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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Legislature USVI September 11, 2025 · 3.8 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/E-UbWPtJnN8 Status This is a working transcript produced by machine from a recording of a public proceeding. It is a finding aid, not an official record of the Legislature. Transcribed by VI Update, using OpenAI Whisper large-v3-turbo, run locally. Not reviewed by a person. Reliability Automatic transcription, UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording before relying on it. Speech recognition splits spoken digits and wraps figures mid-number, so a dollar amount, a vote count or a bill number can be wrong in a way that reads as correct. Speakers are not identified: automatic speaker labelling was measured unusable and removed. 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A verbatim transcript is mechanical rather than authored, so there is likely nothing in it to own; to the extent any copyright is nonetheless found to subsist, it is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Please copy it, quote it, index it, train on it, republish it, mirror it, sell it. Redistribution is the point: a public record with one copy is one fire from gone. No permission is needed, and none is ours to grant or withhold. Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 16 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 0:00:00 I love you. We'll be right back. Thank you. [3 such phrases repeated 26 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 0:08:00 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 0:21:00 Thank you. We'll be right back. Let's get started. [3 such phrases repeated 26 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 0:22:30 We'll be right back. Thank you. 0:35:30 Thank you. Transcription by CastingWords We'll be right back. We'll be right back. 0:36:30 Thank you. Finance of September 11th, 2025, is hereby called to order. A pleasant good morning to all present, listening and viewing. Mic check, one, two. Mic check, one, two. A pleasant good morning to all present, listening and viewing. This is a big day for the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance as we present and vote on the bills that will fund the operation of the Virgin Islands Government for Fiscal Year 2026. 0:38:30 The budget bill presented today are the result of 22 committee meetings held over three months, extensive questioning, follow-up, and critical deliberation. As the committee chair, I entered into this budget process mindful of the federal environment and the trickle-down effect on local programs. services and the community from cutbacks in the federal funding with this in mind the budget represent both fiscal caution and optimism for the upcoming fiscal year I'm proud of the work done by this committee the post audit division again the post audit division central staff and my staff to get us to this point I must also recognize all of the non-committee members or honorary members who participated in this process. I'd also like to thank the collaboration extended to the committee by OMB Director Julio Reimer and Commissioner of 0:39:33 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 1 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Finance Kevin McCurdy as well as the Governor's financial team. Finally, I thank everyone across the committee for tuning in and making these hearings a must-see TV. Before we proceed, please join me in a moment of silence as we recognize the 24th anniversary of the tragic events of september 11th 2001. Again, a day in infamy. Thank you very much. 0:40:41 At this time, I'd just like to remind my colleagues to please turn your cell phone off or turn them on mute as to not to interrupt today's proceedings and I ask the Madam Clerk to please call the roll. Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Senator Blyden, absent. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator DeGraff, present. Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca, present. Senator Novell E. Francis jr. I'm here. Senator Francis jr. present. Senator Hubert L. Frederick. Senator Frederick present. Senator Maurice C. James. I'm here. Senator James present. Senator Kirk A. Valey. Senator Valey present. Mr. Chair six present one absent. Thank you very much Madam Clerk please also recognize the presence of non-committee member senator secretary avery lewis the morning senator thank you for joining us and again we were having some issues with whopper uh this morning so we'll try to proceed um with the with this hearing as expeditiously as possible um because we don't know what's what's in store for us today so um at this time madam clerk please read today's agenda to the record just just block one for now yes the committee on budget appropriation and finance will meet on thursday september 11 2025 10 a.m in the earl b ottley legislative hall on st thomas to consider the fiscal year 2026 budget bills 0:41:25 Block 1, Bill No. 36-0154, an act providing a lump sum appropriation from the Health Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Health and a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1st, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36-0155 An act providing a lump sum appropriation from the General Fund to the Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services Fund for Fiscal Year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novel E. Francis, Jr. 0:43:14 Bill No. 36-0156 An Act providing an appropriation from the Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement for operating expenses for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Nova E. Francis, Jr. Bill No. 36.0157, an act providing an appropriation from the Virgin Islands Lottery as a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36.0158, an act providing an appropriation from the District Public Road Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands to the Department of Public Works for operation expenses for the fiscal year, October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Nova E. Francis, Jr. 0:44:17 Bill No. 36.0159, an act providing an appropriation from the Indirect Cost Fund for the Operating Expenses of the Office of Management and Budget, the Virgin Islands Division of Personnel, the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement, and the Virgin Islands Department of Finance for fiscal year October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novel E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0160, an act providing an appropriation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Virgin Islands to the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund and the St. Thomas Capital Improvement Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0161, an act appropriating $25,500,000 to the legislature of the Virgin Islands in the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill 36.0162, an act appropriating $20 million from the Virgin Islands Guarantee Fund as a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in fiscal year September 30, 2025 through October 1, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36.0163, an act providing an appropriation for salaries 0:45:45 and expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections and the Office of the Supervisor of Elections in the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by senators milton e potter and novella e francis jr this concludes the reading of black one mr chair uh thank you very much madam clerk you have to repeat that another two times uh today because of course we have block two and black three with similar numbers um in it so drink your water um at this time of course what we'll do is the rules of engagement for today will be allow for two minute debate time on all of the bills that's being presented here today of course we have vetted these for the last several hearings going through the budget process so i'll just do a two minute debate time to my colleagues and then we'll vote on the bills individually the order that will be going in this senator vla senator the graph senator james i'm sorry senator vla senator the graph senator frederick senator james senator lewis senator fonseca senator blighton yeah you want rounded off you say uh so center the graph you recognize for your two minute debate time uh thank you mr chair you know first thing i definitely like to say thank you to the leadership of you, Mr. Chair, and your staff, and the post-audit for the great work that has been done. Two things I basically wanted to address really would be the majority leader bringing the bill to increase the 0:47:54 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 2 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance wage increases for the government to 32, I suggesting 35, and bringing it to the bill to make it 35 and we're able to find that and make it a reality and that's one and for the national guard to have uh what we call a tad fund for our soldiers when they come out to work they'll be able to be paid i think most of the glory should be surmised by you at the end you take the you know you you are the helm you take the shine where you could list all the major highlights of the budget because uh we we did the work we put in the time uh i am appreciative of it uh for all the hard work have been done there are things that you may never agree with and never like but i think the effort that the committee made uh thank you to my committee members and to all the other colleagues who shared in this endeavor and i think moving forward um there's light at the end of the tunnel and being my ninth one I'm happy to have been a part of this process thank you for the time mr. chair thank you very much Senator DeGraff for your comments there it's certainly appreciative at this time the chair will recognize Senator Hubert Frederick you recognize for your two minutes thank you very much mr. chair a pleasant good morning colleagues, listening and viewing audience, the central staff, and my office staff. It was a wonderful experience to be a part of my first budget appropriation and finance processes. It was nice. It was different. I got very close to post-audit and how things work so it's a lot of hard work absolutely if anyone thinks this is an easy process it's not there are a lot of different opinions about more or less why the impact to the community that goes into these deliberations so please don't think that these are arbitrary things being thrown against the wall my colleagues and I are very serious about making sure we make the most prudent decisions when it comes to the finances of this government i didn't get everything i wanted um but maybe i could convince them before this is over one minute um and that's the way that the process works you know there's a pull and a push and eventually um you know a decision is made you live with it and you move on but i really want to thank my colleagues for the opportunity for for assisting with the process and being as professional as they've been. I think the public will be fine with the outcome because nobody's ever totally happy. And that's what we're trying to achieve. 