by Nick Delgado

Guam - Governor Eddie Baza Calvo signed several bills into law this afternoon. They are:

Bill No. 55
An act to authorize the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority to solicit and contract, in whole or in part, for the management and operation of vendor services relative to cafeteria, snack bar, restaurant, and/or other food service activities, by adding a new subsection (u) to §80109 of Chapter 80, Title 10, Guam Code Annotated.

Bill No. 16
An act to amend §§85.10, 85.14 and 85.26 of Chapter 85, Title 9, GCA, relative to the composition and powers of the Territorial Parole Board.

Bill No. 58
An act to add a new §4128 to Chapter 4 of 4GCA relative to authorizing the granting of administrative leave for volunteer sign language and foreign language interpreters.

No word on what action the Governor will take on Bill 34. The legislation was opposed the by the Catholic Church on Guam saying it targets the church and does nothing to prevent victims and looks toward the past. The legislation introduced by Vice Speaker BJ Cruz would open a two year window to allow victims of child sex abuse to file a civil action against their perpetrator.

The Vice Speaker defended the only way to prevent more sex crimes against children is to bring the sexual predators in the community to light, which he says is the intent of Bill 34. The vote on the bill during the last Legislative session was 9-6. The six senators who voted against its passage included Senators Rory Respicio, Judi Guthertz, Dennis Rodriguez Jr., Tony Ada, Frank Blas Jr., and Chris Duenas.