Bordallo v. Baldwin
| Decision Date | 04 August 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 78-2163,78-2163 |
| Citation | 624 F.2d 932 |
| Parties | Ricardo J. BORDALLO, Governor of Guam, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. George W. BALDWIN, Jr., et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Philip H. Jacobsen, Agana, Guam, for plaintiff-appellant.
Donald C. Williams, Carlsmith, Carlsmith, Wichman & Case, Honolulu, Hawaii, for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the District Court of Guam.
Before CHOY and NELSON, Circuit Judges, and SCHNACKE, District Judge. *
Plaintiff, the Governor of Guam, appeals from a judgment of the District Court of Guam, declaring that Guam Government Code § 49004(a), in its present form, is consistent with the Guam Organic Act (48 U.S.C. §§ 1421-1428(e)).
The controversy arises over the governance of the Guam Memorial Hospital (hereinafter, "the Hospital"). From the time of its first authorization in 1952 until 1977, when the legislation in dispute was adopted, the Board of Trustees of the Hospital was appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Legislature.
Prior to 1977, the Hospital was declared by the Legislature to be within the Executive Branch of the Government of Guam. By Guam Public Law 14-29, adopted May 27, 1977, the Hospital was described as "within, and a public corporation and autonomous instrumentality of, the Government of Guam."
In December of 1977, Guam Public Law 14-91 was enacted, amending Guam Government Code § 49004(a) to read in pertinent part as follows:
The parties agree that the effect of this amendment was to eliminate all discretion over appointments by the Governor and to require that he appoint the various persons designated by the several private organizations. There is no requirement that the Governor, the Legislature, or any other public official consent to, approve, or have veto power over, these private selectees except that the Governor concededly has the power under Section 1422 of Title 48 U.S.C. to remove Board members once they have been appointed, if good cause for removal can be shown.
It is the contention of the Governor that the method of appointment of trustees of the Hospital adopted in 1977 is prohibited by the Organic Act of Guam, and is beyond the authority of the Legislature.
The Organic Act of Guam is properly described by the parties as Guam's Constitution. In general, it provides for the three branches of government consistent with the constitutional structure of the United States and the powers of each branch flow from, and are limited by the Organic Act. The powers of the Legislature are derived from 48 U.S.C. § 1423a, which reads in part as follows:
"The legislative power of Guam shall extend to all subjects of legislation of local application not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter and the United States applicable to Guam. . . ."
As pertinent hereto the powers of the Governor are set forth as follows:
"The executive power of Guam shall be vested in an executive officer whose official title shall be the 'Governor of Guam'."
"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 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." (48 U.S.C. § 1422)
(48 U.S.C. § 1422c(a))
"Subject to the laws of Guam, the Governor shall establish, maintain, and operate public-health services in Guam, including hospitals . . .." (48 U.S.C. § 1421g(a))
The question presented to us then is whether, when the Governor is specifically charged by Section 1421g(a) of the Organic Act with the responsibility for establishing, maintaining, and operating hospitals, the Legislature may, within the terms of that act, reduce his function with respect to the governance of the Hospital to the mere ministerial function of validating the appointments made by others to the Hospital's governing body. We think it cannot.
Defendants argue that the Governor's general appointive power as set forth in Section 1422c(a), was clearly intended to be subject to legislative action, otherwise Congress would not have included the phrase "except as otherwise provided in this chapter or the laws of Guam", and that his specific responsibility with respect to hospitals is restricted by the inclusion in Section 1421g(a) of the phrase "subject to the laws of Guam". But they failed to recognize that legislative power is limited by Section 1423a to subjects "not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter". The legislature may, of course determine whether a hospital shall exist at all, where and how large it shall be, the size and...
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Republican Party of Guam v. Gutierrez
...disputes between Guam's Governor and its Legislature regarding their respective powers under the Organic Act. In Bordallo v. Baldwin, 624 F.2d 932, 933-34 (9th Cir. 1980), the Governor of Guam brought suit alleging that the appointment procedures for members of the Board of Trustees of Guam......
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Nelson v. Ada, 88-2878
...local legislation pursuant to which the petitioners were originally appointed is controlled by this court's decision in Bordallo v. Baldwin, 624 F.2d 932 (9th Cir.1980). We affirm the district The 1977 Guam statute in question is 17 Guam Code Secs. 3103-3112. The statute requires that schoo......