People Empowerment Act

People Empowerment Act

This bill requires the government of Guam to obtain voter approval through a referendum for an issuance of municipal bonds in an amount greater than $25 million, an increase in a tax, or the imposition of a new tax.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4409

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 $25,000,000, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2019

 Mr. San Nicolas introduced the following bill; 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 $25,000,000, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``People Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Guam Legislature enacted Guam Public Law 24-222 in 
        1998, requiring voter referendum for any tax increases and any 
        issuance of General Obligation Bond in an amount greater than 
        $25,000,000.
            (2) The Guam Legislature has circumvented Guam Public Law 
        24-222, passing local tax increases and entered into 28 General 
        Obligation Bonds, 16 of which were in excess of $25,000,000 
        without ratification by the voters of Guam.
            (3) When public laws expressly mandate the involvement of 
        the electorate with their vote on specific matters of law, such 
        laws must be respected, and the people must be afforded the 
        opportunity to vote.
            (4) 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 Guam.

SEC. 3. VOTER APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN REVENUE LAWS.

    The Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 11, the following:

    ``conditions for laws related to taxation and issuance of bonds

    ``Sec. 11A.  (a) Notwithstanding section 11, a law enacted by the 
Government of Guam that provides for issuance of municipal bonds in an 
amount greater than $25,000,000, an increase in a tax, or the 
imposition of a new tax--
            ``(1) shall not contain any provision except those 
        necessary to enact the issuance, increase, or imposition; and
            ``(2) 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 section.
    ``(b) Not more than 10 days after a law that provides for issuance 
of a municipal bond in an amount greater than $25,000,000, an increase 
in a tax, or the imposition of a new tax is enacted, the Secretary of 
the Guam Legislature shall transmit to the Guam Election Commission the 
full text of the law.
    ``(c) The question of whether the voters of Guam approve or 
disapprove of the law transmitted under subsection (b) shall be placed 
on the ballot at the next General Election that is 90 days or more 
after such transmission.
    ``(d) Not less than 30 days before a General Election described in 
subsection (c), the Guam Election Commission shall--
            ``(1) cause to appear in a daily periodical of mass 
        publication on Guam the full text of the law transmitted under 
        subsection (b); and
            ``(2) 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 ballot:
                    ``(A) The full text of the law transmitted under 
                subsection (b).
                    ``(B) An explanation of the pros and cons of each 
                position on the question of the law transmitted under 
                subsection (b).
                    ``(C) Other information necessary for voters to 
                arrive at an informed position on the question of the 
                law transmitted under subsection (b).
    ``(e) 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 Guam. A waiver under this subsection shall only apply 
during such state of emergency. A tax or increase instituted during a 
waiver under this subsection shall not be valid or enforceable after 
the state of emergency has ended, except to the extent that amounts 
were due and not paid under that tax or increase during the state of 
emergency.
    ``(f) 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 America.
    ``(g) This section shall continue to apply after de-linkage of the 
Guam income tax from the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or a successor 
Federal tax code), should such a de-linkage occur.''.
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