I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3706 

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the 

Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the 

Government of the Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE VIRGIN IS4 LANDS. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of the Virgin 

7 Islands shall appoint a Chief Financial Officer, with 

8 the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Vir9 gin Islands, from the names on the list required 

10 under section 2(d). If the Governor has nominated 


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1 a person for Chief Financial Officer but the Legisla2 ture of the Virgin Islands has not confirmed a nomi3 nee within 90 days after receiving the list pursuant 

4 to section 2(d), the Governor shall appoint from 

5 such list a Chief Financial Officer on an acting basis 

6 until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial 

7 Officer. 

8 (2) ACTING CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—If a 

9 Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed 

10 under paragraph (1) within 180 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Virgin Islands 

12 Chief Financial Officer Search Commission, by ma13 jority vote, shall appoint from the names on the list 

14 submitted under section 2(d), an Acting Chief Fi15 nancial Officer to serve in that capacity until a Chief 

16 Financial Officer is appointed under the first sen17 tence of paragraph (1). In either case, if the Acting 

18 Chief Financial Officer serves in an acting capacity 

19 for 180 consecutive days, without further action the 

20 Acting Chief Financial Officer shall become the 

21 Chief Financial Officer. 

22 (b) DUTIES OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The 

23 duties of the Chief Financial Officer shall include the fol24 lowing: 


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1 (1) Develop and report on the financial status 

2 of the Government of the Virgin Islands not later 

3 than 6 months after appointment and quarterly 

4 thereafter. Such reports shall be available to the 

5 public. 

6 (2) Each year certify spending limits of the an7 nual budget and whether or not the annual budget 

8 is balanced. 

9 (3) Revise and update standards for financial 

10 management, including inventory and contracting, 

11 for the Government of the Virgin Islands in general 

12 and for each agency in conjunction with the agency 

13 head. 

14 (c) DOCUMENTS PROVIDED.—The heads of each de15 partment of the Government of the Virgin Islands, in par16 ticular the head of the Department of Finance of the Vir17 gin Islands and the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau 

18 of the Virgin Islands shall provide all documents and in19 formation under the jurisdiction of that head that the 

20 Chief Financial Officer considers required to carry out his 

21 or her functions to the Chief Financial Officer. 

22 (d) CONDITIONS RELATED TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OF23 FICER.— 

24 (1) TERM.—The Chief Financial Officer shall 

25 be appointed for a term of 5 years. 


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1 (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

2 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting 

3 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or 

4 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad5 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is6 lands. 

7 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of8 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity 

9 due to removal, illness, death, or otherwise, another 

10 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord11 ance with subsection (a). 

12 (4) SALARY.—The Chief Financial Officer shall 

13 be paid at a salary to be determined by the Governor 

14 of the Virgin Islands, except such rate may not be 

15 less than the highest rate of pay for a cabinet officer 

16 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief 

17 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi18 autonomous agency. 

19 (e) REFERENDUM.—As part of the closest regularly 

20 scheduled, islands-wide election in the Virgin Islands to 

21 the expiration of the fourth year of the five-year term of 

22 the Chief Financial Officer, the Board of Elections of the 

23 Virgin Islands shall hold a referendum to seek the ap24 proval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding wheth25 er the position of Chief Financial Officer of the GovernVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706

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1 ment of the Virgin Islands shall be made a permanent part 

2 of the executive branch of the Government of the Virgin 

3 Islands. The referendum shall be binding and conducted 

4 according to the laws of the Virgin Islands, except that 

5 the results shall be determined by a majority of the ballots 

6 cast. 

7 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com9 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan10 cial Officer Search Commission’’. 

11 (b) DUTY OF COMMISSION.—The Commission shall 

12 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for 

13 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Is14 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in 

15 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac16 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage17 ment in governmental or business entities and must have 

18 experience in the development, implementation, and oper19 ation of financial management systems. 

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com22 mission shall be composed of 8 members appointed 

23 not later than 30 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members 

25 must have recognized business, government, or fiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706

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1 nancial expertise and experience and shall be ap2 pointed as follows: 

3 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor 

4 of the Virgin Islands. 

5 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi6 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

7 (C) 1 individual, who is an employee of the 

8 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by 

9 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is10 lands. 

11 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

12 of Commerce of St. Thomas-St. John. 

13 (E) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

14 of Commerce of St. Croix. 

15 (F) 1 individual appointed by the Presi16 dent of the University of the Virgin Islands. 

17 (G) 1 individual, who is a resident of St. 

18 John, appointed by the At-Large Member of the 

19 Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

20 (H) 1 individual appointed by the Presi21 dent of AARP Virgin islands. 

22 (2) TERMS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

24 appointed for the life of the Commission. 


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1 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com2 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 

3 the original appointment was made. Any mem4 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap5 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

6 (3) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve without 

7 pay. 

8 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis9 sion shall constitute a quorum. 

10 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

11 Commission shall be the Chief Justice of the Su12 preme Court of the United States Virgin Islands or 

13 the designee of the Chief Justice. The Chairperson 

14 shall serve as an ex officio member of the Commis15 sion and shall vote only in the case of a tie. 

16 (6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

17 the call of the Chairperson. The Commission shall 

18 meet for the first time not later than 15 days after 

19 all members have been appointed under this sub20 section. 

21 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members 

22 may not be current government employees, except 

23 for the member appointed under paragraph (1)(C). 

24 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

25 shall transmit a report to the Governor, the Committee 


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1 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

2 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

3 Senate not later than 60 days after its first meeting. The 

4 report shall name the Commission’s recommendations for 

5 candidates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of 

6 the Virgin Islands. 

7 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

8 upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Finan9 cial Officer. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

12 apply: 

13 (1) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—In sections 1 

14 and 2, the term ‘‘Chief Financial Officer’’ means a 

15 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial 

16 Officer, as the case may be, appointed under section 

17 1(a). 

18 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

19 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer 

20 Search Commission established pursuant to section 

21 2. 

22 (3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

23 the Governor of the Virgin Islands. 

24 (4) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The term ‘‘removal 

25 for cause’’ means removal based upon misconduct, 


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1 failure to meet job requirements, or any grounds 

2 that a reasonable person would find grounds for dis3 charge. 

Æ 


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