Gutierrez

At the end of the 24th Guam legislative session, the Legislature passed Substitute Bill No. 495 (“Bill 495”) and adjourned. The bill was presented to Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez during the Legislature’s adjournment, and he neither vetoed nor signed it. Instead, he returned the unsigned bill to the Legislature stating that he “allowedf] BUI No. 495 to go into law without benefit of the signature of the Governor.” Opponents of Bill 495, Senator Vicente C. Pangelinan and Mayor Joseph C. Wesley, brought this action in the Superior Court of Guam against the Governor, Treasurer Y’Asela A. Pereira and the Government of Guam, seeking a declaration that Bill 495 did not lapse into law and an injunction against implementation and enforcement of its provisions. Plaintiffs argued that the Legislature’s failure to adopt procedures for receiving gubernatorial messages during its adjournment resulted in a “pocket veto.” The superior court rejected Plaintiffs’ arguments and entered judgment for Defendants, upholding the validity of the bill.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Guam reversed. Pangelinan v. Gutierrez, 2000 Guam 11 , 2000 WL 263216 , at *9 (Guam Mar. 10, 2000). The court held that…