Legislative Findings and Intent

(a)It is the intent of I Liheslaturan Guåhan to defend the history and purpose of the Chamorro Land Trust Act created in 1975 by Public Law 12-226 and enacted as Chapter 75 of Title 21, Guam Code Annotated. The Chamorro Land Trust Act established a land restoration program meant to rectify the unjust taking of Chamorro homelands by the United States federal government between 1898 and 1968 and provide residential and agricultural land for those persons eligible in the form of Chamorro Land Trust Commission

(CLTC)leases.

(b)Additionally, I Liheslaturan Guåhan intends to support the expansion of the program’s eligible beneficiaries to include individuals and their descendants who owned land or who ranched, farmed, or otherwise occupied the lands that were taken.

(c)I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that on September 29, 2017, the United States of America filed a case against the CLTC in United States of America v. Government of Guam, Chamorro Land Trust Commission, and Administrative Director of the Chamorro Land Trust, CV 17-00113 (D. Guam) (Lawsuit), alleging, among other things, violations of the U.S. Fair Housing Act.

(d)I Liheslaturan Guåhan further finds that on December 18, 2018, the U.S. District Court agreed with Guam that, at that pleading stage, “the court could not conclude that the Chamorro Land Trust operates as a race-based entity.” U.S. v. Gov’t of Guam, et al., CV 17-00113, 2018 WL 6729629, at *1 (D. Guam Dec. 21, 2018), reconsideration denied, No. CV 17-00113, 2019 WL 1867426 (D. Guam Apr. 25, 2019). The court stated that “the record must be further developed to address the question of whether the Chamorro Land Trust operates instead as a compensatory entity that seeks to implement the return to the people of Guam of land that the United States took from them.” Id. Furthermore, it is possible that, “the Chamorro Land Trust includes some land that was not taken by the United States, but, if that is so, that cannot be discerned from the present record.” Id.

(e)Based on the state of the record, the court rejected the “United States’ contention that the court should now determine as a matter of law that Guam is violating the Fair Housing Act.” Id. The court further stated that the “matter requires further exploration and an expansion of the record in this case.” Id.

(f)I Liheslaturan Guåhan further finds that the Office of the Attorney General and I Maga’håga/Maga’låhi’s representatives on behalf of the Government of Guam, Attorney Michael Phillips, CH. 75A CHAMORRO LAND TRUST COMMISSION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021 and Chairperson Pika Fejeran on behalf of the CTLC, the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the CLTC Director, and the United States entered into settlement conferences to attempt to resolve the lawsuit amicably and without further litigation. At the conclusion of a settlement conference on November 14, 2019, a settlement term sheet was agreed to in principle by the counsel for the parties and subject to approval by the respective parties. On December 26, 2019, the CLTC adopted Resolution 2019-08 which found “the settlement terms in the Agreement to be favorable for the Chamorro Land Trust Program and its beneficiaries, as it preserves the program intact and would not materially affect existing leaseholders.” Chamorro Land Trust Commission, Kumision Inangokkon Tano’ CHamoru, Resolution No. 2019-08 (2019). In addition, “the Commission found that the proposed modifications or amendments to the Chamorro Land Trust Act and the Rules and Regulations of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission would more clearly demonstrate that the Chamorro Land Trust

(CLT)program is a land restoration program meant to rectify the unjust taking of Chamorro homelands by the United States federal government between 1898 and 1968, and would expand the program’s eligible beneficiaries to include individuals and their descendants who owned land or who ranched, farmed, or otherwise occupied the lands that were taken.” Id.

(g)On May 29, 2020, after further settlement negotiations, the Settlement Agreement between the United States of America and Government of Guam, Chamorro Land Trust Commission and Administrative Director of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission, regarding U.S. v. Gov’t of Guam, et al., CV 17-00113 (D. Guam) (Settlement Agreement), was signed by the Chamorro Land Trust Commission and I Maga’hågan/Maga’låhi Guåhan. I Liheslaturan Guåhan further finds that the Settlement Agreement resolves the allegations contained in the lawsuit, and in it the Government of Guam does not admit liability and denies that the Chamorro Land Trust Act violates the Fair Housing Act. Settlement Agreement at ¶ 10. Part of the terms and conditions within the Settlement Agreement requires legislative and administrative changes to the Chamorro Land Trust Act and/or the rules and regulations of the CLTC.

(h)I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that the changes proposed by this Act are therefore intended to more clearly demonstrate that the CLT program is a land restoration program meant to rectify the unjust taking of Chamorro homelands by the United States federal government between 1898 and 1968, and would expand the program’s eligible beneficiaries to include individuals and their descendants who owned land or who ranched, farmed, or otherwise occupied the lands that were taken.