CIVIL GOVERNMENT FOR GUAM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1950 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m. in room 224 Senate Office Building, Senator Clinton P. Anderson (New Mexico), presiding. Present: Senators Clinton P. Anderson (New Mexico) and Glen H. Taylor (Idaho). Senator ANDERSON. The meeting will be in order. We will take up S. 1892 and companion bill H. R. 7273, and S. 185. [S. 185, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide a civil government for the island of Guam, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of this Act, and the name "Guam" as used in this Act, shall apply to and include the territorial domain, lands, and waters ceded to the United States in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed at Paris, December 10, 1898, and entered into April 11, 1899. SEC. 2. Guam is hereby declared to be an unincorporated insular possession of the United States, and the capital and seat of government thereof shall be located at the city of Agana, Guam. SEC. 3. (a) All Spanish subjects residing in the island of Guam on April 11, 1899, (b) all natives of Guam who were temporarily absent from that island on said date, and (c) all natives of Guam born subsequent to such date are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States, if they are residing on the date of approval of this Act in the island of Guam or other territory over which the United States exercises rights of sovereignty and are not citizens of the United States under any other Act: Provided, That any person hereinbefore described who is a citizen or national of a country other than the United States and desires to retain his present political status may do so by making, within two years of the effective date of this Act, a declaration under oath of such desire, said declaration to be in form and executed in the manner prescribed by regulations. From and after the making of such a declaration any such person shall be held not to be a citizen of the United States by virtue of this Act. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, with the approval of the Attorney General, is hereby authorized and empowered to make and prescribe such rules and regulations not in conflict with this Act as he may deem necessary and proper. Section 501 (d) of the Act of October 14, 1940 (ch. 876, 54 Stat. 1137), is amended to read: "The term 'United States' when used in a geographical sense means the continental United States, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States." BILL OF RIGHTS SEC. 4. No law shall be enacted in Guam which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person therein the equal protection of the laws. 1 In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof, to have a speedy and public trial, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law; and no person for the same offense shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. No law impairing the obligations of contracts shall be enacted. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion, insurrection, or invasion, the public safety may require it, in any of which events the same may be suspended by the President, or by the Governor, whenever during such period the necessity for such suspension may exist. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use except upon payment of just compensation ascertained in the manner provided by law. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the power of the legislature to enact laws for the protection of the lives, health, or safety of the inhabitants. No law granting a title of nobility shall be enacted, and no person holding any office of profit or trust under the government of Guam shall, without the consent of the Congress of the United States, accept any present, emolument, office, title, or decoration of any kind whatever from any king, queen, prince, government, or foreign state, or any officer thereof. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. The right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. No warrant for arrest or search shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Neither slavery nor peonage shall exist on Guam. Involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall not exist in Guam. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed. No political or religious test other than an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the laws of Guam, shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the government of Guam, or as a qualification for any public or private employment on Guam. No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or association, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such. Contracting of polygamous or plural marriages is prohibited. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer in pursuance thereof. The rule of taxation in Guam shall be uniform. All money derived from any tax levied or assessed for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund in the Treasury and paid out for such purpose only, except upon the approval of the President of the United States. Eight hours shall constitute a day's employment in all cases of employment of laborers and mechanics by and on behalf of the government of Guam, except in case of emergency. The employment of children under the age of fourteen years in every occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to life or limb is hereby prohibited. Education and schooling in a school approved by the board of education and the Governor of Guam shall be compulsory for all children between the ages of six and sixteen years. Public Law 396, Seventy-ninth Congress, second session, the National School Lunch Act, is hereby amended by inserting "the island of Guam," after the comma following the words "Puerto Rico" in section 4 of that Act. There shall be equal pay for equal work in Guam, regardless of the citizenship, place of permanent residence, race, color, age, sex, creed, or other circumstances of the person employed: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed in such manner as to prohibit the payment to any civilian officer or employee of the United States or the government of Guam of any so-called overseas bonus, cost-of-living differential, or other payment in addition to basic wages or salary as is compensation for overseas or tropical service or cost-of-living differential. No law shall be enacted nor shall any rule or regulation be issued to effect, authorize, or condone segregation of or discrimination against any resident of the island of Guam by reason of race, creed, color, sex, or political status. SEC. 5. (a) The title to all property owned by the United States and employed by