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Senate Approves Bills, Nominations

April 16, 2009 — Amidst a whirlwind of drama and a quick reorganization of leadership, senators actually found a few peaceful moments Thursday to approve a short stack of bills and government nominations.
The first block of nominees represented a major shakeup in the governor's financial team, with former Finance Commissioner Claudette Watson-Anderson being confirmed as the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau and BIR Director Gizette Canegata-Thomas getting the unanimous thumbs-up to lead the Casino Control Commission. The nomination of Angel Dawson Jr. to fill the open Finance commissioner post also sailed through on a 14-to-one vote, with senators showering him with praise over his accomplishments, experience and work ethic.
Excitement over the nominees was tempered slightly Thursday by comments on the state of the economy and the need to bring more revenue into the government's coffers. It's time to think outside the box and find the best possible solutions to the territory's challenges, senators said to Dawson and Watson-Anderson. Meanwhile, the tag-team of Canegata-Thomas and Violet Anne Golden — whose nomination to serve a five-year term on the Casino Control Commission was also approved — were asked to really push for more development opportunities for St. Croix.
"In the Casino Control Commission nominees, we have yin and the yang," said Sen. Sammuel Sanes. "Ms. Canegata, you're cool, collected, and intelligence abounds. The same thing for you Ms. Golden, but you're aggressive. What I see here is good cop, bad cop, Starsky and Hutch. You're going to hit them from both ends and that's exactly what we need."
Sen. Usie R. Richards cast the dissenting vote on Dawson's nomination, saying that he didn't agree with the governor's move of Watson-Anderson from the helm of the Finance Department, and out of a key spot on the Public Finance Authority board.
Senators also approved the nominations of: Keith O'Neale Jr and Pablo O'Neill to the PFA Board of Directors; Joyce Wensel-Bailey to the Government Employees Service Commission; and Kye Walker to the V.I. Government Health and Hospitals Facilities Corp. governing board.
After taking a brief break to rally, re-organize and oust their Senate president, the group got back down to business around 1:30 p.m., pushing through three bills that, among other things:
— Ratifies a $47,640 contract between the government and Winston Todman Construction for repairs to the Massac Nursing Home (the bill also contains an amendment that allows for a higher interest rate on the special-project Diageo bonds);
— Reduces the number of Constitutional Convention delegates needed to make a quorum from 21 to 16, and changes the dates for Congressional approval of the constitution and the territory-wide referendum from 2008 to 2010; and
— Gives the Legislature more control over the appropriation and use of federal economic stimulus funds.
All senators were present during Friday's session.

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