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I 112TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3706 To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 16, 2011 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE VIRGIN IS- 3 LANDS. 4 (a) APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of the Virgin 6 Islands shall appoint a Chief Financial Officer, with 7 the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Vir- 8 gin Islands, from the names on the list required 9 under section 2(d). If the Governor has nominated 10 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3706 IH a person for Chief Financial Officer but the Legisla- 1 ture of the Virgin Islands has not confirmed a nomi- 2 nee within 90 days after receiving the list pursuant 3 to section 2(d), the Governor shall appoint from 4 such list a Chief Financial Officer on an acting basis 5 until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial 6 Officer. 7 (2) ACTING CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—If a 8 Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed 9 under paragraph (1) within 180 days after the date 10 of the enactment of this Act, the Virgin Islands 11 Chief Financial Officer Search Commission, by ma- 12 jority vote, shall appoint from the names on the list 13 submitted under section 2(d), an Acting Chief Fi- 14 nancial Officer to serve in that capacity until a Chief 15 Financial Officer is appointed under the first sen- 16 tence of paragraph (1). In either case, if the Acting 17 Chief Financial Officer serves in an acting capacity 18 for 180 consecutive days, without further action the 19 Acting Chief Financial Officer shall become the 20 Chief Financial Officer. 21 (b) DUTIES OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—The 22 duties of the Chief Financial Officer shall include the fol- 23 lowing: 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3706 IH (1) Develop and report on the financial status 1 of the Government of the Virgin Islands not later 2 than 6 months after appointment and quarterly 3 thereafter. Such reports shall be available to the 4 public. 5 (2) Each year certify spending limits of the an- 6 nual budget and whether or not the annual budget 7 is balanced. 8 (3) Revise and update standards for financial 9 management, including inventory and contracting, 10 for the Government of the Virgin Islands in general 11 and for each agency in conjunction with the agency 12 head. 13 (c) DOCUMENTS PROVIDED.—The heads of each de- 14 partment of the Government of the Virgin Islands, in par- 15 ticular the head of the Department of Finance of the Vir- 16 gin Islands and the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau 17 of the Virgin Islands shall provide all documents and in- 18 formation under the jurisdiction of that head that the 19 Chief Financial Officer considers required to carry out his 20 or her functions to the Chief Financial Officer. 21 (d) CONDITIONS RELATED TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OF- 22 FICER.— 23 (1) TERM.—The Chief Financial Officer shall 24 be appointed for a term of 5 years. 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3706 IH (2) REMOVAL.—The Chief Financial Officer 1 shall not be removed except for cause. An Acting 2 Chief Financial Officer may be removed for cause or 3 by a Chief Financial Officer appointed with the ad- 4 vice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Is- 5 lands. 6 (3) REPLACEMENT.—If the Chief Financial Of- 7 ficer is unable to continue acting in that capacity 8 due to removal, illness, death, or otherwise, another 9 Chief Financial Officer shall be selected in accord- 10 ance with subsection (a). 11 (4) SALARY.—The Chief Financial Officer shall 12 be paid at a salary to be determined by the Governor 13 of the Virgin Islands, except such rate may not be 14 less than the highest rate of pay for a cabinet officer 15 of the Government of the Virgin Islands or a Chief 16 Financial Officer serving in any government or semi- 17 autonomous agency. 18 (e) REFERENDUM.—As part of the closest regularly 19 scheduled, islands-wide election in the Virgin Islands to 20 the expiration of the fourth year of the five-year term of 21 the Chief Financial Officer, the Board of Elections of the 22 Virgin Islands shall hold a referendum to seek the ap- 23 proval of the people of the Virgin Islands regarding wheth- 24 er the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Govern- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3706 IH ment of the Virgin Islands shall be made a permanent part 1 of the executive branch of the Government of the Virgin 2 Islands. The referendum shall be binding and conducted 3 according to the laws of the Virgin Islands, except that 4 the results shall be determined by a majority of the ballots 5 cast. 6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 8 mission to be known as the ‘‘Virgin Islands Chief Finan- 9 cial Officer Search Commission’’. 10 (b) DUTY OF COMMISSION.—The Commission shall 11 recommend to the Governor not less than 3 candidates for 12 nomination as Chief Financial Officer of the Virgin Is- 13 lands. Each candidate must have demonstrated ability in 14 general management of, knowledge of, and extensive prac- 15 tical experience at the highest levels of financial manage- 16 ment in governmental or business entities and must have 17 experience in the development, implementation, and oper- 18 ation of financial management systems. 19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 20 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com- 21 mission shall be composed of 8 members appointed 22 not later than 30 days after the date of the enact- 23 ment of this Act. Persons appointed as members 24 must have recognized business, government, or fi- 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3706 IH nancial expertise and experience and shall be ap- 1 pointed as follows: 2 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Governor 3 of the Virgin Islands. 4 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Presi- 5 dent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 6 (C) 1 individual, who is an employee of the 7 Government of the Virgin Islands, appointed by 8 the Central Labor Council of the Virgin Is- 9 lands. 10 (D) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 11 of Commerce of St. Thomas-St. John. 12 (E) 1 individual appointed by the Chamber 13 of Commerce of St. Croix. 14 (F) 1 individual appointed by the Presi- 15 dent of the University of the Virgin Islands. 16 (G) 1 individual, who is a resident of St. 17 John, appointed by the At-Large Member of the 18 Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 19 (H) 1 individual appointed by the Presi- 20 dent of AARP Virgin islands. 21 (2) TERMS.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 23 appointed for the life of the Commission. 24 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3706 IH (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com- 1 mission shall be filled in the manner in which 2 the original appointment was made. Any mem- 3 ber appointed to fill a vacancy shall be ap- 4 pointed for the remainder of that term. 5 (3) BASIC PAY.—Members shall serve without 6 pay. 7 (4) QUORUM.—Five members of the Commis- 8 sion shall constitute a quorum. 9 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 10 Commission shall be the Chief Justice of the Su- 11 preme Court of the United States Virgin Islands or 12 the designee of the Chief Justice. The Chairperson 13 shall serve as an ex officio member of the Commis- 14 sion and shall vote only in the case of a tie. 15 (6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 16 the call of the Chairperson. The Commission shall 17 meet for the first time not later than 15 days after 18 all members have been appointed under this sub- 19 section. 20 (7) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT.—Members 21 may not be current government employees, except 22 for the member appointed under paragraph (1)(C). 23 (d) REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission 24 shall transmit a report to the Governor, the Committee 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3706 IH on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 1 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 2 Senate not later than 60 days after its first meeting. The 3 report shall name the Commission’s recommendations for 4 candidates for nomination as Chief Financial Officer of 5 the Virgin Islands. 6 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 7 upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Finan- 8 cial Officer. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 11 apply: 12 (1) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—In sections 1 13 and 2, the term ‘‘Chief Financial Officer’’ means a 14 Chief Financial Officer or Acting Chief Financial 15 Officer, as the case may be, appointed under section 16 1(a). 17 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 18 means the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer 19 Search Commission established pursuant to section 20 2. 21 (3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 22 the Governor of the Virgin Islands. 23 (4) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—The term ‘‘removal 24 for cause’’ means removal based upon misconduct, 25 VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3706 IH failure to meet job requirements, or any grounds 1 that a reasonable person would find grounds for dis- 2 charge. 3 Æ VerDate Mar 15 2010 22:45 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3706.IH H3706 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS