Bryan Signs over 30 Bills on Guns, Wills, Retirees, Tax Breaks and More

St Croix Source
Source staff
April 13, 2022

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach in his capacity as acting governor, have signed into law 34 bills sent up by the 34th Legislature, including a measure merging Emergency Medical Services under the V.I. Fire Service, according to a release from Government House.

One of the bills creates a new 11-member “Council on Responsible Fatherhood.” Creating new entities as a way to address or appear to address community problems has a long history in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are well in excess of 120 legislatively created boards, commissions and councils in the territory, many of which lack quorums and some have never come into existence.

Two bills, move in the other direction, consolidating several statutory licensing boards under one entity. Bill No. 34-0152 puts professions in plumbing, electrical, mechanical and fiber-optic fields under general contractor licensing regulations. Bill No. 34-0198 establishes the Virgin Islands Board of Contractors, Trades and Crafts, consolidating several previous statutory entities.

Bill No. 34-0154 directs the Department of Education to establish a Bilingual and English Language Development Program in the public schools. There are multiple statutory mandates for classes, including swimming and real estate appraisal, which are not fully implemented.

AARP of the Virgin Islands heralded four of the bills as progress for older Virgin Islanders. They are:

• The Uniform Electronic Wills and Notarial Acts, which AARP said provides additional security and prevention of fraud and abuse. It changes the law so that legal documents can be notarized and witnessed remotely.
• Bill No. 34-0171, the VI Retirees Return to Work legislation, will allow retirees to re-enter the government workforce and contribute to the government pension system, while still collecting their pension checks.
• Bill No. 33-0041 and Amendment 33-681 establish the Complete Streets Policy in roadway construction and repair design within the Territory. This allows for planners of road lanes to include pedestrian infrastructure in all road designs and repairs. According to AARP, as Complete Streets are built within the territory, young and older residents, the disabled, bikers, and commuters will have designated spaces and lanes in the same street while traveling to get to where they need. Although Bryan signed the bill, he said he exercised his line-item veto power on the portion of the bill appropriating $3.5 million to the Port Authority for the expansion of Henry Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix because the Administration already had provided $8 million for the project.

“Additionally, the funds provided to the Virgin Islands through the American Rescue Plan Act have already been allocated by the Administration as authorized by the Federal Government and cannot be re-appropriated by the Virgin Islands Legislature,” Bryan wrote in his transmittal letter to Senate President Donna Frett-Gregory.

“Bryan said although he signed into law Bill No. 34-0072, which provides for the declaration of firearms components upon their entry into the Virgin Islands, it doesn’t amend all sections of the V.I. Code that need revision to achieve comprehensive gun control and to establish a clear process of declaration of weapons and ammunition on entry into the territory.

“Further, the Bill as finalized removes reference to ammunition in several crucial areas and, as a consequence, removes any control of ammunition entering the Territory,” Bryan wrote in his transmittal letter.

Bryan also said he approved “with great reservation” Bill No. 34-0170, which amends the incentives to beneficiaries in the Economic Development Program to further their commitments to investment in the Territory.

“It is respectfully requested that the Legislature expeditiously confer with the Economic Development Authority to improve these changes and to remove certain detrimental provisions to our tax incentives program,” Bryan wrote in his transmittal letter.