Senators wrapped up their last full session of the year by passing a last-minute omnibus bill that members of the majority caucus described as "responsible" because it deals mostly with making policy changes instead of appropriations.
"Normally this kind of bill carries significant appropriations, but we decided the financial resources of the government wouldn’t be able to support that, so this one is more policy driven," Senate Majority Leader Neville James explained after the session wrapped early Tuesday afternoon.
Despite James’ analysis, the five members of the Legislature’s minority caucus voted against the bill, which has been in the works since late August.
In an attempt to keep the costs down, senators said they had decided not to tack on any amendments, putting a stop the usual practice of sending down what’s commonly known as a "Christmas tree" bill trimmed with extra costs at the end of the year. Members of the governor’s financial team are scheduled to appear before the Senate sometime next month to give a first-quarter report, and after that, senators will be able to take better stock of the territory’s financial picture, James said.
The last few sections of the omnibus do contain a $50,000 appropriation from the General Fund to the Justice Department to cover operations for the Civil Rights Commission, along with another $20,000 to the V.I. National Guard — to be divided equally between the two districts — to cover the costs of sending troops overseas for Operation Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom.
Otherwise, the 2010 Omnibus Authorization Act, among other things, sets up a "dean of students" position at each high school across the territory, which comes attached with a salary range of $55,000 to $65,000. The bill also makes sure that V.I. Water and Power Authority linemen, along with employees working with hazardous materials, receive certain retirement benefits that Senate President Louis P. Hill said have "been threatened" by the Government Employees’ Retirement System reform act, passed a few years ago.
The bill also lays out uniform procedures for issuing a foreign subpoena in the Virgin Islands, gives the Public Works commissioner instructions on how to paint traffic arrows, makes local harbor pilots class-III employees, and sets up a V.I. Building Contractors Incentive Program aimed at boosting the number of hotel rooms on St. Croix.
The program extends the Economic Development Commission tax benefits granted to developers building hotels on St. Croix to the local contractors they hire.
"So the contractors working on these hotels would get the same EDC benefits," Hill explained later. "We’re just trying to cover the cost of building some of these big projects."
Most of the Senate’s spending came down later in the form of 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 new hospitals and the purchase of HIV-AIDS medication for the local Health Department.
"Every single one of these appropriations is necessary," Senate President Louis P. Hill said Tuesday. "We are realigning funds for needs in the community that are urgent and critical."
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 under the Lieutenant Governor’s Office under one roof.
Otherwise, the bill contains a little more than $1 million worth of new appropriations, which 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
-the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix to pay for a digital mammography machine ($300,000).
The bill also appropriates money from the interest earned on debt reserves to the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency to pay outstanding obligations; from the Agriculture Revolving Fund to pay for an agriculture technician for the Agriculture Department; and from the Internal Revenue Matching Fund to the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix to pay for the 2010 Cardiac Symposium.
All 15 senators voted in favor of the reprogramming bill.
Other bills passed by the Senate during the two-day full session:
– put in place a uniform probate act intended to clarify outdated and inappropriate legal guidelines and streamline the territory’s antiquated probate process;
– eliminates the need for performance bonds on bids for government contracts valued at less than $150,000;
-gives temporary employees that are terminated after working for the government for several years the same recourse and right to appeal as permanent employees;
— extends the minimum government salary of $20,000 to semi-autonomous and independent government agencies and institutions;
— appropriates $500,000 to the V.I. Department of Education to help fund its ongoing efforts to evaluate and establish public pre-kindergarten education;
— reduces from nine to seven the number of V.I. Housing Authority commissioners, to bring it into line with federal guidelines;
— exempts certain fuel-efficient cars from the V.I. Highway User’s Tax;
— expands existing Worker’s Compensation benefits for volunteer emergency responders to more recipients under more circumstances, with funding provided from traffic citations; and
— seeks to diversify the territory’s financial services sector by attracting institutions to the territory that can create a market for asset-backed securities.
Senators also approved two Coastal Zone Management permit applications that would allow Botany Bay and Ritz Carlton Club developers to install the infrastructure needed to support reverse-osmosis plants at the two proposed St. Thomas developments.
All senators were present during Tuesday’s session.
