A BILL that proposes to increase the registration fee for H-2B workers who come to Guam is expected to be discussed in session today, but its proponents, Speaker Judi Won Pat and Sen. Tom Ada have received letters opposing the legislation.
Bill 135 seeks a $243 increase to the current $1,000 worker registration fee for every H-2B worker who comes to Guam, which according to the Guam Contractors Association, is already too high.
The bill would authorize the Department of Public Health and Social Services to contract an independent environmental health inspection company to conduct sanitary inspections on behalf of public health and to fund inspection services from fees authorized to be collected.
The bill seeks to ensure that H-2 worker camps are built and maintained for the workers’ safety and benefit, including meeting the sanitary and environmental regulations.
In his letter Won Pat yesterday, John Robertson, a member of the Guam Contractors Association and chairman of the Committee on Government & Labor Relations, said the bill does not have a proper public hearing as required under the open government law, and was introduced without GCA’s knowledge.
According to Robertson, during a meeting with GCA members in June, Ada agreed to allow the organization to provide comments during the bill’s markup, “but that also happened without our knowledge.â€
“We did provide comment to him and his staff in an email dated June 16, but received no response,†said Robertson.
Robertson urged Won Pat and her colleagues to wait for the draft environmental impact statement that will be released to the public for comments by Nov. 22 before acting on the bill.
Robertson is confident that the DEIS will address issues of workers housing appropriately. “Can we not wait and see whether it does or not?†he asked rhetorically, noting that the housing issue is also being addressed in contracts now being released by Navy Facilities Engineering Command Marianas.
In his letter to Ada, GCA president James Martinez said NAVFAC has within each construction contract, competitive incentives and contract requirements that will ensure the desired results.
In addition, NAVFAC will engage the services of professional construction managers to enforce compliance, thereby not overburdening the limited manpower resources of the public health agency.
Robertson also questioned the $243 add on fee saying that it seemed that the amount was not calculated on a “reasonable basis.â€
For 10,000 H-2 workers, the government of Guam would collect from contractors and other employers $2.4 million a year.
