A first for the Guam Legislature.  

Despite senators in the 38th already being sworn in, bills introduced won’t be processed until after Jan. 13.

Speaker Frank Blas Jr. gave the order for the hold.

“This is a house that, for the last, basically two decades, was run by the Democratic party,” said Blas. “There was no need for a transition. Here, you’ve actually got a transition, basically, almost, a complete turnover and change out of the personnel that run central operations, as well as the clerk’s office.”

Blas emphasized that the delay in processing bills is due to the logistics of the transition, with senators being notified that the 37th had fully moved out, as recently as last Friday.

“We weren’t allowed to move in until this past weekend. So, in order for us to be efficient in processing the bills and the resolutions, we need to allow people to settle down, change whatever is necessary with regards to simple internet service, so that there’s communication amongst different people,” said Blas. 

Freshman senator, Sabrina Salas Matanane, shared her perspective on the situation.

“I don’t even really think it’s a delay. We found out on Friday that the current senators that were occupying this building were finally going to move out. And so, I didn’t get an opportunity to come in here until Saturday morning,” said Sen. Matanane. 

She adds some members of the 38th are still in the process of getting set up with necessary technology.

“Some of us are still getting our emails. Some of us are lacking laptops, computers, and those are the kinds of things that you need these days to fully perform your duties and responsibilities,” Matanane added. “I’m just doing the best that I can, and so are my colleagues.”

While lawmakers are going through this transition period, it seems there will be a brief hold until next week, leaving the public to wait a little longer for action on key issues.