The legal fight over the structure of the Water and Power Authority governing board moved closer to resolution this week. Lawyers representing Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. filed written arguments with the V.I. Supreme Court over a 2021 action taken by the 34th Legislature.
At the center of Bryan’s appeal is Act 8472, enacted when lawmakers overrode Bryan’s veto of Bill No. 34-0021. The act limits the number of WAPA board members appointed by the governor to one. It also designates which of the governor’s cabinet members sits on the board.
Prior to the bill becoming law, up to three of the seven WAPA board seats could be filled with members of the governor’s cabinet.
In an eight-page appellant reply brief filed Monday, lawyers for the Justice Department said Act 8472 violated the Revised Organic Act of 1954. Citing the document that sets the territory’s legal framework, Deputy Attorney General Ian S.A. Clement told the court that under the Organic Act, it’s up to the governor to make changes on boards like WAPA’s.
Clement added that the language of 34-0021 suggested that public frustration over WAPA’s performance and pricing put pressure on lawmakers to act.
The reply brief follows a Jan. 22 filing defending actions taken by the 34th Legislature. That brief said the WAPA board was created by lawmakers and was subject to amendments, modifications and alterations “under its inherent legislative powers, as it has done over the course of the authority’s existence.”
The case was sent to the high court on appeal in March 2023 after Superior Court Judge Renee Gumbs-Carty issued a memorandum and opinion denying the government’s request for an injunction.
High court justices agreed to hear the appeal and on Oct. 23, Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhys Hodge ordered the Legislature to defend the constitutionality of Act. 8472.
