Legislature of Guam

Unicameral legislative branch of the US territory, Guam

Legislature of Guam

Lehislaturan Guåhan

37th Guam Legislature

Territorial Seal of Guam

Type
Type|

Unicameral

Term limits

| no limit
History
Founded| May 23, 1950
Preceded by| Guam Congress
Leadership

Speaker

Frank Blas (R)
since January 6, 2025

Vice Speaker

Tony Ada (R)
since January 6, 2025

Majority Leader

Jesse A. Lujan (R)
since January 6, 2025

Minority Leader

Vacant (D)
since January 6, 2025

Structure
Seats| 15

Political groups

| Majority

* Democratic (9)

Minority

* Republican (6)

Length of term

| 2 years (no term limit)
Authority| Organic Act of Guam
Salary| $55,000[1]
Elections

Voting system

| Plurality-at-large voting

Last election

| November 8, 2022

Next election

| November 5, 2024
Meeting place
Guam Congress Building in Agaña, Guam
Website
www.guamlegislature.gov
Constitution
Organic Act of Guam

Politics of Guam

* Government of Guam
* Organic Act
* Governor
* Lou Leon Guerrero
* Lieutenant Governor
* Josh Tenorio
* Legislature
* Political parties
* Political party strength
* Elections
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014
* 2016
* 2018
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* 2022
* Populated places

* Politics of the United States
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The Legislature of Guam (Chamorro: Lehislaturan Guåhan) is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature are elected at-large with the island under one whole district. After the enactment of the Guam Organic Act in 1950, the First Guam Legislature was elected composing of 21 elected members. The current fifteen-member 37th Guam Legislature (Chamorro: I Mina' Trentai Siette Na Lehislaturan Guåhan) was elected in November 2022.

The next election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.[2]

## History

[edit]

### American Period: 1898–1941, 1944–present

[edit]

Spain lost Guam during the 1898 Spanish–American War in a bloodless invasion. For the next forty years, the United States Navy assumed executive control of the island, treating it more as a military outpost than an overseas territory, with little to no civilian say in the island's affairs. Governor Captain Willis Winter Bradley instituted the Guam Congress during the 1930s as an elected advisory body to the naval governor. On December 8, 1941, Imperial Japanese forces invaded Guam, beginning a three-year occupation of the island. The island was eventually retaken in 1944 during the intense Battle of Guam.

Following the end of the war, the U.S. Navy attempted to resume military control of the islands, much to the dismay of the local Chamorro population who demanded greater rights on the heels of the harsh Japanese occupation. The U.S. federal government listened. The result was the Guam Organic Act of 1950 signed by President Harry S. Truman. The act established a civilian territorial government with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It was the first time that Guam had a democratic civilian government.

### Speakers of the Guam Legislature

[edit]

Legislature  | Speaker  | Born-Died  | Term  | Party

|
|
|
|

1st Guam Legislature | Antonio B. Won Pat | (1908–1987)  | January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1955  | Popular Party
2nd Guam Legislature
3rd Guam Legislature | Francisco B. Leon Guerrero  | (1897–1974)  | January 3, 1955 – January 7, 1957  | Territorial Party
4th Guam Legislature | Antonio B. Won Pat | (1908–1987)  | January 7, 1957 – January 4, 1965  | Popular Party
5th Guam Legislature
6th Guam Legislature
7th Guam Legislature
8th Guam Legislature | Carlos P. Taitano  | (1917–2009)  | January 4, 1965 – January 2, 1967  | Territorial Party
9th Guam Legislature | Joaquin C. "Kin" Arriola | (1925–2022)  | January 2, 1967 – January 4, 1971  | Democratic
10th Guam Legislature
11th Guam Legislature | Florencio T. Ramirez | (1915–1995)  | January 4, 1971 – January 6, 1975
12th Guam Legislature
13th Guam Legislature | Joseph F. Ada | (b. 1943)  | January 6, 1975 – January 1, 1979  | Republican
14th Guam Legislature
15th Guam Legislature | Thomas V.C. Tanaka | (b. 1940)  | January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983  | Republican
16th Guam Legislature
17th Guam Legislature | Carl T.C. Gutierrez | (b. 1941)  | January 3, 1983 – January 5, 1987  | Democratic
18th Guam Legislature
19th Guam Legislature | Franklin J. Arceo Quitugua | (1933–2015)  | January 5, 1987 – January 2, 1989
20th Guam Legislature | Joe T. San Agustin | (1931–2021)  | January 2, 1989 – January 2, 1995
21st Guam Legislature
22nd Guam Legislature
23rd Guam Legislature | Don Parkinson | (1942–2020)  | January 2, 1995 – January 6, 1997
24th Guam Legislature | Antonio "Tony" R. Unpingco  | (1942–2007)  | January 6, 1997 – January 6, 2003  | Republican
25th Guam Legislature
26th Guam Legislature
27th Guam Legislature | Vicente "Ben" C. Pangelinan | (1955–2014)  | January 6, 2003 – January 3, 2005  | Democratic
28th Guam Legislature | Mark Forbes  | (b. 1954)  | January 3, 2005 – March 7, 2008  | Republican
29th Guam Legislature
29th Guam Legislature | Judith T. Won Pat | (b. 1949)  | March 7, 2008 – January 2, 2017  | Democratic
30th Guam Legislature
31st Guam Legislature
32nd Guam Legislature
33rd Guam Legislature
34th Guam Legislature | Benjamin J.F. Cruz | (b. 1951)  | January 2, 2017 – August 28, 2018
Therese M. Terlaje (acting)  | (b. 1964)  | August 28, 2018 – January 7, 2019
35th Guam Legislature | Tina Muña Barnes | (b. 1962)  | January 7, 2019 – January 4, 2021
36th Guam Legislature | Therese M. Terlaje | (b. 1964)  | January 4, 2021 – present
37th Guam Legislature