30 seconds. Good, responsible, budgeting for this government so that we don't keep running into the same pitfall year after year. So with what we know, we made the best decisions we knew 0:51:24 based on this information we have. And I'm happy to say that we did a good job. We did a great job. So thank you again, Mr. Chair for your leadership and I look forward to voting on these bills. Thank you. Thank you very much, Senator Frederick. Thank you for your comments there. And also thank you for your involvement in the committee process and certainly your input. And we certainly can bank on you in terms of, again, tapping into your ideas, resources, as well as your knowledge. And we appreciate the work that you did to contribute to this. At this time, the chair will recognize Senator James. Maurice, James, you recognize for your two minutes. 0:53:12 Thank you Mr. Chair, good morning colleagues, good morning Virgin Islands, good morning everyone in and outside the room. I truly enjoyed being on the Committee on Budget Appropriations and Finance. was my first time and I really enjoyed it because I was able to fully understand the process. I understood how difficult it is for the legislature to move money around spend money at the bottom line is I believe that this committee focused on the priorities and a budget really should reflect what you value and I believe that the legislature and this committee that I served on in this process put the money where we should put the money in terms of what we should value and prioritize in our community I know that one minute there are areas where we could have in fact funded more money but in order to do that I think as everyone knows in your own household budget there are things you would love to do but you can't because the money doesn't stretch that far so the focus for us as of Virgin Islands going forward is to be able to reap the funds needed so that we can in fact provide all the services that I know my colleagues and I on this committee 0:53:56 would love to spend money on, but we just can't given the fiscal conditions. But I'm an optimist, so I believe going forward we're going to see a change in Virgin Islands. And thank you to my colleagues, and especially those of you who assisted me in understanding the process. Truly appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much, Senator James, and thank you as well for your involvement in the budget process and for your vetting of all of those agencies that came before us. Before we proceed, we want to recognize the presence of, of course, committee member senator blyton who has been here for quite some time um as well as non-committee members senator college j joseph good morning um welcome i don't know what's going on with this pink day i didn't get the memo on that one senator lewis you recognize for your two minutes thank you good morning good morning colleagues it's a pink day good morning people of the virgin islands good morning everyone while i was not a member of while i am not a member of this committee i just like to express my love and gratitude to every member of this committee including the chairman most of all you know who allowed me to participate in you know even behind the scenes markup and everything you know i have said it from before that this really was not my budgeting was not my forte and it really was an experience i went in every day come to all the meetings with my copy book took notes you know uh thanks to nikia and the folks and post editor and everything 0:55:57 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 3 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance um transferring numbers and even to outside um b and finance um did we get everything we wanted no but some things that i begged for was one i know uh especially with this legislative building i know we need a generator we need some more remediation done and that's one thing i made sure in markup that I express, you know, while we're rooting for central government, we have to root for our home. So I'm grateful that I see that we have a start in the budget, root for the hospitals, you know, all agencies, but the most critical ones, and, you know, even our non-profits, because without our non-profits, we need to make things happen in this community so again mr chairman and to all committee members i thank you for allowing me to participate and i'm grateful and i'll continue coming forward to make sure that we do the right thing for this community thank you very much uh thank you very much senator lois and of course thank you for your contributions as well and for participating and your actual engagement um with all of the testifiers you know during the time and appearance here before the legislature and for certainly asking those probative and provocative questions as well so that we can make sure that we're doing due diligence in this budget process at this time the chair will recognize committee members senator ray fonseca you recognize for your two minutes yes thank you good morning colleagues good morning to the viewing and listening audience all of those tuned in and i too would like to join in and congratulating all of the members of the budget and finance committee and all of the the adopted members um the rules chair and several others the secretary and all those members and i want to give special thanks to the 36 legislature because as you know earlier in the last session we were able to appropriate and approve five hundred thousand dollars which will continue the functioning of vidco the virgin island center for diabetes excellence so now they have a new building in cyan farm st croix and they are now in the fifth floor of the hospital and they're going to be moving to the paragon building so 0:57:56 that's great and congratulations but as you know um we've tried our best and i think this is a good budget but things are never 100 so i do have some concerns and it's regarding to the group health insurance plan is not directly related to the budget but you know we are going to have to one minute look at uh maybe a nine or so percent increase in premiums and the government had proposed an elimination i gotta pronounce that correctly because all the day i got tied tongue on edibles for elderly so um we have elimination of coverage for out of network and that's something that um i had a conversation with the majority leader of this legislature and he indicated that that is no longer going to be possible because it's so important that all of the members that have group insurance are able to go to any person and get service that is why we have such a good insurance so also the diabetes weight loss drug um there's some concerns about that i don't know the exact the exact amount and what is going to happen but we have to fight to continue our insurance coverage for all of our people it affects about 25 000 so at the appropriate time I'm in support of all of these bills and Block 1. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the time. 1:00:31 Thank you very much, Senator Fonseca, as well as, again, thank you for your contributions made and making sure your stick-to-itiveness to ensure that those agencies that fell under your purview, that they were properly funded. And, you know, so we truly appreciate your contributions. At this time, the Chair will recognize Senator Marvin Blyden, the Vice Chair of the Committee of Budget Appropriations finance use recognize for your two minutes thank you so much mr chair good morning to my colleagues listening to you in audiences staff central staff and good morning most importantly to the people of the virgin islands let me say first of all i want to give kudos to my chair and his staff for honestly um putting forth a very good effort in terms of being on time every hearing making sure you know we get through the agenda and all of our his colleagues are heard in terms of their contributions and i must say also i give thanks to my committee members and other member non-committee members for taking part in this most important process of course doing it but this past season like others we are sure that we look out and made sure that we looked out for us elders our young people or students the hospital healthcare facilities all of the different government department especially those that's revenue generating we are sure that they were funded properly that we had funds in there to cover all of the fake the um vacant positions that were critical we are sure sure that when it came to housing and home ownership opportunities that we made sure we have funds there the capital needs especially in all of the different departments were taken care of and of course health and safety many of those agencies in terms of assuring that they had the resources to make sure that they were 1:02:04 safe and sanitary and of course the non-for-profit organizations be assured that we took care of them because they're the one that fills the gap when it comes to central government and their needs in terms of carrying other services those non-for-profit does a lot in terms of assuring that our people are taken care of and most importantly we did our job the most important job of any senator is to pass a balanced budget and this is part of the process before it goes to the governor for ratification but i must say congratulations to all of my colleagues and again we did what needed to be done in terms of right fitting the government and assuring that the services are provided in a timely fashion again mr chair thank you so much for your contribution and thank you so much for the time uh thank you very much senator blyden i think you're a senior member of the budget appropriations of finance you have served your entire um 11 years or six terms um on the finance committee so again we thank you for um your your leadership in utilizing your seniority and um 1:03:58 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 4 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance knowledge base to support the work that's done by this this committee so thank you very much for that at this time the chair will recognize senator carla j joseph you recognize for your two minutes a pleasant good morning to the listening and viewing audience as well as our colleagues here i want to begin my commentary commentary and to indicate that i'm very thankful to have been a part of the process. I want to also give kudos to the chairman and all the committee members as well as the dynamic post auditor and the supporting staff for all the work they did as well as legal counsel because legal counsel worked behind the scenes to get all of these bills ready for today. I've been involved in this process since I was elected in 2020, so this is my fifth opportunity to actually be part of the scrubbing of the numbers, the hard decisions that we had to go through. I want to also thank my colleagues for putting in the $200,000 for the Homemakers Program for Human Services. a vital part of being able to provide for our seniors especially those who are bedridden and they need that support you have a working population and they are also taking care of aging parents guardians aunts and uncles so this provides some not a lot but relief we weren't able to fund everything unfortunately because we have a lot of money on the streets and people need to pay their taxes how this government runs is based on collections of taxes that's how it runs and we have to be cognizant to put in place and i believe we've done that to those agencies to collect the the money that is on the streets. We cannot any longer have persons not paying their fair share. You know, plenty hands makes the work light. So we need to be able to pay people their fair share. I wanna thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for including me. I appreciate it deeply, and for the thought-provoking scrutinization that we went through in the budget process. 