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Union Calendar No. 78 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 85 

[Report No. 113–110] 

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 

JUNE 17, 2013 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

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A BILL 

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the 

Government of the Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. 

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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 

11 a person for Chief Financial Officer but the Legisla12 ture of the Virgin Islands has not confirmed a nomi13 nee within 90 days after receiving the list pursuant 

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

15 such list a Chief Financial Officer on an acting basis 

16 until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial 

17 Officer. 

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

19 Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed 

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

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Virgin Islands 

22 Chief Financial Officer Search Commission, by ma23 jority vote, shall appoint from the names on the list 

24 submitted under section 2(d), an Acting Chief Fi25 nancial Officer to serve in that capacity until a Chief 

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1 Financial Officer is appointed under the first sen2 tence of paragraph (1). In either case, if the Acting 

3 Chief Financial Officer serves in an acting capacity 

4 for 180 consecutive days, without further action the 

5 Acting Chief Financial Officer shall become the 

6 Chief Financial Officer. 

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

8 duties of the Chief Financial Officer shall include the fol9 lowing: 

10 (1) Develop and report on the financial status 

11 of the Government of the Virgin Islands not later 

12 than 6 months after appointment and quarterly 

13 thereafter. Such reports shall be available to the 

14 public. 

15 (2) Each year prepare and certify spending lim16 its of the annual budget, including annual estimates 

17 of all revenues of the territory without regard to 

18 sources, and whether or not the annual budget is 

19 balanced. 

20 (3) Revise and update standards for financial 

21 management, including inventory and contracting, 

22 for the Government of the Virgin Islands in general 

23 and for each agency in conjunction with the agency 

24 head. 

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1 (c) DOCUMENTS PROVIDED.—The heads of each de2 partment of the Government of the Virgin Islands, in par3 ticular the head of the Department of Finance of the Vir4 gin Islands and the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau 

5 of the Virgin Islands shall provide all documents and in6 formation under the jurisdiction of that head that the 

7 Chief Financial Officer considers required to carry out his 

8 or her functions to the Chief Financial Officer. 

9 (d) CONDITIONS RELATED TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OF10 FICER.— 

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

12 be appointed for a term of 5 years. 

13 (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 

14 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting 

15 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or 

16 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad17 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is18 lands. 

19 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of20 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity 

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

22 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord23 ance with subsection (a). 

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

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

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

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

3 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief 

4 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi5 autonomous agency. 

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

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

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

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

10 Virgin Islands shall hold a referendum to seek the ap11 proval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding wheth12 er the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Govern13 ment of the Virgin Islands shall be made a permanent part 

14 of the executive branch of the Government of the Virgin 

15 Islands. The referendum shall be binding and conducted 

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

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

18 cast. 

19 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com21 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan22 cial Officer Search Commission’’. 

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

24 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for 

25 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Ismstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in 

2 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac3 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage4 ment in governmental or business entities and must have 

5 experience in the development, implementation, and oper6 ation of financial management systems. 

7 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com9 mission shall be composed of 8 members appointed 

10 not later than 30 days after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members 

12 must have recognized business, government, or fi13 nancial expertise and experience and shall be ap14 pointed as follows: 

15 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor 

16 of the Virgin Islands. 

17 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi18 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

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

20 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by 

21 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is22 lands. 

23 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 

24 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, who is a resident of St. 

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

7 Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 

8 (H) 1 individual appointed by the Presi9 dent of AARP Virgin islands. 

10 (2) TERMS.— 

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

12 appointed for the life of the Commission. 

13 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com14 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 

15 the original appointment was made. Any mem16 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap17 pointed for the remainder of that term. 

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

19 pay. 

20 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis21 sion shall constitute a quorum. 

22 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

23 Commission shall be the Chief Justice of the Su24 preme Court of the United States Virgin Islands or 

25 the designee of the Chief Justice. The Chairperson 

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1 shall serve as an ex officio member of the Commis2 sion and shall vote only in the case of a tie. 

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

4 the call of the Chairperson. The Commission shall 

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

6 all members have been appointed under this sub7 section. 

8 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members 

9 may not be current government employees, except 

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

11 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 

12 shall transmit a report to the Governor, the Committee 

13 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

14 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

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

16 report shall name the Commission’s recommendations for 

17 candidates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of 

18 the Virgin Islands. 

19 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

20 upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Finan21 cial Officer. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

24 apply: 

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

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

3 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial 

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

5 1(a). 

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

7 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer 

8 Search Commission established pursuant to section 

9 2. 

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

11 the Governor of the Virgin Islands. 

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

13 for cause’’ means removal based upon misconduct, 

14 failure to meet job requirements, or any grounds 

15 that a reasonable person would find grounds for dis16 charge. 

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Union Calendar No. 78 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 85 

[Report No. 113–110] 

A BILL 

To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of 

other purposes. the Government of the Virgin Islands, and for 

JUNE 17, 2013 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS