Legislators from both sides of the aisle strongly supported a bill they said would bring the House of Assembly’s operations in line with international standards by allowing it to manage its own staff, budget and procedures.
The HOA Management Bill, 2025, was praised at the top of last Thursday’s HOA meeting in a statement by Speaker of the House Corine George-Massicote.
“For many years, the operational and administrative framework of this House has relied on external mechanisms that were not fully aligned with the principle of legislative autonomy,” she said. “The introduction of the [proposed law] seeks to correct this. This bill represents not merely an administrative reform, but a clear statement of constitutional maturity and democratic progress.”
Ms. George-Massicote added that the reform — which she said was undertaken with the support of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association — is necessary to give the HOA the ability to serve the people optimally.
“The legislature must be able to act independently, free from interference and guided only by the Constitution, the Standing Orders and the will of the people,” the speaker said.
UK bureaucracy
Premier Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley said the bill would help ease the weight of United Kingdom bureaucracy that has left the HOA unable to manage its own human resources or assets including the HOA offices in the Richard C. Stoutt Building.
“I am proud to be associated with this House and also the last House,” the premier said. “This has been a period of reform [and] modernisation.”
Deputy Premier Julian Fraser, who moved for the bill’s second and third readings last Thursday, noted that the UK’s parliamentary system operates independently and said the VI’s should follow suit.
“This House for the first time is taking its destiny into its own hands,” he said.
Modernisation
Other legislators who spoke in support of the bill included Opposition Leader Myron Walwyn, who praised the speaker’s work on the effort.
“Your leadership has elevated the dignity and purpose of the House of Assembly and has brought us to a point where we should have been before,” he said. “But nonetheless, we are here, where we are now championing transparency, accountability and progress, putting in place necessary structures to hold members to account to their stewardship to the public.”
Opposition member Marlon Penn also expressed support, though he agreed that the bill should have come long ago.
“I don’t know that it’s necessarily a good thing that it took us 75 years to get to this point, but nonetheless the journey of a million miles starts with one step, and this is a major and monumental step we are taking today,” Mr. Penn said.
Junior Minister for Culture and Tourism Luce Hodge-Smith said the bill would bring needed reform in various areas, including budgetary and financial processes; the executive, management and administrative structure of the House; and the hiring of clerical and other staff who help the HOA and its committees operate efficiently.
She added that the bill would also make the HOA more independent by ensuring reliable reporting of proceedings as well as research facilities and other resources for the members.
Health and Social Development Minister Vincent Wheatley highlighted the historic significance of the occasion, which comes as the HOA launches its celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the restoration of the legislature.
“As we move as a territory forward bit by bit, it speaks to constitutional maturity,” he said. “As we advance in our political status, we have to focus on institutional building. It’s not about us at all: It’s about the future. It is the future that would benefit most from what we are doing today.”
International standards
In her statement before the debate, Ms. George-Massicote also stressed that the reforms were not undertaken “in isolation,” but with the support of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
“The CPA’s Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures affirm that parliamentary independence is essential to the separation of powers and to the overall health of democracy,” she said. “The CPA’s technical guidance and capacity-building support have strengthened our efforts to bring the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands in line with international standards of legislative governance. This bill, therefore, responds not only to local needs, but also aligns our institution with global best practices in parliamentary management, integrity and accountability.”
Mr. Contreras reported this story from New York.
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