V.I. criminals motivated by group hatred and bigotry will face more jail time due to that hatred, if a bill approved in the Rules and Judiciary Committee Thursday becomes law.
The bill [30-0280] sponsored by Sens. Craig Barshinger and Clarence Payne is similar to "hate crime" legislation in a number of mainland states. It increases the penalty for crimes "motivated by prejudice of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity."
If the underlying crime is punishable by up to one year in prison, then prosecuting it as a hate crime would mean the sentence could be up to two years and a fine of up to $20,000. If the maximum penalty is more than one year but less than five years, a hate crime conviction will mean a sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $50,000.
"Many states have adopted hate crime legislation and the reason is a societal judgment that the act is made worse by the hate," Barshinger said, proceeding to draw a comparison to how the law treats the same act differently based on the act’s motivation. The same act of violence could be self-defense or robbery, depending on motivation, and the law treats premeditated acts differently from those done in the heat of the moment, Barshinger said.
Assistant Police Commissioner Thomas Hannah and Assistant Tourism Commissioner Brad Nugent both testified in support of the bill.
Hannah recalled the impact that racial prejudice had on his own life, growing up in Alabama in the 1960s. He also said a number of ongoing conflicts in the territory’s schools and neighborhoods have roots in bias.
In one fairly recent case, there had been an ongoing situation between different groups of teenagers, motivated by national origin, he said. After a series of back and forth incidents, the feud resulted in one 15-year-old dead and a 14-year-old facing first degree murder charges, he said. While a hate crime law might not prevent that from happening, it would help send a clear message that bias is wrong and give police and courts more tools to work with, Hannah said.
Barshinger submitted an amendment, suggested by police, that repeals another section of the law regarding crimes of intimidation. "It was sort of like an early version of hate crime legislation," Barshinger said. "It was not strong and offered no protection for groups we now know need protection," Barshinger said.
Voting to send the bill on for a final vote by the full Senate were Sens. Diane Capehart, Kenneth Gittens and Myron Jackson. There was no opposition. Sens. Shawn-Michael Malone, Janette Millin Young and Donald Cole were absent.
In other business, cash payments to retirees for career accumulated excess leave will be budgeted separately, if another bill approved in the Rules Committee on Thursday becomes law.
Barshinger, the bill’s sponsor, said that some employees have been forced to wait many months to receive payment for accrued excess annual leave upon retirement. By budgeting the sum in advance, Barshinger said, agencies could plan ahead and pay retirees sooner.
What is at issue is only excess annual leave accumulated year to year. Depending on seniority, V.I. government employees receive between four and eight hours of annual leave for every two weeks they work. When employees retire or resign, they get their accumulated leave in a lump sum payment.
However, agencies do not set aside funding, trying instead to make payment with funds remaining for personnel costs for the position, according to V.I. Division of Personnel Director Kenneth Hermon. As a result, sometimes agencies do not have enough cash on hand and employees have to wait.
When the bill was first heard in its originating committee, Hermon testified it required the government to set aside enough money for leave payments to all employees, not just enough for those likely to retire. Setting aside enough for all employees could cost $45 million, he said, while the government will actually have to pay out about $659,000.
At his urging, the Rules Committee amended the bill [30-0158] to just require the smaller sum be set aside in a fund for all government agencies.
The committee also addressed the bottom floor of the shuttered Enid M. Baa library, which may be leased out for a gift shop or other commercial outlet with proceeds to help finance a territorial archive in the library’s upper floor, if another bill approved in Rules becomes law.
The bill sponsored by Sens. Myron Jackson and Shawn-Michael Malone says the second and third floors must be used for archives. It originally specified that space on the first floor must be leased for a gift shop for the sale of books, maps and such.
Another approved bill, this one sponsored by Sen. Sammuel Sanes, would add a definition of sexual conduct and change the definition of sexual contact [30-0109]. V.I. Police Sgt. Naomi Joseph, supervisor of the special victims unit, testified the changes were needed to help police and prosecutors show that particular abusive actions are prosecutable criminal offenses.
Rules also approved the nomination of Philip Arcidi to serve on the volunteer Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital governing board. Arcidi is president of Greenleaf VI, a financial consulting firm. He has a bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College in Massachusetts
In hospital-related experience, Arcidi is a founding principal of Whittier Health Network, which employs more than 3,000 health professionals in Massachusetts and New York.
All votes were unanimous. The legislation and nominee will receive a final up or down vote when the full Senate next meets in session, which will likely occur early in 2014.
