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TESTIMONY ON BILL 36-0077 July 22, 2025 Good Day to Senator Carla J. Joseph, the Honorable Chairperson of the Rules and Judiciary Committee of the 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Greetings also to members of the Committee and other senators present, as well as to the other testifiers. My name is Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, President of the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands. We are pleased to offer comments today on Bill 36-0077. We commend its Sponsor, Senator Kenneth Gittens for his unfailing persistence in creating a much needed and long in coming Commission on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for the Virgin Islands. While we are in full support of this Bill which repeals Section 1108 in Chapter 37 and re-enacts it with new amendments, there are some minor issues we believe need attention as written in the Bill . Further, we raise questions regarding a few of the provisions. ALSO, while not on the agenda for consideration, we offer changes for consideration to another section of Chapter 37 , specifically Section 1106, that is very closely linked to the new Section 1108 as described in 36-0077. We believe it should be either included in 1108 or amended because of 1108. (As a light aside, we know 1106 is not included for today’s testimony and our opinion on it was not requested BUT League of Women Voters USA is not and never has been one not to speak up if we see something needing fixing. We would never have won the right to vote 105 years if so). First, our comments on the amendments to 1108: Our suggested changes are shown in BOLD PAGE 2 of the Bill Line 1 (b)3 speaks to initial terms of members. We recommend including the following sentence …… the expiration of their term. The terms of the initial appointees shall be staggered to prevent simultaneous turnover of the membership: the President of the Legislature……. Rationale: The League noted the difference in length of terms for the initial appointees and intuited the reason was to prevent simultaneous expiration of terms. We felt it wise to state this LWV VI on 36-0077 pg2/4 explicitly, as no reason is offered in the narrative as to purpose of the difference in initial term lengths. Line 8: (d) This line speaks to what activities members of the Commission are or are not allowed to do and uses the verb “may” which we suggest changing to “shall, to read as follows: An individual, while a member or employee of the Commission, shall not Rationale: Use of “shall” rather than “may” confers a more prescriptive understanding regarding the level of allowance. Using “may” gives the impression of some flexibility. If flexibility is preferred, then “may” should remain; otherwise we recommend “shall” Line 13 (3) This requires a government employee to wait for a year before becoming a member of the Commission. We question why the latency of one year between government employment and appointment to the Commission is considered necessary. We await an explanation. Line 24.This sets time for a vacancy to be filled, (i.e. not later than 60 days) but does not indicate consequences if not filled: The League asks : Can the Commission continue its business in the presence of a vacancy as long as it has a quorum? If not, we ask should there not be an alternate member arrangement to forestall a non- functioning Commission. That is, if there is no quorum, should there be one or nore approved alternates who could fill in until a member is replaced? Rationale: The League is concerned that frequent failures to fill board positions often result in boards not being able to meet for significantly long periods. For example, the Parole Board has not met in over 2 years due to vacancies. This could prove to be significantly problematic for the work of a body as the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commission. PAGE 3 of the Bill. LINE 13 . This line addresses reimbursement for Commission members while doing the business of the Commission, outside of its meetings: The League suggests that reimbursements for work done outside of meetings, should be verified and approved by either the Executive Director or the Chair. LWV VI on 36-0077 pg3/4 Rationale : There needs to be a method to verify the work done and expenses accrued outside of Commission meetings in order to provide reimbursements while also protecting the budget. PAGE 4 of the Bill Line 1: This line speaks to the kind of support the Attorney General “shall make available” to the Commission. Use of the verb “shall” implies a requirement. The League questions if the intent of the sentence is that the AG is required to provide space and personnel to the Commission. We await an explanation. Line 3(k): This line states that the Commission “shall promulgate a code of conduct” for its members. However, there is no third party oversight of the Commission. The League suggests either annual audits by the Inspector General or an Ethics Ombudsperson to address this. Finally, we ask What is the source of reliable funding for the Commission? Is this stated elsewhere? If not, should it not be included in the Commission’s enactment? IN SUMMARY, LWV VI is in full support of Bill 36-0077 but offers items for consideration for improvement before its enactment. LWV VI on 36-0077 pg4/4 ADDITIONALLY, if we may, Madame Chair: The League asks you, the committee and Senator Gittens to consider this final comment which has impact on 1108.. We observed that Section 1106 of Chapter 37 of the VI Code does have impact on this new 1108 . Section 1106. Administration and Enforcement of Chapter 37 Currently, section 1106 reads as follows: “ This chapter shall be administered by the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands who shall conduct investigations, issue rules and regulations, and file actions in the appropriate courts when and as necessary to enforce its provisions”. However, with the creation of a Commission on Ethic and Conflicts of Interest that assumes some of the responsibilities cited above, the League of Women Voters of the VI questions if the sentence should not be amended to read as follows: “This chapter shall be administered by the Commission on Ethics and Conflicts of Interest of the Virgin Islands which shall issue rules and regulations, conduct investigations, and ( either through the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands OR in collaboration with the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands ) file actions in the appropriate courts when and as needed to enforce its provisions.” We await your comments on this as well OR believe it might need to be considered at another time before completion of all the Ethics Commission bills.. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, PhD President, LWV VI July 22, 2025