1:06:23 Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Joseph, and thank you as well for your contributions, your years of managing federal grants and utilizing your knowledge base to support the thought-provoking questions that were asked at times and certainly seeking to ensure that we continue to do our audits and getting those things completed. So I think it's very instrumental that you were here and had a seat at the table. At this time, we'll recognize is the former Chair of the Budget Appropriations, well, the Finance Committee. Senator Kurt Viola, you're recognized for your two minutes. Senator Kurt Viola Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, and good morning to the people of the Virgin Islands. Good morning, colleagues. Let me start by piggybacking on what was just said. It's important for collections. If we don't collect the taxes, this budget won't be balanced. So the government must do a better job, And we gotta get the federal projects off the ground because this budget depends on those projects coming online and the government being able to collect their respective taxes and gross receipt, excise and individual income. We have seen a lot of the bundles been given out recently, healthcare, schools on St. Croix, schools on St. Thomas, the Charles Howard. We need those projects to start so that those monies can circulate in the economy and fuel this budget so that next year at this time, we can say that we had a balanced budget. 1:07:49 We have a surplus that we could use for X, Y, and Z. So that's very important. I wanna highlight that we took special consideration to make sure that the minimum average salary was raised to $35,000. And we didn't wanna include it in every department budget, So we made it a line item because we want to show that this 36 legislature has funded that mandate that was passed by this body. Surprisingly, we were kind of shocked to realize that the cost was really not much and I want publicly put it on. $3.9 million in personnel costs to raise every employee in this government to $35,000. $3.9 million. And $1.1 infringed. $5 million takes care of this initiative of this body. And we want to make sure it happens because just in our cursory visit to schools and other areas, the employees are very excited about going to 35,000. 30 seconds. We expect those employees to also continue to give us a hundred percent because we need all government employees to give us a hundred percent to make this government function. Additionally, we were able to raise the allotment for both hospitals by some 2.5 million dollars from what was submitted. Some of the money is earmarked for the Charlotte Kimmelman Center some 1.5 million dollars we know the center is getting ready to open the money's there in the budget so you could staff up an additional 1.5 million dollars time to Wang Louie hospital that will go to the cardiac center and both of those entities revenue generators we also increase some monies for road maintenance that we're able to give to public work and not for paving but for patching of roads and all of these initiatives are initiatives that were brought out at the the budget hearing by senators let's increase this let's increase that let's do this let's do let's do that um i want to thank all the members of the finance committee i want to thank everybody that went through the process of putting the hard work and time to thank the committee chair being a chair of the committee of finance is not an easy task it is one that consumes you consume your summer and consumes everything that you do from june until august and i also want to put out there that on the 17th we have in a committee of a whole for the insurance before session afternoon we have in a committee of a whole and chair of 1:09:23 health and human services we will be addressing those issues at that committee of a whole and this committee have decided to follow the will of the people with some 2,000 plus in a poll saying that they wanted insurance to stay as is. So we have done that. We're going to let you know exactly what is going to be the increase, but health care is very important. Again, congratulations to the Committee of Finance. This is a big day for us to send these bills off. 1:12:16 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 5 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Congratulations, Mr. Chair. Congratulations to all the committee members and And congratulations to the non-committee members who always come out on a regular basis and provide the input. It's so important for those non-committee members to come and attend. So thank you guys so much. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Senator Villiers. Thank you as well for your leadership and support, being the individual that have served three terms as the finance chair, certainly your knowledge base also assisted us in being able to run an effective budget appropriations and finance committee. we also appreciate your um your stewardship and if you could put two minutes or so on the clock for me i'll try to try to get through this as quickly as possible because again we're up against um darkness so we want to keep moving on this but i really want to just come in and thank the team efforts i i truly believe that this was a work of team effort and i truly appreciate you know the work that have been done here most of our committees of budget appropriations of finance we had over 10 individuals you know sometimes up to 13 14 at these hearings you know so you understand the the um the responsibility here in oversight of the budget appropriation finance committee the tensions that sometimes arose was was critical your passion to make sure that we're you know um you're doing the necessary work uh was truly appreciated it's very very important that we continue to monitor our revenues and you know look at what's coming in certainly when we started out back in the october november december and up to january we saw where we there were some shortcomings observed in terms of the revenue collections you know during that time but once february hit of course recognizing the christmas monies one minute march april may june we really saw the upswing for the past six months in terms of the budget moving forward we still move and approach this budget with with um with some level of caution and conservatism you know so we're we're also equally mindful of that there will be some need for modification as we go along and certainly we'll look and monitor our revenues and make that modification necessary disaster um you know recovery and development in terms of the rebuild of the versions critical for our oversight and and make sure that that occurs. 1:13:03 Timely vendors payment continue to be problematic and it's something that we intend to have oversight. You heard about the recognition of the health hospitals and really beefing up that particular area because we understand the important need for that to happen. Insurance, we have almost $20.5 million responsibility for our Cigna insurance coverage we'll be considering over this budget cycle as well of course you heard about the salary increases to 35 000 street light we made sure in this budget as well uh that we are funding um whopper and street light is very important uh for us to for safety for us to be able to light up the virgin islands throughout our community roads you know there's funding that have been made available through garvey and some of the other funding for us to take care of those federal roads but the community um inroads uh is something that we particularly put some funding um to support those endeavors the homemakers that my colleagues spoke about as well as the um home health you know there is very specific language that was offered to ensure that we have in home health where we have individuals that will be going out into the communities to be able to support our seniors and our disabled members that have difficulties in being able to get to the hospital in timely fashion and rightfully so you know we have individuals now that will be going out into the communities to be able to assist them in that endeavor the tad we have seen where there's been some challenges with the individuals that have been had territorial um uh assignment uh when deployment where they had difficulties in being able to pay our national guard of being members in a timely fashion we have line item a specific amount to go towards uh that that payment i want to again i can't help but to continue to speak and commend our post audit division they 1:15:13 have done tremendous work um you know late nights and have done the painstaking gathering of information from some of these agencies have had to make phone calls time and time again i've had to um you know send back and ask for additional information so i really want to highlight and commend the post audit division as well as our legal counsel's office all of these 30 plus bills had to be prepared in time for us to be able to get them moving here today. So I want to also commend our post audit division. And of course, we have to also commend our central staff, our media, our reporters, and all those individual security and everyone that was involved and instrumental protocol officers, just everyone that was instrumental in moving these 22 hearings forward in addition to all of the other hearings that had been held during that time so again kudos to everyone for for that at this time we'll go to um each of the bills uh we have 10 in the block one uh for us to take a vote on madam clerk you could call up the first bill well actually um you have to make a motion so motion Senator Blighton, you're recognized for your motion. 