the naval government of Guam in the administration of the affairs, or for the substantial benefit of the local inhabitants of Guam, including automotive and other equipment, tools and machinery, water and sewerage facilities, bus lines and other utilities, hospitals, schools, and other buildings, and the Naval Government Bank of Guam, its property and assets, shall be transferred to the govern❤ ment of Guam within one year after the date of approval of this Act. (b) All other property owned by the United States in Guam, including property which may have been acquired by the United States in accordance with the aforementioned treaty of peace with Spain, or otherwise subsequently acquired, not heretofore or within one year hereafter reserved by the United States, is hereby placed under the control of the government of Guam, to be administered for the benefit of the people of Guam, and the Legislature of Guam, hereinafter provided for, shall have authority, subject to such limitations as may be imposed upon its acts by this Act or subsequent Acts of the Congress, to legislate with respect to such property in such manner as it may deem desirable. (c) All property owned by the United States in Guam, the title to which is not to be transferred to the government of Guam by paragraph (a) hereof, or which is not placed under the control of the government of Guam by paragraph (b) hereof, is transferred to the administrative supervision of the Department of the Interior, except as the President may from time to time otherwise prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall be authorized to lease or to sell on such terms as he may deem advantageous to the Government of the United States any property of the United States under his administrative supervision in Guam not needed for public purposes. (d) The United States shall pay annually into the treasury of Guam, with respect to any real property owned by the United States in Guam which is used for ordinary business or commercial purposes, amounts in lieu of taxes equal to the amount of taxes that would be payable on such property, if such property were in private ownership and taxable, but the valuation placed upon such property for taxation purposes by the local taxing authorities shall be reduced to a reasonable amount by the Secretary of the Interior, if after investigation, he finds that such valuation is excessive or unreasonable. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SEC. 6. (a) All local legislative powers of Guam, except as herein otherwise provided, shall be vested in a legislative body which shall be designated "the Legislature of Guam" (hereinafter referred to as the "legislature") and shall extend to all subjects of local application not inconsistent with this Act or the laws of the United States made applicable to Guam, but no law shall be enacted which would impair rights existing or arising by virtue of any treaty or international agreement entered into by the United States, nor shall the lands or other property of nonresidents be taxed higher than the lands or other property of residents: Provided, That the laws of the United States applicable to Guam on the date of approval of this Act, and all local laws and ordinances in force on such date in Guam, not inconsistent with this Act, shall continue in force and effect: Provided further, That the legislature shall have power, when not inconsistent with this Act and within its jurisdiction, to amend, alter, modify, or repeal any law of the United States of local application only, or any ordinance, public or private, civil or criminal, continued in force and effect by this Act, except as herein otherwise provided, and to enact new laws and ordinances not inconsistent with this Act and not inconsistent with the laws of the United States hereafter made applicable to Guam, subject to the power of Congress to annul the same. The laws of the United States relating to patents, trade-marks, and copyrights, and to the enforcement of rights arising thereunder, shall have the same force and effect in Guam as in the continental United States, and the District Court of Guam, hereinafter provided for, shall have the same jurisdiction in causes arising under such laws as is exercised by United States district courts. SEC. 7. (a) The legislature shall be composed of two houses, to be designated respectively as the "House of Council" and the "House of Assembly". Until otherwise provided by the Congress, the composition of the house of council and the house of assembly shall be the same as the corresponding houses of the present Guam Congress. (b) The respective houses of the legislature shall be the sole judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications of their members, shall have and exercise all the authority and attributes inherent in legislative assemblies, and shall jointly or separately have the power to institute and conduct investigations, issue subpenas to witness and other parties concerned, and administer oaths. Existing rules of the Guam Congress shall continue in force and effect except as inconsistent with this law, until altered, amended, or repealed by the respective houses. member shall be held to answer before any tribunal other than the respective houses themselves for any speech or debate in the legislature, and the members shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of the legislature and in going to and returning from the same. No (c) Each member of the legislature shall be paid by the United States, out of sums to be appropriated annually by the Congress, the sum of $15 per day for each day's attendance while the legislature is in session and mileage in addition at the rate of 15 cents per mile for each mile from his home to the capital and return by the nearest traveled route. Mileage shall be computed and paid only for one round trip each session. All other legislative expenses, including the salaries of employees of the legislature, the printing of laws, and all other incidental expenses of the legislature, shall be appropriated and paid for by the government of Guam. All of the sums so appropriated by the Congress shall be disbursed by the Governor of Guam, under sole instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the said Governor shall report quarterly to the Secretary of the Treasury for the manner in which said funds have been expended. No expenditure, to be paid out of money to be appropriated by the Congress, shall be made by the Governor or by the legislature for objects not authorized by the Acts of Congress making appropriations or beyond the sums thus appropriated for such objects. (d) No member of the legislature shall hold or be appointed to any office which has been