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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Legislature USVI June 2, 2022 · 3.2 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/D0nXF_Bt-So 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. Public record The underlying proceeding is a public record of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 3 V.I.C. § 881(a) defines public records to include all records and documents of or belonging to this Territory or any branch of government, or any "department, board, council or committee of any branch of government" · which names legislative committees by category. § 881(b) gives every citizen the right to examine and copy such records, and the news media the right to publish them. (The open-meetings chapter, 1 V.I.C. § 254, does NOT reach the Legislature: § 253(b) expressly excludes it and its Standing and Special Committees. § 881 does, and it is § 881 that confers the right to copy and publish.) The Legislature broadcast this proceeding publicly itself. The source recording is not ours, is not hosted here, and remains with its publisher at the link above. Rights To what we added · the transcription, its arrangement and its description · we assert nothing. 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. We'll see you next time. Thank you. um so Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you. Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God. 0:00:00 I love you. Thank you. 0:09:30 Oh, my God. Thank you. 0:10:30 I'll see you next time. good morning colleagues good morning to uh good morning to our central staff employees, a special good morning to the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands. 0:11:30 The Committee on Rules and Judiciary meeting of June 2, 2022 is hereby called to order. Before we proceed, though, I want to say a very, very happy, happy birthday to my colleague and friend, the Honorable Senator Nouvelle Francis. Senator Francis, I wish you good health, prosperity, and your 21st birthday. They told me it's 21 that you're making today. Happy birthday, sir, and I wish you all the best. 0:12:36 I also would like to recognize today our 2020 graduates from our territories high schools. 2022 graduates. 2022 graduates from our territories high schools. Ladies and gentlemen, your resilience and determination are absolutely legendary. You have faced something that I don't think anyone else in the world has ever faced, has ever experienced. You navigated your way through two historic Cat 5 hurricanes, followed by a grueling recovery process. 0:13:11 followed by a tricky and deceptive global pandemic called COVID-19. And you survive, you live to tell the tale. I am really confident that the worst is behind you, the worst is behind us and the best is yet to come. My advice to you students is stay true to who you are and remember that great things happen great things happen when you move beyond your comfort zone we wish you all the best madam clerk can we please have a roll call i know the resident been in some other community please recognize miss Dawes's mic good morning senator Novell E Francis jr. here senator Francis present senator kenneth l gittins senator kenneth l gittins senator gittins absent gittins absent you say came to government up 0:14:04 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 senator franklin d johnson d johnson here senator johnson present senator carla j joseph Present. Senator Joseph, present. Senator Steven D. Payne. Senator Payne, absent. Senator Milton E. Potter. Here. Senator Potter, present. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker. Senator Whitaker, absent. Mr. Chair, we have four present and three absent. Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, please present. Thank you. Gittins is present. 0:15:50 Please record Senator Gittins as present, Madam Clark. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins is present. So, Mr. Chair, we have five present, two absent. Thank you very much. we have a quorum so we may proceed madam clerk are there any pieces of correspondence to be read into the record at this time yes mr chair uh to the honorable milton potter chairman rules and judiciary 34th legislature of the virgin islands st thomas vi 00804 dated june 2nd 2022 Dear Chairman Potter, due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not be attending the Committee on Rules and Judiciary meeting scheduled for today, Thursday, June 2nd, at the Earl B Legislative Hall on the island of St. Thomas. I am kindly asking to be excused from this meeting. 0:16:23 Please forward all documents received at the meeting to me via email or my office. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerely, Stephen D. Payne, Sr., Senator at Large, 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. This concludes the correspondence, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, can you also read today's agenda into the record? the committee the committee on rules and judiciary has scheduled a meeting for thursday june 2nd 2022 at 9 30 a.m in the earl b ottley legislative hall on saint thomas to consider the following In block one, nomination of Dr. Bradley Keyes to the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Board. 0:17:21 In block two, bill number 34-0201, a resolution honoring and commending Kermit Amon Lewis for his outstanding service and contributions to the marine service industry in the Virgin Islands. Bill number 34-0202, a resolution honoring and commending Eugene Jennings Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball, softball, and life coach. Bill number 340203, a resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke, Sr., posthumously for his service and contributions to the sport of baseball, horse racing, and to the people of the Virgin Islands. on bill number 340220, a resolution honoring and commending the Agriculture and Food Fair Board of Directors, the University of the Virgin Islands, and the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture for 50 years of diligence in coordinating, promoting, and hosting the Virgin Islands Agriculture and Food Fair, known as AgriFest. In block three, bill number 34-02-06, an act amending Title 23, Chapter 5, Section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that owned firearms outside of the virgin islands block bill number 340225 0:18:29 an act amending title 5 virgin islands code subtitle 2 chapter 201 section 2539 to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes bill number 34 0226 an act amending acts numbers 874 879 86 8 8 6 8 4 9 6 I'm sorry eight four nine four eight four nine six and eight four nine eight to adjust the fiscal year 2022 budget to appropriate funds to the casino control commission for capital outlay wtjx for capital outlay and satellite uplink respectively elections system of the virgin Islands for general election, Virgin Islands Cricket Board, Department of Tourism for personnel and fringe benefits, Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure for personnel and fringe benefits, and 8% salary restoration, Social Security, and Medicare tax reimbursement to the Economic Development Authority, Governor Wong F. Louie Hospital and Medical Center, and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority. Finally, Block 4, Bill number 0:20:30 34-0207, an act repealing and reenacting Title 14, Virgin Islands Code Chapter 41, Section 843, relating to fraudulent claims upon the government of the Virgin Islands, its officers, department, boards, commissions, or agency. Invited testifiers, the Honorable Denise George, USVI Attorney General, and and Attorney Alicia Udwani, President the IBAR Association. This concludes the reading of the agenda, Mr. Chair. 0:22:19 Madam Clerk, thank you very much. Colleagues, we will now proceed with Block 1. We have one nominee in Block 1, Dr. Bradley Keyes, the Governor's nominee to the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Board. Dr. Bradley, welcome. Thank you. Can you hear me okay? We're hearing you loud and clear, and we're seeing you clearly. As is customary, sir, first of all, we want to thank you very much for agreeing to serve on this very important board. And as is customary, I would like to ask you to raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give and your responses to questions posed will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? 0:23:07 I do. Thank you very much. And Dr. Keyes, you may now proceed with your testimony. Thank you. And good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee on Rules and Judiciary. It is my honour and pleasure to speak to you today regarding my nomination for the Virgin islands boards of chiropractic examiners let me start with telling you a little bit about my history and continue with reason for wanting to be on the board current state of the chiropractic profession in the virgin islands and my concern with the chiropractic profession in the virgin islands along with the resolution for those concerns i was born in charleston west virginia the son and nephew of chiropractors in high school i played and was team 0:23:54 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 captain on multiple varsity sports setting many school records and hold the current state record in track and field i continued my athletic career on a division one scholarship to the university of louisville during my studies at uofl i received multiple red and black scholar athlete awards held the sprint team captain position set a school record and was a representative for the track and track team to the student athletic advising committee better known as sac for multiple seasons sac is a committee made up of student athletes assembled to provide insight on the student athlete experience and provide input on the rules, regulations, and policies that affect student athletes' lives to the NCAA. After graduating from UofL with my Bachelor's of Science in Health and Human Performance, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further my athletic career playing professional rugby for the United States National Men's Rugby Sevens Team. Through that experience, I was able to interact with coaches, trainers, managers, and athletes that are participating at the highest level of the sport. Unfortunately, due to injury, my professional rugby career ended, so I continued my education by attending chiropractic school at the Fountainhead of the profession, Palmer College of Chiropractic. While attending chiropractic school, I was on an athletic scholarship, vice president of the rugby team, multiple dean's list on a role, and nominated for the Clinical Excellence Award. Upon graduation of chiropractic college and as a young doctor, my wife and I, who is also a chiropractor, decided we wanted to learn from other experienced doctors in the field and started working in a large personal injury clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada, and then on to an integrated clinic in Boise, Idaho. My experience within those offices was amazing and educational i saw a variety of patient conditioning conditions ranging from high impact car crash traumas to age-related chronic and severe spondylosis conditions we work closely with other providers ranging from spine surgeons to psychologists to provide the best care and management for the patient most recently my wife and i decided to move to the beautiful u.s virgin islands to provide maternity leave for another chiropractor on st thomas since relocating i've been involved locally with the men's rugby team as the president of the club member of the u.s virgin island winter olympic committee member of the virgin island chiropractic society and member of the usbi chamber of commerce after ur maria i established a private practice purchased a home last year and now have lived in the virgin islands longer than anywhere else other than my childhood home and we plan to raise our future children in the virgin islands clinically i practice an evidence-based practice model evidence-based practice 0:25:47 defined by u of health at the university of utah is integrating the best available evidence with clinical knowledge and expertise while considering patients unique needs and personal preferences if used consistently optimal patient outcomes are more likely achieved to stay up to date with relevant research articles clinical knowledge and expertise i'm involved in a variety of continuing education formats i recently completed primary spine practitioner program through the university of pittsburgh school of health and rehabilitative sciences i received certifications and qualifications through the academy of chiropractic group and participate in weekly clinical grand rounds through national spine management group i'm also a member of north american spine society american college of physical medicine and the international chiropractic chiropractors association as you can see i have held leadership roles throughout my life i strive to be the best at what i do and believe in leading from the front i'm interested in being a member of the VI chiropractic board examiners because I think my experience will add value to the current board. I believe the state of the profession is in excellent condition. We have great chiropractors in the territory and I'm thankful for those who have served before me and paved the way for chiropractic care in the Virgin Islands. Many of our board members have selflessly served on the board for many years and I believe it is time for the younger generation to step up for the profession. While serving on the board my primary focus will be maintaining and progressing a high level of standard of care for residents of the VI and ensure that the people of the VI continue to have access to high-quality chiropractic care. This leads me to one of my current concerns. Our profession is the only physician-level provider without a defined assistant. 0:27:42 Chiropractic assistants, CA, are used in nearly all offices but to what level is not defined or standardized in the territory working in many other office settings in different states the role of a CA is defined differently per state but defined and standardized some states require CAs to pass an exam some require minimum schooling some require a certain amount of clinical hours experience but all states to my knowledge have a CA position defined standardized and regulated within the law my solution to this would be to work with other members of the chiropractic board of examiners members of this committee in the Department of Health to define standardize and regulate the role of a CA within the chiropractic profession to ensure public safety and establish a standard of care for the CA within the profession in closing I would like to thank all the members of the committee for your time and service to the community and I'm open to questions from the members thank you thank you very much for your testimony, Dr. Keyes. Colleagues, I believe we're going to have a three-minute round. If you need additional time, the Chair will be generous with you. We will start with Senator Francis. You are recognized for your three minutes. SENATOR FRANCIS, Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good morning to you and my colleagues. 