The Guam Ethics Commission appointed Jesse John Quenga to serve as the first executive director.

Initially created in 1996 the commission had been inactive until holding its first meeting in 2019.

After a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the commission will resume hiring a staff, finding office space, creating a website, and raising public awareness.

The commission hopes to submit proposals to the Legislature to amend ethics laws and create protocols to receive and process complaints by mid-year.

Speaker of the Legislature Tina Rose Muña Barnes announced the postponement of the legislative session indefinitely to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

Additionally the postponement includes the emergency session expected to convene on March 23.

The purpose is to discuss a bill relating to an unemployment benefits program.

Finally the Legislature is exploring the possibility of holding virtual sessions for the unemployment bill and state budget.

Legislators met in an emergency special session last Friday to solve the leadership crisis in Yona, Guam.

Yona Mayor Jesse Blas is currently in jail awaiting trial on extortion and bribery charges stemming from a methamphetamine smuggling operation he allegedly facilitated.

Blas has not resigned and has continued to make appointments from behind bars.

In the emergency session, the unicameral Legislature passed a bill requiring a municipal planning council to appoint an acting mayor in the event of an extended mayoral absence.

Lawmakers declined to pass proposed language that would authorize and fund a recall election in Yona.

Vice Speaker Telena Nelson called the session after Speaker Tina Muna Barnes, who opposed the idea, temporarily made Nelson acting speaker when she left the territory to attend a funeral.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero now has ten days to sign or veto the new bill, or it will automatically become law.

Election commissioners are proposing the filing of quarterly campaign finance reports.

Quarterly reports would be filed with the commission on April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15.

The final report would be due no later than 15 days after the last day of the calendar quarter in which campaign funds were exhausted or deficit eliminated.

Guam Governor Eddie Baza Calvo vetoed Bill 28-34 aimed at restructuring the process of procurement protests.

The governor indicated that the Attorney General and the General Services Agency also opposed the measure as ambiguous because it allowed anyone who showed an interest in the procurement to have the ability to file a protest.

The Guam Election Commission approved a special election for August 25.

The special election will fill the seat vacated by Public Auditor Doris Brooks. Brooks resigned her position, effective June 22, to run as a candidate for congressional delegate.

The winner of the special election will complete the remaining two years of Brooks’ term.

The Legislature of Guam passed one bill and is contemplating another that will change the electoral process in the territory.

Bill 156-34, passed Friday, Ocotober 27, 2017, proposes moving the date of primary elections and changing the filing date for candidate nomination papers; while Bill 45-34 calls for the elimination of primary elections in their entirety.

If Bill 45-34 also passes and both bills are signed by the governor, whichever bill is signed second will void the one that is signed first.

The governor of Guam has signed legislation replacing its existing lobbying law with new provisions requiring registration for legislative lobbyists and reporting on the 10th day of the month following the end of a quarter.

The legislation also contains a revolving door provision and penalties for violations of the act.

The Office of the Governor of Guam and the 30th Guam Legislature.