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Senators Approve Bills, Nominees as 27th Legislature Closes

Dec. 1, 2008 — The routine pounding of the gavel at the end of Monday's full Senate session also marked the official end of the 27th Legislature, which was adjourned sine die around 4:19 p.m. amidst the heartfelt goodbyes — and a few tears — from those senators who will not return in January to serve another term.
Monday's session brought few surprises, with senators sticking closely to their planned agenda and only special ordering one resolution to the floor. But senators noted early on that they would not bring up for consideration two bills recently submitted by the governor. One would amend the fiscal year 2009 budget and the other would authorize the Public Finance Authority to float up to $400 million in new gross-receipts tax bonds. Instead they will be left up to the incoming 28th Legislature.
Senators instead spent their last session approving a number of nominees to government boards and commissions, a variety of leases and the short stack of bills that made it through a Rules and Judiciary Committee meeting earlier this month.
Amendments tacked onto a bill to pay off the $15,000 owed by Public Works to ESA Management and Engineering Consultants also appropriate about $2.6 million from the General Fund in FY 2009 to pay for the Fifth Constitutional Convention's operating expenses, the settlement in a government court case from 1992, transportation and extracurricular activities for two St. Thomas high schools, the Economic Development Authority's Transportation program, and to send the USVI Marching Stars to the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama.
Another amendment appropriates $350,000 to the V.I. Council on the Arts as a local match for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The original bill also calls for the Government Employees' Retirement System to set up a retroactive annuities commission given the task of compiling a list of all retirees owed annuity payments, and appropriates $500,000 to cover the commission's operating expenses. The bill also appropriates $323,700 to the Department of Human Services to buy equipment and fund new employee positions in both districts.
Other amendments attached to the bill:
— make sure that no votes can be cast by government board and commission members during closed sessions;
— allow retired public librarians and archivists to come back into public service if they choose;
— remove the requirement for residents appealing their property-tax bills to pay their previous year's tax bill plus 50 percent of the increase factored into their current property-tax bill. Instead residents would only have to pay their previous year's tax bill while their appeal is pending;
— grant veterans who moved off-island for health reasons access to local veterans' burial benefits;
— appropriate $800,000 from the Land Bank Fund (stamp-tax revenues) to the V.I. Housing Authority to purchase property for housing communities in Estates White Lady and White Bay on St. Croix;
— allow the Department of Property and Procurement to ratify an agreement between the V.I. Board of Elections and Sunny Isles LLC for $52,500 worth of services already provided in preparation for this year's primary election; and
— grant the Thoroughbred Horse Owners Association access to money previously appropriated by the Legislature.
A bill that exempts non-profit groups such as rescue organizations from paying road tax also cleared the full Senate Monday. In addition, the bill cleans up language in the law that severs the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from the V.I. Police Department; allows for vehicles previously licensed in the territory to be eligible for a temporary license plate; increases the expiration date for drivers' licenses from three to five years; and gives the newly revamped Taxi Commission the power to abolish the current moratorium on the issuance of taxi medallions through its rules and regulations.
Senators also rallied around a bill calling for all surplus money in the Transportation Trust Fund to go directly to Public Works for road repairs. (See "Senate Committee Votes to Return Transportation Trust Fund to Road Repairs.") They also approved bills limiting civil liability for people involved in specific equestrian activities and posthumously honoring Major General Jean Augustine Romney for his contributions to the local community.
Senators also approved:
— V.I. Taxi Cab Commission nominees Chantal Richards Richards Figueroa, John E. Fleming, Horace W. Graham Jr., Camille Paris Jr., Ulric Pilgrim, Sweeny J. Toussaint Jr. and David A Yamada;
— V.I. Coastal Zone Management Commission nominees Masserae Sprauve-Webster, Richard L. Brown, Robert L. Merwin and Charles D. Peters;
— V.I. Public Services Commission nominee Elsie V. Thomas-Trotman; and
— V.I. Board of Tax Review nominee Eric G. Baynes.
Also approved Monday: leases between the government and Metro Motors V.I., Texas Pit, Island Gas, A&R Transportation and B&W Realty Investment.
All senators were present during Monday's session.
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