GuamBill No. 202-38 (COR)38th Guam Legislature (2025-2026)legislatureWALLET

AN ACT TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER 56 TO DIVISION 5 OF TITLE 17, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED, RELATIVE TO ESTABLISHING THE “GUAM VETERANS HIGHER EDUCATION BENEFITS ACT.”

Sponsored By: Vincent A.V. Borja (Republican)

Became Law

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.

Guam veterans get tuition help with limits

The law creates tuition waivers at the University of Guam and Guam Community College for qualifying veterans and dependent spouses or children. Benefits cannot begin before April 1, 2026. Veterans must have been Guam residents and declared Guam as their home of record when entering the U.S. Armed Forces. They must also be legal Guam residents when applying and meet active-duty service and non-dishonorable discharge requirements. Eligibility also includes specified historical military units and qualifying Guam National Guard or Reserve members. Dependent spouses and children must have been claimed on the preceding year's federal tax return. Children must be 25 or younger on the term's first day. Each veteran gets up to 90 lifetime undergraduate credit hours, which can be shared with eligible dependents. Each recipient is limited to 18 waived credit hours per semester. Graduate waivers cover up to 30 lifetime credit hours, generally for master's programs. Professional doctoral programs qualify only when the Commission on Postsecondary Education designates them as critical workforce shortage areas. Students must be admitted and enrolled, maintain satisfactory academic progress, and meet minimum cumulative grades: 2.5 undergraduate or 3.0 graduate GPA. They must first exhaust applicable federal veterans' education benefits and other federal tuition assistance, including Title IV student aid. Applicants cannot be in default on a student loan made or guaranteed by Guam's government. Waivers cover course-enrollment tuition, not student activity fees, laboratory charges, books, materials, or other incidental costs. A repeated course can receive a waiver for only one additional attempt. Admission is not guaranteed, and waivers depend on institutional capacity and program enrollment limits. Seats must remain after tuition-paying students register; waivers cannot displace them or bypass their course waitlists. Tuition-paying students include those using loans, federal tuition assistance, scholarships, or tuition waivers. The program uses existing waiver capacity without new appropriations. The Commission sets capacity, eligibility verification, repayment, and other program rules. The colleges manage applications and enrollment timelines, with veterans-affairs verification help available on request. Each college must report to Guam's legislature within 90 days after each academic year's end. Reports cover beneficiary counts, waived credits and tuition value, degree programs, failed or withdrawn credits, and repayments.

Veteran students repay failed or dropped courses

Once the program begins, waiver recipients must repay tuition for any covered course they fail or withdraw from. This applies to veterans and eligible dependents receiving waivers. Benefits cannot begin before April 1, 2026. The Commission on Postsecondary Education can excuse repayment for good cause under its rules. Colleges must put repayments into their Student Financial Aid Program funds.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Vincent A.V. Borja

    Republican • legislature

Cosponsors

  • Eulogio Shawn Gumataotao

    Republican • legislature

  • Frank F. Blas Jr.

    Republican • legislature

  • Sabrina Salas Matanane

    Republican • legislature

  • Shelly V. Calvo

    Republican • legislature

  • Tina Rose Muña-Barnes

    Democrat • legislature

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 0 • No: 0

legislature vote • 1/29/2026

Floor Vote

Yes: 0 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

  1. Public Law 38-99 — lapsed

    2/11/2026Governor
  2. Committee report filed

    1/7/2026legislature
  3. Public hearing held

    12/9/2025legislature
  4. Fiscal note filed

    10/22/2025legislature
  5. Referred to committee

    10/21/2025legislature
  6. Introduced as Bill No. 202-38 (COR)

    10/9/2025legislature
  7. Transmitted to Governor

    legislature

Bill Text

  • Introduced

    10/9/2025

  • Committee Report

  • Enrolled (Public Law)

  • Transmittal

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