0:29:36 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Good morning to the nominee, and certainly good morning to the people of Verzals. Thank for the happy birthday wishes but today's not my birthday my birthday is on june 28th 2-0 not zero two all right so i don't want to be around by that time right thanks for that correction sir no worries no worries um so nominee uh dr keys certainly thank you for your interest to serving on this very important board and also for making the versions your home i i wanted to ask you a few questions as we continue to vet your nomination uh did you ask to serve on this board or or someone kicked you out uh to serve on this board i i soak uh i asked to be part of the board and was seeking out to be a member of the board very well and obviously um since that you have had an opportunity to speak with anyone on the board absolutely okay and what's what's the sentiment um in respect to that how was the um what do you intend to bring to the board um uh yeah so i do believe that um the members that i spoke with are in favor of adding me to the board and i believe that my expertise and my past with being on uh different types of boards or uh advisory committees will they bring my experience to the board okay and very well uh so do you have had an opportunity to review all of the the requirements to serve and this very important board yes i have and so you talk about uh purchasing a home um in the virgin islands um have you done that already or you intend to do that 0:31:03 uh yeah we are about a year into our home now so very happy one minute do you have a virgin islands driver's license yes i do good show you're serious about being here i can see i'm i buy into whatever i do so yeah so yeah very well um so i don't have any further questions i've had an opportunity to review your resume um i like your your zeal and your zest and interest and again, contributing to the Virgin Islands and not just from the sidelines, so from practice, but also to be a part of this board so that you can make some decisions to impact what's happening here. So I thank you. Once again, I have no further questions for you at this time. 0:32:57 Thank you, Senator Francis. Thank you very much, Senator Francis. Senator Johnson, you're recognized for your three minutes good morning mr chair thank you very much mr cheer uh good morning to the rest of my colleagues good morning to dr bradley and good morning to the viewing and listening audience um i've seen a couple chiropractic in my time and i don't think i want to see a next one not that it's bad but i don't need to have no more injuries so i really want to say thank you um for willingness to serve and welcome aboard if this you know do go through one of the questions i'd like to ask you said in your statement you believe in leading from the front as a board member tell me what you think should be implemented or change immediately with the board and its structure um like in this statement i do believe that we need to have a better defined assistant um within our profession every medical made profession has a defined assistant that is licensed and regulated and so i think that would be an important area that we should focus our attention to in the in my immediate starting of the position have you had any conversation with any members of the board at this time that's present uh not currently unfortunately uh however I was at the International Chiropractic Association meeting, annual meeting not too long ago, and had conversations with representatives at that meeting about this topic. And they seem to be in favor with it. However, they're not here. But the chiropractic assistant is well defined throughout the mainland. So I do think it would be a way to progress our profession 0:33:44 down here in the virgin islands at this present time do you believe there's enough chiropractor here in the territory or it needs to be we need more chiropractors i think the population could definitely afford to have more chiropractors i do at times have patients that try to call and we don't have availability um and i and i find that there aren't enough people in general being seen for just we'll say non-specific back pain in general um so chiropractors have been researching and studies to be a good first line provider to provide services for those patients um so it definitely wouldn't hurt to have a few more on the island to better serve the community if i may ask this question what are some of the most common injuries that you're you know experiencing since you're now here in the territory what what's the most injury that you've been seeing well since covid we've had a large influx of just back and neck pain people being remote working from home um and not having a proper workstation and and things like that so um pretty standard standard type things um so we generally focus on spine related pains but can work on any type of musculoskeletal condition you have to do a lot of cracking of backs we prefer to use the word adjustment but yeah time thank you very much because i know it was cracking when the whenever i got to a cryopractor i would hear those cracks going up the line crack crack crack so i call it cracking but you you're correct it's adjusting of the spine a lot of that came in you do a lot of that type of um thank you very much um seems to be a very uh straightforward person and i i wish you the best on your endeavor and ethics selected um at that time i definitely would like to see you doing more things and helping us in this area of expertise that's well needed in the 0:35:44 the territory thank you very much mr chair thank you very much senator johnson it's not cracking of back senator it's an adjustment okay we don't want to scare the people of the territory it's an adjustment uh senator gittins you are recognized for your three minutes good morning uh thank you good morning all thank you mr chair uh good morning nominee how are you today i'm doing well senator thank you good thanks so i saw your resume saw your application uh what what do you see your role and your responsibility uh as a board member serving on the chiropractic board here in the territory i 0:37:52 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 think the first role of any board member myself included would just be to ensure public safety and to keep the standard of care in the profession great and are you uh you're currently practicing here how long have you been practicing i've been in private practice for a little over uh five years now then how long sorry three three three and a half four years how long have you been in the territory uh about six years and have you been uh in your couple of years have you ever been aware of a potential uh Error or lapse in judgment By one of your colleagues? Not specifically Not specifically How do I accept that? Not specifically Have you or have you not? I have not Okay And How would you describe your current relate relationship with the board now i believe i have a good relationship with the board um one of the board members is a fellow ica member um and representative and um we had lunch a couple months ago talking about this nomination um so i believe i have a good standing with the board and uh why do you think you would add value one minute uh chiropractic board here um just due to my past experience and my um drive to want to continue to improve the profession um i like to make sure that we continue the standard of care within the virgin islands okay so your uh long three and a half years is sufficient you got to start somewhere okay uh thank you for your uh willingness to serve and uh to bring your dedication and commitment to the board and at the appropriate time i will uh vote thank you so much thank you mr chair thank you very much senator gittens senator joseph you're recognized for your three minutes 0:39:38 thank you so much mr chairman a pleasant good morning to you colleagues viewing and listening audience uh also our testifier before us for consideration to be on the virgin islands chiropractic board of examiners I want to thank you first mr. Bradley for throwing your hat in the ring and to actually agree to be on this board I know we have been challenged in the Virgin Islands with finding competent people willing the willingness to serve on the board so I want to really commend you for stepping up to the plate and having the courage to do so my expectation as all of my colleagues is that you will be willing and ready to go to work on behalf of the people of the virgin islands to ensure that those who are practicing in the field of chiropractic will be uh assured to have a level of integrity and keep our people safe and by your shaking of your head i'm guessing that you're saying yes is that correct yes senator i absolutely agree with that now i did a little research into uh the code our virgin islands law which it states uh the qualifications of persons who are going to be selected or appointed uh through confirmation with the legislature appointed by the governor uh through confirmation of the senate to the chiropractic board of examiners i noted in the discussion that you mentioned that you have been licensed in the virgin islands for how many years three and a half so you just barely made it because it's supposed to be the code specifically says three years so you're just said at least at least and so at least is the minimum three years so you have met that criteria i do have concern because i did read through uh the questionnaire i noted that in 2005 2006 you had a little run-in um that you you actually had a reckless driving issue. Were you inebriated when that occurred? 0:41:30 No, no, Senator, I was not. Unfortunately, I like to ride motorcycles. And as a young man, I like to ride motorcycles irresponsibly. So I was pulled over for riding a wheelie essentially on a motorcycle when i was in um when i was in schooling so so i can appreciate that because they have a number of young people here in saint thomas i'm sure you've seen them as well as in synchro do the same and they like to wheelie um i i see that you are properly mr chairman i just may wrap up if you're so kind you may you may wrap up senator thank you kindly uh i just want to say that i want to just ask one final questions are you currently mentoring anyone um who you have noticed may have that same interest in uh chiropractic studies um currently in the virgin islands because i i read your your testimony you come up from a legacy of chiropractice your father and your uncle work in that field so it's also to broaden it to others who may be interested in in going into the field but they don't have access have you been mentoring anyone open to mentoring anyone uh senator at this moment i haven't had the opportunity to mentor anyone However, it is in my plans to potentially become an adjunct professor through UVI, maybe teaching anatomy or labs or something like that, to where I can maybe reach more younger people in order to potentially inform them on the professional chiropractic and how it can help people. 0:44:04 I'm going to hold you to that. And I will be getting in contact with you regarding that so we can make it happen. Thank you kindly, Mr. Chairman, for your leniency. thank you very much senator joseph um dr keys what would you what would you say is your greatest concern relative to the chiropractic profession at the moment it would be a the lack of standardization for our assistants that work with us in the clinic side-by-side in handling with patients. It's basically an open book on who can or can't interact with patients within my office or any other office in the Virgin Islands that is in the assistant-type role. 0:45:55 Again, every major physician has an assistant that's well-defined. And so I, again, believe that it would be important to have that standardized and for the safety and of the community. Yeah, I think it makes good sense and that is something that this body can absolutely work closely with you and the board so that we can have that defined, have it codified so that there is some uniformity and consistency as to how CAs are used and their background and qualifications. So I think that's something important and we look forward to working closely with you to get that rectified. What is the most 0:46:52 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 common or the greatest misconception about your profession? A great question, Senator. That we only treat back pain. I have the pleasure of treating patients with all sorts of ailments, and screening patients, we're considered a portal of entry provider within the healthcare system, so if a patient comes to me and it's not something I can help them with I can make sure that they are referred to the appropriate provider or appropriate tests imaging labs etc so we have you know we are commonly pigeonholed into just back pain however our training and education has us have the ability to diagnose and refer appropriately if needed and then also on a conservative manner treat other ailments as well. 0:47:54 Yeah. Excellent. I think I am, based on my observation, based on hearing your responses to the questions, I am pleased. It's good to see a fresh new face. face. I applaud Governor Bryan for once again sending down qualified young individuals to serve on these very important boards. So at the appropriate time, I plan to vote in the affirmative for your nomination to this board. Colleagues, I believe we have exhausted point of inquiry, Senator Francis, you're recognized. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 0:48:41 Dr. Keyes, can you describe three qualities that you possess? Sure. Leadership, drive, and professionalism. very well and i think it's important that i say that i'm looking forward uh to those three qualities being utilized on this board um you know we don't want to prove nominees for the purpose of just status quo i think it's critical that when you go on this board that you shake up the bottle and and you'll hopefully make a significant impact there um for some reason a of these boards that become dominant and you just join the fraternity or or the group you know i really want to see that you go there and hopefully utilize your um your newness to to have a significant impact um so again now congratulations um on your nominations and we look forward to serving on this board at this time mr chair are you ready for a motion do i have motion motion senator francis you're recognized for your motion thank you very much mr chair mr chair and colleagues i move that the governor's nomination of dr bradley keys to serve on the virgin alice chiropractic board be approved by the committee of rules and judiciary and sent to the full body for further consideration i so move Second. 0:49:35 Properly moved by Senator Francis, seconded by Senator Johnson. Yeah. Roll call on the nomination of Dr. Bradley Keyes to the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Board of Examiners. Senator Novell E. Francis, Jr. Yeah. Senator Francis, yeah. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. 0:51:08 Yes. Senator Gittins, yeah. Senator Franklin D. Johnson. Yeah. Senator Johnson, yeah. Senator Carla J. Joseph. Yeah. Senator Joseph, yeah. Senator Stephen D. Payne, Senator Payne absent, Senator Milton E. Potter yes Senator Potter yay, Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker, Senator Whitaker absent. Mr. Chair we have five yay, two absent. Thank you very much colleagues the nomination of Dr. Bradley Keyes to the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic examiners has been favorably approved by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. Congratulations Dr. Keyes we're gonna give you 30 seconds to make your wrap-up statement. Thank you Mr. Chairman and thank you for the committee for my nomination again I will also hold myself accountable to what you guys are gonna hold me accountable to as well and look forward to serving and to continue to serve the people of the Virgin Islands and to continue to move the profession forward. Thank you. 0:51:40 Thank you very much, Dr. Keyes. Again, congratulations and we appreciate your willingness to serve. Your nomination will be sent to the full body at our next session, official session of the body, and you will be notified of that date. however you will not be required to show up for that hearing okay congratulations again you're you're officially released from this team's meeting thank you all right madam clerk can you please read the agenda in block number two Block two, we have bill number 340201, a resolution honoring and commending Kermit Amon Lewis for his outstanding service and contributions to the marine science industry in the Virgin Islands. Bill number 34-0202, a resolution honoring and commending Eugene Genix Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball, softball, and life coach. 