1:17:14 Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 36.0154, an act providing for a lump sum appropriations from the Health Evolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Health and a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1st, 2025, through September 30th, 2026. be voted on in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Blyton, seconded by Senator Fonseca, Senator Frederick. Hearing no objection, roll call. 1:18:34 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 6 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Senator Marvin A. Blyton. Yay. Senator Blyton. Yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Frederick, you next. Senator DeGraff. Bill, you're going to introduce. Senator Ray Fonseca Senator Fonseca Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick Senator Frederick yay santa marie c james yes santa james yay santa curt a veille yes santa veille yay santa duane md graph yes santa de graf yay mr chair seven yay uh thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36-0154 an act providing a lump sum appropriation from the health revolving fund to the virginal department of health and the contribution to the general fund of the treasury of the government to the virginals for fiscal year october 1 2025 have been through september 38 2026 has been approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further vetting motion motion motion senator blighting you recognize your motion thank you mr chair mr chair move that bill number three six that's zero one five five an act of providing a lump sum appropriation from the general fund to the virgin islands fired emergency medical services fund for fiscal year october 1st 2025 through september 30th 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee 1:19:15 and forwarded to the committee of rules and justice judiciary for further consideration i so move motion made by senator blyton seconded by senator vla senator de graaf hearing objection roll call Santa Marvin A. Blyden? Yay. Santa Blyden? Yay. Santa Dwayne M. DeGraff? Yes. Santa DeGraff? Yay. Santa Ray Fonseca? Yay. 1:21:15 Santa Fonseca? Yay. Santa Nouvelle E. Francis Jr.? Yay. Santa Francis Jr.? Yay. Santa Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Santa Frederick? Yay. Santa Maurice C. James? Yes. Santa James, yay. Santa Kurt A. Valey. Clerk, yes. Santa Valey, yay. Mr. Chair, seven, yay. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. 1:21:44 Bill number 36-0155, an act of providing a lump sum appropriation from the General Fund to the Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026, have been approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further vetting. Motion. Senator Blaney, you recognize your motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair. 1:22:13 Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 36, that's 0156, an act providing an appropriation for the business and commercial properties revolving fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement for operating expenses for fiscal year october 1st 2025 through september 30th 2026 be voted unfavorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i still move motion properly made by senator blyton seconded by senator vla and senator the graph hearing objection roll call Santa Marvin A. Blyden, Santa Blyden, Santa Dwayne M. DeGraff, Santa DeGraff, Santa Ray Fonseca, Santa Fonseca, Santa Novell E. Francis Jr., Santa Francis Jr., Santa Hubert L. frederick santa frederick yay santa maurice c james yes santa james yay santa kurt a vele santa vele yay mr chair seven yay thank you very much madam quick bill number 36.0156 an act providing a an appropriation from the business and commercial properties revolving fund to the virgin islands department of property and procurement for operating expenses for fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations of finance and will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further vetting motion senator bladier recognizing your motion thank you mr chair 1:22:43 mr chair move the bill number three six zero one five seven an act providing an appropriation from the virgin islands lottery of the contribution to the general fund of the treasury of the virgin islands for fiscal year october 1st 2025 through september 30th 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and further to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator blyton seconded by senator vla and senator de graff hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay senator duane md de Graff? Yes. Santa de Graff? Yes. Santa de Graff? Yes. Santa Ray Fonseca? Yes. Santa Fonseca? Yes. Santa Nova E. Francis Junior? Yes. Santa Francis Junior? Yes. Santa Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Santa Frederick? Yes. Santa Maurice C. James? Yes. Santa James? Yes. Santa Sen. Kurt A. Ville, Sen. Kurt A. Ville, Sen. Ville, yay. Mr. Chair, seven, yay. 1:24:29 Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, Bill number 36-0157, an act providing an appropriation from the Virgin Islands lottery as a contribution to the General Front of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 have been be approved by the Committee of Budget Appropriations and Finance will be sent to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further vetting. Senator Frederick, you recognize your motion. Motion. Thank you very much, Mr. 1:25:43 Chair. I move that bill number 36-0158, an act providing an appropriation for the district public road fund for the government of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Public Works for operating expense for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 be favorably moved and voted on by this committee. I so move and be forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary. I so move. Second. Motion properly made by Senator Huber-Frederick seconded by Senator Dwayne DeGraff. Hearing objection roll call. Senator Senator Marvin A. Blyden? 1:26:18 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 7 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Santa Blyden, yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff? Yes. Senator DeGraff, yay. Senator Ray Fonseca? Senator Fonseca, yay. Senator Nova E. Francis Jr? Yeah. Senator Francis Jr., yay. Senator Hubert L. Fedrick? Yes. Senator Fedrick, yay. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James, yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey, yay. Mr. Chair, seven yay. 1:27:00 Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, Bill number 36.0158, an act providing an appropriation from the District Public Road Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands to the Department of Public Works for operating expenses for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriation and Finance and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further vetting. Motion. Motion, Senator Frederick, you recognize your motion. 1:27:34 Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill Number 36S-0159, an act providing an appropriation for the indirect costs for the operating expenses for the Office of Management Budget and the Virgin Islands Division of Personnel and the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement and the Virgin Islands Department finance for fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30 2026 be favorably moved and voted on by this committee and be forwarded to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator hubert frederick seconded by senator de graf blyton vla and fonseca hearing objection roll call senator marvin blyton senator blyton yay senator duane md graph yes senator the graph yay senator ray fonseca santa fonseca yay santa novell e francis jr yeah santa francis jr yay senator hubert l frederick yes santa frederick yay santa maurice c james yes santa james yay santa kurt evilly yes santa veilly yay mr chair seven years thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0159 an act providing an appropriation from the indirect cost fund for the operating expenses of the office of management and budget to the version of division of personnel the version of the department of property and procurement and the of virgin annals department of finance for fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 38 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and we send forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator frederick you recognize your motion thank you very much mr chair 1:28:03 i move that bill number 36-0160 an act providing an appropriation from the general fund of the the Treasury of the Virgin Islands to the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund and the St. Thomas Capital Improvement Fund for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 be favorably moved and voted on by this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Hibbi-Frederick, seconded by Senator Duane DeGraff, Senator Marvin Blyden hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay senator dwayne m de graf yes santa de graf yay santa ray fonseca santa fonseca yay santa novelle e francis jr yay santa francis jr yay santa hubert l frederick yes santa frederick yay santa marie c james Yes. Santa James, yay. Santa Kurt A. Ville. Yes. Santa Ville, yay. 1:30:01 Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36, that's 0160, an act providing an appropriation from the general fund of the treasury of the government of the Virgin Islands to the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund and the St. Thomas Capital Improvement Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026, been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriation and violence and will be sent forward to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator frederick you're recognized for your motion thank you very much mr chair i move that bill number three six s zero one six one an act appropriating 25 million five hundred thousand to the virgin islands legislature in fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 be favorably moved and voted on by this committee and be forwarded to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator frederick seconded by senator blyton senator de graaf hearing no objection roll call Senator Marvin A. Blyden, Senator Blyden, yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff, yes. Senator DeGraff, yay. Senator Ray Fonseca, yay. Senator Fonseca, yay. Senator Nova E. Francis Jr., yay. Senator francis jr yay santa hubert l frederick yes santa fadrick yay senator maurice c james yes santa james yay santa kurt a veille santa veille yay mr chair seven years thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0161 and act appropriating uh 25 million five hundred thousand knowledge to the legislature of the virginity of the fiscal year october 1 20 25 through september 30 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and we send forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting 1:31:16 motion senator bladdy recognize your motion thank you mr chairman the chain moved that bill Bill No. 36-0162, an act appropriating $20,000 from the Virgin Islands Guarantee Fund at the contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in fiscal year September 30, 2025 through October 1, 2026, be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. 1:33:34 Every state. Can every state, please? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 36.0162, an act appropriating $20 million from the Virgin Islands, technical amendment, insurance, guarantee fund, as a contribution to 1:34:08 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 8 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in the fiscal year to September 30, 2025, through October 1, 2026, be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I still move. Motion properly made by Senator Blyton, seconded by Senator DeGraff, Senator VLA, Senator Fonseca. Hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyton? Yes. Senator Blyden, yay. Senator Duane M. DeGraff, yes. Senator DeGraff, yay. Senator Ray Fonseca, yay. Senator Fonseca, yay. