In a session rubber stamping budget bills Friday, the fight over whether the governor should have millions of dollars in a line of credit continued.
Opposition was stated explicitly, and amendments were offered, but the bill passed through its final hurdle.
The governor has promoted the line of credit as a way to pay vendors, provide retroactive pay, and get projects moving.
Some senators have seen it differently. Sen. Franklin Johnson said he would not sign a bill authorizing the line of credit. He said the governor takes money that the Senate specifies for one area and “does whatever he wants with it.”
Sen. Samuel Carrion said the problem was “a lack of trust in the administration.”
In the end, four of the 15 Senators present voted against the measure, which now only needs the governor’s approval.
Sen. Novelle Francis said the bill did not give him a warm feeling, but something had to be done to get obligations paid. Most of the other 35 bills passed at the Senate session received little or no comment.
A bill establishing a special fund of $250,000 to reimburse veterans who must travel to the mainland for medical care was one of many bills that all 15 Senators voted for.
Franklin said the fund would help ensure veterans get the care they deserve. Now, only the governor’s signature is needed for the government to reimburse the airfare of veterans and a caretaker.
An act approving an agreement between the Government and Cigna Life Insurance Company for group medical health insurance also received 15 votes.
Many of the bills approved were appropriations for agencies for the upcoming fiscal year. Appropriations were approved for the adoption of various portions of the agricultural plan; for the operating expenses of the Office of the Inspector General; for the operating costs of the V. I. Board of Education; for the operating expenses of the Career and Technical Education Board; for operating expenses of the Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation; for salaries and expenses of the Board of Elections and the Supervisor of Elections; for the operation of the Judicial Branch, the Judicial Council, and the Territorial Public Defender; for the operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee; for road repair and maintenance; for the operating costs of the Waste Management Authority; for the operating expenses of the Public Services Commission; for the salaries and expenses of the University of the Virgin Islands; for the Taxicab Commission; and the Legislature.
Another bill forwarded would establish a three percent wire transfer fee and the Money Laundering and Electronic Transaction Enforcement Fund.
The governor now also has a Senate-approved bill to increase the motor vehicle rental surcharge.
All the bills brought to the floor at Friday’s session were approved.
