IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2107 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2007 

Received 

AUGUST 3, 2007 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE VIRGIN IS2 LANDS. 

3 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 

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

5 Islands shall appoint a Chief Financial Officer, with 

6 the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Vir7 gin Islands, from the names on the list required 

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

9 a person for Chief Financial Officer but the Legisla10 ture of the Virgin Islands has not confirmed a nomi11 nee within 90 days after receiving the list pursuant 

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

13 such list a Chief Financial Officer on an acting basis 

14 until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial 

15 Officer. 

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

17 Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed 

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

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Virgin Islands 

20 Chief Financial Officer Search Commission, by ma21 jority vote, shall appoint from the names on the list 

22 submitted under section 2(d), an Acting Chief Fi23 nancial Officer to serve in that capacity until a Chief 

24 Financial Officer is appointed under the first sen25 tence of paragraph (1). In either case, if the Acting 

26 Chief Financial Officer serves in an acting capacity 


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1 for 180 consecutive days, without further action the 

2 Acting Chief Financial Officer shall become the 

3 Chief Financial Officer. 

4 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the appointment of a 

6 Chief Financial Officer under subsection (a), the 

7 functions of the Director of the Office of Manage8 ment and Budget established under the laws of the 

9 Virgin Islands shall be transferred to the Chief Fi10 nancial Officer. All employees of the Office of Man11 agement and Budget become employees of the Office 

12 of the Chief Financial Officer. 

13 (2) DOCUMENTS PROVIDED.—The heads of 

14 each department of the Government of the Virgin Is15 lands, in particular the head of the Department of 

16 Finance of the Virgin Islands and the head of the 

17 Internal Revenue Bureau of the Virgin Islands shall 

18 provide all documents and information under the ju19 risdiction of that head that the Chief Financial Offi20 cer considers required to carry out his or her func21 tions to the Chief Financial Officer. 

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

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


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1 (1) Assume the functions and authority of the 

2 office of the Office of Management and Budget es3 tablished under the laws of the Virgin Islands as 

4 transferred under subsection (b). 

5 (2) Develop a report on the financial status of 

6 the Government of the Virgin Islands not later than 

7 6 months after appointment and quarterly there8 after. Such reports shall be available to the public 

9 and shall be submitted to— 

10 (A) the Governor of the Virgin Islands; 

11 (B) the legislature of the Virgin Islands; 

12 (C) the Committee on Natural Resources 

13 in the House of Representatives; and 

14 (D) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources in the Senate. 

16 (3) Each year certify spending limits of the an17 nual budget and whether or not the annual budget 

18 is balanced. 

19 (4) Monitor operations of budget for compliance 

20 with spending limits, appropriations, and laws, and, 

21 in consultation with the Governor, direct adjust22 ments where necessary. 

23 (5) Develop standards for financial manage24 ment, including inventory and contracting, for the 


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1 government of the Virgin Islands in general and for 

2 each agency in conjunction with the agency head. 

3 (6) Oversee all aspects of the implementation of 

4 the financial management system provided pursuant 

5 to section 3 to ensure the coordination, trans6 parency, and networking of all agencies’ financial, 

7 personnel, and budget functions. 

8 (7) Provide technical staff to the Governor and 

9 legislature of the Virgin Islands for development of 

10 a deficit reduction and financial recovery plan. 

11 (d) DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—Until the 

12 date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act, the position of the Director of the Office of Man14 agement and Budget of the Virgin Islands shall— 

15 (1) have the duties, salary (as specified in sub16 section (f)(3)), and other conditions of the Deputy 

17 Chief Financial Officer in lieu of the duties, salary, 

18 and other conditions of the Director of the Office of 

19 Management and Budget of the Virgin Islands as 

20 such functions existed before the appointment of the 

21 Chief Financial Officer; and 

22 (2) assist the Chief Financial Officer in car23 rying out the duties of the Chief Financial Officer. 

24 (e) CONDITIONS RELATED TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OF25 FICER.— 


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

2 be appointed for a term of 5 years or until the adop3 tion and ratification of a Constitution by the Virgin 

4 Islands, whichever occurs first. 

5 (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

6 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting 

7 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or 

8 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad9 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is10 lands. 

11 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of12 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity 

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

14 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord15 ance with subsection (a). 

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

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

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

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

20 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief 

21 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi 

22 autonomous agency. 

