Rules Committee places more than two dozen bills and nominations on session agenda

The Committee on Rules of the Guam Legislature met on Jan. 14, 2026, and moved a wide set of bills and nominations onto the upcoming session agenda, recording most actions as approved by voice vote with no objections.

Among the bills reported or moved for placement were: Bill 29-38 COR (add a new article to prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income); Bill 41-38 COR (transfer specific lots to the Guam Ancestral Land Use Commission); Bill 79-38 COR (authorize sale of portion of a blockade park area with proceeds to the Chamorro Land Trust Infrastructure and Survey Fund); Bill 195-38 COR (rename the George Washington Football Field); Bill 169-38 COR (establish Guam Community Health Centers as an autonomous agency, placed on the session agenda as amended by Health and Veterans Affairs); Bill 215-38 COR (waive sanitary permit fees for student fundraisers); Bill 201-38 COR and Bill 202-38 COR (education board term adjustments and a veterans higher education benefits act); Bill 138-38 COR (amend limitations on intoxication defense); Bill 162-38 COR (add fines and penalties for terroristic conduct); Bill 210-38 COR (Department of Labor rules under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act); Bill 150-38 LS (rezoning in Barrigada); Bill 217-38 COR (allow licensed electricians to certify weather head inspections); Bill 240-38 LS (temporary workforce housing in light industrial zones); and Bill 235-38 COR (amend public law for pre-development expenses on the Simon Sanchez High School project). The chair recorded "there being none" (no objections) for most of these placements.

The committee also reported and moved forward multiple nominations for session consideration: Anthony P. Benavente for the Weill Service Commission Board of Commissioners; Matthew E. Limtiaco, MSCISSP, to the Guam Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees; David J. N. Camacho and Evangeline M. Cepeda to the Guam Academy Charter School Council; Karen L. Watson, Colonel, U.S. Army (ret.), to serve as Adjutant General/Director of the Department of Military Affairs; and Doris Flores Brooks, CPA, to the Public Utilities Commission.

Procedural notes: Many item placements were reported as "so moved" and recorded with "no objections," indicating voice approval in committee. A handful of items—most notably the GCC-related bill and nominations—drew objection and debate about whether committee reports and public hearings had been completed; those items were addressed separately and, in the case of Bill 251-38 and the two GCC nominations, were placed on the session agenda after the chair bifurcated consideration and required that the committee report be filed.

Next steps: Items moved by the committee will appear on the Legislature's session agenda for consideration. Committee reports and any public hearings (where required) must be posted according to legislative rules prior to full-session action when required.