April 28, 2009 — Gov. John deJongh Jr. signed into law Tuesday a bill from the Legislature lowering the quorum requirement for the fifth V.I. Constitutional Convention.
The legislation creating the constitutional convention required 21 of the 30 members to be present to vote on anything. Difficulties achieving that high quorum have regularly plagued the convention. (See "Constitutional Convention Session Hampered by Lack of Quorum."and "'Foolishness:' Constitutional Convention Delegates Do Nothing All Day.")
At the request of the convention, the Legislature passed a bill lowering the quorum to 16, which is the more traditional level of 50 percent plus one. With the governor's signature, the bill is now law.
In a letter to Senate President Louis Patrick Hill sent along with the signed legislation, deJongh said he believes lowering the quorum for regular business will help the convention prepare a document. "I point out, however, that this measure does not decrease the two-thirds vote required for that body to pass a proposed Constitution for presentation to the federal government and to the people of the Virgin Islands," he said.
The convention has a deadline of May 31 to produce a draft document.
The U.S. Congress passed a law in 1976 to allow the people of the Virgin Islands and Guam to adopt territorial constitutions. Any constitution has to be consistent with federal law and with the U.S. constitution. The government must be republican in form, with executive, legislative and judicial branches, and it must have a bill of rights. But there are few other restrictions.
There have been four previous constitutional conventions, but no territorial constitution yet. The most recent convention was in 1980. For a detailed history of previous conventions and extensive background information on the subject, see "V.I. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS: BACKGROUND."
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