I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 85 

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

Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2013 

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 prepare and certify spending lim7 its of the annual budget, including annual estimates 

8 of all revenues of the territory without regard to 

9 sources, and whether or not the annual budget is 

10 balanced. 

11 (3) Revise and update standards for financial 

12 management, including inventory and contracting, 

13 for the Government of the Virgin Islands in general 

14 and for each agency in conjunction with the agency 

15 head. 

16 (c) DOCUMENTS PROVIDED.—The heads of each de17 partment of the Government of the Virgin Islands, in par18 ticular the head of the Department of Finance of the Vir19 gin Islands and the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau 

20 of the Virgin Islands shall provide all documents and in21 formation under the jurisdiction of that head that the 

22 Chief Financial Officer considers required to carry out his 

23 or her functions to the Chief Financial Officer. 

24 (d) 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. 

3 (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

4 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting 

5 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or 

6 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad7 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is8 lands. 

9 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of10 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity 

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

12 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord13 ance with subsection (a). 

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

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

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

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

18 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief 

19 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi20 autonomous agency. 

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

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

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

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

25 Virgin Islands shall hold a referendum to seek the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Jan 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H85.IH H85

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1 proval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding wheth2 er the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Govern3 ment of the Virgin Islands shall be made a permanent part 

4 of the executive branch of the Government of the Virgin 

5 Islands. The referendum shall be binding and conducted 

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

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

8 cast. 

9 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com11 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan12 cial Officer Search Commission’’. 

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

14 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for 

15 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Is16 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in 

17 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac18 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage19 ment in governmental or business entities and must have 

20 experience in the development, implementation, and oper21 ation of financial management systems. 

22 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

23 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com24 mission shall be composed of 8 members appointed 

25 not later than 30 days after the date of the enactVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Jan 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H85.IH H85

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1 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members 

2 must have recognized business, government, or fi3 nancial expertise and experience and shall be ap4 pointed as follows: 

5 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor 

6 of the Virgin Islands. 

7 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi8 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

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

10 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by 

11 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is12 lands. 

13 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

14 of Commerce of St. Thomas-St. John. 

15 (E) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

16 of Commerce of St. Croix. 

17 (F) 1 individual appointed by the Presi18 dent of the University of the Virgin Islands. 

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

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

21 Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

22 (H) 1 individual appointed by the Presi23 dent of AARP Virgin islands. 

24 (2) TERMS.— 


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

2 appointed for the life of the Commission. 

3 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com4 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 

5 the original appointment was made. Any mem6 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap7 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

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

9 pay. 

10 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis11 sion shall constitute a quorum. 

12 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

13 Commission shall be the Chief Justice of the Su14 preme Court of the United States Virgin Islands or 

15 the designee of the Chief Justice. The Chairperson 

16 shall serve as an ex officio member of the Commis17 sion and shall vote only in the case of a tie. 

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

19 the call of the Chairperson. The Commission shall 

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

21 all members have been appointed under this sub22 section. 

23 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members 

24 may not be current government employees, except 

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


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1 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

2 shall transmit a report to the Governor, the Committee 

3 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

4 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

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

6 report shall name the Commission’s recommendations for 

7 candidates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of 

8 the Virgin Islands. 

9 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

10 upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Finan11 cial Officer. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

14 apply: 

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

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

17 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial 

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

19 1(a). 

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

21 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer 

22 Search Commission established pursuant to section 

23 2. 

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

25 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. 

Æ 


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