Guam Code

The laws in the Guam Code are passed by the Legislature of Guam, which was created by the Organic Act of Guam in 1950. The Legislature of Guam contains 15 members, who serve two-year terms and are not subject to any term limits.

A proposed law is known as a bill. After a bill is introduced in the Legislature, it goes through a pre-referral process and then will be referred to one or more standing committees. These committees determine whether a bill should move forward, and they also can propose amendments to a bill. If a bill passes through the committee phase, it will return to the Legislature. The members of the Legislature will discuss the bill and consider any amendments suggested by a committee or by fellow members. Once the bill has been finalized, the Legislature will vote on whether to pass it.

If the Legislature passes the bill, the Governor of Guam will review it. The Governor may sign the bill into law, or the Governor may take no action, which usually means that the bill will become law. If the Governor vetoes the bill, however, it will return to the Legislature. The Legislature can vote to override the Governor’s veto and pass the bill into law. Overriding the Governor's veto requires a two-thirds majority vote.

The U.S. Congress retains the ultimate authority to annul any laws that are passed by the Legislature of Guam, but it has never used this power.

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