created, or the salary or emoluments of which have been increased, while he was a member, during the term for which he was elected, and for one year after the expiration of such term. SEC. 8. (a) Regular sessions of the legislature shall be held annually, convening in Agana on the second Monday in February of each year and closing not later than April 15 following: Provided, That the Governor may call special sessions of the legislature or of the house of council at any time when in his opinion the public interests may require it, but no special session shall continue longer than fourteen calendar days, and no legislation shall be considered at such session other than that specified in the call therefor or in any special message by the Governor to the legislature while in such session. (b) The house of council and the house of assembly may meet in joint session but shall vote separately on all matters requiring a vote: Provided, That the quorum of each house shall consist of an absolute majority of all its members. SEC. 9. (a) The enacting clause of the laws shall be as to acts, "Be it enacted by the Legislature of Guam," and as to joint resolutions, "Be it resolved by the Legislature of Guam." Except as hereinafter provided, bills and joint resolutions may originate in either house. The Governor shall submit at the opening of each regular session of the legislature a budget of receipts and expenditures, which shall be the basis of the ensuing annual appropriation bill. No bill shall become a law until it be passed in each house by a majority yea-and-nay vote of all of the members belonging to such house and entered upon the journal and be approved by the Governor, except as provided herein. If when a bill that has been passed is presented to the Governor for his signature he approves the same, he shall sign it; or if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which house shall enter his objections at large on its journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the members of that house shall agree to pass the same it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members of that house it shall be sent to the Governor, who, in case he shall then not approve, shall transmit the same within ten days to the President of the United States. The vote of each house shall be by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against shall be entered on the journal. If the President of the United States approves the same, he shall sign it and it shall become a law. If he shall not approve same, he shall return it to the Governor so stating, and it shall not become a law: Provided, That the President of the United States shall approve or disapprove an Act submitted to him under the provisions of this section within ninety days from and after the date of its transmission for his approval by the Governor; and if not approved within such time it shall become a law the same as if it had been specifically approved. If any bill presented to the Governor contains several items of appropriation of money, he may object to one or more of such items, or any part or parts, portion or portions thereof, while approving of the other portion of the bill. In such case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement of the items, parts, or portions thereof to which he objects, and the appropriation so objected to shall not take effect. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the legislature by adjournment prevents its return, in which case it shall be a law if signed by the Governor within thirty days after receipt by him; otherwise it shall not be a law. All laws enacted by the Legislature of Guam shall be reported by the Governor to the Secretary of the Interior and by him to the Congress of the United States, which hereby reserves the power and authority to annul the same. If at the termination of any fiscal year the appropriations necessary for the support of the government for the ensuing fiscal year shall not have been made, the several sums appropriated in the last appropriation bills for the objects and purposes herein specified, so far as the same may be applicable, shall be deemed to be reappropriated item by item; and until the legislature shall act in such behalf the treasurer may, with the advice of the Governor, make the payments necessary for the purposes aforesaid. (b) Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and may, in its discretion, from time to time publish the same, and the yeas and nays on any question shall, on the demand of one-fifth of the members present, be entered on the journal. (c) No act of the legislature except the general appropriation bills for the expenses of the government shall take effect until ninety days after its passage, unless in case of emergency (which shall be expressed in the preamble or body of the act) the legislature shall by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house otherwise direct. (d) All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of assembly, but the house of council may propose or concur with amendments, as in case of other bills. (e) Every order, resolution, or vote to which concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on the question of adjournment, or relating solely to the transaction of business of the two houses, shall be presented to the Governor, and before it shall take effect be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by two-thirds of both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. (f) In case the available revenues of Guam for any fiscal year, including available surplus in the insular treasury, are insufficient to meet all the appropriations made by the legislature for such year, such appropriations shall be paid in the following order, unless otherwise directed by the Governor: First class. The ordinary expenses of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the government of Guam, and interest in any public debt, shall first be paid in full. Second class. Appropriations for all institutions, such as the penitentiary, insane asylum, industrial school, and the like, where the inmates are confined involuntarily, shall next be paid in full. Third class. Appropriations for educational and educational and charitable institutions shall next be paid in full. Fourth class. Appropriations for any other officer or officers, bureaus, or boards shall next be paid in full. Fifth class. Appropriations for all other purposes shall next be paid. In case there are not sufficient revenues for any fiscal year, including available surplus in the insular treasury, to meet in full the appropriations of said year for all of the said classes of appropriations, then said revenues shall be applied to the 67828-50-2 |