Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed eight bills into law and vetoed one on Wednesday afternoon.

The governor vetoed Bill 213 which would authorize the Public Auditor to establish deadlines for government agencies and instrumentalities to submit financial and program data to the Office of Public Accountability.

The OPA claimed the bill was necessary for their office to carry out its duties under Guam law, adding untimely submissions by government agencies are the sole cause of delinquent audits.

In her veto message the governor states, “Imposing a fine on agency heads regardless of the cause of delays in agency submissions reflects a fundamental lack of understanding of audit processes which are designed to prioritize accuracy and completeness, and seeks to scapegoat agency heads for extensions of the audit timelines that are present in every audit. I have consistently objected to legislation that imposes personal fines on government employees for failing to meet reporting deadlines.”

The governor signed the following bills into law:

- Bill No. 105-37(LS) nka P.L. 37-83 - AN ACT TO ADD A NEW § 4124(b)(3) OF CHAPTER 4, TITLE 17, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO ADDING SCHOOL AND VILLAGE BEAUTIFICATION AS PART OF THE REQUIREMENT OF STUDENT SERVICE-LEARNING HOURS

- Bill No. 214-37 (COR) nka P.L. 37-84 - AN ACT TO AMEND § 11115 OF CHAPTER 11, TITLE 3, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO TABULATED AND PUBLISHED WRITE-IN VOTES

- Bill No. 215-37 (COR) nka P.L. 37-85 - AN ACT TO AMEND § 1903 OF CHAPTER 19, TITLE 1, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED; AND TO AMEND § 30101 OF ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 30, TITLE 5, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO THE ELECTION AND QUALIFICATION PROCESSES FOR THE OFFICES OF THE PUBLIC AUDITOR AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GUAM

- Bill No. 216-37 (COR) nka P.L. 37-86 - AN ACT TO AMEND § 9112 OF CHAPTER 9, TITLE 3, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF ELECTIONEERING AT POLLING PLACES

- Bill No 242-37 (COR) nka P.L. 37-87 - AN ACT TO AMEND §§ 21101, 21102, 21104, 21107, AND 21115 OF CHAPTER 21, TITLE 10, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO SANITARY PERMIT REQUIREMENTS

- Substitute Bill No. 119-37 (COR) - nka P.L. 37-88 - AN ACT TO REPEAL ARTICLE 14 AND ADD A NEW SUBARTICLE G TO ARTICLE 2 OF CHAPTER 5, TITLE 5, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO REVITALIZING THE GUAM PROCUREMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL TO MODERNIZE PROCUREMENT IN ORDER TO PROMOTE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND ACHIEVE BEST VALUE IN SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY

- Substitute Bill No. 133-37 (COR) - nka P.L. 37-89 - AN ACT TO ADD A NEW § 48307 TO ARTICLE 3 OF CHAPTER 48, TITLE 21, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO ALLOWING TENANTS TO MAKE REPAIRS TO WEATHERHEADS AND WEATHERHEAD POSTS FOLLOWING STORMS IN CASES WHERE LANDLORDS FAIL TO ACT EXPEDITIOUSLY

- Substitute Bill No. 194-37 (LS) - nka P.L. 37-90 - AN ACT TO AMEND § 6209(c) OF ARTICLE 2, §§ 6306 AND 6308 OF ARTICLE 3, §§ 6401(a), 6403, AND 6405 OF ARTICLE 4, AND § 6603 OF ARTICLE 6, ALL OF CHAPTER 6, TITLE 11, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO UPDATING THE FINES AND PENALTIES CONCERNING TOBACCO, NICOTINE AND ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE VIOLATIONS