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr., yay. Senator Francis Jr., yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick, yes. Senator Frederick, yay. Senator Maurice C. James, yes. Yes. Senator James, yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey, yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. 1:35:06 Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0162, an act appropriating $20 million from the Virgin Islands Insurance Guarantee Fund to the contribution to the general fund of the treasury of the government of the Virgin Islands in the fiscal year, September 30, 2025, through October 1, 2026, have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget Appropriations and Finance and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetted. Motion is under the blood, and you recognize. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill No. 36.0163, an act providing an appropriation for salaries and expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections and the Office of the Supervisor of Elections in the fiscal year October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, be voted unfavorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration i still move motion properly made by senator blyden seconded by senator duane de graf senator kurt vla hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyden senator blyden yay senator duane m de graf yes senator de graf yay senator ray fonseca Senator Fonseca Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick Senator Frederick Senator Maurice C. James Senator James Senator Kurt A. Vele Senator Vele Mr. Chair, seven yays Thank you very much Madam Clerk, Bill number 36.0163 an act providing an appropriation for salaries and expenses for the Vazan's Board of Elections and the Office of the Supervisor of Elections in fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance 1:35:42 and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. That rounds out block number one. At this time, Madam Clerk, please call up items in block number two. Block number two, Bill number 36-0164, an act providing a lump sum appropriation from the School Construction Maintenance and Capital Fund to the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance for Repair, Renovation and Maintenance of Public Schools and Facilities in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0165, an act appropriating $6 million from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund as a contribution to the general fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0166, an act providing an appropriation from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, The office of the governor, the Virgin Islands Department of Education, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation, the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, and the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, during the fiscal year October 1, through September 30th, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0167, an act providing an appropriation for the salaries and expenses of the University of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025, through September 30th, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36-0168, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Virgin Islands Labor Management Committee for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Senators Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36-0169, an act appropriating the sum of $1 million from the Virgin Islands Education Initiative Fund to the School of Construction, Maintenance, and Capital Fund, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36-0170, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Waste Management Authority from the Sewer Waste Water Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year, October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0171, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year, October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. 1:37:39 Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0172, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Office of the Inspector General from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill No. 36-0173, an act providing an appropriation for the operation of the judicial branch of the Government of the Virgin Islands, the Judicial Council and the Office of the Territorial Public Defender during the fiscal year, October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. 1:42:02 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 9 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. That concludes the reading of Block No. 2, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. block number two we have ten items in block number two before we proceed today I want to recognize the presence of a non-committee member Senator Clifford Joseph good morning Senator welcome at this time the Committee of Budget Appropriations and Finance will stand in recess for two minutes. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. 1:43:18 We'll be right back. Thank you. 1:47:07 Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 21 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 1:48:07 The Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance is out of recess and back on record. At this time, Senator Clifford-Joseph, you recognize for your two minutes debate. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the time. morning colleagues central staff listening and viewing audience I at this thing would like to commend the chair of the committee of the committee on budget appropriations and finance for having a successful budget season I was able to pass it participate in the hearing and in a markup where I witness all the hard work that goes into this process so again a lot of hard work and I thank the complete team everybody on this committee plus what the other colleagues that were there to have a we were given a C once we were there so I again I am thankful for being there and today I'm here and going forward I'll be supporting all of the bills that's going through today. Thank you again Mr. Chair for the time. Thank you very much Senator Clifford Joseph and thank you for your involvement, the inclusion and certainly your input as you participated in most of the budget hearings. We truly appreciate your appearance to those committee meetings. At this time the chair will be going on block number two which the Madam Clerk have already read into the record and will be taking a vote on those measures. Do I hear a motion? Motion. Senator Maryse James, do you recognize your motion? 1:58:37 Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill number 36-0164, an act providing a lump sum appropriation from the School Construction Maintenance and Capital Fund to the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance for Repair renovation and maintenance of public schools and facilities in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Maurice C. James and Seconded by Senator Blyden, Senator DeGraff. Hearing objection, roll call. 2:00:36 Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Senator Blyden, yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator DeGraff, yay. Senator Ray Fonseca, yay. Senator Fonseca, yay. Senator Novell E. Francis jr yeah santa francis jr yay santa hubert l frederick santa frederick yay santa marie c james Yes. Senator James? Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Ville? 2:01:28 Senator Kurt A. Ville? Yes. Senator Ville? Yes. Senator Ville? Yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. number 36.0164 an act providing a lump sum appropriation from the school construction maintenance and capital fund to the bureau of school construction and maintenance for repair renovation and maintenance of public schools and facilities in fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and will be sent to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration of Burton. Do I hear a motion? Senator Maurice James, do you recognize your motion? 2:02:08 Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill number 36-0165, an act appropriating six million from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund as a contribution to the general fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Maurice C. James, seconded by Senator Blyden. Senator DeGraff, hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyden. 2:02:56 Santa Blyden, yay. Santa Dwayne M. DeGraff, yes. Santa DeGraff, yay. Santa Ray Fonseca, yay. Santa Fonseca, yay. Santa Nova E. Francis Jr., yay. Santa Francis Jr., yay. Santa Hubert L. Frederick, yes. Santa Frederick, yay. Santa Marise C. James, yes. Santa James, yay. 2:03:40 Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yes. Mr. Chair, seven years. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0165, an act appropriating $6 million from the Caribbean Basin Initiative Fund as a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. Senator James, you recognize your motion. 2:04:09 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 10 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 36-0166, an act providing an appropriation from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, the Office of the Governor, the Virgin Islands Department of Education, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation, the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, and the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Maurice James, seconded by Senator Blyton, Senator DeGraff. Hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyton? 2:04:47 Yay. Senator Blyton? Yay. Senator Duane M. DeGraff? Yes. Senator DeGraff? Yay. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yay. Senator Fonseca? Yay. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr.? Yay. Senator Francis Jr.? Yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yes. 2:06:03 Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James? Yes. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yes. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. number 36.0166, an act providing an appropriation from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, the Office of the Governor, the Virgin Islands Department of Education, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the Virgin Islands Department of Sports Park and Recreation, the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, and the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism during fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetted motion senator james you recognize your motion thank you mr chair mr chair i move that bill number 36.0167 an act providing an appropriation for the salaries and expenses of the university of the virgin islands for the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator maurice c james seconded by senator blyton senator de graf hearing objection roll call Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Senator Blyden. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator DeGraff. Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca. Senator Nova E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick. Yes. Senator Frederick, yay. Senator Maurice C. James. Yes. Senator James, yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey. Yes. Senator Valey, yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. 