The 36th Legislature Wednesday cleared a slate of nominations, zoning changes and bills, many of which were approved unanimously by the 14 members in attendance.
Those included a measure rescinding raises for the governor, lieutenant governor and other top officials recommended by the V.I. Public Officials Compensation Commission, which Senate President Milton Potter called the day’s “explosive bill.”
“The bill addresses — in my view— a fundamental constitutional issue: the Legislature’s exclusive authority to set public official salary under the Revised Organic Act,” he said. “The bill services three critical purposes. First, it upholds the constitutional government by ensuring salary decisions flow through proper legislative channels. Second, it protects taxpayers by requiring the return of unauthorized payments to the General Fund. And third, it establishes accountability measures with regards to preventing future circumvention of legislative authority.”
“The Legislature cannot allow its constitutional prerogatives to be eroded through procedural oversights or administrative endruns,” he added. “The bill restores the proper balance of powers while ensuring that any future compensation adjustments receive the deliberative review our system of government demands.”
The vote came two days after lawmakers considered the measure during a Committee of the Whole and after months of public frustration over how the raises were implemented. In a statement Government House issued Tuesday, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. dismissed legislators’ efforts as political theater.
The measure will almost certainly be vetoed by Bryan, which the Legislature would have to override.
While lawmakers asserted their authority to set salaries for full-time public employees by rescinding the raises, they also unanimously approved a measure raising salaries for the government’s lowest-paid workers, which Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet introduced during Monday’s Committee of the Whole. On Wednesday, Sen. Novelle Francis Jr. introduced an amendment to raise the minimum salary even further, increasing it from $27,040 to $35,000 per year. Vialet offered an amendment clarifying that the raises, if enacted, will go into effect in October, and At-Large Sen. Angel Bolques Jr. added a section requiring the government’s financial agencies to submit reports to the Legislature.
Other approved bills included a measure establishing a mandatory minimum bail amount in domestic violence cases and another increasing the penalties for traffic violations and establishing a V.I. Police Department impound lot.
A measure requiring medical practitioners to share information about opioids with patients before prescribing them was also approved, as was a bill requiring all contractors with business in the territory to pay gross receipt taxes regardless of where they’re based.
During the session’s first block, lawmakers unanimously approved the renomination of Superior Court Judge Jessica Gallivan, who was appointed to a six-year term in 2019 after serving two four-year terms in the court’s Magistrate Division. The nominations of Carolyn Hermon-Percell to the University of the Virgin Islands board of trustees, Winston Williams to the Board of Contractors, Trade and Crafts, and Kirk Callwood Sr. to the Virgin Islands Banking Board were also approved unanimously.
Four zoning changes were approved. Three parcels in Estate Smith Bay, totaling approximately 16 acres, designated for agricultural use, were rezoned to a business designation, allowing for single business establishments in residential areas. Lawmakers also approved a zoning use variance for another Smith Bay parcel to allow for a warehouse and storage services business. An Estate Bakkero parcel was also changed from residential low to medium density. A rezoning request for a Planned Area Development in Estate St. Joseph and Rosendahl was also approved, and a perpetual access easement for a property owner to cross government-owned land to access their property in Estate La Grange was granted.
Sens. Marvin Blyden, Dwayne DeGraff, Ray Fonseca, Novelle Francis Jr., Alma Francis Heyliger, Hubert Frederick, Marise James, Franklin Johnson, Clifford Joseph, At-Large Sen. Angel Bolques Jr., Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet, Secretary Avery Lewis, Vice President Kenneth Gittens and President Milton Potter were present during Wednesday’s session. Sen. Carla Joseph was absent.
St. Croix Source
Local government, Local news
