ST. THOMAS — The Legislature of the Virgin Islands approved three special-ordered bills by a vote of 12 to 0 during an emergency session Thursday to pay the VI Water and Power Authority for debt owed by the VI Waste Management Authority and both territorial hospitals, replenish the rainy-day fund, and reduce the governor’s powers under the state of emergency statute.
“Today is about putting some measures to establish transparency so the branches of government can continue to work together for the better of these islands,” Senator Diane Capehart said. “Year after year, this body appropriates funding. Some agencies don’t even pay their bills on time when funds are available. The numbers do not lie. Clearly, we are in a crisis, but this one will take a collaborative effort. And using the rainy-day fund is not an option without a plan to replenish it.”
Senators met in the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall on St. Thomas for the emergency session, which followed the declaration of a state of emergency by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. on Monday.
The governor’s declaration allowed the administration to access the Budget Stabilization Fund, or rainy-day fund, to immediately make a $2.3 million payment WAPA owed Aggreko for a leased generation unit on St. Croix. The action prevented future rotational power outages that started April 15 because of load capacity issues when Aggreko shut off its generator due to nonpayment.
Thursday’s emergency session also followed an emergency meeting on Wednesday of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, during which senators received testimony from WAPA about how much it is owed by the central government and its semiautonomous agencies, including VIWMA and both hospitals — Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center and Schneider Regional Medical Center.
READ MORE: “Senators drill down for information to address WAPA’s financial crisis; Subpoena govn’t officials.”
Senate President Novelle Francis Jr. pointed out that the Legislature has held hearings throughout the past five years to address WAPA’s financial crisis. He stressed that the consequences of not keeping the Authority solvent would be devastating to the economy.
“WAPA is the red-headed stepchild that nobody wants but it’s ours,” he said. “It’s broke and broken. So, you know, we continue to treat the symptoms and not really address the disease. When you talk about producing electricity at 55 cents a kilowatt hour and you’re only able to charge 41 cents, we will always be in this predicament.”
The Senate acted today to help improve WAPA’s cash flow by approving Bill No. 35-0266, which requires WAPA to issue credits for debt owed by JFL, SRMC and VIWMA rather than pay back an outstanding $6 million loan owed to the government. The credited amounts are $2.02 million for JFL, $3.35 million for SRMC, and $619,071 for VIWMA. The credits cover the past due amounts owed by the hospitals and a portion of the amount VIWMA owes.
“What this shows is that the government of the Virgin Islands is continuing to support the hospitals,” Senator Ray Fonseca, one of the bill’s sponsors, said.
Bill No. 35-0266, proposed by 11 senators from the majority and minority, reappropriates $225,000 from the VI Bureau of Corrections to give $122,000 to SRMC and $103,000 to JFL for medical services; reappropriates $502,000 from the VI Department of Labor to give $273,000 to SRMC and $229,000 to JFL for medical services; and reappropriates $263,000 from the VI Department of Health to SRMC for utilities. The bill requires the DOH to pay a portion of utility costs incurred for areas the agency occupied in the St. Thomas hospital. It also reduces a $100,000 appropriation to $10,000 for the VI Board of Education to fund maritime education scholarships during this fiscal year.
At-Large Senator Angel Bolques Jr., who voted to approve the bill, said he didn’t support the section that reduced the VIBE appropriation for the maritime scholarships. Senator Donna Frett-Gregory pointed out that although the Senate appropriated $100,000 for the maritime scholarships, only $10,000 is available per year.
“The scholarship amount for that particular measure is $10,000 per year, so there’s no need for us to appropriate $100,000 in this fiscal year for that particular measure, particularly in a time when we are fully aware of the challenges that we have with our cash flow, so we have to be responsible legislators, hence the reason for taking that out,” she said. “We have to hold ourselves accountable as well.”
The Senate took action to replenish the Budget Stabilization Fund, too.
Bill No. 35-0267, also proposed by 11 senators from the majority and minority, authorizes the government, only when there is a cash flow shortage, to use the rainy-day fund to pay obligations of WAPA incurred during this fiscal year from March 1 to August 31, as well as to make vendor payments generated from September 1, 2023 to August 31. The funds utilized from the rainy-day fund must be replaced with revenues collected by the government during this fiscal year.
WAPA must also immediately credit VIWMA the $2.3 million payment made from the rainy-day fund to pay WAPA’s debt owed to Aggreko. It also takes $500,000 from the VI Housing Finance Authority to pay WAPA turnaround management consultants, requires WAPA to provide the Legislature a copy of the credit issued to VIWMA, requires the Office of Management and Budget to provide the Legislature with a report of FY 2024 allotments, revenue collections and expenditures, and calls for WAPA to assess all residential and commercial connections and submit the assessment to the Legislature.
The Senate amended the state of emergency statute with the passage of Bill No. 35-0268, proposed by Senator Alma Francis Heyliger.
The measure requires the governor to obtain legislative approval for any expenditures of government funds in response to emergencies or major disasters resulting from man-made catastrophes, defined in the bill as “a disaster created or caused by deliberate or negligent human actions.” If the Legislature fails to consider the request within five days, it is automatically approved. It gives the Senate discretion to terminate a state of emergency declared by the governor by a two-thirds majority vote.
“Colleagues, it is time, long time to address this rogue behavior,” Senate Majority Leader Kenneth Gittens said. “We sat back and allowed it for far too long, far too long, and it is time to address that.”
The 11 senators who proposed Bill Nos. 35-0266 and 35-0267 voted to approve both measures along with Bill No. 35-0268. They were Capehart, Francis, Fonseca, Frett-Gregory, Heyliger, and Gittens, as well as Senators Marvin Blyden, Samuel Carrión, Dwayne DeGraff, Franklin Johnson, and Milton Potter. Bolques also voted to approve all three measures. Senators Marise James and Javan James Sr. were absent due to personal emergencies, while Senator Carla Joseph was absent because she was attending the State Legislative Leaders Foundation’s Spring Leadership Summit in California.
