We've seen more and more of them in recent years holding up signs asking for help from passersby. Legislation by Sen. Roy Quinata seeks to ban such panhandling by repealing that section of Guam law altogether.

Guam Police Department Chief Stephen Ignacio said a full repeal will be a problem.

"What law am I enforcing if we repeal the whole section," he said. "I don't have any teeth to enforce a citation. I can't make an arrest because now I don't have a law to enforce. So I think something this body needs is it still needs to be defined, and then it needs to be defined as to what level of a crime is it gonna be. Is it just gonna to be a violation, are we gonna make it a petty misdemeanor, are we gonna make it a misdemeanor? God forbid we make it a felony, because I don't think it rise to this level."

The chief also said the act of panhandling itself needs to be specifically defined, otherwise it'll pose another problem for law enforcement.

"So is that just a form of speech that's protected by the constitution because he's not asking you for money, this person is merely there at the intersection, standing there with a sign that says I'm hungry, and I'm homeless," Ignacio said. "No different than if somebody was standing at the intersection saying end domestic violence. Right, it's an expression of speech, and it's protected."

Senators said the intent is both to protect the people who frequent the busy intersections from getting injured and to encourage them to get the help they need.

Officials also talked about having the bill apply to aggressive panhandlers who wait outside neighborhood stores for example asking people for money.

Sponsor Quinata agrees the bill needs more work.

"We'll make those changes together and work collaboratively to ensure there is some teeth and move forward with whatever language needs to be addressed," he said.