HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Over the next few months, the governor’s administration will be directing permitting agencies to hold public hearings on current regulations and gather input about potential revisions, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, who spoke before the Guam Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday regarding initiatives the administration has taken or will take to forward business and development opportunities on Guam.
“It is my hope that we will use this process to generate public input and discussions that will enable the revisions of regulations in a more concise and practical way. We will utilize the Administrative Adjudication Act to make meaningful change and work collaboratively on better language and more succinct processes,” Tenorio, who will be running for governor in 2026, told Chamber members during their regular meeting at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa.
The lieutenant governor added that he intends to have the Guam Economic Development Authority serve in an advocacy role for businesses during this process and provide coordination for the Chamber’s involvement and the development of timelines to guide the administration’s efforts.
Tenorio said agencies will likely hold two hearings – a general hearing for public input and a second hearing after developing proposed regulatory changes.
“Your support and involvement at all stages will be critical and definitely during the review of the Legislature at the tail end of rule-making if improvements will prevail,” Tenorio told Chamber members Wednesday.
“Your Delegadu program to navigate the legislation would be a great resource in this partnership I am proposing. This could provide a meaningful way that senators can be brought up to speed with any changes or improvements that are needed,” he added.
The Chamber’s Delegadu Liaison Program is a means for the organization to work together with the Guam Legislature on business-friendly legislation. The lieutenant governor said statutory changes may need to be proposed as part of desired revisions, adding that those proposals would only be successful if fully vetted and submitted by the Chamber.
‘Hostile situation’
Tenorio told media Wednesday that the administration is in a “hostile situation” with the Legislature “on many fronts,” while noting that Guam is currently in an election year, adding that it would “probably be more productive” if any legislative proposals came from outside the administration.
During his speech before the Chamber, Tenorio stated that he recognized any bill submitted by the governor for the Legislature’s consideration would likely be “marked dead on arrival.”
“That is a symptom of the partisan divide. And on top of that, there are sectors in power that are anti-development, anti-progress and suspect of any economic opportunity deriving from or connected to military operations,” Tenorio said.
“Any opportunity to generate revenue, either through payroll taxes or business privilege taxes from military contracts, serves the people well. Yes, there are some grants and perhaps projects that have or will be supported by the Department of Defense and the military branches. But it is predominantly through tax revenue that our people will see the sustained direct support of the United States military in consideration for the burden of peace that lays on their shoulders. These tax payments serve as pass-throughs from the federal government through our contractors and service providers in order to receive this support,” the lieutenant governor added.
Automatic stay
During his speech, Tenorio also noted that the government is in “procurement purgatory” with being able to set up an online permitting system, a description he’s used before regarding the procurement process.
Tenorio said one of the major issues with procurement is the automatic stay that happens when procurement protests occur.
“That is a very unique feature if you take a look at jurisdictions across the country. I think the discussion should be to come up with a criteria or parameter that businesses that are going to make protests have to demonstrate that there truly is … potential violations of procurement law,” Tenorio told Chamber members Wednesday.
He later told the media that he believed automatic stays were not serving any purpose, and he has seen it hamper government operations.
“I’m in big favor of removing it. I think the Legislature and us can come together and figure out what the parameters would be for a stay to occur,” Tenorio said.
“If we could only focus on the stay and understand what the majority thinks. And let’s make it a debate and let’s look at the business cases. I think automatic stays are not conducive. We are one of the few jurisdictions that has an automatic stay. And we’re in a dynamic situation with all of the development that’s occurring. … We got to be able to empower ourselves to get things done faster,” Tenorio added.
Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio is the guest speaker during the Guam Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa in Tumon.
