Youth Congress passes quarantine bill

HAGATNA, Guam—The 30th Guam Youth Congress convened for regular session on April 16, 2016 and discussed and passed a bill clarifying that concrete and solid metal walls are acceptable perimeter fencing for a commercial quarantine facility.

Bill No. 30-30, introduced by Speaker Alcairo, is an act to amend § 3226(h)(2) of Article 2, Division 1, Chapter 3 of Title 9, Guam Administrative Rules and Regulations.

The Guam Youth Congress will be forwarding this bill, along with other passed bills, to the Rules Committee of the 33rd Guam Legislature for action as with a legislative bill, in accordance with § 7102 of Chapter 7, Title 2 Guam Code Annotated.  The Committee on Rules of the Guam Legislature was scheduled to meet last Wednesday.  

Speaker Alcairo stated that the Senators of the 33rd Guam Legislature have been more than optimistic at hearing what the youth of Guam have to say about the future direction of our island.  “There have been some hurdles that the Guam Youth Congress has had to face administratively, procedurally, and financially, but I’m optimistic that we can continue to move the Guam Youth Congress forward and return this body to the prominence it once held just a few short years ago.” 

The Guam Legislature has indirectly entertained bills from the Guam Youth Congress in the form of bills introduced in the Guam Legislature. Among these bills from the Guam Legislature are Bills No. 4-33, 119-33, and 279-33, which are reflective of Guam Youth Congress Bills No. 2-30, 15-30, and 13-30, respectively. Members are positive that their voices will be heard and that their bills will be introduced in the Guam Legislature, in accordance with Guam law.

In addition to Bill No. 30-30, among the first set of bills to be forwarded to the Guam Legislature are the following:

• Bill No. 3-30, introduced by Representative Quinene, is an act to amend § 6102 of Article 1, Chapter 6, Division 2 of Title 17 of the Guam Code Annotated, relative to the change of the compulsory attendance age range of for the children of Guam.

• Bill No. 4-30, introduced by Speaker Alcairo, is an act to prioritize the youth of Guam by appropriately funding the Guam Youth Congress.

• Bill No. 9-30, introduced by Speaker Alcairo and Representative Casila, is an act to amend § 2303 of Chapter 3, Title 17 Guam Code Annotated, relative to ensuring a majority is met when validating acts of the Island-wide Board of Governing Students.

• Bill No. 11-30, introduced by Speaker Alcairo and Representative Lujan, is an act to amend § 14104 of Chapter 14, Title 2, Guam Code Annotated, relative to the composition of the Guam Trademark Commission.

• Bill No. 14-30, introduced by Representative Santos, Representative Arce, and Representative Rosario, is an act to add a Chapter 14 to Division 2, Title 17, Guam Code Annotated, in order to encourage active participation in clubs and organizations to assist future student opportunities, to help ease the burden many students face with balancing grades and their organizations, and to create a time frame in which students can work towards achieving goals of their club more efficiently by creating a curriculum for clubs to be counted as an elective credit.