Many of the spending measures contained in a reprogramming bill recently passed by the Senate were line-item vetoed Wednesday by Gov. John deJongh Jr., who said the cash-strapped General Fund and other government accounts couldn’t cover them.
Instead of sending down their usual Christmas-tree bill laden with amendments during last month’s full session, senators included a few appropriations in a year-end omnibus bill and a reprogramming bill, which, for the most part, shifts money already appropriated for various projects toward new expenses, including new dialysis machines at the territory’s hospitals and the purchase of HIV-AIDS medication for the local Health Department.
Among other things, the bill reprograms money for: revamping the playgrounds in local housing communities; renovations to the Aldershville Senior Center on St. Croix; developing plans and specs for the emergency rooms at the territory’s two hospitals; and buying land to construct a new turnkey government complex that would put the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Economic Development Authority, Planning and Natural Resources and certain divisions of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office under one roof.
DeJongh didn’t touch the reprogrammed items, but line-item vetoed about $1 million in new appropriations that put money from the General Fund toward:
-the Office of Management and Budget to pay for four grant writers tasked with preparing proposals and funding applications for government operations and projects ($220,000);
-R&D Cleaning and Maintenance Services for work done for the Education Department ($5,500);
-the V.I. Waste Management Authority to pay Lew Henley’s Sewage Disposal for work done for the V.I. Carnival Committee from April 27,2007 to July 13, 2009 ($86,459);
-to the Eldra Schulterbrandt Mental Health Facility for staffing development ($350,000);
-the Bureau of Internal Revenue to pay for an internal auditor ($70,000);
-to Property and Procurement to pay work done in previous years by Edward Jarvis Plumbing ($14,800);
-the William’s Delight Association for its summer program ($5,000);
-the V.I. Taxi Cab Commissions to pay for equipment, supplies and expenses for enforcement officers ($200,000); and
-to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix to pay for a digital mammography machine ($300,000).
He also line-item vetoed appropriations from the Agriculture Revolving and the Internal Revenue Matching Fund before signing the bill into law and sending it back to Senate President Louis P. Hill, along with a letter explaining his decisions.
DeJongh still has to act on the omnibus bill and a probate bill approved by senators that would clarify the legal guidelines and streamline the territory’s slow probate process.
DeJongh also signed into law Wednesday bills that:
-expand existing Worker’s Compensation benefits for volunteer emergency responders, with funding provided from traffic citations (while deJongh described the benefits as "well-deserved,"he cautioned in his letter to Hill that the bill will likely result in higher Worker’s Compensation premiums);
-give temporary employees that are terminated after working for the government for several years the same recourse and right to appeal as permanent employees;
-extend the minimum government salary of $20,000 to semi-autonomous and independent government agencies and institutions (deJongh said the bill makes salaries consistent across the board for government departments and instrumentalities and said he applauds "this step towards increasing the standard of living for many residents"); and
-seek to diversify the territory’s financial services sector by attracting institutions to the territory that can create a market for asset-backed securities.
In addition, DeJongh vetoed bills to:
-appropriate $500,000 to the V.I. Department of Education to help fund its ongoing efforts to evaluate and establish public pre-kindergarten education (while agreeing with the intent of the bill, deJongh said Wednesday that he has already tasked the Education Commissioner with developing a pilot program that would bring pre-kindergarten to public schools by next school year);
-exempt fuel-efficient small cars with 30 mpg or better, midsize cars with 25 mpg and sport utility vehicles with 22 mpg or better from the V.I. Highway User’s Tax (deJongh said the cash-strapped government would not be able to shoulder the exemption at this time, but added that federal stimulus funds awarded to the V.I. Energy Office can be put toward rebates for residents purchasing hybrid cars);
-reduce from nine to seven the number of V.I. Housing Authority commissioners, to bring it in line with federal guidelines; and
-eliminate the need for performance bonds on bids for government contracts valued at less than $150,000.
