48 U.S.C. § 1422

Governor and Lieutenant Governor; term of office; qualifications; powers and duties; annual report to Congress

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The executive power of Guam shall be vested in an executive officer whose official title shall be the “Governor of Guam”. The Governor of Guam, together with the Lieutenant Governor, shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast by the people who are qualified to vote for the members of the Legislature of Guam. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly, by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both offices. If no candidates receive a majority of the votes cast in any election, on the fourteenth day thereafter a runoff election shall be held between the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast. The first election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be held on November 3, 1970. Thereafter, beginning with the year 1974, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected every four years at the general election. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall hold office for a term of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified.

No person who has been elected Governor for two full successive terms shall again be eligible to hold that office until one full term has intervened.

The term of the elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall commence on the first Monday of January following the date of election.

No person shall be eligible for election to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor unless he is an eligible voter and has been for five consecutive years immediately preceding the election a citizen of the United States and a bona fide resident of Guam and will be, at the time of taking office, at least thirty years of age. The Governor shall maintain his official residence in Guam during his incumbency.

The Governor shall have general supervision and control of all the departments, bureaus, agencies, and other instrumentalities of the executive branch of the government of Guam. He may grant pardons and reprieves and remit fines and forfeitures for offenses against local laws. He may veto any legislation as provided in this chapter. He shall appoint, and may remove, all officers and employees of the executive branch of the government of Guam, except as otherwise provided in this or any other Act of Congress, or under the laws of Guam, and shall commission all officers that he may be authorized to appoint. He shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of Guam and the laws of the United States applicable in Guam. Whenever it becomes necessary, in case of disaster, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof, or to prevent or suppress lawless violence, he may summon the posse comitatus or call out the militia or request assistance of the senior military or naval commander of the Armed Forces of the United States in Guam, which may be given at the discretion of such commander if not disruptive of, or inconsistent with, his Federal responsibilities. He may, in case of rebellion or invasion, or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it, proclaim the island, insofar as it is under the jurisdiction of the government of Guam, to be under martial law. The members of the legislature shall meet forthwith on their own initiative and may, by a two-thirds vote, revoke such proclamation.

The Governor shall prepare, publish, and submit to the Congress and the Secretary of the Interior a comprehensive annual financial report in conformance with the standards of the National Council on Governmental Accounting within one hundred and twenty days after the close of the fiscal year. The comprehensive annual financial report shall include statistical data as set forth in the standards of the National Council on Governmental Accounting relating to the physical, economic, social, and political characteristics of the government, and any other information required by the Congress. The Governor shall also make such other reports at such other times as may be required by the Congress or under applicable Federal law. He shall have the power to issue executive orders and regulations not in conflict with any applicable law. He may recommend bills to the legislature and give expression to his views on any matter before that body.

There is hereby established the office of Lieutenant Governor of Guam. The Lieutenant Governor shall have such executive powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Governor or prescribed by this chapter or under the laws of Guam.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 27 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1952–2026 · leading case: Repub. Party of Guam I Mina' Bente Singko Na Liheslaturan Guahan v. Carl T.C. Gutierrez, as Governor of Guam, & the Gov't of Guam, 277 F.3d 1086 (9th Cir. 2002).

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Repub. Party of Guam I Mina' Bente Singko Na Liheslaturan Guahan v. Carl T.C. Gutierrez, as Governor of Guam, & the Gov't of Guam, 277 F.3d 1086 (9th Cir. 2002). · cites it 3× “25-146, the Governor had violated his duty under the Organic Act to faithfully execute the laws of Guam, see 48 U.S.C. § 1422 ; and that his appointments to the Election Commission, therefore, were void.”

Ali v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 552 U.S. 214 (2008). · cites it 2× “740 , for example, we held that the phrase "in any election" in the Organic Act of Guam, 48 U.S.C. § 1422 , does not refer broadly to all elections but only to the election of Guam's Governor and Lieutenant Governor.”

Gutierrez v. Ada, 528 U.S. 250 (2000). · cites it 2× “” 48 U.S.C. §1422 . Respondents’ position boils down to the claim that the phrase “majority of the votes cast in any election” requires that a slate of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor receive a majority of the total number of ballots cast in the general election,…”

Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Inv., LLC, 140 S. Ct. 1649 (2020). “, 48 U.S.C. § 1422 (providing for an elected Governor of Guam); § 1591 (same for Virgin Islands); District of Columbia Self-Government Act, § 421, 87 Stat.”

Off. of The People's Couns. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n / Exelon Corp., 163 A.3d 735 (D.C. 2017). · cites it 2× “250, 254-58 (2000) (holding that phrase “any election” in 48 U.S.C. § 1422 should be construed narrowly to mean election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; statute repeatedly referred to such elections, and “[a] word is known by the company it keeps[.”

Ricardo J. Bordallo, Governor of Guam v. Tony Reyes, Taro Kanai, Roberto Olaya, & Carl Peterson, 763 F.2d 1098 (9th Cir. 1985). · cites it 2× “The action sought: (1) a declaration that section 9106(a) of the Act violated section 6 of the Organic Act, codified at 48 U.S.C. § 1422 , by infringing on the Governor’s responsibility to control all agencies and instrumentalities of the Government of Guam; and (2) a…”

Gov't of Guam v. United States, 744 F.2d 699 (9th Cir. 1984). · cites it 2× “386 , 387 (1950) (current versions at 48 U.S.C. §§ 1422 , 1423). Effective January 4, 1971, the Governorship of Guam became a popularly elected office.”

Thirteenth Guam Legislature v. Bordallo, 430 F. Supp. 405 (D. Guam 1977). · cites it 2× “r the fiscal year ending June 30, 1976 (FY 1976), after he had reduced to zero the FY 1977 appropriations for these departments; (2) reducing the amount of certain appropriations while not vetoing the items in toto; (3) reducing to zero the appropriations for the offices of…”

Nelson v. Ada, 878 F.2d 277 (9th Cir. 1989). · cites it 2× “In addition, they note that the governor’s power to appoint officials under section 6 of the original Organic Act of Guam, 48 U.S.C. § 1422 , is also qualified. Section 1422 states that the governor “shall appoint, and may remove, all officers and employees of the executive…”

Ada v. Gov't of Guam, 179 F.3d 672 (9th Cir. 1999). · cites it 2× “48 U.S.C. § 1422 sets forth the qualifications for the offices of governor and lieu *675 tenant governor of the Territory of Guam and the electoral procedures for filling these offices.”

Pilar Laguana v. Guam Visitors Bureau Its Bd. of Directors & Ricardo J. Bordallo, 725 F.2d 519 (9th Cir. 1984). “48 U.S.C. § 1422 provides, in part: The Governor shall have general supervision and control of all executive agencies and in-strumentalities of the government of Guam.”

Kathy Brown v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, Dep't of Educ. & Territorial Bd. of Educ., Real Parties in Interest-Appellant, 818 F.2d 706 (9th Cir. 1987). “” 48 U.S.C. § 1422 . DOE also contends the Board’s composition violates Guam’s Constitution because 48 U.”

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