There's a new proposal by the governor to compensate original landowners who can't get their ancestral property back. The major announcement comes ahead of a legislative oversight hearing tomorrow on the proposed site of a new medical campus on military property in Mangilao.

But that land has been under dispute by original landowners, who say it should be returned to them instead.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero announced new legislation aimed at remedying the lack of compensation for original landowners whose property was taken by the military. It's called the Land Bank Reform Act of 2022, of which she said, "Because federal law prohibits return of ancestral lands to original owners, the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission Land Bank Trust is currently the only compensation recourse for original owners. Unfortunately, for the past two decades, the land bank has failed to pay a single owner a penny of compensation, because it is underfunded, and the law that created it has problems that prior administrations were unable or unwilling to resolve. That changes today.

"I cannot and will not stand by idly while our original owners remain unfairly compensated for the loss of their land for more generations. We need an alternative to get ancestral owners paid now."

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The governor's bill would clarify the eligibility criteria for ancestral owners to receive compensation. It identifies multiple funding streams, including annual budget appropriations. And it would provide the means for claims to be calculated and distributed to original owners or their descendants. This hot button issue re-surfaced most recently when the governor identified Eagles Field in Mangilao as the site for a new medical complex to replace the Guam Memorial Hospital.

She added, "Since I met with ancestral owners of Eagles Field on March 22, the Ancestral Lands Commission and GEDA have met with more than 53 representatives from affected families. We are encouraged by and grateful for your support of our plans to improve Guam’s health care facilities.We understand you do not have a path to compensation under the current ancestral Land Bank law. This proposed legislation will change that."

Meanwhile, Lands Committee chair Speaker Therese Terlaje will hold an oversight hearing on the issue on Tuesday. Now, the governor wants Terlaje to fast-track her bill, saying, "Hold a public hearing, and place it in the November session."

"It is now in the hands of Speaker Terlaje."