ST. CROIX — Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has vetoed two bills that would have authorized the use of $20 million from the settlement agreement between the government and the estate of Jeffrey Epstein to fund nursing homes in each district as well as set a mandatory minimum bail amount in domestic violence cases, according to his transmittal letter to the Senate president.
Additionally, the governor approved 25 bills to include the Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan; measures relating to illegal gambling, the sale of electricity, and an appropriation of $2.9 million for the operating expenses of various government agencies that was approved with various non-germane amendments; zoning requests; coastal zone permits; and a lease extension for Coral World.
Bryan vetoed Bill No. 35-0108, which would have funded $10 million in each district toward assisted/senior living facilities, skilled nursing homes, or public/private partnerships.
The governor, in his transmittal letter to Senate President Novelle Francis Jr., noted ongoing efforts to replace the Eldra Schulterbrandt Long Term Care Facility and the Queen Louise Home for the Aged, both of which are on St. Thomas. He suggested that redirecting the funds to renovate the Sea View Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility on St. Thomas would have a greater and more immediate impact, ensuring a safe, modern, and comfortable space for elderly residents.
“This is about making the best use of our resources to deliver real, lasting improvements where they are needed most,” Bryan wrote.
Senator Dwayne DeGraff, the bill’s primary sponsor, was outraged by the governor’s veto, clarifying the Legislature has already funded repairs for Sea View.
“I am totally appalled for the governor to put that in writing that it should go to Sea View,” he said. “I’m part of the Finance Committee, and we appropriated, I think it was, $4 million towards renovation of Sea View.”
DeGraff wasn’t satisfied that the plans to replace Schulterbrandt and Queen Louise Home would be enough to cover the population of senior citizens.
“We need more,” he said, adding that the idea was to invest $10 million in each district. “We need nursing homes because of our seniors.”
DeGraff suggested the funds could have gone toward P3 projects that would combine housing with elderly care on St. Thomas. He said the idea for St. Croix was to develop an extra wing at Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged, which has been identified to receive disaster recovery funds. He is dedicated to reintroducing the bill during the 36th Legislature.
“We’re going to bring it back strong, and we have to send a message that we’re either going to be for the people or not,” he said.
The governor also vetoed Bill No. 35-0399, which would have established a mandatory minimum bail amount in domestic violence cases.
Bail for some domestic violence cases is now set as low as $101 in instances where defendants are permitted to post 10% of the required $1,000 bail plus $1, Attorney General Gordon Rhea said while testifying in support of the bill before the Committee on Rules and Judiciary on December 12, 2024. The AG noted the measure provided that bail must be set at no less than the stated amount and eliminated the 10% provision in addition to including a component to revoke bail if the defendant had any contact with the alleged victim after release.
Bryan, in his transmittal letter, wrote that mandatory pre-trial incarceration levied only on those unable to pay raises serious concerns over fairness and equal protection under the law. He noted the measure does not address the root causes of violence but rather inflicts a penalty on poverty and removes the discretion of the judiciary and police officers to evaluate the facts before them.
“I look forward to signing meaningful legislation which enhances public safety,” Bryan wrote. “Unfortunately, this measure does not solve the problem of violence and instead exacerbates the burdens of indigence.”
Clema Williams Lewis, Women’s Coalition of St. Croix executive director, criticized the governor’s veto, arguing that bail amounts for domestic violence cases are too low and endanger victims. She expressed disappointment that the governor’s concerns were more about criminal fairness rather than victim safety. She said her concern is that perpetrators immediately get released on bail to revictimize their intimate partners.
“For years, batterers have been able to beat, injure, and hospitalize victims and pay the $100 and get out,” she said. “I have been at the police station where the bail was so low that he got out laughing, and I had to put them up for safety or send them off island.”
At-Large Senator Angel Bolques Jr., the bill’s primary sponsor, stressed that the measure is not about penalizing individuals based on their financial status but about ensuring public safety and holding offenders accountable.
“You don’t bash a person’s head in and think you can get out on bail for $101, and that’s technically the factual situation that we have in front of us here in the Virgin Islands,” he said.
In addition to increasing bail, Bolques pointed out his measure included a component to revoke bail if a released defendant contacted the alleged victim.
Bolques said he would reintroduce the bill during the 36th Legislature. He said, however, he would have liked the governor to offer suggestions on how to improve the language.
“There was no specific recommendation, whether it was an amendment of sorts or some sort of middle zone in the sense of what exactly can we do to try to work together in order to help solve this issue,” he said.
In addition to the two vetoes, the governor approved Bill No. 35-0431 (Act No. 8981), the Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan that the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources submitted to the Legislature.
Bryan wrote in his transmittal letter that the Legislature previously passed a comprehensive plan in 1970, pointing out gradual intensifying of problems related to increased traffic congestion throughout the past five decades in addition to the rising cost of housing, food, and other living expenses. He noted rapid development of land associated with a significant loss of environmentally sensitive areas and open space, degradation of water quality, and rapid development of coastal areas and beaches.
“An updated CLWUP was long overdue,” he wrote.
Bryan also approved bills that strengthen the enforcement tools against illegal gambling and lottery and authorize the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to sell electricity to any beneficiary in the South Shore Trade Zone without regulation by the Public Services Commission.
The measure relating to illegal gambling, Bill No. 35-0179 (Act No. 8956), sponsored by Senator Diane Capehart, increased the criminal penalties and fines relating to gambling violations to two years in prison from one year, and to $1,000 from $200. It also added sections for forfeiture of property and civil fines up to $10,000 in addition to amending the definition of gambling to include sports betting.
The bill authorizing the sale of electricity, Bill No. 35-0426 (Act No. 8977), sponsored by the Senate president by request of the governor, allows WAPA to sell electricity to beneficiaries within the South Shore Trade Zone on St. Croix without regulation by the PSC. Beneficiaries are permitted to competitively generate, sell, trade, or otherwise distribute electrical power and water within the trade zone, according to the act. WAPA seeks to compete on equal footing with other energy providers in the trade zone by obtaining the authority to sell electricity directly to trade zone beneficiaries, thereby creating additional sources of energy and redundancy inside the trade zone.
The governor approved Bill No. 35-0428 (Act No. 8979) with various non-germane amendments. The measure appropriates $2.93 million in fiscal year 2025 for the operating expenses of the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, and Departments of Finance and Property and Procurement. Bryan exercised his authority to line-item veto two sections of the act. One section would have expanded retirement options to more government employees working in dangerous and hazardous jobs. Bryan noted there has been no time to conduct an actuarial study regarding the impact of the proposed measure on the still vulnerable GERS and no funding has been set aside for the current and future costs of proposed benefit improvements for the affected classes of employees. The other vetoed section would have expanded the period for a $910,000 appropriation to the Caribbean Kidney Center to assist with the funding of salaries for dialysis nurses and other staff. Bryan wrote that the measure was untimely in FY 2025 because it would have appropriated funds from FY 2024 to pay for services performed in FY 2023.
