Committee reviews bill to simplify invasive‑species fee collection; port users back exemptions for transshipment and empties

A Guam legislative committee on June 29 heard testimony on Bill 334‑38, which would repeal and reenact administrative rules governing invasive‑species fees to simplify collection and clarify exemptions. The Port Users Group and Department of Agriculture (DOA) said the changes aim to make fee administration more practicable while protecting transshipment cargo and empty containers from unintended charges.

Joseph Cruz, president of the Port Users Group, told the committee the original public law (Public Law 31‑43) established the invasive species fund to shift biosecurity costs to importers and carriers while exempting transshipment and empty containers. "Excluding transshipment cargo and empty containers from the collection process ... will still enable the Department of Agriculture to reach the targeted $2,000,000 funding," Cruz said in testimony.

DOA Director Chelsea Munya and the department’s invasive‑species coordinator explained the agency’s operational emphasis is on personnel for inspections and on rapid response when pests are detected. DOA said the Office of Public Accountability (OPA) is concluding a performance audit of the invasive species fund and preliminary findings do not show unexplained problems; DOA expects the audit to be available in the coming weeks.

Port users and carriers (including representatives who testified for Mariner’s Express Lines, American President Lines and Guam Shipyard) emphasized that imposing fees on transshipment cargo or empty returns would unfairly burden neighboring island economies that use Guam as a hub. They urged the committee to retain exemptions for transshipment and empties and to maintain the collection method that charges the freight payer, not carriers.

Committee members pressed DOA on verification: vessel reports from the Port Authority can distinguish true imports, transshipments and empties; DOA said the 2022 amendment improved identification of chargeable cargo but the bill refines collection timelines and administrative provisions. DOA and port stakeholders described collaborative operational steps — customs notifies DOA of suspect pests, port stevedores and container freight stations help hold suspect containers, and DOA entomologists make disposition and treatment recommendations.

The committee did not vote. Members signaled interest in keeping the legislation moving while ensuring the rulemaking or administrative adjudication process does not unduly delay implementation of clarified collection procedures.