0:53:03 Bill number 340203, a resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke Sr. posthumously for his service and contributions to the sport of basketball, horse racing, and to the people of the Virgin Islands. Bill number 34, 0220, a resolution honoring and commending the Agriculture and Food Fair Board of Directors, the University of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture for 50 years of diligence in coordinating, promoting, and hosting the Virgin Islands Agriculture and Food Fair known as agri-fest this concludes the reading of the agenda for block two mr chair thank you very much madam clerk colleagues will proceed with bill number 34-0201 who speaks to this bill i do mr chairman senator francis you're recognized for your introduction uh thank you very much mr chair um again bill number 34-0201 is a resolution honoring and commending Kermit Amon Lewis for his outstanding service and contributions to the marine industry of the Virgin Islands. The bill sponsors are, in fact, Senators Kurt BLA, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, 0:54:30 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Senator Johnson, as well as Senator Marvin Blyden. And I must say that, again, we really want to recognize and commend this individual for his contribution. He holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree in marine science from the savannah state university he worked for and work with the planning and natural resources coastal zone program for a number of years as well as the university of the virgin islands and was a professor in on of science on the saint croix campus mr lewis passion for restoring life to our native waters blossom in worldwide efforts to assist with the establishment of coral nurseries in other countries such as the british virgin islands the bahamas curacao dominican republic grenada guam and jamaica mr lewis also developed the responsible sustainable seafood initiative in the territory and i as a seafood lover could appreciate that he helped to educate chefs fishermen and the community the best practices for fishing and sustaining environment i'll tell you that you know um what's what's even truly amazing to me is that this individual um you know suffered an illness you know recently and despite his illness he was able to overcome um there were some amputations and stuff that as a a result of his illness and he was strongly able to overcome have become a role model for so many in terms of his willpower his energy and his great outlook outlook in life you know despite what he had gone through um you know i'm certainly moved um every day that i see him and i'm honored on behalf of the bill sponsors to move this bill forward because i understand um the critical need 0:56:20 of it again this resolution is really to honor and commend kermit amon lewis for his service and contribution to the marine science industry again we are surrounded by water and his appreciation for um blue his appreciation for waters and our marine life is um is something that that goes beyond measure and i really want to thank him for his contribution um as a virgin islander you know again i'm honored to move this resolution forward and the bill sponsors via bill number 34-0201 i ask my colleagues to please support this measure and make sure that this individual received the honor that's due to him thank you very much mr chair for the time thank you very much senator francis we will now proceed to bill number 34-0202 who speaks to this bill I will. 0:58:19 Senator Johnson, you're recognized for your introduction. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This is a bill proposed by Senator Kurt Villay, sponsored by Senator Franklin Johnson, and a resolution honoring commending Eugene Gene X. Thomas was mostly for his outstanding contribution to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball, softball, and long-life coach. I've been blessed to have known Mr. Eugene, Eugene X. Thomas. And I was blessed to also be coached by Mr. Thomas. 0:59:20 But some of his outstanding accomplishment goes back to where he took a set of young girls in 1978 to the World Series champion. And they won that 13 young ladies, a life-changing event for those young ladies and Mr. Thomas. But as a softball and baseball coach, he have mentored young men and young women throughout this territory and have a great impact on their life. So not just about softball or baseball, but the impact he have had on these young people's life. And I've been blessed to be in the Committee of Government Operation and Consumer Protection to hear the testimonies that was very touching from some of the young ladies who he had mentored. 0:59:53 and continue to mention up until the day that he passed because he maintained a relationship with most of those young ladies. So I'm asking all my colleagues for their support on Bill No. 34-0202 at the appropriate time. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Senator Johnson. Colleagues, we will now move to Bill No. 34-0203. Who speaks to this bill? i do mr chairman senator joseph you may proceed with your introduction mr chairman i rise in strong support and urge my colleagues to vote favorably for bill number 34.0203 a resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke Senior posthumously for his service and contributions to the sports of basketball, horse racing, and to the people of the Virgin Islands. This bill is long overdue. I have had the pleasure of knowing this great man his family members on April 20th of this year this bill was heard in the committee on government operations and consumer protection the committee which I chair and I must say that the individuals who came forward testified about the wealth of his heart and given and being able to to mentor. We had testimonies from his sibling, the Honorable Carol M. Burke, former senator, and also from Mr. Roy Shaggy-Joseph and Mr. Julio Maganja-Felix. The most of these testimonies 1:00:39 that was the most riveting was that of Mr. Julio Maganja Felix, who is a renowned jockey from the big island of St. Croix. He spoke about Mr. Alvin Burke's heart when he took him from being a person who was going to be wayward and gave him a new path and a new love, which was horse racing. Today this gentleman, and that's the legacy, this gentleman, Maganja Felix, credits Mr. Burke with his career as being one of the top jackeys in the United States of America, coming straight out from the Virgin Islands in the big island of St. Croy. So I rise in support of it and I had to sign my name on because he's not only worked in that field but he's also provided services as a planner for the Virgin Islands Housing Authority, helping to shape the way for persons to own or reside in their own homes. So I am urging today our colleagues my dear colleagues to join me and even signing on as a co-sponsor but definitely voting in favor of this uh noteworthy and commendable person from the soil of the virgin islands uh mr alano delano burke senior thank you kindly mr chairman for the time thank you very much alvin so just let me be clear okay just to so that we are 1:02:47 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 definitely going to be honoring and commending mr alvin delano burke senior and i'm hoping that all of us are going to vote in favor of bail 34.0203 thank you kindly mr chair to make that correction and clarification no problem thank you very much senator joseph colleagues we will now move to bill number 34-0220 who speaks to this bill i i do i do uh senator johnson you're recognized for your introduction thank you very much mr chair bill number 34-0220 a resolution honoring and commending the agriculture and food fear board of directors and the university of the virgin islands and the virgin islands department of agriculture for 50 years of diligence and coordinating promoting and hosting the virgin islands agriculture and food fear known as agri fest it's a bill sponsored by senator javon james and i quite sure i'll be signing on to this uh piece of measure this weekend just gone is a very proven test that what have been done on the fairgrounds for the past 50 years is a day of success or days of success with the exhibit of all the foods culture the the planting even the school children craft that they display down in that big building it proves that the virgin islands agriculture food fair there is one of the biggest if not the biggest in the entire caribbean many many days and when you go to that fair you each time that you go you will learn something new about the virgin islands or something new about a caribbean island who come up and partake in this endeavor. And I definitely will be asking all my colleagues to support this initiative at the appropriate time. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 1:04:52 Thank you very much, Senator Johnson, for your introduction. Colleagues, we will proceed with a three minute round. If you need another 30 seconds or so, the chair will be generous with you. We will start with Senator Francis, before I do that though, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, member of the committee, we would just like to recognize you, recognize your presence. Senator Francis, you are recognized for your three minutes. 1:06:44 Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I certainly stand or sit to support Bill 34.0201. I presented that bill on the behalf of the bill's sponsors as well in commending and honoring and commending Kermit Eamon Lewis for his outstanding contributions to the marine industry. So I will certainly be voting in the affirmative. And again, I'm asking my colleagues to do that. In Bill 34.0202, Bill honoring and commending Eugene Genex Thomas, posthumously, I also know of the many, many individuals that he coached over the years in softball. And a lot of times you just look at the fact of softball, but provided some mentorship to these youngsters. give them an opportunity and taught them life lessons. You know, a lot of times when you go to be a part of a team, it requires your discipline and teamwork, you know, understanding that you're not in it by yourself, that in fact you have to utilize and work along with others, you know, to be able to move the team's agenda forward. I think that that's so critical. You know, even as adults, I think sometimes people don't have an appreciation for the team efforts that's required for us to be able to move and work collectively to an end goal. So I believe that GeneX was very popular in doing that. There are so many individuals that have moved on as a result of his coaching to be successful members of this community. So I think it's only fitting that we recognize and pay tribute to GeneX. Mr. Burke, again, you know, his oversight and, you know, the leadership coaching as well that he presented for over 200 players over the years. 1:07:23 But even beyond that, I mean, you know, his work, his ability to be educated, he had a master's degree in urban affairs, you know, with the concentration in land use law and administration. you know neighborhood revitalization from hunter university in new york um you know he had certainly as a planner his 12-year career as a planner you know outside of that so he had some dual roles and dual responsibility and while he was able to um you know do his work also found time to be able to mentor so many students throughout the community um you know some of those those individuals uh where he mentored over his 40 years grassroots perby larson dolphins lady dolphins wanita guardian hurricanes you know sparks um the lakers you know there's just so many uh contributions that he's been able to make and again coming out of on his hope um you know he had his um again care for horses and had often been seen at the racetrack and um you know always a guy that had a very calm cool and collective um you know discipline and mentality you know you could always relate and speak with him because you know he's he's always been a voice of reason so you know you he he really when when he passed out passed away it was really painful to see such uh individual you know um going on so again i'm happy to be in a position today where we're recognizing and honoring Mr. Alvin Delano Burke Sr. for his contribution. In regards to the recognizing those individuals from that contributed to the agriculture board 1:09:26 over the years, I think that that is somewhat commendable as well. You know, I remember as a student in the elementary school, in the elementary school where we were required um at that young years and that had to 40 years ago where we were required to be able to go to the ag fair and and that monday or or friday the day before the ag fair started um you know we'll go there and we had class trips uh to to the ag fair we're able to see the the animals the plant and get a real exposure before we had the large crowd and And of course, you know, as the years go by, then all the days go by, of course, you had an extra treat because you get to go with your family members. But as students, we were required to take a class trip to the Agriculture Fair and had our own opportunity to be able to explore the Ag Fair, as well as be able to present various projects at the Ag Fair. So I'll be standing and I'll be voting in the affirmative for all of these measures 1:11:19 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 that's before us and in block number two. Thank you very much for the time and opportunity, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Senator Francis. Senator Johnson, you are recognized for your three minutes. Good morning. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. These are particular bill on this block is no brainers. um bill number 34-0-2-0-1 resolution honoring and commending mr kemet aman lewis for his outstanding service and contribution to the marine science industry in the virgin islands have been a a brain changer for the marine life what he have accomplished might just well be the gateway to saving our corals and saving our way of life corals are not just something that's fascinating and beautiful but it's a part of us it's a part of this territory it's a part of our fishery and what mr emmet have accomplished have been a big changer for just just the virgin island but the caribbean and the world when you look at his resume of the places that he have gone and did this working with this marine life it's it's outstanding bill number 34-0202 resolution honoring and commending mr eugene thomas again my coach someone who have mentored me someone who have mentored many young children in this territory you could speak to anyone that met mr thomas and they will tell you the change of changes that he have made in their life not just on the ball field but in their schooling in the education in the direction where they go sometimes you hear people speak about baseball softball that team concept brings a lot more than just playing that ball it brings camaraderie you meet friends that are everlasting and the traveling and opportunity that these young people got when they went and win that championship i don't think you have ever been achieved again in the virgin islands traveling out with a softball team to such a tournament and actually getting that championship so i definitely will be 1:12:44 supporting this tool bill number 34 that's zero two zero three a resolution honoring and commenting mr alvin delano burke senior i know mr burke and growing up as a young man i can remember when he was working in at the time it would be called housing parks and rick and they brought these different series of basketball where community plays against community and that was such a effect on the young people because they get to meet the different children from the different community at opportunity they might not have got into if it wasn't for this particular tournament going in the neighborhoods playing basketball you'll have projects one community against the other you might have red brick against mali you might have harrigan against suffer ali you might got shabot against mali project and some of these children if it wasn't for this opportunity might have never been to that name next neighborhood taking part and meeting friends so these are some of the things in that one minute done that have definitely made an impact on these young people lives bill number 34-0220 the resolution honor and commending the agriculture and food trade board of directors again as we spoke about it a while ago the agriculture the agri-fest is the biggest of its kind in the caribbean when it's get going again you will see antiga saint kids dominica saint lucia all of these caribbean islands come and take part in our fair costa rica puerto rico you name it and these islands have came and take part in our agri fest so it's definitely deserved this resolution and this recommendation this honoring and at the appropriate time i will be voting in the affirmative for 1:14:39 all of these bills and black number two thank you very much mr chairman Thank you very much, Senator Johnson. Senator Gittins, you are now recognized for your three minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I see we're really pressed for time. Let me see if I can do these four in three minutes. bill number 34.0201 that speaks to Mr. Kemet Lewis. Let me just say that I'm proud to support this resolution, not only because Kemet hails from the historic town of Frederickstead and is a Virgin Islander, but because as Virgin Islanders, we truly need to be familiar with our natural resources as well as the ecological impact human interactions exactly these environments i'm hearing uh someone else speaking mr chair uh please mute your mic if you are