2:06:31 Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0167, an act providing an appropriation for the salaries and expenses of the University of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance. I will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. Motion. Motion. Senator James, you recognize your motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill Number 36-0168, an act approving an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Virgin Islands Labor Management Committee for the fiscal year October 1 2025 through October 30 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration I so move. Please restate Senator. Repeat? Okay, okay sir. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill number 36-0168, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Public Employees Relations Board and the Virgin Islands Labor Management Committee for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. 2:08:49 Motion properly made by Senator Marie C. James, seconded by Senator Blyden. Senator DeGraff, hearing no objection? So roll call. Senator Mervyn A. Blyden. Senator Blyden. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator DeGraff. Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick. Senator Frederick. Senator Marie C. James. yes senator james yay santa curt a veille yes santa veille yay mr chair seven years uh thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36 that's zero one six eight and act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the public employees relations board and the version of labor management committee for fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 have been voted unfavorably by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance. It will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. 2:10:30 Motion. Senator Abreu-Fonseca, you recognize for your motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that bill number 36-0169, and act appropriating the sum of $1 million from the Virgin Islands Education Initiative Fund to the school construction maintenance and capital fund be voted upon favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further action. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Ray Fonseca, seconded by Senator Blyden, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Senator Blyden. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator 2:11:50 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 11 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance DeGraff. Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca. Senator Novell E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. yay Santa Hubert L. Frederick Santa Frederick yay Santa Marie C. James yes Santa James yay Santa Kurt a veille Santa veille yay mr. chair seven yays thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0169 an act appropriating the sum of 1 million dollars to the Virgin Islands education initiative funded to the School of Construction, Maintenance, and Capital Fund have been approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance, will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. 2:12:43 Motion. Motion. Senator Fonseki, recognize your motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill No. 36-0170, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Waste Management Authority from the Sewer Wage Water Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, be voted upon favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Fonseca, seconded by Senator Blyton. Hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyton. Senator Blyton. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Senator DeGraff. 2:13:34 Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca. Senator Nova E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick. Senator Frederick. Yay. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Vele? Yeah. 2:14:29 Senator Vele? Yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0170, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Waste Management Authority from the Sewer Wastewater Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2022. to September 30, 2026, have been approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations and Finance, will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. 2:14:55 Motion. Motion. Senator Fonseca, you recognize your motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that Bill No. 36-0171, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026, be voted upon favorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Ray Fonseca, seconded by Senator Marvin Blyton, Senator Dwayne DeGraff. Hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyton. Senator Blyton. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. 2:15:25 Senator DeGraff. Senator Ray Fonseca. Senator Fonseca. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Senator Francis Jr. Yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yay. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Vele? Yes. 2:16:25 Senator Vele? Yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, Bill number 36-0171, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the virgin islands hospital and health facilities cooperation from the general fund of the treasury of the government of the virgin islands during fiscal year october 1 2025 to september 30 2026 have been approved favorably by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator fonseki recognize your motion thank you mr chair mr chair i move that bill number 36 dash 0172 an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the virgin islands office of the inspector general from the general fund of the treasury of the government of the virgin islands for the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 be voted upon favorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee on rules and judiciary for further action i so move motion properly made by senator fonseca seconded by senator blyton senator de graff hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay senator duane m de graf senator de graf yay senator ray fonseca yay senator fonseca yay senator novel e francis jr yay senator francis jr yay senator hubert l frederick yes senator frederick yay senator marie c james yes senator james yay senator kurt a veille santa veille yay mr chair seven years thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0172 an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the virgin house office of the inspector general from the general fund of the treasury of the government of virgin house for fiscal year october 1 2025 to september 30 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance i'll be sent 2:16:54 forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator fonseca you recognize your motion thank you mr chair mr chair i move that bill number 36 dash 0173 an act providing an appropriation for the operation of the of the judicial branch of the government of the virgin islands the judicial council and the office of the territorial public defender during the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th technical amendment 2026 be voted upon favorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee on rules and judiciary for further action i so move motion properly made by senator fonseca seconded by senator blyton hearing no objection roll 2:19:16 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 12 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay senator dwayne m de graf yes senator de graf yay senator ray fonseca yay senator fonseca yay senator nova e francis jr yeah senator francis jr yay senator hubert l frederick yes senator frederick yay senator marie c james yes senator james yay santa kurt a veille yeah santa veille yay mr chair seven years thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36 0173 an act providing an appropriation for the operation of the judicial branch of the government of the virgin islands judicial branch of the government of the virgin islands the judicial council and the office of the territorial public defender during fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting at this time madam clerk please call up the items in block number three block number three bill number thirty six dash zero one seven four an act providing an appropriation from the general fund of the Treasury of the government of the Virgin Islands for the operation of the government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0175, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Public Services Commission for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30th, 2026. Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0176, an act providing an appropriation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands to the St. John Capital Improvement Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30th, 2026. Sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis Jr. Bill number 36-0177, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Education from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year, October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, sponsored by Senators Milton E. Potter and Novell E. Francis, Jr. Bill number 36-0178, 2:21:18 an act providing an appropriation from the Transportation Trust Fund as a contribution to the general fund and for the operating expenses of the virgin islands bureau of motor vehicles and the department of public works during the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 sponsored by senators milton e potter and novell e francis jr bill number 36-0179 and act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the virgin islands career and technical education board from the general fund of the treasury of the government of the virgin islands during the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 sponsored by senators milton e potter and novelle e francis jr bill number 36-0180 an act providing an appropriation to the virgin islands taxicab commission for the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 sponsored by senators milton e potter and novelle e francis jr bill number 36-0181 an act providing an appropriation from the anti-litter and beautification fund to the virgin islands waste management authority and the virgin islands department of public works for operating expenses during the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 sponsored by senators milton e potter and novelle e francis jr bill number 36-0182 an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the virgin islands waste management authority from the general fund of the treasury of the government of the virgin islands during the fiscal year october 1 2025 to september 30th 2026 sponsored by senators milton e potter and novell e francis jr bill number 36-0186 an act appropriating 4 million 892 thousand dollars from the gvi jpmc charitable fund to the general fund of the treasury of the government of the virgin islands sponsored by senators milton e potter and novell e francis jr bill number 36 dash 2:23:30 zero one two zero an act appropriating the sum of 341 460 dollars from the virgin islands education initiative fund to the virgin islands department of education for the purpose of conducting evaluations to determine students eligibility for special education services sponsored by senator kurt a vla mr chairman that concludes the reading of block number three uh thank you very Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Have a drink of water. I know that was a lot. 2:26:26 Kurt Viale, you recognize your motion? Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair, I move that Bill Number 36-0174 be placed as the last item on this block. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Viale, seconded by Senator Blyden, Senator DeGraff, Senator Fonseca. Hearing objection, so ordered. Do I hear a motion? Motion. Senator Blaney, do you recognize your motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, move the bill number 36 at 0174. 2:27:07 0175. 0175. Oh, yeah, we just moved that one. I move that bill number 310175 and act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Public Services Commission for fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forward it to the Committee of Rules and to the jury for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Marvin Blyden, seconded by Senator Ray Fonseca. Hearing no objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyton. Yeah. 2:27:55 Senator Blyton. Yeah. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Yes. Senator DeGraff. Yeah. Senator Ray Fonseca. Yeah. Senator Fonseca. Yeah. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Yeah. Senator Francis Jr. Yeah. Senator Hubert L. Frederick. Yes. Senator Frederick. Yeah. Senator Maurice C. James. Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36, that's 0175, an act providing appropriation 2:28:33 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 13 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance for the operating expenses of the Public Service Commission. Public Services Commission for fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations, and Finance. and will be sent to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration and vetting senator blyton you recognize your motion senator the graph who who's who said motion senator uh frederick you recognize your motion thank you very much mr chair i'd like to ask for reconsideration on my vote on bill number three six that's zero one six six an act providing for the appropriation of tourism and revolving fund of the Virgin Islands and Waste Management and the Office of the Government and the Government, Virgin Islands, Government, Department of Education and the Virgin Islands Police Department and the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Park and Recreation, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, the virgin islands department of tourism uh during the fiscal year and in october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 iso move motion property made and to be clear you're moving to remove your name from that bill you said from to reconsider my vote to reconsider your vote to what vote on this from yes to no to no and so motion made by senator frederick uh to for consideration of again removing his name from or changing his name his vote from yes to no and bill number 36.0166 properly made by Senator Frederick seconded by Senator de Graff so we'll call on the matter Senator Marvin A. Blyden? 2:29:30 Yeah. Okay. Senator Blyden? Yeah. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff? Yeah. Senator DeGraff? Yeah. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yeah. Senator Fonseca? Yeah. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Yes. Senator Francis, Jr. Yes. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Frederick. Yes. Senator Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yes. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James? 2:31:23 Yes. Senator Kerry Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Nay. Mr. Chair, six yay, one nay. Thank you. The motion for reconsideration approved. We will call at this time on bill number 36.0166. Senator Marvin A. Blyden? Yes. Senator Blyden? Yes. Senator Blyden? Yes. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff? Yes. Senator DeGraff? Yes. Senator DeGraff? 2:31:55 Yes. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yes. Senator Fonseca? Yes. Senator Fonseca? Yes. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. Yes. Senator Francis Junior? Yes. Senator Francis Junior? Yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? No. Senator Frederick? No. Senator Marie C. James? Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yay. Mr. Chair? 2:32:32 Six yay, one nay. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, Bill Number 36-0166, an act providing an appropriation from the tourism advertisement and Revolving Fund, to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, the Office of the Governor, the Virgin Islands Department of Education, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, the Virgin Islands Department of Sports Park and Recreation, the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System, and the Virgin Islands Department of Tourism during fiscal year october 1 2025 to september 30 2026 is hereby further approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and will be sent forward to the rules and judiciary committee for further consideration and vetting senator blyton you recognize your motion thank you mr chair mr chair i move that bill number three six zero one seven six an act providing an appropriation from the general fund of the treasury of the virgin islands to the St. John Capital Approvement Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. We voted unfavorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. 2:33:00 Motion properly made by Senator Blyden, seconded by Senator DeGroff. Roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Yay. Senator Blyden, yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGroff. Yes. Senator DeGraff? Yay. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yay. Senator Fonseca? Yay. Senator Nova E. Francis Junior? Yay. Senator Francis Junior? Yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yay. Senator Marie C. James? Senator James? Yes. Senator James? Yes. Senator Mr. James, yay. 2:34:14 Santa Kurt A. Valle? Here. Santa Valle, yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0176, an act providing an appropriation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Horizontals to the St. John Capital Improvement Fund for fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30th, 2026, is hereby approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations and Finance will be sent forward to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration and vetting. Motion. Senator Blaney, you recognize your motion. 2:34:57 Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, move that Bill No. 36.0177, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Education from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year, October 1, 2025, through September 30 2026 be voted unfavorably in this committee and forward it to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator marvin blighton seconded by senator duane de graf hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton yes senator blyton yay senator duane m de graf yes senator de graf yay senator ray fonseca Santa Fonseca Santa Nova E. Francis Jr. 2:35:33 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 14 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Yes Santa Francis Jr. Santa Hubert L. Frederick Santa Frederick Santa Marisi James Santa James Santa Kurt A. Valey Santa Valey Mr. Chair, seven yays Thank you very much, Madam Clerk Bill number 36, that's 0177 an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Education and the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during fiscal year. I'm sorry, from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during fiscal year, October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, is favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations and Finance and will be sent forward to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration and vetting. Motion. Senator DeGraff, you recognize your motion. 2:36:23 Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move bill number 36-0178, an act providing an appropriation from the Transportation Trust Fund as a contribution to the general fund and for operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Works during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. be voted on favorably in this committee and forward it to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator dwayne the graph seconded by senator marvin blyton hearing objection roll call senator marvin blyton senator blyton yay senator dwayne md graph yes center the graph yay senator ray fonseca Senator Fonseca Senator Novel E. Francis Jr. 2:37:21 Senator Francis Jr. Senator Hubert L. Frederick Senator Frederick Senator Maurice C. James Senator James Senator Kurt A. Valey Senator Valey Mr. Chair, seven years Thank you very much Madam Clerk, Bill number 36 that is 0178 an act of providing an appropriation from the Transportation Trust Fund as a contribution to the General Fund and for operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Works during fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 3rd, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget, Appropriations and Finance and will be sent forward to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration of vetting. 2:38:17 Motion. Motion. Senator DeGraff, you recognize your motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move Bill number 36-0179, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Career and Technical Education Board from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. be voted unfavorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Dwayne DeGraff, seconded by Senator Marvin Blyden. Hearing no objection, roll call. 2:39:07 Senator Marvin A. Blyden. Yay. Senator Blyden. Yay. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff. Yes. Senator DeGraff. Yay. Senator Ray Fonseca. Yay. Senator Fonseca. yay senator novel e francis jr yay senator francis jr yay senator hubert l frederick yes senator frederick yay santa marie c james yes santa james yay santa curt a veille santa veille yay mr chair seven years thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0179 an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the version's career and technical education board from the general fund of the treasury of the government to the version during fiscal year october 1 2025 to september 30 2026 has been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance will be sent forward to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator degraf you recognize your motion uh thank you mr chair i move bill number 36-0180 an act providing an appropriation to the virgin islands taxicab commission for the fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee on rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator duane de graf seconded by senator marvin blighton hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay senator dwayne m de graf yes senator de graf yay senator ray fonseca senator fonseca yay senator nova e francis jr yay senator francis jr yay santa hubert l frederick yes santa frederick yay santa marie c james 2:39:48 yes santa james yay santa kurt a veille santa veille yay mr chair seven yays thank you very much madam clerk bill number 36.0180 an act providing an appropriation for the virgin island's taxicab commission for fiscal year october 1 2025 through september 30th 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations and finance and we send forward to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration and vetting motion motion senator degraf you recognize your motion uh thank you mr chair i move bill number 36-0181 an act providing and appropriation from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Fund to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority and the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for operating expenses during the fiscal year, October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. We voted unfavorably in this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. 