108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3589

AN ACT

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of

the Government of the Virgin Islands.

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3589

AN ACT

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the

Government of the Virgin Islands.

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 the Committee on Re10 sources in the House of Representatives and the

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the

12 Senate.

13 (3) Each year certify spending limits of the an14 nual budget and whether or not the annual budget

15 is balanced.

16 (4) Monitor operations of budget for compliance

17 with spending limits, appropriations, and laws, and

18 direct adjustments where necessary.

19 (5) Develop standards for financial manage20 ment, including inventory and contracting, for the

21 government of the Virgin Islands in general and for

22 each agency in conjunction with the agency head.

23 (6) Oversee all aspects of the implementation of

24 the financial management system provided pursuant

25 to section 3 to ensure the coordination, trans-
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1 parency, and networking of all agencies’ financial,

2 personnel, and budget functions.

3 (7) Provide technical staff to the Governor and

4 legislature of the Virgin Islands for development of

5 a deficit reduction and financial recovery plan.

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

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

8 this Act, the position of the Director of the Office of Man9 agement and Budget of the Virgin Islands shall—

10 (1) have the duties, salary (as specified in sub11 section (f)(3)), and other conditions of the Deputy

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

13 and other conditions of the Director of the Office of

14 Management and Budget of the Virgin Islands as

15 such functions existed before the appointment of the

16 Chief Financial Officer; and

17 (2) assist the Chief Financial Officer in car18 rying out the duties of the Chief Financial Officer.

19 (e) CONDITIONS RELATED TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OF20 FICER.—

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

22 be appointed for a term of 5 years.

23 (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer

24 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting

25 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or
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1 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad2 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is3 lands.

4 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of5 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity

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

7 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord8 ance with subsection (a).

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

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

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

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

13 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief

14 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi15 autonomous agency.

16 (f) CONDITIONS RELATED TO DEPUTY CHIEF FI17 NANCIAL OFFICER.—

18 (1) TERM; REMOVAL.—The Deputy Chief Fi19 nancial Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the

20 Chief Financial Officer.

21 (2) REPLACEMENT.—If the Deputy Chief Fi22 nancial Officer is unable to continue acting in that

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

24 another person shall be selected by the Governor of
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1 the Virgin Islands to serve as Deputy Chief Finan2 cial Officer.

3 (3) SALARY.—The Deputy Chief Financial Offi4 cer shall be paid at a salary to be determined by the

5 Chief Financial Officer, except such rate may not be

6 less than the rate of pay of the Director of the Of7 fice of Management and Budget.

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

9 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,

10 the functions of the Chief Financial Officer shall be trans11 ferred to the Director of the Office of Management and

12 Budget of the Virgin Islands.

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

14 after the date that is 5 years after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act.

16 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan19 cial Officer Search Commission’’.

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

21 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for

22 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Is23 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in

24 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac25 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage-
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1 ment in governmental or business entities and must have

2 experience in the development, implementation, and oper3 ation of financial management systems. Candidates shall

4 not have served in a policy making or unclassified position

5 of the Government of the Virgin Islands in the 10 years

6 immediately preceding appointment as Chief Financial Of7 ficer.

8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

9 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com10 mission shall be composed of 9 members appointed

11 not later than 30 days after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members

13 must have recognized business, government, or fi14 nancial expertise and experience and shall be ap15 pointed as follows:

16 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor

17 of the Virgin Islands.

18 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi19 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands.

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

21 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by

22 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is23 lands.

24 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber

25 of Commerce of St. Thomas-St. John.
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1 (E) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber

2 of Commerce of St. Croix.

3 (F) 1 individual appointed by the Presi4 dent of the University of the Virgin Islands.

5 (G) 1 individual appointed by the Chief

6 Judge of the Virgin Islands Territorial Court.

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

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

9 Legislature of the Virgin Islands.

10 (I) 1 individual appointed by the Advocates

11 for the Preservation of the Retirement System.

12 (2) TERMS.—

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

14 appointed for the life of the Commission.

15 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com16 mission shall be filled in the manner in which

17 the original appointment was made. Any mem18 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap19 pointed for the remainder of that term.

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

21 pay.

22 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis23 sion shall constitute a quorum.

24 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the

25 Commission shall be the Chief Judge of the Terri-
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1 torial Court or her designee and shall serve as an ex

2 officio member of the Commission and shall vote

3 only in the case of a tie.

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

5 the call of the Chairperson. The Commission shall

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

7 all members have been appointed under this sub8 section.

9 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members

10 may not be current government employees, except

11 for the member appointed under paragraph (1)(C);

12 and

13 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission

14 shall transmit a report to the Governor and the Resources

15 Committee of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate

17 not later than 60 days after its first meeting. The report

18 shall name the Commission’s recommendations for can19 didates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the

20 Virgin Islands.

21 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

22 210 days after its first meeting.

23 SEC. 3. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

24 It is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums

25 as necessary for the installation of a Financial Manage-
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1 ment System, including appropriate computer hardware

2 and software, to the Government of the Virgin Islands.

3 Upon becoming available, the financial management sys4 tem shall be available to the Chief Financial Officer and,

5 after the date that is 5 years after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Manage7 ment and Budget of the Virgin Islands, to assist the Chief

8 Financial Officer or the Director of the Office of Manage9 ment and Budget of the Virgin Islands, as the case may

10 be, to carry out the official duties of that office.

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

12 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions

13 apply:

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

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

16 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial

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

18 1(a).

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

20 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer

21 Search Commission established pursuant to section

22 2.

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

24 the Governor of the Virgin Islands.
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1 (4) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The term ‘‘removal

2 for cause’’ means removal based upon misconduct,

3 failure to meet job requirements, or any grounds

4 that a reasonable person would find grounds for dis5 charge.

6 SEC. 5. NO ABROGATION OF POWERS.

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit the

8 Governor and Legislature of the Virgin Islands to dilute,

9 delegate, or otherwise alter or weaken the powers and au10 thority of the Office of Management and Budget estab11 lished under the laws of the Virgin Islands.

Passed the House of Representatives September 22,

2004.

Attest:

Clerk.