GCA Title 4, Chapter 15
4 GCA PUBLIC OFFICERS & EMPLOYEES CH. 15 STANDARD OF CONDUCT
CHAPTER 15
STANDARD OF CONDUCT FOR ELECTED OFFICERS, APPOINTED OFFICERS, AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF GUAM
NOTE: Chapter 15 was added by P.L. 23-105:1 (July 8, 1996). 2021 NOTE: Pursuant to P.L. 23-111 (July 26, 1996), statutes governing the Pedro ‘Doc’ Sanchez Professional Scholarship were to be codified as a new Chapter 15 to Title 4 GCA; however, Chapter 15 had previously been designated by P.L. 23-105 (July 8, 1996). The Compiler moved the provisions for the ‘Doc’ Sanchez program to Article 9, Chapter 15, of Title 17 GCA; they were again moved to Article 5 of Chapter 28, Title 17 GCA. See 2019 NOTE to Chapter 28, Title 17 GCA. Article 1. General Provisions. Article 2. Specified Standards. Article 3. Guam Ethics Commission. Article 4. Administration and Enforcement.
ARTICLE 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS
- § 15100. Construction.
- § 15101. Applicability.
- § 15102. Definitions.
§ 15100. Construction.
This Chapter shall be liberally construed by the courts of Guam to promote the highest standards of ethical conduct within the government of Guam. 2021 NOTE: References to ‘territory’ and ‘territorial’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
§ 15101. Applicability.
This Chapter shall apply to every employee as defined herein.
§ 15102. Definitions.
When used in this Chapter, these key words shall have the indicated meaning: (a) business includes any corporation, partnership, any
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sole proprietorship, any trust or foundation, or any other individual or organization carrying on any business whether or not operated for profit; (b) compensation means any money, thing of value or economic benefit conferred on or received by any person subject to this Chapter, in return for services rendered or to be rendered by himself or another; (c) controlling interest means any proprietary or ownership interest in a business or other undertaking; (d) employee means any nominated, appointed, or elected officer or individual employed with a Guam agency as defined herein, including members of boards or commissions, and persons under personal services contracts; (e) employment means any rendering of services for compensation; (f) financial interest means an interest held by an individual, his or her spouse, natural, adopted, or dependent children, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, or siblings-in-law which is:
- an ownership interest in a business;
- a creditor interest in an insolvent business; (3) an employment, or prospective employment for which negotiations have begun; (4) an ownership interest in personal or real property;
- a loan or other debtor interest; or
- a directorship or officership in a business. (g) judicial officers includes the Justices of the Supreme Court, whether full- or part-time, and Judges of the Superior Court, including Judges pro tem and referees; (h) legislator means any duly elected members of the Guam Legislature; (i) official act or official action means a decision,
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recommendation, approval, disapproval, or other action, including inaction which involves the use of discretionary and non-discretionary authority; (j) official authority includes administrative, judicial or legislative powers of decision, recommendation, approval, disapproval, or other discretionary or non-discretionary action; and (k) Guam agency or agency shall mean every branch of government, public corporations, all government of Guam departments, bureaus, and line agencies, autonomous and semi-autonomous agencies, instrumentalities, entities or sub-entities thereof, the Mayor’s Council, and Mayors’ Offices. SOURCE: Section 15102 added by P.L. 23-105:1 (July 8, 1996). Subsection (f) amended by P.L. 30-030:2 (June 16, 2009). 2021 NOTE: References to ‘territorial’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
ARTICLE 2 SPECIFIED STANDARDS
§ 15201. Gifts.
- § 15202. Reporting of Gifts. § 15203. Confidential Information.
- § 15204. Fair Treatment.
- § 15205. Conflicts of Interest.
- § 15206. Contracts.
- § 15207. Contracts Voidable. § 15208. Requirements of Disclosure.
- § 15209. Disclosure Files; Disposition. § 15210. Restrictions on Post Employment. § 15211. Violation.
§ 15201. Gifts.
No employee shall solicit, accept, or receive, directly or indirectly, any gift valued singly or in the aggregate from a single source in excess of $200, whether in the form of money, prize,
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service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or in any other form, when a reasonable person would infer that the gift is intended to influence the employee in the performance of that individual’s official duties or is intended as a reward for any official action on that individual’s part.
§ 15202. Reporting of Gifts .
(a) Every employee shall file a gifts disclosure statement with the Guam Ethics Commission on June 30 of each year if all the following conditions are met: (1) The employee, or spouse or dependent child of an employee, received directly or indirectly from any source any gift or gifts valued singly or in the aggregate from a single source in excess of $200, whether the gift is in the form of money, services, goods, or in any other form; (2) The source of the gift or gifts have interests that may be affected by the official action or lack of action by the employee; and (3) The gift is not exempted by subsection (d) from reporting requirements under this section. (b) The report shall cover the period from January 1 of the preceding calendar year through December 31 of the year of the report. (c) The gifts disclosure statement shall contain the following information: (1) A description of the gift; (2) A good faith estimate of the value of the gift; (3) The date the gift was received; and (4) The name of the person, business entity, or organization from whom, or on behalf of whom, the gift was received. (d) Excluded from the reporting requirements of this section are the following: (1) Gifts received by will or intestate succession; (2) Gifts received by way of distribution of any inter
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vivos or testamentary trust established by a spouse or ancestor; (3) Gifts from a spouse, fiancé, fiancée, any relative within three degrees of consanguinity or the spouse, fiancé, or fiancée of such a relative. A gift from any such person is a reportable gift if the person is acting as an agent or intermediary for any person not covered by this paragraph; (4) Political campaign contributions that comply with Guam law. This section shall not exempt the recipient of campaign contributions from the reporting requirements of the Election Code. (5) Anything available to or distributed to the public generally without regard to the official status of the recipient; (6) Gifts that within thirty days after receipt, are returned to the giver or delivered to a public body or to a bona fide educational or charitable organization without the donation being claimed as a charitable contribution for tax purposes; and (7) Exchange of approximately equal value on holidays, birthday, or special occasions. (e) Failure of an employee to file a gifts disclosure statement as required by this section shall be a violation of this chapter. 2021 NOTE: References to ‘territorial’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
§ 15203. Confidential Information.