## Structure of the Guam Legislature

[edit]

The Guam Organic Act of 1950 provides for the establishment of the Guam Legislature. The Organic Act provides that the Guam Legislature is a unicameral body with up to twenty-one members and that elections shall be held every two years. Until a change to Guam law in 1996, the Guam Legislature had 21 members, called senators, but since then it has had 15 senators. Senators of the Guam Legislature have been elected both by a number of at-large districts and by an island-wide at-large election. Since the 1980s, senators of the Guam Legislature have been elected at-large through an open partisan primary and a subsequent island-wide election.

## Qualifications

[edit]

The qualifications for membership in the legislature are expressly stated in the Organic Act of Guam:

* a candidate must be at least twenty-five years old, and;
* a candidate must have lived on Guam for at least five years preceding the sitting of the legislature in which they seek to become a member.

## Seat

[edit]

The legislature currently meets at the Guam Congress Building along Chalan Santo Papa in the village of Hagåtña, directly across from the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica.

## Historic composition

[edit]

The biennial legislative terms and the years of general elections are listed in the table below, along with the number of Democratic, Republican, and Independents and Other Parties' seats in each respective legislative term.

The parties are as follows:  Democratic (D),  Popular (P),  Republican (R), and  Territorial (T).

Legislative Term | Election | Democrats | Republicans | Independents/Other | Total Seats[3]

|
|
|
|
|

1st Guam Legislature | 1950 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
2nd Guam Legislature | 1952 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
3rd Guam Legislature | 1954 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
4th Guam Legislature | 1956 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
5th Guam Legislature | 1958  | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
6th Guam Legislature | 1960 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
7th Guam Legislature | 1962  | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
8th Guam Legislature | 1964 | 0  | 0  | 21  | 21
9th Guam Legislature | 1966 | 21  | 0  | 0  | 21
10th Guam Legislature | 1968  | 21  | 0  | 0  | 21
11th Guam Legislature | 1970  | 15  | 6  | 0  | 21
12th Guam Legislature | 1972  | 14  | 7  | 0  | 21
13th Guam Legislature | 1974  | 9  | 12  | 0  | 21
14th Guam Legislature | 1976  | 8  | 13  | 0  | 21
15th Guam Legislature | 1978 | 7  | 14  | 0  | 21
16th Guam Legislature | 1980  | 10  | 11  | 0  | 21
17th Guam Legislature | 1982  | 14  | 7  | 0  | 21
18th Guam Legislature | 1984 | 11  | 10  | 0  | 21
19th Guam Legislature | 1986  | 13  | 8  | 0  | 21
20th Guam Legislature | 1988  | 13  | 8  | 0  | 21
21st Guam Legislature | 1990  | 12  | 9  | 0  | 21
22nd Guam Legislature | 1992  | 13  | 8  | 0  | 21
23rd Guam Legislature | 1994  | 13  | 8  | 0  | 21
24th Guam Legislature | 1996  | 10  | 11  | 0  | 21
25th Guam Legislature | 1998 | 3  | 12  | 0  | 15
26th Guam Legislature | 2000 | 7  | 8  | 0  | 15
27th Guam Legislature | 2002 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
28th Guam Legislature | 2004 | 6  | 9  | 0  | 15
29th Guam Legislature | 2006 | 7  | 8  | 0  | 15
Jan. 2008  | 8  | 7  | 0  | 15
30th Guam Legislature | 2008 | 10  | 5  | 0  | 15
2009  | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
31st Guam Legislature | 2010 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
32nd Guam Legislature | 2012 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
33rd Guam Legislature | 2014 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
34th Guam Legislature | 2016 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15
35th Guam Legislature | 2018 | 10  | 5  | 0  | 15
36th Guam Legislature | 2020 | 8  | 7  | 0  | 15
37th Guam Legislature | 2022 | 9  | 6  | 0  | 15