2:41:54 I so move. Motion properly made by Senator Dwayne DeGraff, seconded by Senator Marvin Blyden. Hearing objection, roll call. Senator Marvin A. Blyden? Yes. Senator Blyden? Yes. Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff? Yes. Senator DeGraff? Yes. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yes. Senator Fonseca? Yes. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr.? Yes. Senator Francis Jr.? Yes. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yes. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. 2:42:56 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 15 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Senator James? yay. Senator Kurt A. Valey? Yes. Senator Valey? Yay. Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Bill number 36.0181, an act providing an appropriation from the Anti-Later Beautification Fund to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority and the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for operating expenses during fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 have been favorably approved by the Committee of Budget Appropriations and Finance. It will be sent forward to the Committee of Rules and Judiciary for further consideration and vetting. 2:43:32 Motion. Motion. Senator DeGraff, do you recognize your motion? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move Bill No. 36-0182, an act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 be voted on favorably in this committee and forwarded to the committee on rules and judiciary for further consideration i so move motion properly made by senator green graph seconded by senator marvin blyton hearing objection roll call senator marvin a blyton senator blyton yay Senator Dwayne M. De Graff? Yes. Senator De Graff? Yay. Senator Ray Fonseca? Yay. Senator Fonseca? Yay. Senator Novel E. Francis Jr.? Yay. Senator Francis Jr.? Yay. Senator Hubert L. Frederick? Yes. Senator Frederick? Yay. Senator Maurice C. James? Yes. Senator James? Yay. Senator Kurt A. Vele? Yes. Santa Vele, yay. 2:44:07 Mr. Chair, seven yays. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, let me get my flashlight here. Bill number 36.0182, an act providing an appropriation for operating expenses for the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government to the Virgin Islands during fiscal year October 1, 2025, to september 30 2026 have been favorably approved by the committee of budget appropriations of finance and will be sent forward to the committee of rules and judiciary for further consideration and vetting motion motion at this time i will take a recess the committee of budget appropriations of Finance, Danza Reces. 2:45:24 We'll be right back. Thank you. [2 such phrases repeated 26 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 2:46:38 Thank you. Thank you. 2:59:38 I love you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. To be continued... Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. 3:00:38 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 3:13:38 Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 26 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 3:15:08 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 3:28:08 Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 27 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the recogniser as speech] 3:29:38 Thank you. I love you We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. I love you. Thank you. 3:43:08 People named in this transcript SUSPECTED, and a finding aid only. Names were matched by machine against the spellings used across all 426 of our transcripts, and the title is the one used in the room. Being named here is NOT evidence that a person attended or spoke · only that the name was said. Speech recognition mishears names, so a spelling may be wrong even where no alternative is offered. 56x Senator Dwayne DeGraff heard in this transcript as: De Graff, DeGraff, DeGroff, Duane DeGraff, Duane M. DeGraff, Dwayne M. De Graff 54x Senator Marvin Blyden heard in this transcript as: Blyden, Blyton, Marvin A. Blyden, Marvin A. Blyton, Marvin Blyton, Mervyn A. Blyden 52x Senator Ray Fonseca heard in this transcript as: Fonseca, Fonseki Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 16 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance 45x Senator Marise C. James the surname alone also matches: Javan James; Giovanni James Sr heard in this transcript as: James, Marie C. James, Maryse James, Maurice C. James, Maurice James 43x Senator Hubert Frederick the surname alone also matches: Lorenzo Fedricks heard in this transcript as: Fedrick, Frederick, Hubert L. Fedrick, Hubert L. Frederick 36x Senator Novelle Francis heard in this transcript as: Francis, Francis Jr, Francis Jr., Nova E. Francis Jr, Novel E. Francis Jr, Novell E. Francis 27x Senator Kurt Vialet heard in this transcript as: Kirk A. Valey, Kurt A. Valey, Kurt A. Ville, Valey, Viale, Ville 7x Senator Kurt A. Vele heard in this transcript as: Vele 4x Senator Francis Junior 3x Senator Clifford Joseph 2x Senator Carla Joseph the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph heard in this transcript as: Joseph 2x Senator Kurt VLA heard in this transcript as: VLA 2x Senator Kurt Viola 2x Senator Marvin A. Blighton heard in this transcript as: Blighton 2x Senator Nova Lee Francis Junior heard in this transcript as: Nova E. Francis Junior Bills and acts referred to Matched by number against our own acts corpus. The number is what the recognition heard, so it may be wrong; where it resolved, the title is the one the Legislature gave the act. Bill 36-0154 Act 9015 · An act providing a lump-sum appropriation from the Health Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Health and a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 | Bill 36-0156 Act 9017 · An act providing an appropriation from the Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement for operating expenses for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Bill 36-0157 Act 9018 · An act providing an appropriation from the Virgin Islands Lottery as a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Bill 36-0164 Act 9025 · An act providing a lump-sum appropriation from the School Construction, Maintenance and Capital Fund to the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance for repair, renovation and maintenance of public schools and facilities in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 | Bill 36-0186 Act 9045 · An act appropriating $6,074,209 from the GVI/JPMC Charitable Fund to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Bill 36-0174 Act 9074 · January 12, 2026 · An act appropriating the sum of $4,000,000 from the Virgin Islands Insurance Guaranty Fund to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority for the repair, replacement, and operation of streetlights throughout the territory; amending the Caregivers Leave Act; amending Act No. 9035 regarding certain miscellaneous appropriations; amending title 27 Virgin Islands Code section 221 pertaining to licensure requirements for specific medical professions; amending title 3 Virgin Islands Code, section 8b, subsection (c) regarding the requirement for the burial of veterans and for other purposes Act 9015 Act 9015 · An act providing a lump-sum appropriation from the Health Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Health and a contribution to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 | Act 9017 Act 9017 · An act providing an appropriation from the Business and Commercial Properties Revolving Fund to the Virgin Islands Department of Property and Procurement for operating expenses for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Act 9018 Act 9018 · An act providing an appropriation from the Virgin Islands Lottery as a contribution to the General Fund of the Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 17 of 18 Legislature USVI · 09-11-25 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Act 9025 Act 9025 · An act providing a lump-sum appropriation from the School Construction, Maintenance and Capital Fund to the Bureau of School Construction and Maintenance for repair, renovation and maintenance of public schools and facilities in fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 | Act 9045 Act 9045 · An act appropriating $6,074,209 from the GVI/JPMC Charitable Fund to the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 ---0 Act 9074 Act 9074 · January 12, 2026 · An act appropriating the sum of $4,000,000 from the Virgin Islands Insurance Guaranty Fund to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority for the repair, replacement, and operation of streetlights throughout the territory; amending the Caregivers Leave Act; amending Act No. 9035 regarding certain miscellaneous appropriations; amending title 27 Virgin Islands Code section 221 pertaining to licensure requirements for specific medical professions; amending title 3 Virgin Islands Code, section 8b, subsection (c) regarding the requirement for the burial of veterans and for other purposes Act 9035 Act 9035 · September 17, 2025 · An act providing an appropriation from the General Fund of the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the operation of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026; amending title 3 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 27 requiring legislative approval for increased employer or employee contribution amounts to the Government Employees Retirement System; appropriating funds for the outstanding payment for the Paul E. Joseph Stadium project; extending the maturity date on the Line of Credit authorized by Act No. 8701 and for other purposes Referred to but not found in our acts corpus: Bill 36-0155, Bill 36-0160, Bill 36-0161, Bill 36-0158, Bill 36-0162, Bill 36-0165, Bill 36-0166, Bill 36-0167, Bill 36-0168, Bill 36-0169, Bill 36-0170, Bill 36-0171, Bill 36-0172, Bill 36-0173, Bill 36-0175, Bill 36-0176, Bill 36-0177, Bill 36-0178, Bill 36-0179, Bill 36-0180, Bill 36-0181, Bill 36-0182, Bill 31-0175 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 18 of 18