No employee shall disclose information which is considered a private document by existing law, and which the employee acquires in the course of official duties, or use the information for personal gain or for the benefit of someone else.
§ 15204. Fair Treatment.
No employee shall use or attempt to use an official position to secure or grant unwarranted privileges, exemptions, advantages, contracts, or treatment, for himself or herself, a spouse, children, or others, including but not limited to the following:
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(a) seeking other employment or contract for services by the use or attempted use of the individual’s office or position; (b) accepting, receiving, or soliciting compensation for the performance of official duties or responsibilities except as provided by law; (c) using government time, equipment, or other facilities for private business purposes; (d) soliciting, selling, or otherwise engaging in a financial transaction with a subordinate or a person or business whom the employee inspects or supervises in official capacity. (e) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a legislator from introducing bills and resolutions, serving on committees or making statements or taking action in the exercise of legislative functions. Every legislator shall file with the Guam Ethics Commission a full and complete public disclosure of the nature and extent of the legislator’s interest on any legislative transaction which primarily affects only the legislator or legislators involved or their spouses and not the community as a whole or a segment thereof. Disclosure must be made at time of introduction of such legislation, or when the legislator shall first have knowledge of such legislation.
§ 15205. Conflicts of Interest.
(a) No employee shall take any official action directly affecting: (1) business or other undertaking in which the employee has a financial interest; or (2) private undertaking in which the employee is engaged as legal counsel, advisor, consultant, representative, or other agency capacity. A department head who is unable to be disqualified on any matter described in item (1) or (2) of this Subsection may be in violation of this Subsection even if the individual has complied with the disclosure requirements of § 15208; and a person whose
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position on a board, commission or committee is mandated by statute, resolution or executive order to have particular qualifications shall only be prohibited from taking official action that directly and specifically affects a business or undertaking in which such person has a financial interest; provided that the financial interest is related to the member’s particular qualifications. (b) No employee shall acquire financial interests in any business or other undertaking which the employee has reason to believe may be directly involved in official action to be taken by the employee. (c) No employee shall assist any person or business or act in a representative capacity before any territorial agency for any compensation in any transaction involving Guam. (d) No employee shall assist any person or business or act in a representative capacity for a fee or other compensation to secure passage of a bill or to obtain a contract, claim, or other transaction or proposal in which the employee has participated or will participate as an employee, nor shall the employee assist any person, or business, or act in a representative capacity for a fee or other compensation on such bill, contract, claim, or other transaction or proposal before the Legislature or Guam agency of which the individual is an employee. (e) No employee shall assist any person or business or act in a representative capacity before a Guam agency for a fee or other compensation, on any bill, contract, claim, or other transaction or proposal involving official action by the agency if the employee has official authority over that agency unless such employee has complied with the disclosure requirements of § 15208. (f) Nothing herein shall preclude an employee from having outside business interests or employment so long as such interests or employment do not interfere with performance of official duties and is not otherwise in direct conflict with this Chapter. (g) All employees, as defined in this Section, who know, or with reasonable investigation should know, that the employee has a financial interest in any decision pending before that employee or the agency of which the employee is a member shall not vote
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for or against, discuss, decide, in any way participate in considering the matter, or seek to influence the votes or decisions of others on such matter. Prior to any determination of the matter, the employee shall verbally disclose at the meeting, if any, the nature of such interest, and shall have such disclosure placed in the official records of the agency. Should an employee be absent from that meeting or a portion of that meeting, the employee is required to verbally disclose the nature of the conflict at the next attended meeting and said disclosure shall be placed in the official records of the agency. Further, the employee must complete a Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest form with the Guam Election Commission within three (3) working days upon the employee’s recognition of said conflict. (h) A legislator who casts a vote with respect to any bill on the floor of the Guam Legislature in which the legislator has a financial interest shall prepare a written statement that identifies the bill, the legislator’s vote and the nature of the legislator’s financial interest. The legislator shall file the statement with the Office of the Speaker and a copy immediately provided to the Clerk of I Liheslaturan Guåhan prior to voting. The statement shall be posted on I Liheslaturan Guåhan’s website. (i) The Guam Election Commission shall be the main repository for the Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest forms and shall create such form to be distributed to all departments, agencies, boards and commissions. Such form shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the employee, the entity represented, and a statement of disclosure describing the matter or decision pending before the employee, and the nature and description of the conflict. SOURCE: Section 15205 added by P.L. 23-105:1 (July 8, 1996). Subsections (g), (h), and (i) added by P.L. 30-030:3 (June 16, 2009). 2021 NOTE: References to ‘Territory’ and ‘territorial’ replaced with ‘Guam’ pursuant to 1 GCA § 420.
§ 15206. Contracts.
(a) A Guam agency shall not enter into any contract with an employee or with a business in which an employee has a
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controlling interest, unless the c