Legislative testimony was generally favorable for a bill that would allow Guam regulatory agencies to use third-party reviewers for permits, but some concerns were raised about a proposal to conditionally approve projects if a decision isn’t made in 90 days.
Speaker Frank Blas Jr. said Bill 133-38 was a product of testimony from the legislature’s Business Policy Review Commission.
Blas said commission discussions often involved the “inordinate amount of time it took for the permitting process to be able to go through government. That cost businesses huge amounts of funding, to the point where there were some businesses that had to basically stop what they were doing because the process was taking too long.”
Blas said the bill aims to provide relief to the government and to businesses.
The government would be able to use third-party reviewers – with the cost paid for by applicants – and the businesses would be aided by a “shot clock” provision.
If the agency “does not meet the timeline, which is in this case 90 days, the permit will then be conditionally, provisionally approved,” Blas said.
Guam Contractors Association President Desiree Lizama testified that the CGA supports the legislation, with some revisions.
“The current permit review backlog is not merely an administrative inconvenience,” she said. “It represents a significant barrier to economic development, housing availability and infrastructure improvement in Guam. As the legislation correctly identifies, delays ranging from weeks to years result in increased project costs absorbed by applicants, delayed economic benefits to our community and postpone solutions to our housing shortage.”
However, she noted that the legislation is somewhat broad in its language, and the group would provide specific suggestions for improvement.
Sen. Therese Terlaje said the way the bill was written, conditional approval could be granted even if there were issues with an application.
“The bill is very clear that this conditional approval that the bill will grant is blanket. In 90 days, if there’s nothing from the agency, it’s conditionally approved. Meaning, it’s approved,” Terlaje said.