## See also

[edit]

* List of state and territorial capitols in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Senators cut their salaries to $55,000". 2 December 2016.
2. ^ "Guam elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
3. ^ Guam Election Commission. 2016 Election Comparative Analysis Report. Hagatna, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Guam Legislature's Official Website

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Legislatures of Guam by year convened

|  |

* 1 (1951)
* 2 (1953)
* 3 (1955)
* 4 (1957)
* 5 (1959)
* 6 (1961)
* 7 (1963)
* 8 (1965)
* 9 (1967)
* 10 (1969)

* 11 (1971)
* 12 (1973)
* 13 (1975)
* 14 (1977)
* 15 (1979)
* 16 (1981)
* 17 (1983)
* 18 (1985)
* 19 (1987)
* 20 (1989)

* 21 (1991)
* 22 (1993)
* 23 (1995)
* 24 (1997)
* 25 (1999)
* 26 (2001)
* 27 (2003)
* 28 (2005)
* 29 (2007)
* 30 (2009)

* 31 (2011)
* 32 (2013)
* 33 (2015)
* 34 (2017)
* 35 (2019)
* 36 (2021)

* 37 (2023)

|
|
|
|

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Legislatures of the United States

United States Congress|

* United States House of Representatives
* United States Senate

State legislatures|

* Alabama (H, S)
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Other legislatures|

* District of Columbia
* American Samoa (H, S)
* Guam
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* U.S. Virgin Islands

Legislative elections|

* 2000
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* 2025

* List of U.S. state legislators
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National unicameral legislatures

Federal|

* Comoros
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Unitary|

* Afghanistan
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Dependent and
other territories|

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* Sint Maarten
* Tobago
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* Turks and Caicos Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* Wallis and Futuna

Non-UN states|

* Abkhazia
* Kosovo
* Northern Cyprus
* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* South Ossetia
* Taiwan
* Transnistria

Historical|

* Artsakh (1991–2023)
* Confederate States (1861–1862)
* Czechoslovakia (1948–1969)
* Irish Republic (1919–1922)
* Norfolk Island
* Orange Free State (1854–1902)
* Scotland
* Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)
* Sicily
* Sikkim (1953–1975)
* South African Republic (1857–1902)

Related|

* Bicameralism
* Tricameralism
* Multicameralism
* List of legislatures by country

* National bicameral legislatures
* National lower houses
* National upper houses

13°28′32.5″N 144°44′55.7″E﻿ / ﻿13.475694°N 144.748806°E﻿ / 13.475694; 144.748806

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Members of the 37th Guam Legislature

37th Guam Legislature (2022–2024)

Speaker of the House
Therese M. Terlaje (D)
Majority Leader

Minority Leader
Frank F. Blas Jr. (R)
Vice Speaker
Tina Muña Barnes (D)

1. ▌Therese M. Terlaje (D)
2. ▌Chris Barnett (D)
3. ▌Amanda Shelton (D)
4. ▌Joe S. San Agustin (D)
5. ▌Tina Muña Barnes (D)
6. ▌Frank F. Blas Jr. (R)
7. ▌Thomas J. Fisher (R)
8. ▌Roy A.B. Quinata (D)
9. ▌William A. Parkinson (D)
10. ▌Christopher M. Dueñas (R)
11. ▌Dwayne San Nicolas (D)
12. ▌Telo T. Taitague (R)
13. ▌Sabina Perez (D)
14. ▌Joanne M. Brown (R)
15. ▌Jesse A. Lujan (R)

* ▌Democratic (9)
* ▌Republican (6)

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