23 (f) CONDITIONS RELATED TO DEPUTY CHIEF FI24 NANCIAL OFFICER.— 


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1 (1) TERM; REMOVAL.—The Deputy Chief Fi2 nancial Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the 

3 Chief Financial Officer. 

4 (2) REPLACEMENT.—If the Deputy Chief Fi5 nancial Officer is unable to continue acting in that 

6 capacity due to removal, illness, death, or otherwise, 

7 another person shall be selected by the Governor of 

8 the Virgin Islands to serve as Deputy Chief Finan9 cial Officer. 

10 (3) SALARY.—The Deputy Chief Financial Offi11 cer shall be paid at a salary to be determined by the 

12 Chief Financial Officer, except such rate may not be 

13 less than the rate of pay of the Director of the Of14 fice of Management and Budget. 

15 (g) RESUMPTION OF FUNCTIONS.—On the date that 

16 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act or 

17 upon the adoption and ratification of a Constitution by 

18 the Virgin Islands, whichever occurs first, the functions 

19 of the Chief Financial Officer shall be transferred to the 

20 Director of the Office of Management and Budget of the 

21 Virgin Islands. 

22 (h) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to have effect 

23 after the date that is 5 years after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com3 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan4 cial Officer Search Commission’’. 

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

6 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for 

7 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Is8 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in 

9 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac10 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage11 ment in governmental or business entities and experience 

12 in the development, implementation, and operation of fi13 nancial management systems. Candidates shall not have 

14 served in a policy making or unclassified position of the 

15 Government of the Virgin Islands in the 10 years imme16 diately preceding appointment as Chief Financial Officer. 

17 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com19 mission shall be composed of 9 members appointed 

20 not later than 30 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members 

22 must have recognized business, government, or fi23 nancial expertise and experience, and shall be ap24 pointed as follows: 

25 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor 

26 of the Virgin Islands. 


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1 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi2 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

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

4 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by 

5 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is6 lands. 

7 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

8 of Commerce of St. Thomas-St. John. 

9 (E) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

10 of Commerce of St. Croix. 

11 (F) 1 individual appointed by the Presi12 dent of the University of the Virgin Islands. 

13 (G) 1 individual appointed by the Chief 

14 Judge of the Virgin Islands Supreme Court. 

15 (H) 1 individual, who is a resident of St. 

16 John, jointly appointed by the At-Large Mem17 ber of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands and 

18 the St. John administrator. 

19 (I) 1 individual appointed by the Advocates 

20 for the Preservation of the Retirement System. 

21 (2) TERMS.— 

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

23 appointed for the life of the Commission. 

24 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com25 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 


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1 the original appointment was made. Any mem2 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap3 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

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

5 pay. 

6 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis7 sion shall constitute a quorum. 

8 (5) CHAIRPERSON.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

10 Commission shall be determined by a majority 

11 vote of the members of the Commission. 

12 (B) CHAIRPERSON PRO TEM.—Until the 

13 Commission elects a Chairperson under sub14 paragraph (A), the Chairperson pro tem shall 

15 be the individual appointed under paragraph 

16 (1)(G). 

17 (6) MEETINGS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

19 meet at the call of the Chairperson or the 

20 Chairperson pro tem. 

21 (B) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 15 

22 days after all members have been appointed 

23 under this subsection, the Commission shall 

24 have its initial meeting at the call of the Chair25 person pro tem. 


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1 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members 

2 may not be current government employees, except 

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

4 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

5 shall transmit a report to the Governor and the Natural 

6 Resources Committee of the House of Representatives and 

7 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

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

9 report shall name the Commission’s recommendations for 

10 candidates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of 

11 the Virgin Islands. 

12 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

13 210 days after its first meeting. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

16 apply: 

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

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

19 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial 

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

21 1(a). 

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

23 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer 

24 Search Commission established pursuant to section 

25 2. 


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

2 the Governor of the Virgin Islands. 

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

4 for cause’’ means removal based upon misconduct, 

5 failure to meet job requirements, or any grounds 

6 that a reasonable person would find grounds for dis7 charge. 

8 SEC. 4. NO ABROGATION OF POWERS. 

9 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow the 

10 Governor and Legislature of the Virgin Islands to dilute, 

11 delegate, or otherwise alter or weaken the powers and au12 thority of the Office of Management and Budget estab13 lished under the laws of the Virgin Islands. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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