Legislature advances bill updating campaign finance rules and introduces electronic filing and training requirements

The Guam Legislature placed Bill 189-38 COR on the voting file after floor discussion clarifying attached exhibits and technical corrections. The measure would repeal and reenact rules to modernize campaign-contribution and expenditure reporting, align reporting with existing public law changes and strengthen transparency.

The sponsor described the bill as a substantial administrative update: it adopts organizational reports, expenditure reports and a newly added dissolution report as exhibits and enables electronic filing and advisory processes intended to ease compliance. “These updates … modernizing that will bring our reporting and our compliance process into alignment with both current law and the realities of modern campaigning,” the sponsor said.

A senator asked whether the exhibits attached to the committee-amended bill were the same forms used in the last reporting cycle; the sponsor replied they were the same with minor technical changes. The sponsor also asked clerks and legal staff to make technical corrections to page numbering and attachments to avoid confusion.

The author moved the bill to the third-reading/voting file; the presiding officer recorded no objections and ordered the motion carried. Supporters said the rules include more tools for compliance—candidate seminars, training materials and advisory opinions—intended to reduce barriers for grassroots candidates.

Next steps: Bill 189-38 COR was placed on the voting file for third reading; clerks were authorized to make technical corrections to attachments and page numbering.