,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ddji  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ai1 #bjai
 ,mr4 ,san ,nicolas introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,natural ,resources   
,a ,,bill  ,to require approval through 
referendum for any increases to any     
locally enacted and administered taxes  
or issuances of any municipal bond in an
 amount greater than #be1jjj1jjj1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,people  
,empowerment ,act4  #b4 ,findings       
,congress finds as follows3  7#a7 ,the  
,guam ,legislature enacted ,guam ,public
 ,law #bd-bbb in #aiih1 requiring voter 
referendum for any tax increases and any
 issuance of ,general ,obligation ,bond 
in an amount greater than #be1jjj1jjj4  
7#b7 ,the ,guam ,legislature has        
circumvented ,guam ,public ,law #bd-bbb1
 passing local tax increases and entered
 into #bh ,general ,obligation ,bonds1  
#af of which were in excess of          

#be1jjj1jjj without ratification by the 
voters of ,guam4  7#c7 ,when public laws
 expressly mandate the involvement of   
the electorate with their vote on       
specific matters of law1 such laws must 
be respected1 and the people must be    
afforded the opportunity to vote4  7#d7 
,congress will act to protect the people
 of ,guam's authority in determining    
increases in taxes paid to their local  
government by ratifying such power in   
the ,organic ,act of ,guam4  #c4 ,voter 
approval required for certain revenue   
laws ,the ,organic ,act of ,guam 7#dh   
,u4,s4,c4 #adba et seq47 is amended by  
inserting after section #aa1 the        
following3  #aa;,a4 ,conditions for     
,laws ,related to ,taxation and         
,issuance of ,bonds  7a7                
,notwithstanding section #aa1 a law     
enacted by the ,government of ,guam that
 provides for issuance of municipal     
bonds in an amount greater than         
#be1jjj1jjj1 an increase in a tax1 or   
the imposition of a new tax--  7#a7     

shall not contain any provision except  
those necessary to enact the issuance1  
increase1 or imposition2 and  7#b7 shall
 not take effect until after the law is 
approved by a simple majority of voters 
on a referendum on the law held in      
accordance with this section4  7b7 ,not 
more than #aj days after a law that     
provides for issuance of a municipal    
bond in an amount greater than          
#be1jjj1jjj1 an increase in a tax1 or   
the imposition of a new tax is enacted1 
the ,secretary of the ,guam ,legislature
 shall transmit to the ,guam ,election  
,commission the full text of the law4   
7c7 ,the question of whether the voters 
of ,guam approve or disapprove of the   
law transmitted under subsection 7b7    
shall be placed on the ballot at the    
next ,general ,election that is #ij days
 or more after such transmission4  7d7  
,not less than #cj days before a        
,general ,election described in         
subsection 7c71 the ,guam ,election     
,commission shall--  7#a7 cause to      

appear in a daily periodical of mass    
publication on ,guam the full text of   
the law transmitted under subsection    
7b72 and  7#b7 ensure that the following
 is included in the voter education     
packet sent to voters before the        
,general ,election for which the        
referendum on the law is included on the
 ballot3  7,a7 ,the full text of the law
 transmitted under subsection 7b74  7,b7
 ,an explanation of the pros and cons of
 each position on the question of the   
law transmitted under subsection 7b74   
7,c7 ,other information necessary for   
voters to arrive at an informed position
 on the question of the law transmitted 
under subsection 7b74  7e7 ,this section
 may be waived during a state of        
emergency declared by a two-thirds vote 
of the ,guam ,legislature and signed by 
the ,governor of ,guam4 ,a waiver under 
this subsection shall only apply during 
such state of emergency4 ,a tax or      
increase instituted during a waiver     
under this subsection shall not be valid

 or enforceable after the state of      
emergency has ended1 except to the      
extent that amounts were due and not    
paid under that tax or increase during  
the state of emergency4  7f7 ,this      
section shall not be interpreted to     
require voter ratification of a tax     
increased or imposed or a bond issued by
 the ,government of the ,united ,states 
of ,america4  7g7 ,this section shall   
continue to apply after de-linkage of   
the ,guam income tax from the ,internal 
,revenue ,code of #aihf 7or a successor 
,federal tax code71 should such a       
de-linkage occur4  4