not speaking thank you very much we're sorry about that senator gettens you may proceed thank you and uh in closing for uh 34.0201 mr kenneth lewis i just want to say uh congrats to you mr lewis uh in advance and we continue to keep you lifted in prayers uh to mr eugene genex thomas uh bill number 34.0202 i'm also proud to support this resolution and wish that he was here today to receive his honors nevertheless i'm saying uh let's do the right thing by him and rebuild our polly joseph stadium and fix all the other parks so that we can have more genexes in our uh community and more pro baseball uh players with regards to mr burke bill number 34-0203 another virgin islander that contributed 1:16:41 so much to sports here in the territory and again i'm asking that we do right by him as well and return horse racing uh to the territory uh not only on saint croix but again to the territory so that we can uh have our spectatorship and be able to be out there and enjoy the horse racing with With regards to the Agriculture Fair and the University of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Agriculture, congratulations to them on their 50 years anniversary through Bill number 34, that's 0220. Again, congrats to the organizers and the employees and volunteers that put this year's Agriculture Fair together. It was another spectacular event, and I must ask that next year and going forward that we try to cut down on the amount of talking at the opening ceremonies and try to do some of those honoring and commending at the government house event that's held a couple days before the ag fair. 1:18:53 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 That way you wouldn't have people sitting there over two hours during a ceremony. But again, congratulations to all on a spectacular event put on this year at the AgFear. Thank you, Mr. Chair and colleagues. Thank you, Senator Gettens. Senator Joseph, you're recognized for your three minutes. Please recognize Senator Joseph's microphone. Thank you. 1:20:08 Thank you so kindly, Mr. Chairman and staff. I rise in support of Bill 34-0201, in addition to Bill 34-0202 and 34-0203, as well as 34-0220. All four of these bills were heard in the Committee on Government Operations on April 20th of this year. They are commending some strong human beings, three of them, who have really demonstrated their love for our people in the Virgin Islands. Let me just begin with 34-0201. Kemet Amon-Lewis. This young man is an overcomer, but not only is he an overcomer and resilient spirit, he is educated in a field of study which is marine science, which number of people who are descendants of former African slaves are not well represented. This is a career path that is primarily dominated by persons who are not of African descent but Mr. Lewis demonstrated his resiliency in this area and he forged on and was able to make some critical, critical milestones especially in the 1:20:42 conservation of coral he managed the replanting of coral we have issues due to global warming with coral bleaches and his spirit and his conviction led him to start a project to replant corals in the virgin islands and other places so i really want to commend him and i really want to encourage him to continue and he's also a mentor he have young people that he is mentoring in this field to also follow in his footsteps so I definitely rise in support of him and this bill bill 34-0202 this bill is also a very critical bill because it honors and commend Eugene Jennings Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball softball and life coach one of the testifiers I recall her testifying and she has a doctorate degree as well she testified and this this is how the legacy is demonstrated she testified how genix supported her throughout her professional and her baseball career and also how he encouraged her on times when she did not feel that she can overcome and she said he supported her throughout and now she i think she works for a company they're going to look at doing some additional work here in the field of sciences here in the virgin islands and working with historically black colleges so i really want to say that that's when we honor people when we have seen the fruit of their labor and their individuals who are standing up and standing firm about a person's integrity and the character and 1:22:32 the metal is not to just be hidden under a stone it is to be shared with all and so i really want to commend uh the bill sponsors for this and to note that this gentleman was raised and it says here in the resolution he was raised with love faith and the fear of god and that is commendable of any person who is going to succeed character in in life next i would like to also because i am a supporter of this bill and of course a sponsor of this bill 34.0203 which is a resolution honoring and commending alvin delano burke one minute and he is a great he was a great person i have known him uh i knew him for over 20 years and i'm very grateful for the work he has done in the field of land use program management neighborhood revitalization in new york and also he worked here in the virgin islands in the virgin islands housing authority but what what i wanted to to place on the record too was a time when i needed help with some young people managing a program he was able to step right in and this would have been in 2008 step right in and provide that support so definitely i will be uh voting in favor of that resolution and finally bill number 34.00 I'm sorry bill number 34.0220 and this is a resolution honoring and commending the agriculture and food fair board of directors the 1:24:46 university of the virgin islands and the virgin islands department of agriculture for 50 years of diligence in coordinating promoting and hosting the virgin islands agriculture and food fair known as agri-fest i have been a vendor at agri-fest for 10 years mr chairman may i be allowed to wrap up you may wrap up senator thank you uh for i was a vendor for at agri-fest for 10 years it is indeed the caribbean's largest agriculture food fair and and we have persons who come annually, very dedicated from throughout the Caribbean region. Agri-Fest brings us all as islands closer together. So I definitely will be supporting this measure when we are called to vote on it and all measures within this block. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for the leeway. 1:26:44 Thank you very much, Senator Joseph. The chair was very, very generous with you, Senator Joseph. Senator Whitaker, you're recognized for your three minutes. Good morning, Chairman. Good morning, colleagues. Good morning to central staff. Good morning to the listening and viewing audience. Today is, as we go through the various measures, it's also a solemn day as we course are honoring people who have passed so we reflect on and continue to hold their families in our hearts and certainly this is a reminder of the importance of honoring individuals when they are with us and certainly reflecting on them and certainly one of the things i would emphasize as for those many of those who know i'm really championing curriculum reform and our children learning their history and their culture um this is so befitting that both the younger generation who we're honoring and those who pass our elders this is so significant and so i think as we as we also push forward resolutions will be so important that we get this information into the hearts and minds of our children i want to also emphasize um just first of all indicate that i'm supporting certainly all the measures um and as a co-sponsor as well as a few of the measures and and and really highlighting so starting off with bill number 34-0201 kemet amand 1:27:50 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) 10 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 lewis um i would definitely say my inspirational diving partner in the sense that you know he he just um from his background and his passion for um for diving his um his passion for the marine life and that's why i'm also so proud to state that kemet um miss amand kemet was one of the stakeholders when i was last year driving forward the marine environmental science bill that was not successful certainly doesn't mean that it can continue making further efforts but he was one of the individuals who helped with me champion the teaching of marine and environmental science in our schools and i thank him for that as we honor our beloved eugene genix thomas we know the importance of sports in our community bill number 34-0202 and certainly this is befitting and we know that's also rests with our efforts to restore our baseball field past you know all of our recreation fields basketball fields tennis field every everything what we're doing right now to support the redevelopment of recreation throughout the territory 34-0203 certainly commending another amazing great virgin islander alvin delana burke senior for his contributions um again to basketball has reiterated already horse racing and the people of the virgin islands um a real significant person in our community as well and we continue to hold um you know just remember him and also reflect that our work that we need to do to ensure that we restore as an example horse racing as shared by another colleague um bill number 34-0220 the food fair they said we celebrated the 50th year anniversary i do concur about the length of the opening ceremony but i do also know that it was a really amazing time i do want to emphasize that our constituents who are out there and stakeholders they do ask us as senators to do um to engage us more engage with them more and so that's why my commitment to remain committed it's um it's a task in itself but it's an important one that we do our best to engage with our stakeholders and we do so by helping them and we know one of the things that we need to help with are our farmers they need the support they need the the grant support infrastructure support they need that because there was a time when the department agriculture really supported the farmers their fencing and and support for the feed and all of that once occurred here in the virgin islands with all both the political leadership but non-political 1:30:02 was really supporting them. And we do want farm fresh foods. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the time, and I will at the appropriate time vote in support of these measures. Thank you. Thank you very much, Senator Whittaker. Without question, I am in support of all of the resolutions in this block. Without question, and I think that sometimes we take for granted the importance of having these resolutions. I think as a community, community with class, community with dignity, honors, and commend their own who have achieved excellence or who have been good examples and all of the individuals in this block fit the bill in my view. First of all, Mr. Kermit Amon Lewis, without question, he is highly regarded regionally, not just locally, but regionally, for his contributions in the field of marine science. But perhaps more important is his valuable contributions as an example of how to respond to challenges. He has been a positive example to all of us, and it is, I am honored to be a part of this institution who has singled him out for special recognition for his contributions to our territory. Obviously, bill number 34.0202, also Mr. Eugene Jennings Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball, softball, and life coach. Having a mentor, having a coach in your life is something that is very, very important, and many of the young people who were part of his baseball organization, Many of them were lacking of a positive role model in there, directly in their home. 1:31:52 So he filled that void, he stepped up to the plate literally to provide support, encouragement, and empowerment to many young people in our territory. So we absolutely applaud him posthumously for his contributions. His family should be very, very proud. Bill number 34.0203, the resolution that my colleague on the left introduced, Mr. Alvin Delano-Broke, for his, also posthumously, for his service and contributions to the sport of basketball, horse racing, and to the people of the Virgin Islands. My colleague from Frederickstead mentioned his role in the inter-neighborhood basketball leagues and how important and valuable those experiences were for young people during that era where you competed against positively and healthy contributions, competitions between persons from different neighborhoods in the territory. It was something that was positive, that was powerful, and I hope that we can once again have those types of healthy spirited competitions that Mr. Alvin Delano-Borock was a part of putting together in our territory. And of course, bill number 34.0220, a resolution honoring and commending the Agriculture and Food Fair Board of the Rectors, the University of the Virgin Islands, and the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture for 50 years. It's amazing of diligence in coordinating, promoting, and hosting the Virgin Islands Agriculture and Food Fair known as AgriFest, which we just had the other day. It is the biggest fair of its kind on a regional level. And pulling something like this off for 50 years is no small feat. When something happens routinely, we sort of pause and take it for granted sometimes. But there's a lot of work, a lot of planning that goes into making sure that events like this go on seamlessly. So I'm definitely in support of this resolution. So colleagues, we have exhausted our round of discussion in block two. 1:34:16 And so we will now open the floor for motions. Do I hear a motion? Motion. Senator Francis, you're recognized for your motion. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair and colleagues. I move that bill number 34-0201, a resolution honoring and commending Kermit Amon Lewis his outstanding service and contributions to the marine science industry in the virgin islands be approved by the committee of rules and judiciary and sent to the full body for further 1:37:00 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 consideration i so move second properly moved by senator francis seconded by senator whitaker and senator joseph roll call am i hearing senator gittins and senator gittins and senator johnson all right roll call on bill number 34-0201 Senator Novell E. Francis, Jr. Yeah. Senator Francis, yeah. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. Yeah, yeah. Senator Gittins, yeah. Senator Franklin D. Johnson. Yeah. Senator Johnson, yeah. Senator Carla J. Joseph. Yes. Senator Joseph, yeah. senator Steven D Payne senator Payne absent senator Milton E Potter yes senator Potter yay senator Genevieve R Whitaker yay senator Whitaker yay mr. 1:38:18 chair we have six yay one absent thank you very much colleagues bill number 34 4-0201, a resolution honoring and commending Cormac Ammon Lewis for his outstanding service and contributions to the marine science industry in the Virgin Islands has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. 1:39:01 Motion. Senator Gittins, you're recognized for your motion. you mr chair mr chair and colleagues i move that bill number 34-0202 a resolution honoring and commending eugene genix thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the virgin islands community as a baseball softball and life coach be voted upon favorably here in the rules and judiciary committee and be forwarded to the full body for further consideration i so move properly moved by senator giddens senate seconded by senator joseph joseph francis and johnson joseph francis and johnson roll call on bill number 34.0202 senator nobel e francis jr yeah senator francis yay senator kenneth l gittins yes senator gittins yay senator franklin d johnson yay senator johnson yay senator carla j joseph yes senator joseph yay senator stephen d payne senior senator payne absent senator milton e potter yes senator potter yay senator genevieve r whitaker yay senator whitaker yay mr chair we have six yay one absent. Thank you colleagues bill number 34-0202 a resolution honoring and commending Eugene Jennings Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball softball and life coach has been favorably considered by the committee on rules and judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. Motion. Senator Joseph. Senator Joseph you're recognized for your 1:39:28 motion. Thank you so much Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman I move the bill number 34.0203 a resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke senior posthumously for his service and contributions to the sport of basketball horse racing and to the people of the Virgin Islands be favorably voted upon in the committee of rules and judiciary and forwarded to the full body for further consideration and action I so move everybody okay properly properly moved by Senator Joseph seconded by Senator Francis I believe Senator Gittens Senator Johnson Senator Whitaker and Senator Whitaker roll call on bill number 34.0203 Senator Novell E. Francis jr. yeah Senator Francis yay Senator Kenneth L. Gittins yeah Senator Gittins yay Senator Franklin D. Johnson. Yay. Senator Johnson. Yay. Senator Carla J. Joseph. Yes. Senator Joseph. Yay. Senator Steven D. Payne Sr. Senator Payne absent. Senator Milton E. Potter. Yes. Senator Potter. Yay. