Welcome to the Office of the Governor of Guam

Hong Kong added to visa waiver list, China waiver moving forward

January 13, 2009

A recent change to federal law has now created the Marianas Visa Waiver program (MVW), grouping visa waivers for both Guam and the CNMI. The new program will now allow tourists from Hong Kong to visit Guam and Marianas Islands for a period of 45 days as opposed to the 15 day period previously authorized by law. 

Governor Felix P. Camacho received a briefing today by visiting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials who also announced the formal acknowledgement of China and Russia as countries of significant economic benefit.  This milestone represents the first of two steps needed to obtain a China visa waiver program.

"Attaining a visa waiver program for China and Russia requires that Guam and its federal partners meet a number of concrete goals.  The first was to get these countries declared places of significant economic benefit—we have accomplished that goal," said Governor Camacho.

DHS's Immigration Policy Advisor Alexander Y. Hartman said the door is still open for adding other countries to the MVW program, such as China and Russia.

"These new regulations are the foundation for the MVW program," said Mr. Hartman. "We recognize the importance of these markets and we are willing to continue discussions on expanding areas."

"Now we must take the second necessary step which is to make our case to the Obama administration, meet DHS's security requirements and ask the new Homeland Security Director to add China to our existing list of visa wavered countries," said Governor Camacho.

The Governor will also continue to pursue policy changes which will expedite visa processing times and give our tourism industry access to emerging Asian markets.

The delegation also included Attorney Advisor Amy Newman and San Francisco Field Operations Director Richard F. Vigna.

A public briefing for both the media as well as members of our community is scheduled for January 14th.

January 13, 2009

Governor Felix P. Camacho today commended all government of Guam agencies for their timely compliance with legislative mandates requiring agencies to post quarterly financial reports, staffing patterns and other special reports for public review.

The Office of the Public Auditor today released the "Submission of FY 2008 4th Quarter Financial Reports Pursuant to Public Law 29-19," stating that all government agencies generally complied with reporting requirements and that no penalties have been applied for noncompliance.

"This is yet another accomplishment of this Administration as we strengthen our commitment to financial transparency," Governor Camacho said.  "This report demonstrates the leadership within our agencies and our collective mission to provide our people with an open and fair government that is committed to financial accountability and stability."

According to the report released by the Public Auditor, all 59 government agencies submitted one or more of the required formats of quarterly financial reports, staffing patterns, non-appropriated funds reports, non-profit organization activity reports and special reports.  In addition, all autonomous agencies have submitted monthly revenue and expenditure reports in all required formats.

In July, 2008, the government of Guam achieved another historic milestone when independent auditors issued an Unqualified Opinion, or "clean" opinion, indicating that all financial statements are free of material misstatements and are in accordance with the Generally Accepted Auditing Principles.

This report also highlighted the progress made in the government's financial accountability and transparency with a $14 million decrease in the government's overall deficit.

"I commend all our agency directors and financial officials for the tremendous accomplishments made this past year," Governor Camacho said.  "We have and continue to face many significant challenges today and I thank our hardworking leaders and employees for the work they do to secure this government's transparency and accountability."

Jason Tedtaotao to begin new post as deputy director 

January 13, 2009

Days after appointing former Senator Dr. David Shimizu as Acting Director of Mental Health, Governor Felix P. Camacho selects Jason Tedtaotao to serve as Acting Deputy Director of that same agency. Mr. Tedtaotao, formerly of the Guam State Clearing House served as Special Assistant for Policy Clarification and Training.

During his tenure at the Guam State Clearing House, Mr. Tedtaotao led the review of local applications for federal grants-in-aid. He also worked to ensure program compliance to both local and federal statutes.

He played a key role in the State Clearinghouse's first Training and Outreach Program, which trained public-sector personnel to identify grant related funding, project design, and program evaluation. 

"Jason has proven his leadership ability and I am confident he will bring the same level of commitment and expertise to his new position as deputy director," said Governor Camacho. "The challenges facing the Department of Mental Health require leadership dedicated to a vision of success; I believe Dr. Shimizu and Mr. Tedtaotao are the leaders we need to move the Department of Mental Health forward."

Mr. Tedtaotao's education includes a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, minor in Political Science and a Masters of Public Administration.  Mr. Tedtaotao has served a number of years in the Legislative branch most recently as a Senior Staff member to the Committee on Finance and Taxation, led by Senator Eddie Calvo during the 28th Guam Legislature.

Governor signs six legislative bills into law

January 12, 2009

Governor Felix P. Camacho took action on several bills enacting six new public laws, including a measure to implement an Amortized System Development Charge to provide assistance for low to moderate income families in purchasing or building a home for their personal residence.

"This is an important measure that will help potential buyers achieve the dream of homeownership in the midst of financial challenges being seen throughout our nation today," Governor Camacho said.  "It is imperative that we work together to find and implement the solutions our community needs to continue promoting economic growth despite the many obstacles we face."

Public Law 29-133 will provide qualified homeowners with the option to pay for an initial system development charge for their water and wastewater system and connections while the remaining charges will be amortized over a period of 15 years.  The new law also establishes the guidelines necessary for the Guam Public Utilities Commission to adopt the rules and regulations for the implementation of the ASDC.

Governor Camacho also signed a measure authorizing the Guam Waterworks Authority to seek emergency financing options as the agency moves forward with infrastructure development projects.