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July 4, 2008
GOVERNOR ACTS ON BILLS RECENTLY PASSED BY THE SENATE Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. took action Friday on several measures passed recently by the 27th Legislature. The bills were due back at the Senate on July 5. In today’s action, deJongh approved Bill 27-0193, as public access to our shorelines remains a matter of great concern. "The natural beauty of our islands and ability to enjoy them must not be inhibited in the interest of development nor limited to a handful in our community. This measure provides a more specific mechanism to achieve the policy objective," deJongh wrote in correspondence to Senate President Usie R. Richards. The governor pointed out however, the monies identified in Section 2 of this bill cannot be utilized to implement this account, as the sum appropriated in Section 31 of Act No. 6427 was expended. DeJongh said he will work with the Commissioner of Finance to identify monies within the Land Bank Fund which can be allocated to the Beach Public Access Account. DeJongh also approved Act 27-0199 which renames the Cruz Bay Creek "The Victor W. Sewer Marine Facility." "Mr. Sewer’s contributions to the St. John community are appropriately recognized with the enactment of this measure, and continue our tradition of recognizing those community leaders that have done so much to set the foundation that we now build on to improve our community. I will identify the necessary funding for the required signage to properly reflect the new name." DeJongh acknowledged with approval the Legislature’s recognition of Alan V. Sokolow in Bill 27-0197 (Resolution 1727). "His contributions not only to the Virgin Islands, but to state governments throughout the country, during his over-forty years of service at the Council of State Governments deserve our applause." Also, the governor fully endorsed Bill 27-0198 (Resolution 1728), containing the recognition of the 2007 Latin America-Caribbean Junior League champions. "These young men courageously and in exemplary fashion represented the Virgin Islands at the 2007 Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Michigan. Their inspirational performance serves as a reminder to all of us that the Virgin Islands is capable of competing at a high level of proficiency on the international stage," deJongh wrote in his letter to the Senator Richards. In Bill 27-0200, the governor approved Sections 1, 2 and 3 which contains changes to the Virgin Islands Code governing the Magistrate’s Division. The changes were recommended by the Superior Court. He also approved Sections 4 and 6 of this bill. Both sections make technical changes to already enacted legislation. DeJongh vetoed Section 5 as the Department of Education already is working to make information on its expenditures on a school-by-school basis readily available to those who request the same. "I also was informed by Board of Education that they do not have the resources to undertake the obligations imposed on it in this proposal. Finally, this legislation imposes an onerous quarterly reporting requirement on the Department of Education," deJongh explained. Section 7 was approved. It provides some much-needed relief to our small business community which is facing surmounting challenges in this time of ever-increasing costs. DeJongh also approved Sections 10, 11, 12 and 14 of this measure. Section 10 provides funding for the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School JROTC program; Section 11 provides funding to Human Services for the purchase of medical alert bracelets for senior citizens; Section 12 authorizes WAPA to use already approved funding to purchase heavy equipment for St. John and Section 14 makes a technical change to already enacted legislation. Sections 8, 9 and 13 were vetoed as these three sections required expenditure of fund from the General Fund in the current fiscal year. In his veto of Section 15, deJongh pointed out, "Our tax collecting agencies already are improving their collection divisions, and this measure may cause hardship for persons who seek rezoning of their property." Section 16 was vetoed for several reasons. "First, while I am acutely aware of the complaints made by property owners who have received notices of tax delinquency which may be inconsistent with their own records, the Office of the Tax Assessor already has taken steps to correct any errors in such notices, and continues to review its records to ensure their accuracy. Further, the shift of the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the Government is a significant change in well-settled principles of tax administration, and the lack of definition of "burden of proof" can only lead to serious administrative difficulties. My Administration has undertaken a task to clean-up Government financial records and reported delinquent accounts that have, to date, been ignored and the continued exceptions in many audits, as we merge the real property tax administration functions under the Office of the Tax Assessor. I am fully mindful of the unintended anxiety caused to many of the Territory’s real property taxpayers and take this opportunity to thank the Senators and community for their understanding as we implement corrections." DeJongh also pointed out that the last phrase of Section 16 of Bill 27-200 is ambiguous, as it suggests that no real property owner is liable for the payment of real property taxes without any clear connection to the first portion of the measure. "This ambiguity creates an inconsistency with existing laws governing the obligation of real property owners to pay their real property taxes as they become due. Such legal inconsistencies can only lead to further difficulties as we develop our new real property tax administration provisions." DeJongh approved Bills 27-0201 and 27-0202, as the pertinent zoning change and use variance are supported by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (‘DPNR"). However, he said he will urge DPNR to ensure that the R-2 restrictions left in place in Bill No. 27-0202 are enforced to ensure that the zoning district is not adversely affected by this use variance. |