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker. Yay. Senator Whittaker, yay. Mr. Chair, we have six yay, one absent. Thank you very much, colleagues. Bill number 34-0203, a resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke, Sr., posthumously for his service and contributions to the sport of basketball, horse racing, and to the people of the Virgin Islands, has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and 1:41:40 and judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for final consideration. Motion. Senator Johnson, you're recognized for your motion. I move that. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I move that bill number 34-02-20 resolution, honoring and commending the Agriculture and Food Fair Board of Directors, the university of the virgin islands and the virgin islands department of agriculture for 50 years of delicacy in coordinating promoting and hosting the virgin islands agriculture and food fair known as agri-fest be voted on favorably in the committee on rules and judiciary and be forward to the full body for further consideration i so move second properly moved by senator johnson seconded by senator whitaker senator joseph senator gittins senator francis you you didn't hear me roll call on bill number 34-0220 senator nobel e francis jr senator nobel e francis jr yes senator francis yay senator kenneth l gittins yes senator gittins yay senator franklin d johnson yay senator johnson yay senator carla j joseph yes senator joseph yay senator stephen d payne senior senator payne absent senator milton e potter yes senator potter yay senator genevieve r whitaker yay senator whitaker yay mr chair we have six yay one absent thank you very much 1:44:02 Colleagues, Bill No. 34.0220, a resolution honoring and commending the Agriculture and Food Fair Board of Directors, the University of the Virgin Islands, and the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture for 50 years of diligence in coordinating, promoting, and hosting the Virgin Islands Agriculture and Food Fair, known as AgriFest, has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. 1:46:18 Madam Clerk, can you please read the agenda for Block 3? Yes, Mr. Chair. Block 3, Bill No. 340206, an act amending Title 23, Chapter 5, Section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands. Bill number 340225, an act amending Title V, Virgin Islands 1:46:55 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Code Subtitle II, Chapter 201, Section 2539 to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes. Bill number 340226, an act amending acts numbers 8474, 8479, 8486, 8494, 8496, and 8498 to adjust the fiscal year 2022 budget to appropriate funds to the Casino Control Commission for Capital Outlay, WTJX for Capital Outlay and Satellite Uplink, respectively, election systems of the Virgin Islands for general election, Virgin Islands Cricket Board, Department of Tourism for Personnel and Fringe Benefits, Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure for Personnel and Fringe Benefits, and 8% Salary Restoration for Social Security and Medicaid Taxes Reimbursement to the Economic Development Authority, Governor Wang F. Louis Hospital and Medical Center, and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority. This concludes the reading of block three, Mr. Chair. 1:48:41 Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Colleagues, we will proceed with bill, sorry, bill number 34-0206, Who speaks to this bill? Senator Frances Heiliger, you may proceed with your introduction. 1:49:17 Good day to the people of the territory, good day to my colleagues as well as to those in the listening audience. I want to offer Bill 34-0206. this speaks to an act amending Title 23, Chapter 5, Section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands. Inside of our current code, unfortunately, we have a piece of legislation that does exist that allow for individuals that might be coming into the territory that are visitors, travelers, might be relocating here to the Virgin Islands, that there's some sort of reciprocal ability to come in here with their guns. During the last committee hearing where we had an opportunity for the commissioner of the police department to testify, as well as the AG's office, I was very happy that this piece of legislation was unanimously voted out into the Rules and Judiciary Committee, because they all recognize, and even by the admission of the police commissioner, they would like to see this removed out of the VI Code. When you decide to travel here to the Virgin Islands, come and visit us. We welcome you. We just don't want you coming with your guns. We don't have a problem with you wishing to relocate here, but at the end of the day, follow the procedure, just like every other resident that comes in here to the territory that was born or raised here that go through the procedures of having to take psychological exams, whether we have to go take classes. With all the issues that we're having with gun violence across the United States, this is, and even here in the territory, this is a loophole for me that we need to close. Also within this section of the law, I want to stress to you that we are not repealing the entire section we are only repealing the first paragraph which speaks to private citizens being able to bringing their guns when it speaks in the second paragraph to law enforcement officers and such that is still there we're not touching it because we understand as law enforcement officers you might have to travel back and forth with your weapons and we don't have a problem with that so I'm asking my colleagues for their support as it as this is an important piece of legislation, as we see that several entities and organizations that did come and testify to include, like I said, the commissioner and the AG's office was in support of this piece of legislation. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Senator Francis Heiliger. 1:49:49 We will now move to bill number 34-0225. Who speaks to this bill? Frances Heiliger, you may proceed with your introduction. Thank you. I offer bill number 34-0225, an act amending Title V, Virgin Islands Code, Subtitle II, Chapter 201, Section 2539, to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes. This piece of legislation speaks to the unfortunate situations of child abuse, child neglect, sexual assault of our minor children here in our territories unfortunately we have had this piece of legislation in the books that has some very soft in my opinion um penalties for people that do not speak up and individuals according to the law that are responsible that if you see a child or even you suspect that a child is being sexually assaulted if you know for a fact or you have witnessed or you have an idea that a child is being neglected or physically abused, you are responsible and the individuals that are listed in the code, such as doctors, some educators, etc., those people have an obligation to report this. For some reason here in our territory, we seem to have this nonchalant behavior when when it comes to, unfortunately, the abuse, whether sexual assault, physical of our children, but we have to put the fear of God in these people so they can understand that you cannot play with the children of this territory. Unfortunately, we've had situations that scandals have rocked our education department. Even here within this institution, we're dealing with our own unfortunate alleged sexual assault situation here. And I'm asking that the members of this committee recognize that we have to create laws to let these people know you cannot play with the children of this territory. This particular piece of legislation changes individuals that do not follow through and report these things, that it is now a felony, as well as they could be facing two years in prison, and we also increase the fines for individuals that want to play with the children of this territory. So I'm asking my colleagues, this piece of legislation also was unanimously voted out of the last committee into this committee, so I'm asking my colleagues for their support, and I am looking forward to it headed to the Senate floor because at the end of the day, as representatives, our job is to create laws to help the people, especially the children of this territory. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 1:52:41 Thank you very much, Senator Francis Heiliger. Colleagues, we will now move to Bill No. 34-0226. Who speaks to this bill? I do, Mr. Chair. Senator Francis, you're recognized for your introduction. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. 1:55:31 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Chair and colleagues, Bill No. 34-0206. um there there's uh this seeks to address sorry about zero um 34-0226 okay um it's an amendment that seeks to address um some funding uh that was done during our budget cycle and then certainly um amend several pieces of act act 8474 act 8479 act 8486 act 8494 act 8496 and act 8498 again all budget bills that was heard during the fiscal year 2022 budget cycle and in this he appropriates funds to the casino control commission for capital outlay the wtjx also for capital outlay and a satellite uplink the election system of the virgin islands for the general election the virgin islands cricket board department of tourism for personnel and fringe benefits virgin islands board of nurse licensure for personnel and fringe benefits and also to restore the eight percent for social security and medicare taxes reimbursement to the economic development authority the governor wang francisco louis hospital and medical center and the virgin islands a waste management authority all semi-autonomous agencies so um at the appropriate time i'll be offering an amendment uh to address those areas and again i'm asking for my colleagues support uh to address the particular issue bill number 34-0226 thank you very much mr chair for the time and opportunity thank you very much senator francis colleagues we will now proceed Those are the three items in block number three, colleagues we will allot five minutes to this round, you don't need to use your entire five minutes if you don't have to. We will start with Senator Francis, you may proceed with your introduction, I mean with your five minutes uh thank you very much mr chair i do um intend to support all of the measures in this particular block um and certainly bill number 34-0225 which enhances the penalties for failing to report certain instances of child abuse as a former law enforcement officer as well as served than the Original Child Abuse Task Force. It's critical that we address this particular issue and make sure that where there is opportunity for us to amend the law, again, in protecting our children of the virgin hours, as well as holding those that may be culpable and responsible for any misgivings, any misabuse, and to make sure that they're held culpable and responsible for their actions. 1:57:31 so i will be uh supporting this measure and bill number 34 that has zero two zero six conceal and carry permit reciprocity um again this bill will eliminate the reciprocity for out of the territory and weapons traditionally the code allow for those individuals bounty hunters Other law enforcement to actually contact the Virgin Islands Police Department, at which time they're able to produce and show their credentials and get approval from the police commissioner for the carrying of weapons while in the territory. Obviously, under those scenarios, the police department will know beforehand when these individuals are traveling with their firearms, as well as when they leave with their firearms. What this will do is, again, close that continued loophole where individuals travel back and forth with their firearms and declare it from their location of this embarkment. However, when they come into our territory, they have an opportunity to come in with the firearms without taking it, as required by law, to notify the Virgin Islands Police Department immediately upon arriving in the territory. This will empower those individuals, law enforcement, again, to minimize that opportunity and address that particular issue of a void. However, we know full knowledge that a lot of those individuals that may be involved with the illegal transportation of firearms will not be declaring those firearms either to the airlines or in instances even to the Verzano's Police Department. So we still have to address that in the own ability to do strong enforcement by continuing to do their part in law enforcement in eradicating our islands of these firearms. In respect to Bill number 34-0207, making a false statement, this bill will criminalize false statements to government officials you know um they're in here again uh there's there's uh punitive actions being taken um whenever those false statements are uh opportunities where individuals may attempt to issue a false documentation i'm sorry senator I'm sorry, Senator Francis. We're not on that particular bill as yet. That bill is on the final block. So I just wanted to let you know. That's on the final block of the agenda. Very well, 34-0226, I'm sorry about that. Again, I moved the measure on behalf of the bill sponsor for Senator Kurt BLA 1:59:20 to amend the budget bills on our times while we go through the budget cycle and have to appropriate certain funding to various government agencies. As we go through the year, there may be some opportunity for us to be able to tweak uh those funding bills up or down um and in this instance there's we're seeking to amend some of these bills um in bill 34.0226 uh some up and certainly some downwards uh to make sure that we continue to pass and survive a balanced budget but more importantly to make sure that the semi-autonomous agencies have the necessary funding to be able but to carry out their mission on the behalf of the people of the Verzahn. So at the appropriate time, again, I'll be offering the amendment, amendment number 34-535 on the behalf of the bill's sponsor, Senator Kurt Avila. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 2:02:26 Thank you very much, Senator Francis. Senator Johnson, you're recognized for your five minutes. Good afternoon, I think. Morning, still good morning, Mr. Chair. thank you very much at the appropriate time i will definitely be supporting these three measures i definitely would like to speak on bill number 34 0-2-2-5 it's very important that this bill definitely be supported and passed i can recall some allegations of some case some time back where people knew of certain crimes that happened to some of our young people and And no one spoke about it. No one proceeded until the individual was finally arrested and charged and is right now facing some charges. But I believe if people do come out and speak when they have the knowledge, the amount of person that was taken advantage of would not have happened. So I definitely 2:03:26 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 will be supporting this measure. And I just hope that when we pass these legislation, that the laws that we pass will be enacted and enforced. Many times we come in here and we pass bills and measures and it just lie dormant and that we cannot continue. And definitely at the appropriate time, I will be supporting Bill No. 34. That's 0226. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Record time. Absolutely record time. Okay, thank you very much, Senator Johnson. Senator Gittens, you're recognized for your five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair and colleagues, at the appropriate time, I'll vote on these measures before us, thank you. Senator Gittens break the record, so that's, your record was very short-lived. 