Search Through All NoticesGuam Ethics Commission Announces 100% Compliance from GovGuam Entities with Ethics Training Compliance Report
Hagåtña, Guam— All Government of Guam Department of Administration entities, as well as the Judiciary of Guam, and the Guam Legislature, have submitted their “Ethics Training Compliance Report” as mandated by Public Law 36-25 to the Guam Ethics Commission.
Enacted in May 2021, Public Law 36-25 expanded the mandatory Ethics in Government training to include all employees within the government of Guam and required agencies submit a compliance report to the Guam Ethics Commission no later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year. Previously only cabinet and board members were required to take the Ethics in Government training.
“We find it very encouraging,” said Shannon Murphy, chairwoman of the Guam Ethics Commission. “The more people we train, the more likely it will be that the ethics laws will be followed. And that’s good government.”
Jesse Quenga, executive director of the Guam Ethics Commission, explained that this is the first year a report of this nature is required. “We are thrilled at the level of response seen from GovGuam departments and agencies. We wish to acknowledge the heads of each government of Guam entity for meeting with our office and ensuring that this report was submitted on time.”
The report will be used by the Commission to account for how many government employees still need to undergo ethics training. Public Law 36-25 named the Guam Ethics Commission as the provider of the ethics training.
People employed by the government of Guam prior to the enactment of Public Law 36-25 will have to attend an ethics training within 36 months following enactment and attend a refresher every four years thereafter. People employed after enactment of the law will have to attend the training within six months of their employment and attend a refresher every four years thereafter.
Public Law 36-25 was authored by Sen. Sabina Perez. Although established by law in 1996, the Guam Ethics Commission was not active until 2019 when it was revived through Executive Order 2019-06 under the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio Administration.
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Editors: To reach Jesse Quenga for comments email him at jesse.quenga@ethics.guam.gov or call the Guam Ethics Commission at (671) 969-5625.
