by Krystal Paco

Guam - Senators Chris Duenas and Tommy Morrison were looking to score some points with island leaders on Bill 19.

"I take offense when there's some assertion that only one organization has a monopoly or a lock on which children are going to reach gold, because I say our athletes are built in the villages they're built in your villages," said Senator Duenas. As he addressed the Mayors Council of Guam, Duenas and co-author of Bill 19 said there would be more Guamanian Olympians if we invested into the island's sports facilities, what he says is already in legislation but could be successfully enforced through Bill 19.

Duenas continued, "It kind of pains me when I hear an athletic organization that boasts of the greatness that we're seeking on Guam of our kids to aspire to by Olympians to 'reach high and go for the gold', but those kids are not born to go for the gold they develop those skills in your villages. They develop those skills on the baseball field at the schools the track and field - in everything that they do from when they are born to the time they are ready to compete."

Bill 19 would allow the director of Revenue & Tax to take on the role of the dormant Gaming Control Commission and assess an interim 20% tax on all GRT from all gaming activities in Guam that don't have a specific tax rate and use that money to improve sports facilities.

"At the public hearing the Golf Association was there and they said that their gross revenue is $9 million every year; they are one of the 24 licenses issued for limited gaming," said Duenas. "There is probably somewhere in the realm of $60 million to $100 million that's generated through limited gaming on Guam, so at the 4% we're still looking at anywhere between $1.5 million to $4 million a year that could be generated for this program."

Bill 19 may not have hit a homerun with the Guam National Olympic Committee and local athletes but it sure did hit a grand slam with the Mayors Council.

As a result of today's visit, MCOG executive director Angel Sablan says island mayors passed a resolution in support of Bill 19. "The Mayors Council of Guam will be supporting Bill 19 because we want all organizations to be able to reap the money but we want all organizations who are sponsoring events like this or raising money to be able to pay certain costs so it goes back to the community," he said.