2:04:33 senator joseph you're recognized for your five minutes thank you so much mr chairman i surely will not be following in any of their footsteps i just want to uh first of all commend the bill sponsors for these pieces of legislation that they have brought forward i speak first about bill number 34.0206 and this definitely is looking at closing that gap but we know who have worked in the area of social justice and the like that persons who are going to bring in those guns they're going to find any means and any way necessary to bring it in but this is definitely uh one step and we just have to be a bit more vigilant especially uh our police department and as our former commissioner police said vigilant um in ensuring that we are enforcing the laws and to catch those persons who are bringing in guns illegally into the virgin islands that they are arrested and prosecuted so i rise in support of bill number 34-0206 i move on now to our bill number 34-0225 which speaks about an act amending title five virgin islands codes subset subtitle two chapter 201 section 2535 to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes and the certain crimes is alleged child abuse sexual abuse or neglect and this is from people who are officials or institutions who are required to report these cases it to me is very troubling that we have to now force and put into legislation because of things that have been happening in our community with persons who are required to to report these type of heinous crimes that is being perpetrated against our children, now we have to legislate it. This is what they're supposed to do and we need to try to hold all of those persons accountable. The recent case with the monitor at Charlotte and Mali High School wherein individuals were notified in that institution, that school, that's what the alleged victim said, that's what the victim allegedly said, did nothing, did nothing. That is unacceptable. And now we have to legislate and put into place some criteria and increase the penalties. That is unheard of, especially when you are the custodian and the guardian of young people. You're supposed to go out there and report it, no matter what, if this person's your cousin, brother your sister your uncle whoever reported they're doing something wrong and they need to be accountable and held and brought to justice so i really want to uh commend the bill sponsor 2:05:21 for sponsoring this and i definitely will be in support of this measure finally these budgetary adjustments uh in bill number 34224 i have no objection to i'm sure they were properly vetted uh these items were properly vetted in the committee on finance the committee of jurisdiction i note that especially for the board of nurse licensure there is some increase there and i know uh they've been asking for that increase and so i definitely uh i'm in support of this measure thank you kindly mr chairman for the time thank you very much senator joseph senator whitaker you're recognized for your five minutes Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning once again. I rise in support of all these measures as well. 2:08:40 I want to start off with Bill No. 34-0225, and I also do commend the sponsor and do plan on also supporting the measure, joining on as a sponsor. I want to highlight, because one of the things they do say is that senators were not doing anything um when it came came to the situation of the shalde maldi campus um from the very beginning of learning about the situation um i engage along with my team on reaching out to the the commissioner and all those involved in terms of addressing the case and i just wanted to continue to emphasize that our role as senators and keeping engaged with the process so i have even as recent as this um this past april um really engaged because now the case is with the on the human services and um i i want to also emphasize that as we increase penalties we have to also increase our level of oversight we cannot drop the ball um i do want to emphasize and i encouraged um commissioner carlos gomez and commission barry benjamin that we have to work concretely um and i do acknowledge that they've been working on revolutionizing the system because it was it it should never happen again and the only way we can stop this level of violence is that our um that we have to be a lot more aggressive the work ethics around ensuring that children are safe the um the efforts funding wise whatever support we need to ensure that this doesn't happen again um so i do acknowledge that the administration is um working um on this matter and i just do encourage that through the committee process as well that we continue to get an update regarding that this crosses a couple committees well process education health and even um issues surrounding um justice and homeland security um particularly the committee deals with that um next up i just want to emphasize that we are going into another budget season i do always really encourage i'm not on the finance committee but i do engage the finance committee chair and the members that we when we go through the budget process it has to be 2:09:47 a lot more um all-encompassing it's very all-encompassing in terms of bringing the agencies before us but in terms of the performance based budgeting no we're just doling out monies to these apartments and agencies and we should be rolling 2:11:49 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 back monies when they are not performing when they are choosing to pull back on salary increases and and choose to ramp up on fringe and all these expenses we had to put a stop to that i for one believe in ensuring that our employees get what they need they need an annual basis and for those when we continue to support if we continue to fund departments agencies where that is occurring and i do commend the agencies and departments where those directors and commissioners are ensuring that their employees are made whole i for one was in a former capacity making sure that took place um two minutes bill number 34-0 0226 in which we are working now on addressing some um you know increasing different funding areas and making sure that we assist those agencies and departments 34-0206 and certainly we continue to address the issue of firearms but we know the country we live in i tell you if you go to the world there are some countries in the world that what they have done when when we have these kind of crisis where crazy people are going and attacking our children we're just simply trying to go to school these poor little babies and the suffering that occurs it's not It's not going to be us making a commendous sponsor and a commendous effort. But when we drill down an issue of firearms, we have to look to the world countries that put a real heavy stop on this, and they did that very rigidly. And so we need to follow the rigidity. People have a right to bear arms and to protect themselves, but we are now in a space in this country and we don't have to always follow America. We live in America, this is America, but the Virgin Islands can carve out our own destiny. So we can continue this effort. I suggest that we're going to have to do something a lot more intense to address the firearm issues, which also includes the police department properly and more efficiently processing requests for licenses of those who want to protect themselves in the right way. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Whitaker. Without question, I support all the bills in this block. Number 34-0206, commendable sponsor for this initiative. We all are aware, we listen to the news every day, gun violence has absolutely been a scourge in this community, but more so it has been a scourge in a nation. The proliferation of firearms getting in the hands of persons who are not, persons who are deranged, who are not responsible, has really been a black eye on our territory. The mass shootings that we've seen lately is a phenomena here in this country. 2:13:59 It doesn't happen anywhere else with such regularity. While most of the gun violence that we see in our territory are perpetrated by the use of unlicensed firearms, any move to reduce the possibilities of firearms getting in the hands of wrong people is a plus, is a help, but it does not lessen our responsibility to identify or stem the tide of illegal firearms from entering the Virgin Islands. That is still something that we must work diligently with our federal partners to eliminate. Obviously our attorney general as well as the police commissioner both testified on this initiative favorably, so at the appropriate time I'm definitely going to support this initiative. Similarly, I express kudos to my colleague for bill number 34.0225, persons with a duty to report instances of child abuse must do so, and they must be held accountable for failure to do so. We must utilize every effort at our disposal to protect our children, and this bill is a step in the right direction for us to put a shield of protection over our children. 2:14:50 And bill number 34-0226, we're making funding adjustments to the FY 2022 budget for the Casino commission wtgx and the board of nurse licensure gfl the wma i support that initiative also colleagues we have exhausted our round of statements in this block we will now open the floor to motions do i hear motion at this time motion senator johnson you're recognized for your motion thank you very much mr chair i move that bill number 34-0206 an act amending title 23 chapter 5 section 460 of the virgin islands code repealing reciprocal recognition of a firearm licensing for a person that own firearms outside of the virgin islands be voted on favorably in the committee of rule and judiciary and be forward to the full body for further consideration iso move do i have a second second second properly moved by senator johnson seconded by senator francis Senator Joseph, I believe Senator Gittins, roll call on bill number 34-0206. 2:16:34 Senator Novell E. Francis, Jr. Yay. Senator Francis, yay. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. Yes. Senator Gittins, yay. Senator Franklin D. Johnson. Yay. Senator Johnson, yay. Senator Carla J. Joseph? Yes. Senator Joseph, yay. Senator Steven D. Payne, Sr. Senator Payne, absent. Senator Milton E. Potter? 2:18:15 Yes. Senator Potter, yay. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker? Yay. Senator Whitaker, yay. Mr. Chair, we have six yay, one absent. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Colleagues, Bill number 34-0206, an act amending Title 23, Chapter 5, Section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands, has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. Do I hear a motion? 2:18:45 motion senator johnson you're recognized for your motion thank you very much mr chair i move that bill number 34-0225 an act amending title 5 virgin islands code subtitle 2 chapter 201 section 2539 to increase the penalty for failure to report certain crimes be voted on favorably in the committee on rules and judiciary and be forward to the full body for further consideration. I so move. Do I hear a second? Second. 2:19:30 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Properly moved by Senator Johnson, seconded by Senator Joseph and Senator Francis. roll call on bill number 34-0225. Senator Novell E. Francis Jr. Yay. Senator Francis, yay. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. Yes. Senator Gittins, yay. Senator Franklin D. Johnson. yay senator johnson yay senator carla j joseph senator joseph yay senator stephen d payne senior senator payne absent senator milton e potter yes senator potter yay senator genevieve r whitaker yay senator whitaker yay mr chair six yay one absent thank you very much madam clerk colleagues bill number 34-0225 an act amending title 5 virgin islands code subtitle 2 chapter 201 section 2539 to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes has been favorably considered by the committee on rules and judiciary and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration Colleagues, do I have a motion? 2:20:12 Amendment. Amendment. Senator Francis, you may proceed with your amendment. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair and colleagues, I offer amendment number 34-535 on behalf of the bill's sponsor, Senator Kurt Avila, amendment to bill number 34-0226. bill number 34-0226 is amended as follows a by striking subsection a in its entirety and inserting a new subsection a to read as follows a in section one zero 100 general fund c by inserting a new line item after health information technology exchange 250 000 to read commission of agent $150,000 and in total ORG 200 office of the governor by striking $11,574,012 and inserting $11,724,012 in its place. B, subsection C is amended as follows. 2:21:46 One, in paragraph one, by striking $5,641,634 and inserting $5,652,870 in its place. Two, in paragraph three, by striking $100,000 and inserting $110,000 in its place. 3. In paragraph 4, after M1718, Virgin Islands election by inserting primary and general and by striking $350,000 and inserting $500,000 in its place. b in paragraph seven by inserting association after national guard five in paragraph eight by striking thirty one million seven hundred and eighty five thousand one hundred and thirty one dollars and inserting thirty one million five hundred and fifty six thousand three hundred and sixty seven dollars in its place six in paragraph nine by striking thirty one million seven hundred and eighty five thousand one hundred and thirty one dollars and in certain thirty one million five hundred and fifty six thousand three hundred and sixty seven dollars in its place seven paragraph ten by striking seven hundred and twenty million two hundred and fifty three thousand four hundred and forty three dollars and in certain 720 million fifty four thousand $6,679 in its place. Eighth, by striking paragraph two in its entirety and renumbering the remaining paragraph accordingly. 2:22:58 I so move. Object. Properly moved by Senator Francis, seconded by Senator Joseph, objected to by Senator Gittins. Roll call. roll call on the amendment senator novell e francis jr yeah senator francis yay senator kenneth l gittins no senator gittins nay senator franklin d johnson yay senator johnson yay senator carla j joseph yes senator joseph yay senator stephen d payne senior senator payne absent senator milton e potter yes senator potter yay senator genevieve r whitaker yay senator whitaker yay mr chair we have five yeas one nay one absent thank you very much uh the motion carries do i have a motion motion senator francis you're recognized for your motion thank you very much mr chair mr chair and colleagues i moved that bill number 34-0226 and Act Amending Acts No. 8474, 8479, 8486, 8494, 8496, and 8498 to adjust the fiscal year 2022 budget to appropriate funds to the Casino Control Commission for capital outlay, WTGX for capital outlay, and satellite uplink, respectively. election system of the virgins for the general election virgins cricket board department of 2:24:35 tourism for personnel and fringe benefits virgins board of nurse licensure for personnel and fringe benefits and eight percent salary restoration securities social security and medicare taxes reimbursement to the economic development authority the governor francis buong francisco louis hospital and medical center and the virgins waste management authority as amended be approved by committee of rules and judiciary and sent to the full body for threat of consideration i so move second probably properly moved by senator francis seconded by senator johnson roll call on bill number 34.0226 as amended senator novelle e francis jr yeah senator francis yay senator kenneth l gittins no senator gittins nay senator franklin d johnson yay senator johnson yay senator carla j joseph senator joseph yay senator stephen d payne senior Senator Payne absent. Senator Milton E. Potter. Yes. Senator Potter, yay. Senator Genevieve R. 2:26:39 Whitaker. Yay. Senator Whitaker, yay. Mr. Chair, we have five yays, one nay, one absent. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Colleagues, bill number 34-0226. An act amending act numbers 8474, 8479, 8486, 8494, 8496, 8498, to adjust the fiscal year 2022 budget to appropriate funds to the casino control commission for capital outlay, WTJX for capital outlay, and satellite uplink, respectively, election system of the Virgin Islands for general election, Virgin Islands Cricket Board, Department of Tourism for personnel and fringe benefits, Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure for personnel and fringe benefits, and 8% salary restoration, social security and Medicare taxes reimbursement to the Economic Development Authority, Governor Wong F. Louis Hospital and Medical Center, and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, as amended, has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary, and will be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. 