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Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. has acted on a number of bills passed by the 29th Legislature in its most recent session. In three letters sent to Senate President Ronald Russell, the governor explained his reasons for vetoing entire bills or some of their provisions, while signing others into law.
De Jongh approved the original portions of Bill No. 29-0176 which provide funding for the V.I. Department of Health, but vetoed some of its amendments. One approved provision of that bill involves adopting measures of the Federal Motor Carrier Act, which will allow some $350,000 in federal funds to remain in the territory.
Other portions were vetoed because they were simply “inoperative,” the governor wrote Russell. The governor also rejected an amendment allowing the Legislature access to Executive Branch bank accounts, a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. While vetoing that law, the governor restated his commitment to working with the Legislature, and reminded lawmakers members of his Financial Team are always available to provide information or answer questions, and have frequently testified before the Senate.
De Jongh approved bill 29-0096 that requires automatic defibrillators at schools, dental offices and other facilities where children play sports. He approved most of Bill No. 29-0026 involving regulations for wireless telecommunications facilities, while denying a provision that would unconstitutionally allow the government to use private property without compensation.
The governor signed into law the Hotel Development Act of 2011, a creative way to offer assistance to hotel and resort developers, but line-item vetoed some portions.
He vetoed a flawed bill addressing car accidents involving government vehicles for several reasons, including financial strains and a language “rife with internal and legal inconsistencies.”
By 2013, Virgin Islanders will be able to receive their income tax refunds by direct deposit thanks to another bill the governor signed into law. He also approved bills creating a Legislature's Youth Council, creating the Division of Capital Projects within the Department of Public Works, clarifying the roles of the Director of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Police Commissioner, and clarifying a recently passed law regarding evidence and legal privileges in the territory's courts.
De Jongh recognized resolutions, and joined the Legislature in applauding local athlete Kristerpher Michael Turein Elien, a 27-year-old Crucian tennis champion, and calypsonian and cultural ambassador Camille “King Derby” Macedon, who for decades has preserved the territory's culture and musical heritage.
Bills honoring Emile Christopher Berry and Omar O. Brown, Sr., two former firefighters who will have stations named in their honor, were also approved.
Finally, the governor signed the following bills into law: 29-0169, 29-0171, 29-0172, 29-0173, 29-0175, 29-0177, 29-0178, 29-0179, 29-0180, 29-0181, 29-0182, 29-0183, 29-0184, 29-0185, 29-0186 and 29-0189. “Inasmuch as these bills are all non-General Fund budget bills whose provisions are all germane to the relevant budget, they are approved,” de Jongh wrote Russell.
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