May 29, 2007 — Senators had no problems Tuesday passing all the items on their planned two-day session agenda, but raised many concerns about a number of measures introduced at the last minute, such as a new 10-page amendment to a bill recently sent down by Gov. John deJongh Jr.
Motions to override several bills recently vetoed by deJongh also stirred up some controversy on Tuesday, as senators also approved, for the second time, a rezoning request that would allow the developers of the Sirenusa condominiums project on St. John to add seven additional units to the building site in Cruz Bay, St. John. (See "Governor Vetoes Sirenusa Legislation.")
While the request has been loudly opposed by community members, and was subsequently vetoed by deJongh, the motion for override still received strong support from most senators during the meeting, with only Sen, Louis P. Hill voting against reapproving the bill.
Hill also spoke out against the approval of a 10-page amendment introduced by members of the Senate's majority as a substitute to a comprehensive funding and policy bill sent down by deJongh in mid April. Since the amendment hit the floor around 9:30 p.m, Hill said it was "unfair" that members of the Senate's majority did not get a chance to read the measure before casting a vote.
As initially written, deJongh's bill is designed to balance this year's executive budget and fund some of the government's outstanding financial obligations without appropriating additional money from the already overextended General Fund. Instead, the money will be reprogrammed from a $40 million appropriation set aside in the Fiscal Year 2007 executive budget, intended to cover debt-service requirements on a proposed pension-obligation bond. (See "Questioning Governor's Financial Conclusions, Senate Requests More Information.")
While members of the Senate's majority said they were not "technically" opposed to the appropriations laid out in the governor's bill, many also explained that they had concerns about whether the executive branch was trying to usurp some of the authority granted to the Legislature. Others, such as Sen. Celestino A. White Sr., said deJongh's bill also did not include many of the senators' original funding requests.
"The governor's submission is flawed," White said, explaining that the office of the Legislature's legal counsel was frantically at work around 9 p.m. trying to correct errors in the bill. "He didn't include some of those things we sent up to him."
Expounding on some of White's concerns, Senate President Usie R. Richards explained that senators have been concerned the fact that salary increases and retiree benefits passed by the 26th Legislature still had not been funded. "People are still harping as to why they haven't gotten their money yet," he said.
In order to take care of some of these issues, deJongh's bill requests that the Office of Management and Budget director be given the authority to line item a $20.6 million appropriation included in the FY 2007 budget. At a recent Senate hearing, OMB Director-designee Debra Gottlieb explained that once she has the authority to delineate exactly what the money will go toward, outstanding obligations such as the increases could be covered.
However, Richards said giving Gottlieb the authority to adjust funding levels would be tantamount to senators "relinquishing the statutory authority that sets us as leaders of this body," or giving OMB "some carte blanche authority."
As a result, the 10-page amendment in the nature of a substitute takes out the section about OMB, and says that money needed for government employees' salary increases instead be taken from "any available funds in the Treasury of the Virgin Islands."
While most of the other appropriations included in deJongh's bill have remained the same, senators did tack on approximately $6.2 million worth of additional funding requests, designed to cover a number of youth organizations or programs, road repairs, school-maintenance projects and medical initiatives.
Also included among the funding requests is a $696,000 General Fund appropriation for the Legislature to cover the cost of the 2007 summer-employment program, various lump sum payments, employment dispute-settlement payments, annual dues for the National Commission on State Laws and an upgrade for elevators.
Voting in favor of the amendment were Sens. Liston Davis, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Norman Jn Baptiste, Shawn-Michael Malone, Richards, James Weber III, Carmen M. Wesselhoft, White and Alvin L. Williams.
Voting against the amendment were Sens. Juan Figueroa-Serville, Hill, Neville James, Basil Ottley Jr. and Ronald E. Russell.
Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson abstained.
Earlier in the day, senators moved quickly through all the items listed on their planned two-day session agenda, approving:
— the nomination of Colonel Renaldo Rivera to the position of adjutant general;
— the nomination of Gizette L. Canegata-Thomas to the position of Internal Revenue Bureau director;
— the nomination of Darryl A. Smalls to the position of commissioner of the Department of Public Works;
— the nominations of Darryl Dean Donohue Sr., attorney James S. Carroll and attorney Michael C. Dunston to serve as judges on the V.I. Supreme Court bench;
— the nomination of Cassan A. Pancham to serve on the V.I. Port Authority governing board;
–the nomination of Mulchand "Mulo" Alwani to serve on the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corp. board of directors;
— the nomination of Jennifer Nugent-Hill to serve on the University of the Virgin Islands board of trustees;
— a bill designed to set up a proper witness-protection program, put 150 additional officers on the streets and provide additional funding for the V.I. Police Department;
— a bill establishing a central grants agency within the territory to track available federal funding opportunities; and
— a bill enacting several election-reform initiatives designed to bring the territory into compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
All senators were present during Tuesday's session.
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