2:27:56 Point of information? Senator Francis, you're recognized for your point of information. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to advise the listening audience in regards to the amendment that I offered on behalf of the bill's sponsor, 2:29:22 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Senator Kurt VLA, that Amendment 34-535, one, it strikes the subsection A, which is the LCA, who withdrew the request for additional funding, and also the commission of aging was not funded before this bill this amendment seeks to do that also the eda um the eight percent restoration payment employer share for social security medicare and for those other semi-autonomous agencies uh they had already been um reimbursed to the delivery and installation of the wtgx satellite uplink um you know the st croix satellite uplink is already in place and now they seeks to get the one for the St. Thomas District for their mobile WTJX satellite station, mobile vehicle. They'll be able to have an uplink as well in that also the funding for the 2022 primary and general elections was also amended here um it was the general election was already addressed and now we're doing the separation for the funding to ensure that there is funding available for the general election as well as the primary election and also there is a technical amendment for a name change as well as a technical amendment to adjust all to adjust the totals and renumbering the sections accordingly uh based on the amendment that has been offered i just wanted to avoid provide uh uh clarity to the public in regards to the amendment that was offered on the behalf of the bill sponsor and the funding that was readjusted to meet the needs of our community thank you very much mr chair for the time thank you very much information thank you very much for your explanation senator francis senator gettens you're recognized for your point of information thank you uh mr chair uh i just wanted to explain my no vote for this uh particular measure so that those viewing and listening can understand why he stated no i have always stated that that these primary elections are to be funded. The Virgin Islands Code is clear that the parties are responsible for their own primary and that the election system shall just approve the process in which it must be done. 2:31:10 And to support a measure that will add another $150,000 to fund primary election in the territory, I am not in support of. The original bill, number 34-0226, spoke to the election systems of the Virgin Islands for general election. However, the amendment that was offered in number 34-535 in subsection B3 included primary elections. hence my no vote for this particular measure thank you mr. chair and colleagues and the people of the Virgin Islands thank you very much senator Gittins madam clerk can you please read the agenda in block number four information point of information Senator Whitaker, please proceed with your point of information. 2:32:19 Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. I want to just emphasize, I did hear the previous speaker speak about the funding of the elections. We want to really put on the record that it's really important to know if the election continues to be funded and the support for the funding is that on the federal level as well. We have a fellow office on the ballot as well as to ensure the integrity of the elections. That it is important that we continue to properly fund the system that is responsible for the election process. What we need to carve out is that the parties themselves need to get themselves together so that they will hold those respective party office elections themselves and nominate their respective individuals. So we have to be sure that we have and maintain the integrity of the elections and henceforth while we have a federal person a ballot while we also have to the ballots are being sent to individuals overseas and to them you know there's a lot of processes involved and to put that on the parties at this time and even in the future because you can go around the country around the world and even in my former capacity and do an election observation around the world literally that you have to really be cognizant of ensuring that the elections that jurisdiction is properly funded so on that's my emphasis is supported but we have to make sure that our people understand why it's important to ensure the integrity of the election system making sure it's properly funded and and the parties themselves stepping up to ensure that they do their part with respect to the nomination of for their party offices for their specific parties Thank you, Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator Whitaker. I don't want to have a back and forth and back and forth indefinitely. Senator Giddens, please proceed briefly with your point of personal privilege. 2:33:34 thank you mr chair uh i understand the previous speaker uh with regards to integrity however as the former deputy supervisor of elections as well i am saying that if we are so concerned with the integrity then uh all we simply have to do is change the law however as we're sitting here we are to adhere to the laws of the virgin islands and currently the law does not require that this body funds a primary election it is clear that the parties are responsible for their own primary and that the responsibility of the uh board of elections is to simply uh approve the process thank you mr chair and colleagues and the people of the virgin islands thank you very much senator gittens uh madam clerk can you please proceed with the agenda for black number four yes mr chair block four bill number 34 0207 an act repealing and reenacting title 14 virgin islands code chapter 41 section 843 relating to fraudulent claims upon the government of the virgin islands its officers, departments, boards, commissions, or agencies. Invited testifier, the Honorable Denise George, USVI Attorney General, Attorney Alicia Udamwi, President, VI Board Association. I'm sorry, Uduwani, President VI Board Association, Bar Association. This concludes the reading of the agenda, Mr. Chair. 2:35:39 Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Madam Clerk, can you please read Attorney General Denise George's testimony into the record? Presentation of Attorney General Denise George, 34th Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Committee on 2:37:42 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 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 Rules and Judiciary, Bill number 340207, June 2nd, 2022. Good afternoon, Chairman Potter, other senators, legislative staff, and to those of you listening and viewing today. My name is Denise George and I am the Virgin Islands Attorney General. Unfortunately, due to a conflicting schedule, a scheduling conflict, I will be unable to attend today's hearing on bill number 34-0207. However, I respectfully request that the following testimony from the Office of the Attorney General be read into the record. The purpose of this measure is to replace the existing language contained in Title 14 Virgin Islands Code Subsection 843 and to replace it with slightly different yet stronger language regarding fraudulent claims upon the Virgin Islands government. Today's proposed bill will alter the current statutes, subsection three. 2:38:30 That subsection states, whoever makes any false or fraudulent statements or or representations shall be fined, not more than $500 or in prison, not more than two years or both. The new language placed under subsection A4 would make it a crime for any materially false or fraudulent statements made. According to Black's Law Dictionary, the word material means important, more or less necessary, having influence or effect, going to the merits, having to do with matter as distinguished from form. 2:39:29 In other words, a materially false statement would be one that would cause someone to rely on the representation in error or to their detriment. So, for example, someone who falsely stated a date on which they filed a claim would not probably be guilty of an offense under this section unless those dates carried such a specialized import as to change the outcome in the matter at hand and they made the statement willfully or with knowledge those dates were incorrect. 2:40:34 In short, the Office of the Attorney General supports this added language. Further, today's proposed measure would create a new subsection, A5, which states, whoever knowingly or willfully submits or invites reliance on any forged, altered, or fictitious writing, document, sample, specimen, map, boundary mark, or other objects in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the Virgin Islands, or within the jurisdiction of any officer, department, board, commission, or other agency of the government shall be fined no more than $2,500 or imprisoned not more than five years or both. This would create more specific circumstances under which someone may be convicted under Title 14, Virgin Islands Code, subsection 843, but also increase the monetary fine and term of imprisonment upon conviction. Again, the Office of the Attorney General supports this language and the accompanying increase in penalty. Finally, the new legislation would create a new subsection B that states, For purposes of this section, 2:41:20 writing includes filing submitted in, filings submitted in an electronic format or any other format described by the governmental body to which the writing is submitted. I see no issues with this new language which offers clarification of the proscribed conduct. In summary, the Office of the Attorney General supports the passage of Bill number 34-0207 and recommends it be voted upon favorably by this committee. That concludes my formal remarks. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Senator Frances Heiliger, you're recognized for your introduction. 2:43:11 Yes, because I speak to this bill. Good afternoon again to my colleagues, to the listening audience. As the sponsor of Bill number 34-0207, an act repealing and reenacting Title 14, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 41, Section 843, relating to fraudulent claims upon the government of the Virgin Islands, its officers, departments, boards, commissions, or agencies. As a member of this institution for over 23 years, I have worked with senators, I have worked on central staff, and now I'm in the capacity of a senator. And I have seen some things happen on this Senate floor over the years that had concerned me as it relates to certain testimonies. I have also witnessed at times things that are being relayed to the government that people do not understand that is very dangerous when it comes to passing laws or getting things done by agencies. When someone comes before this body or lies or lies to a government agency, they're not at times understanding the full ramification of what they're doing. When you come to me as an elected official and you blatantly lie to me fraudulently or fictitiously where you're sharing material information to a subject matter that I may need information for, and because it just sounds good or you just want to brush it off, when you tell me something that is false and I utilize that information to now pass a law for the entire Virgin Islands, you have not only done this institution a disservice, You have done yourself a disservice, but all the people of the Virgin Islands. So when it comes to this particular piece of legislation, we did things where we increased penalties for individuals that chose or continue to feel that it's appropriate to lie to elected officials as well as the government. When it comes to pertinent information, we need to execute our jobs, as well as bringing it into more modern times to include things as, such as electronic writing, as well as cleaning up some of the ambiguous language and being more specific as to the agency, such as a department, as well as the branches of government to include executive, legislative, and judicial. By doing so, we have closed up the loophole as for people to attempt to interpret certain things how they see fit when it's specifically outlined in this piece of legislation now. I am asking my colleagues to please support this piece of legislation. I know there was an incident that happened earlier last year where I was very, very much offended as a legislator, where I felt false information was 2:44:01 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) 19 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 relayed to me on this Senate floor. and this was one of the things that prompted us to really push to upgrade this piece of legislation as well as add information to the code. So I want to thank my colleagues as well as the AG for their full support of this measure and hopefully I could get the support that I need on Bill 34-0207. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Senator Francis Heiliger. um colleagues we will proceed with a three-minute round i am disappointed that we've invited the president of the bar association to provide testimony on this important piece of legislation and we have not received a correspondence we've received zero feedback from the bar association and measures like this that have potentially far-reaching legal ramifications it is important that the bar association weighs in on it and i am very concerned that the committee received absolutely no feedback no email no response regarding the attendance of the bar association at this hearing, whether they come in person, the president, Ms. Yudwani, came in person, or a representative from the bar. I think it's very important that the bar sends a representative on matters like this, because when actions are taken by this body that are not in sync with what the legal community's thoughts and opinions and ideas are, then the legislature is being viewed as unilaterally taking these steps, and we, unfortunately, did not receive any feedback from the board, from the Bar Association, relative to their attendance. But we will proceed, colleagues, with a three-minute round, beginning with Senator Francis. Francis please proceed with your three minutes. Thank you very much Mr. Chair. I want to first 2:47:32 of all commend the bill sponsor for moving this legislation for bill number 34.0207 and I will be in support of this measure. Again it speaks to accountability and if there's fraud perpetrated against the government that refers to us, there should be some culpability, responsibility in that action. Whoever falsifies, conceals, cover up, trick, scheme, you know, I think is terms, again, that is anti government and certainly individuals should be held responsible for it. Materially false, forged, alter, fictitious writing you know be it whether it's the executive branch the legislative branch or the judicial branch i always pride myself after serving you know 33 years in government that i've never been called by the inspector general's office or the attorney general's office again because of any action that i have taken in regards to documentation i've had responsibilities you know across the board leadership responsibilities um you know and i never took those things for granted i always want to do things above board and and be able to sleep at night because you know at the end of the day you have a chance to go home to and i always want to um to make sure i'm doing things in the right so again anyone that uh falsy and make these claims or attempt to the defraud the government in any way shape or form should be held accountable of course after due process and a determination determination is made whether by a judicial officer or um a jury of their peers uh that they have been convicted of wrongdoing then they should be comfortable and response action uh so i mean wrapping up i will be supporting this measure and again i want to commend the bill sponsor for moving this legislation forward thank you very much mr chair for the time 2:49:25 thank you very much senator francis senator johnson you're recognized for your three minutes thank you very much mr chair i do support this measure and and do support what my colleague that spoke before said but but but more interesting when you pay attention to the inspector general reports from all of these agencies there are so many different loopholes and and therefore some other amendments might need to be passed on this measure to start charging and finding for those fraudulent signatures that have been placed in many of these articles when you see the inspector general report so at the appropriate time i definitely support these measures and we definitely need to start making sure that when these type of legislation go forward that the enforcement part is there not just that we pass measures and and they sit there that d the ag office definitely go and dig and make sure we all people are comfortable that's all need to be done once we hold one or two percent accountable everybody will get in line but we definitely need to start doing these type of measures and making sure that the attorney general office have whatever resource that it needs to fulfill these obligations in these type of legislation at the appropriate time i definitely be supporting this measure thank you very much mr chair thank you very much senator johnson uh senator gittins you're recognized for your three minutes thank you uh mr chair i to uh support this measure of course uh this measure simply spells out the types of conduct that constitutes uh making fraudulent claims against the government of the virgin islands as officers uh boards commissions and agencies 2:51:39 And I'm looking forward to also returning that bill, that if your hand is caught in the cookie jar and you defraud this government or steal from this government, that you lose your pension. And we need to have more discussion on this matter, but I tip my hat to the sponsor of this particular bill, 34.0207, and I look forward to supporting this measure. