I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4409 

To require approval through referendum for any increases to any locally 

enacted and administered taxes or issuances of any municipal bond 

in an amount greater than $25,000,000, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 

Mr. SAN NICOLAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require approval through referendum for any increases 

to any locally enacted and administered taxes or 

issuances of any municipal bond in an amount greater 

than $25,000,000, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘People Empowerment 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) The Guam Legislature enacted Guam Pub2 lic Law 24–222 in 1998, requiring voter referendum 

3 for any tax increases and any issuance of General 

4 Obligation Bond in an amount greater than 

5 $25,000,000. 

6 (2) The Guam Legislature has circumvented 

7 Guam Public Law 24–222, passing local tax in8 creases and entered into 28 General Obligation 

9 Bonds, 16 of which were in excess of $25,000,000 

10 without ratification by the voters of Guam. 

11 (3) When public laws expressly mandate the in12 volvement of the electorate with their vote on spe13 cific matters of law, such laws must be respected, 

14 and the people must be afforded the opportunity to 

15 vote. 

16 (4) Congress will act to protect the people of 

17 Guam’s authority in determining increases in taxes 

18 paid to their local government by ratifying such 

19 power in the Organic Act of Guam. 

20 SEC. 3. VOTER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN REV21 ENUE LAWS. 

22 The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) 

23 is amended by inserting after section 11, the following: 


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1 ‘‘CONDITIONS FOR LAWS RELATED TO TAXATION AND

2 ISSUANCE OF BONDS

3 ‘‘SEC. 11A. (a) Notwithstanding section 11, a law en4 acted by the Government of Guam that provides for 

5 issuance of municipal bonds in an amount greater than 

6 $25,000,000, an increase in a tax, or the imposition of 

7 a new tax— 

8 ‘‘(1) shall not contain any provision except 

9 those necessary to enact the issuance, increase, or 

10 imposition; and 

11 ‘‘(2) shall not take effect until after the law is 

12 approved by a simple majority of voters on a ref13 erendum on the law held in accordance with this sec14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(b) Not more than 10 days after a law that provides 

16 for issuance of a municipal bond in an amount greater 

17 than $25,000,000, an increase in a tax, or the imposition 

18 of a new tax is enacted, the Secretary of the Guam Legis19 lature shall transmit to the Guam Election Commission 

20 the full text of the law. 

21 ‘‘(c) The question of whether the voters of Guam ap22 prove or disapprove of the law transmitted under sub23 section (b) shall be placed on the ballot at the next General 

24 Election that is 90 days or more after such transmission. 


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1 ‘‘(d) Not less than 30 days before a General Election 

2 described in subsection (c), the Guam Election Commis3 sion shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) cause to appear in a daily periodical of 

5 mass publication on Guam the full text of the law 

6 transmitted under subsection (b); and 

7 ‘‘(2) ensure that the following is included in the 

8 voter education packet sent to voters before the Gen9 eral Election for which the referendum on the law is 

10 included on the ballot: 

11 ‘‘(A) The full text of the law transmitted 

12 under subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(B) An explanation of the pros and cons 

14 of each position on the question of the law 

15 transmitted under subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(C) Other information necessary for vot17 ers to arrive at an informed position on the 

18 question of the law transmitted under sub19 section (b). 

20 ‘‘(e) This section may be waived during a state of 

21 emergency declared by a two-thirds vote of the Guam Leg22 islature and signed by the Governor of Guam. A waiver 

23 under this subsection shall only apply during such state 

24 of emergency. A tax or increase instituted during a waiver 

25 under this subsection shall not be valid or enforceable 


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1 after the state of emergency has ended, except to the ex2 tent that amounts were due and not paid under that tax 

3 or increase during the state of emergency. 

4 ‘‘(f) This section shall not be interpreted to require 

5 voter ratification of a tax increased or imposed or a bond 

6 issued by the Government of the United States of Amer7 ica. 

8 ‘‘(g) This section shall continue to apply after de-link9 age of the Guam income tax from the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986 (or a successor Federal tax code), should 

11 such a de-linkage occur.’’. 

Æ 


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