March 19, 2008 — Spending more money from the General Fund was the order of business Wednesday, as senators tacked on $11.4 million worth of amendments to a bill that originally set aside only $1 million for road repairs on St. Croix.
The bill passed on a 14-to-1 vote, with only Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson voting against it.
Voting in favor of the bill were Sens. Liston Davis, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Juan Figueroa-Serville, Louis P. Hill, Neville James, Norman Jn Baptiste, Shawn-Michael Malone, Basil Ottley Jr., Usie R. Richards, Ronald E. Russell, James Weber III, Carmen M. Wesselhoft, Celestino A. White Sr. and Alvin L. Williams.
Several amendments appropriated more than $1 million in one blow, giving money to Housing, Parks and Recreation to fix recreational facilities in both districts, the Department of Education to complete work on the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School's track and field, and the Horse Racing Commissions in both districts for operational expenses.
Another $2 million amendment, sponsored by Nelson, was appropriated to the Fifth Constitutional Convention to cover various budgetary expenses. Malone also sponsored a $3 million amendment to cover the cost of several road repairs in the St. Thomas-St. John district.
A few amendments pulled money from other sources. Hill, for example, sponsored a measure that increased by $16.5 million an already authorized bond issue originally intended to fund the construction of a $32 million convention center on St. Croix and other capital-improvement projects. The additional proceeds would be used to complete the new cardiac center at Juan Luis Hospital and to design and construct a youth center on St. Thomas.
Another amendment sponsored by Dowe would use interest earned on 2003 bond proceeds to fund repairs, renovations and expansion at Ulla Muller Elementary School.
Some amendments also included a few policy changes, such as setting up a 120-day amnesty program for residents to take care of delinquent property-tax payments dating back, and up to, fiscal year 2005.
For the most part, the amendments were passed unanimously with little discussion. In other cases, the old St. Thomas vs. St. Croix argument prevailed, with Russell and Figueroa-Serville balking over the failure of amendments appropriating $18 million in tax collections to WAPA for operational costs, and using collections from the local Land Bank Fund to purchase land for housing developments on St. Croix. The money is always there for St. Thomas projects, Russell said, while St. Croix continues to get the shaft on funding.
Harmony prevailed for the most part over the past two days, however, as senators ushered through a number of nominations, and bills that:
— sever the Bureau of Corrections from the Department of Justice;
— increase employer contributions to the Government Employees' Retirement System by 3 percent;
— lift the $75,000 liability cap included in the territory's Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act up to $100,000 (see "Lifting Damages Cap in Auto Cases Could Trigger Insurance Crisis, Officials Say");
— call for the governor to negotiate the return or purchase of the Warren E. Brown, Donoe, Louis E. Brown and Nicasio Nico housing communities from the federal government (senators and testifiers have said at past hearings that the V.I. Housing Finance Authority is currently working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to turn the land into mixed-income/mixed-use communities);
— bring medical laws already on the books up to snuff with federal standards;
— appropriate $400,000 from the General Fund for Village Partners in Recovery to revamp and expand its facilities on St. Croix;
— increase the amount small loan companies can lend from $7,500 to $9,000;
— direct the Department of Public Works to set up street signs, flashing yellow lights and speed-monitoring devices on all main roads near the local schools;
— give public-housing tenants displaced by a hurricane or other natural disaster the right to re-occupy their housing unit once it becomes available;
— petition the president of the United States and Congress to support a proposal sponsored by Delegate Donna M. Christensen that would make Virgin Islanders eligible to receive supplemental Social Security income;
— set up an inmate rehabilitation reading program within the Bureau of Corrections; and
— update the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, which transfers certain "intangible" assets — such as bank accounts, lottery tickets, insurance policies or corporate stock — to the local government if they remain unclaimed after a certain amount of time.
All senators were present during Wednesday's session.
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