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 2:53:36 Thank you very much, Senator Gittins. Senator Joseph, you're recognized for your three minutes. thank you so much Mr. Chairman Mr. Chairman I too rise in support of bill number 34-027 and I also commend the bill sponsor for this putting forward this measure because it speaks to something that we have to be very careful of even as legislators and we have a level of immunity when we make fraudulent come claims against persons whether saying that persons are taking money under the table and which are not true and our false claims see it's a matter of integrity and assuring that that when you 2:54:16 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) 20 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 speak, you speak from a position of truth. And if you don't speak from a position of truth, you need to be quiet. A still tongue keeps a wise head. And so I definitely commend the bill's sponsor, and there's some teeth in it. And the individuals who are fined doing this, they are going to be penalized by either $2,500 or imprisonment, not more than five years or both. So there's some teeth into this piece of legislation and I think is really worthy. We really need to stop saying and doing things that are not true and really impacts, impacts person's character and their ability to to move around because it catch on like wildfire it catches on like wildfire fire and it takes and grows on its own some of these uh claims and fraudulent things people do so i i really commend the bill sponsor and at the appropriate time i will be voting in favor of this measure thank you so much mr chairman thank you very much senator joseph senator whittaker you're recognized for your three minutes good afternoon once good afternoon chairman good afternoon everyone um colleagues and i am trying to i'm here competing a bit beating up okay thank you yes so i want to just um reiterate also my support for bill number 34-0207 i think it's really important and i really commend i i will be supporting this measure definitely even supporting the sponsor because it's really 2:55:23 important uh we have to and it's disappointing that we don't have the individuals um here you know this you know i i want to say that and there are times and even i experienced yesterday when we have individuals who don't come to testify in support of a measure their key stakeholders we can still move a measure forward that didn't occur yesterday but i um let's see that we might be doing that today um but i will say this it's we we will have to sometimes as senators make decisions without the stakeholders present at these hearings for testifiers because of how critical the measures are we also too as a body and i continue to encourage that when persons come before us to testify we have to according to our own rules swear them in whether even if they're testifying on a bill or a measure we should make sure that we swear them in and there has to come a time that we hold people accountable for what they say on this floor and they we have to do that otherwise we're not going to we're not going to be taken seriously when when information is shared so ultimately i think that we need to um i support this measure moving forward and i reiterate there be times when we have to move measures forward when we don't have the stakeholders full support who would be impacted there's a decision we have to make when we want to make something we want to ensure that we're doing something that's going to benefit us and it's going to ensure that there's more compliance one minute um that concludes i have no other statements um other than to say that um this is a great uh it's a good measure let's continue to move forward with holding individuals accountable. Thank you. Thank you very much Senator Whitaker. My two rise in support of this bill, bill number 34-0207, I believe and I've said it before, that one of the most destructive forces that we have in our community is misinformation. And it's even more critical, it's even more consequential when this misinformation is knowingly perpetrated, when people know what they're saying is false and they just casually and frivolously make their statements anyway. And this bill is an attempt to discourage or detour that type of destructive action. It strengthens the bill. It brings a lot more specificity, as the Attorney General said. It brings more specific circumstances under which someone may be convicted on the Title 14 VIC Section 843, but also increases the monetary fine and terms of imprisonment upon conviction of such actions. I am definitely in support of this initiative, and I commend the bill's sponsor for her foresight in putting pen to paper to make this bill a reality. Colleagues, we have exhausted our final round in this block. 2:57:17 And do I hear a motion? Motion. At this time. Motion. Senator Johnson, you're recognized for your motion. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill No. 34-0207, an act repealing and re-enacting Title 14, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 41, Section 843, relating to fraudulent claims upon the government of the Virgin Islands, its officers, department, board, commissions, or agency be voted on favorably in the Committee of Rule and Judiciary and be forwarded to the full body for further consideration. i so move do i have a second do i have a second second properly moved by senator johnson seconded by senator joseph i believe i heard senator francis uh roll call on bill number 34.0207 Senator Novell E. Francis, Jr. Senator Novell E. Francis, Jr. 3:00:33 Yay. Senator Francis, yay. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. Yes. Senator Gittins, yay. Senator Franklin D. Johnson. Yay. Senator Johnson, yay. Senator Carla J. Joseph? Yes. Senator Joseph, yay. Senator Stephen D. Payne, Sr.? Senator Payne, absent. Senator Milton E. Potter? Yes. 3:01:58 Senator Potter, yay. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker? Senator Genevieve? Yay. Senator Whitaker? Yay. Senator Whitaker, yay. Mr. Chair, we have six yay, one absent. Thank you very much. Colleagues, Bill number 34-0207, an act repealing and reenacting Title 14, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 41, Section 843, relating to fraudulent claims upon the government of the Virgin Islands, its officers, department, boards, commissions, or agencies, has been favorably considered by the Committee on Rules and Judiciary, and will forwarded to the full body for further consideration. Senator Frances Heiliger, you are recognized for your point of personal privilege. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 3:02:26 First of all, I would like to thank all of my colleagues here today for their support of all three unanimously of my pieces of legislation. As it relates to Bill 34-206, that speaks to the protection of our territory, the protection of our people as it 3:03:24 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) 21 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 relates to reciprocation of guns coming into our territory. When it comes to Bill 34-0207, that speaks to the protection of the people as well as the territory because you cannot lie when it comes to officials, the government, because we are the ones that decide what happens in regards to the entire territory and all the residents that are here. And when you do that, you wreak havoc. We cannot accept it. And when it comes to Bill 34-0225, this specifically has to do, again, with the protection of our children in the territory. All three of these pieces of legislation that has been sponsored by myself, Senator Alma Francis Heiliger, they speak to protection. And at the end of the day, as representatives of the people of this territory, we have to do what is right on behalf of the people. So thank you so much to my colleagues. You are greatly appreciated. And I will see you on the Senate floor during session. Thank you very much, Senator Francis Heiliger. Colleagues, we have exhausted today's agenda. I wanna thank you very much for being a part of doing the people's business. I wanna thank my staff and members of the legislature, central staff, who do really awesome work quietly behind the scenes to make these meetings go relatively seamlessly. So I wanna thank you very, very much. Have a great day, everyone. Point of personal privilege, point of personal privilege. senator johnson you're recognized for your point of personal privilege thank you very much mr chair i'd like to use this time to extend condolence to mr alrick mendez better known as shabazz brutality old mangani that's a brother out of the west with a million names uh he passed up a couple days ago definitely would like to extend my condolence to the mendez family and their loss of their loved one. And may God be with their soul. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Senator Johnson. We also offer condolences to the family. Colleagues, we have exhausted today's agenda for sure. I want to thank you again for your presence. Have a great day, everyone. The Committee on Rules and Judiciary Meeting of June 2, 2022 is hereby adjourned. 3:05:12 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 3:06:16 Thank you. Thank you. I love you. 3:07:46 Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you. I'll be right back Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'll see you next time. 3:09:16 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. 35x Senator Novelle Francis heard in this transcript as: Francis, Nouvelle Francis, Novell E. Francis, Novell E. Francis Jr, Novell E. Francis Jr. 28x Senator Franklin D. Johnson heard in this transcript as: Franklin Johnson, Johnson 25x Senator Kenneth L. Gittens heard in this transcript as: Gettens, Giddens, Gittens, Gittins, Kenneth L. Gittins 23x Senator Carla Joseph the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph heard in this transcript as: Carla J. Joseph, Joseph, Joseph's 23x Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker heard in this transcript as: Genevieve Whitaker, Whitaker, Whittaker 15x Senator Milton E. Potter heard in this transcript as: Potter 12x Senator Steven D. Payne Sr. heard in this transcript as: Payne, Stephen D. Payne, Stephen D. Payne Sr., Steven D. Payne, Steven D. Payne Sr 9x Senator Alma Francis-Heyliger heard in this transcript as: Alma Francis Heiliger, Frances Heiliger, Francis Heiliger 4x Governor Wang F. Louis Hospital heard in this transcript as: Wong F. Louie Hospital, Wong F. Louis Hospital 3x Senator Kurt Avila 3x Senator Kurt VLA 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) 22 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Rules and Judiciary | June 2,2022 heard in this transcript as: Kurt BLA 2x Governor Albert Bryan Jr heard in this transcript as: Bryan 2x Senator Marvin Blyden 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 34-0225 Act 8589 · July 20, 2022 · An Act amending title 5 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 2, chapter 201, section 2539 to increase the penaLties for failure to report certain crimes ---0 Bill 34-0206 Act 8586 · July 20, 2022 · An Act amending title 23, chapter 5, section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands ---0 Bill 34-0207 Act 8587 · July 20, 2022 · An Act repealing and re-enacting title 14 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 41, section 843 relating to fraudulent claims upon the Government of the Virgins Islands, its officers, departments, boards, commissions, or agencies ---0 Bill 34-0224 Act 8577 · April 7, 2022 · An Act amending the Virgin Islands Code, title 32, chapters 11 and 21, relating to video lottery at the horse racetrack in St. Thomas; amending title 29, chapter 3, relating to the zoning for video lottery at the horse racetrack in St. Thomas; and providing for the ratification of the Second Amended Agreement to the Video Lottery Services Agreement and the Development Agreement Regarding the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack by and between the Government of the Virgin Islands and Southland Gaming of the Virgin Islands, Inc., and for other related purposes --0 Act 8474 Act 8474 · An Act providing an appropriation from the General Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands for the operation of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October t, 2021, through September 30, 2022 =) Act 8479 Act 8479 · An Act providing an appropriation for the salaries and expenses of The University of the Virgin Islands for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes Act 8486 Act 8486 · An Act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation from the General Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022 Act 8494 Act 8494 · An Act providing an appropriation from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund to the Office of the Governor, Department of Education, Virgin Islands Police Department, the Department of Public Works, the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation and the Department of Tourism during the fiscal year October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022 Act 8496 Act 8496 · An Act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority from the General Fund of the Government of the Virgin Islands during the fiscal year October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022 Act 8498 Act 8498 · An Act providing an appropriation for the operating expenses of the Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure from the General Fund during the fiscal year October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022 Act 8589 Act 8589 · July 20, 2022 · An Act amending title 5 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 2, chapter 201, section 2539 to increase the penaLties for failure to report certain crimes ---0 Act 8586 Act 8586 · July 20, 2022 · An Act amending title 23, chapter 5, section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands ---0 Act 8587 Act 8587 · July 20, 2022 · An Act repealing and re-enacting title 14 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 41, section 843 relating to fraudulent claims upon the Government of the Virgins Islands, its officers, departments, boards, commissions, or agencies ---0 Act 8577 Act 8577 · April 7, 2022 · An Act amending the Virgin Islands Code, title 32, chapters 11 and 21, relating to video lottery at the horse racetrack in St. Thomas; amending title 29, chapter 3, relating to the zoning for video lottery at the horse racetrack in St. Thomas; and providing for the ratification of the Second Amended Agreement to the Video Lottery Services Agreement and the Development Agreement Regarding the Clinton E. Phipps Racetrack by and between the Government of the Virgin Islands and Southland Gaming of the Virgin Islands, Inc., and for other related purposes --0 Referred to but not found in our acts corpus: Bill 34-0201, Bill 34-0202, Bill 34-0203, Bill 34-0220, Bill 34-0226, Bill 34-0027 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) 23 of 23