter 60 amendments): passed, 11 yays, 4 nays. - Bill 118 (Guam Medicaid Access Enhancement Act, tax rebate on Medicaid receipts): passed, 12 yays, 2 nays, 1 excused. - Bill 88 (streamlining vehicle ownership and taxing title transfers): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 66 (codify Guam comprehensive emergency management plan — GCEMP, annual review/exercise): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 95 (allowing child‑care facilities to operate as intergenerational day care centers): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 50 (temporary employment of retired Government of Guam employees): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 59 (Business Privilege Tax Transparency Act — itemization of BPT on receipts): passed, 11 yays, 4 nays. - Bill 67 (Port Authority leasing/award authority changes): passed, 11 yays, 4 nays. - Bill 6 (transfer of property to Special Olympics Guam for administrative office and training facility): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 18 (judicial review procedure for public auditor procurement appeals): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 20 (repeal of legalization of consumer grade fireworks — title amended on motion): passed, 12 yays, 3 nays. - Bill 23 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act and standardized deed form): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 28 (increase Guam EPA compliance/enforcement capacity): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 53 (Voter Privacy Protection Act — repeal of voter privacy provision): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 54 (election law updates — voter registration, ballot handling): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 55 (quarterly campaign finance reporting requirement): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 75 (exemptions for active duty service members/dependents from driver’s license requirements): passed, 14 yays, 1 nay. - Bill 80 (increase thresholds for estates of small value by 50%): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 83 (allow certain agencies to employ environmental law attorneys): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 109 (Port Authority dollar‑for‑dollar offset for tenant investment in port improvements): passed, 11 yays, 4 nays. - Bill 121 (further exemptions to Guam plastics reuse law): passed, 11 yays, 4 nays. - Bill 129 (recognition - establishing Mother Language Day, Feb. 21): passed, 15 yays. - Bill 130 (adopt CHamoru orthography for official holidays / history enabling act updates): passed, 15 yays. - Veto override vote on Bill 14: override succeeded, 12 yays, 3 nays.

Nominations and confirmations The Legislature placed several nominations on the voting file and confirmed a number of nominees by voice or show of hands, including: Christa L. Blankenship (Guam Memorial Hospital Authority board, medical community representative); Marvin Q. Aguilar (Historic Preservation Review Board, planning alternate); Nicole A. Cabo (Historic Preservation Review Board, planning representative); Steven P. Carbolito and Heather M. Kinugua, P.C. (Guam Environmental Protection Agency board); and multiple nominees to the Restoration and Redevelopment Authority and Port Authority boards. The transcript records unanimous confirmation votes for many of the nominations.

Procedural and floor actions Earlier on the second‑reading calendar, senators moved several procedural motions that were agreed to without objection: reconsiderations and floor amendments (for example, motion to amend Bill 88 to delete a subsection that legal found to be substantively inapplicable), motions to add cosponsors to bills 129 and 130, and motions to amend bill titles (for example, authorizing legal counsel to amend the title of Bill 20 to include a reference to fireworks so the subject is searchable). Those motions were carried “hearing and seeing no objection” and noted on the record.

Notable defeat: public‑private partnership for Guam Memorial Hospital (Bill 13) Bill 13, described on the floor as an act to create a public‑private partnership for Guam’s public hospital, failed by roll call (7 yays, 8 nays). During post‑vote remarks, at least one senator expressed disappointment at the bill’s defeat and urged continued attention to the hospital’s operational and capital needs; the transcript records the speaker noting that Guam Memorial Hospital requires roughly $29.3 million in critical capital improvements, with a breakdown cited on the floor: approximately $14.5 million for an electronic health record system, $5 million for IT network improvements and $5.1 million to replace outdated electrical systems. The failed bill will leave those proposals to be addressed through other legislative, executive or administrative processes.

What’s next Passed bills will be enrolled and transmitted for the governor’s consideration as provided by law; the override vote indicates the Legislature retained the ability to override a veto in at least one instance. Several items noted on the floor — including titles amended for searchability and cosponsor additions — reflect technical fixes completed before final passage.

This session’s third‑reading voting block covered a large and mixed policy set, from taxation and election law to transportation and public safety. With one high‑profile health measure defeated and other measures expanding agency authority and procurement options, the outcomes will prompt administrative follow‑up and stakeholder scrutiny in the weeks ahead.