Penalties for Nondisclosure

(a)If the Court finds that the public official’s decision to refuse disclosure is not justified under this Chapter, the Court shall order the public official to pay a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). The fine shall be a personal expense for the responsible official and in no way shall the fine be paid by the agency or the government of Guam.

(b)There is created the ‘Government Ethics Fund’ to assist the Guam Ethics Commission in ensuring ethical conduct in the government of Guam. This fund shall not be commingled with the General fund and shall be kept in a separate bank account. Any fines collected under Subsection

(a)of this Section shall be deposited in the Government Ethics Fund, are appropriated to the COL5/8/2020 CH. 10 SUNSHINE REFORM ACT OF 1999 Guam Ethics Commission for ethical investigations, audits and analyses of financial disclosure forms. This appropriation is continuous, contingent on the annual submission of a detailed budget to I Liheslaturan Guåhan, notwithstanding any other provision of law.

(c)Any officer or employee who acts arbitrarily or capriciously in withholding a public record from a requesting person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(d)The Court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff should the plaintiff prevail after initial filing of the complaint pursuant to this Section. The costs and fees shall be paid by the public agency of which the public official is a member or employee and shall not become a personal liability of the public official. If the Court finds that the plaintiff’s case is clearly frivolous, it shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the public agency.