(a) The Department shall, subject to the provisions of this Chapter, determine the disposition of such prehistoric or historic properties wheresoever located within the territorial limits of the Island of Guam. Any person who disturbs properties of prehistoric or historic significance or removes such properties from their sites without approval or concurrence from the Historic Preservation Office shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree.

(b) When a private landowner or lessee in Guam discovers properties which may be of historic significance on his property, he shall report the location of such objects, without disturbing the properties, to the Department. All prehistoric and historic properties shall be returned to the people of Guam, with the Guam Museum serving as the depository for said properties.

(c) (1) The transfer of prehistoric and historic properties, antiquities, and objects returned to and in the inventory of the government of Guam to entities, governments, or organizations outside of the territorial limits of the Island of Guam shall not be effectuated without legislative concurrence.

(2) The Department shall assist the legislative committee with oversight over the Department’s State Historic Preservation Office, in drafting a Legislative Resolution for legislative concurrence. Such Resolution shall be considered a substantive Resolution and require apublic hearing, committee report, and shall be included on the Session agenda for debate or discussion during Legislative Session.

(3) The Resolution shall request specifically, to transfer historical objects to entities, governments, or organizations outside of the territorial limits of the Island of Guam. The Resolution shall indicate the complete inventory of historical object(s) to be transferred, the location the historical object(s) is/are proposed to be transferred to, and the length of time the affected historical object(s) shall remain outside the territorial limits of the Island of Guam.

SOURCE: GC § 13985.26 enacted by P.L. 12-126 (May 3, 1974), amended by P.L. 13-187:116 (Sept. 2, 1976), and P.L. 29-147:2 (Jan. 30,
2009). Subsections (a), (b), (c) added by P.L. 30-180:1 (Aug. 16, 2010),
renumbered to subsection (c) (1), (2), (3) by the Compiler pursuant to the authority of 1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.

2022 NOTE: Reference to “”territory”” replaced with “”Guam”” pursuant to
1 Guam Code Ann. § 420.

2016 NOTE: Subsection and subitem designations were added/altered to adhere to the Compiler’s codification and alpha-numeric schemes pursuant to authority granted by 1 Guam Code Ann. § 1606.