The executive power of
the Virgin Islands shall be vested in an executive
officer whose official title shall be the “Governor
of the Virgin Islands”. The Governor of the Virgin
Islands, together with the Lieutenant Governor, shall
be elected by a majority of the votes cast by the
people who are qualified to vote for the members of
the legislature of the Virgin Islands. The Governor
and Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly, by
the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable
to both officers. If no candidates receive a majority
of the votes cast in any election, on the fourteenth
day thereafter a runoff election shall be held between
the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
receiving the highest and second highest numbers of
votes cast. The first election for Governor and
Lieutenant Governor shall be held on November 3, 1970.
Thereafter, beginning with the year 1974, the Governor
and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected every four
years at the general election. The Governor and
Lieutenant Governor shall hold office for a term of
four years and until their successors are elected and
qualified. No person who has been elected Governor for
two full successive terms shall be again eligible to
hold that office until one full term has intervened.
The term of the elected Governor and Lieutenant
Governor shall commence on the first Monday of January
following the date of election.
No person shall be
eligible for election to the office of Governor or
Lieutenant Governor unless he is an eligible voter and
has been for five consecutive years immediately
preceding the election a citizen of the United States
and a bona fide resident of the Virgin Islands and
will be, at the time of taking office, at least thirty
years of age. The Governor shall maintain his official
residence in the Government House on Saint Thomas
during his incumbency, which house, together with land
appurtenant thereto, is hereby transferred to the
government of the Virgin Islands. While in Saint Croix
the Governor may reside in Government House on Saint
Croix, which house, together with land appurtenant
thereto is also transferred to the government of the
Virgin Islands.
The Governor shall have
general supervision and control of all the
departments, bureaus, agencies, and other
instrumentalities of the executive branch of the
government of the Virgin Islands. He may grant pardons
and reprieves and remit fines and forfeitures for
offenses against local laws. He may veto any
legislation as provided in this Act. He shall appoint,
and may remove, all officers and employees of the
executive branch of the government of the Virgin
Islands, except as otherwise provided in this or any
other Act of Congress, or under the laws of the Virgin
Islands, and shall commission all officers that he may
be authorized to appoint. He shall be responsible for
the faithful execution of the laws of the Virgin
Islands and the laws of the United States applicable
in the Virgin Islands. Whenever it becomes necessary,
in case of disaster, invasion, insurrection, or
rebellion or imminent danger thereof, or to prevent or
suppress lawless violence, he may summon the posse
comitatus or call out the militia or request
assistance of the senior military or naval commander
of the Armed Forces of the United States in the Virgin
Islands or Puerto Rico, which may be given at the
discretion of such commander if not disruptive of, or
inconsistent with, his Federal responsibilities. He
may, in case of rebellion or invasion or imminent
danger thereof, when the public safety requires it,
proclaim the islands, insofar as they are under the
jurisdiction of the government of the Virgin Islands,
to be under martial law. The members of the
legislature shall meet forthwith on their own
initiative and may, by a two-thirds vote, revoke such
proclamation.
The Governor shall
prepare, publish, and submit to the Congress and the
Secretary of the Interior a comprehensive annual
financial report in conformance with the standards of
the National Council on Governmental Accounting within
one hundred and twenty days after the close of the
fiscal year. The comprehensive annual financial report
shall include statistical data as set forth in the
standards of the National Council on Governmental
Accounting relating to the physical, economic, social,
and political characteristics of the government, and
any other information required by the Congress. The
Governor shall also make such other reports at such
other times as may be required by the Congress or
under applicable Federal law. He shall have the power
to issue executive orders and regulations not in
conflict with any applicable law. He may recommend
bills to the legislature and give expression to his
views on any matter before that body.
There is hereby
established the office of Lieutenant Governor of the
Virgin Islands. The Lieutenant Governor shall have
such executive powers and perform such duties as may
be assigned to him by the Governor or prescribed by
this Act or under the laws of the Virgin Islands.
