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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, VETERAN AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL NO. 35-0186 Thirty-Fifth Legislature of the Virgin Islands October 27, 2023 An Act repealing and reenacting title 3 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 16, section 274 “Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission,” and enacting in its place “The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services”; amending title 20 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 37, subchapters I & II relative to the regulation of automobiles for hire and automobile for hire medallion; amending title 20 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 39 section 433(b) directing the Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs to review fees, charges and tariffs every three years; amending title 33 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 111, section 3067 to substitute the name, “The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services”; and providing for the transition of the employees, equipment and supplies to the newly created entity, and for other related purposes PROPOSED BY: Senators Donna A. Frett-Gregory, Marise C. James, Javan E. James, Sr., Carla J. Joseph, and Angel L. Bolques, Jr. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands: 1 SECTION 1. Title 3 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 16, section 274 is repealed and 2 reenacted with amendments to read as follows: 3 “§ 274. The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services 4 (a) The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services is established in the 5 Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. 6 (b) The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services is headed by a Director 7 appointed by the Governor of the Virgin Islands, who shall report to the Commissioner of 8 Licensing and Consumer Affairs. 9 2 (c) The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services is charged with the 1 responsibility for the continuance, further development, and improvement of transportation and 2 taxicab passenger service within the territory and the overall regulation of transportation and 3 taxicabs, transportation and taxicab companies, and transportation and taxicab associations. 4 (d) There is established within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, an 5 Advisory Council on Transportation and Taxicab Services, (“the Council”). The Council is 6 composed of the Director of the Division of Transportation and Taxi Services and eight 7 members appointed by the Governor. Three members must be selected from the taxicab 8 industry, one from each island, who are active taxi drivers who own taxi medallions. Three 9 members must be from the transportation service industry, one from each island and must not 10 own a taxi medallion. Two members must be from the public-at-large, one from each district 11 who is not a government employee. The Council shall: 12 (1) Meet at least quarterly to recommend the adoption, amendment, or revocation 13 of regulations, not inconsistent with the law, for the regulation and control of the 14 transportation, taxicab and automobile for hire industry in the Virgin Islands and make 15 recommendations on rates, fees and tariffs of same; 16 (2) Make recommendations for the establishment, improvement, and 17 enhancement of tourist attractions in the Virgin Islands particularly related to the 18 transportation, taxicab and automobile for hire industry; 19 (3) The Council shall, to the best of its ability, represent the views of the 20 transportation, taxicab, and automobile for hire industry members. 21 (4) The Council members shall receive a per diem and attendance to official 22 meetings of the Council as provided by Title 3, section 65, Virgin Islands Code. 23 (e) In addition to the other powers and duties granted to it by law, the Division of 24 Transportation and Taxicab Services has the power to: 25 3 (1) Issue medallions in accordance with the procedures of 20 V.I.C. ch. 37, 1 subch. II; 2 (2) Issue license plates to owners of automobiles for hire who properly registered 3 their vehicles with the Motor Vehicle Bureau and in accordance with the procedures of 4 20 V.I.C. § 339, and who also are owners of medallions as provided in 20 V.I.C. ch. 37, 5 subch. II; 6 (3) Recommend the adoption, amendment, or revocation of regulations, not 7 inconsistent with the law, for the regulation and control of the automobile for hire 8 industry in the Virgin Islands; 9 (4) Make recommendations for the establishment, improvement, and 10 enhancement of tourist attractions in the Virgin Islands particularly related to the 11 automobile for hire industry; 12 (5) Cooperate and coordinate its activities with other agencies, public and 13 private. 14 (6) Receive and investigate complaints, conduct hearings and issue subpoenas 15 with regard to the conduct of operators of automobiles for hire and impose, through the 16 Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, administrative 17 fines and penalties as provided by law; 18 (7) Subject to the jurisdiction and authority vested in the Virgin Islands Police 19 Department by Titles 3 and 20 of the Virgin Islands Code pertaining to the enforcement 20 of the laws relating to traffic, highways, and motor vehicles, enforce the laws as they 21 pertain to the illegal operation of private vehicles by any person or persons as automobile 22 for hire; 23 (8) Establish standards, conditions, and requirements of transportation and 24 taxicab service industry; 25 4 (9) Establish standards for driver and passenger safety; 1 (10) Contract with any public or private agency, individual, partnership, 2 association, corporation or other entity, consistent with law, for the provision of services 3 necessary to improve the quality of transportation and taxicab service industry; 4 (11) Accept grants and donations from public or private entities for the purpose of 5 improving the quality of transportation and taxicab service in the Territory; and 6 (12) Exercise such other incidental powers that may be necessary for the purposes 7 of its establishment and operation, as are not in conflict with the law. 8 (f) Any person aggrieved by any decision rendered by the Division of Transportation 9 and Taxicab Services may, within 10 days following the date of notice of the decision, file an 10 appeal with the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. 11 (g) The Division shall make recommendations through the Commissioner of Licensing 12 and Consumer Affairs to the Governor and the Legislature on all matters relating to the 13 operation, regulation, and control of automobiles for hire, and the transportation and taxicab 14 services industry. Recommendations must take the form of written resolutions adopted by a 15 majority of the members of the Council present and voting when a quorum is present. If a 16 recommendation of the Council is approved by the Governor and it can be implemented without 17 legislation, the Governor shall, within 30 days after receipt of the recommendation, take all 18 necessary and appropriate action for the implementation of the recommendation. The Governor 19 shall submit recommendations requiring legislation for their implementation to the President 20 of the Legislature for consideration by the Legislature at its next regular or special session 21 following receipt of the recommendation. 22 (h) The Director of the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services in conjunction 23 with the Advisory Council on Transportation and Taxicab Services shall develop regulations 24 for the transportation and taxicab service industry no later than 120 days upon the enactment 25 5 of this section. The Director of the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services shall 1 present the regulations to the public for a period of 30 days. At the end of the 30 day period, 2 the regulations must be transmitted to the Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and 3 Consumer Affairs to be adopted pursuant to the established law. The Director shall review the 4 regulations annually and submit recommended changes to the Commissioner of the Department 5 of Licensing and Consumer Affairs for adoption. 6 (i) The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services in conjunction with the 7 Advisory Council on Transportation and Taxicab Services no later than 120 days upon of this 8 shall recommend fees, charges and tariffs for the transportation and taxicab service industry. 9 (j) At the end of each fiscal year, the Division shall issue a written report of its 10 activities during the fiscal year through the Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and 11 Consumer Affairs to the Governor and the Legislature. The report must include a detailed 12 summary of all fees collected under title 20 Virgin Islands Code, section 433(b) and an estimate 13 of the monies needed to meet the operating expenses of the Division for the following year. 14 SECTION 2. Title 3, Chapter 14, Section 231; Title 5, Subtitle 3, Part I, Chapter 305, 15 Subchapter I, Section 3561; Title 20 Chapter 33, Section 339; and Title 20, Chapter 36, Section 16 392(5)(B) are amended by striking Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission” and inserting 17 “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services” wherever it appears. 18 SECTION 3. Title 20, Chapter 37, Subchapter I, Virgin Islands Code is amended in the 19 following instances: 20 (a) In section 401(a), first sentence, strike “Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission” and 21 insert “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services”; strike “Commission” and insert 22 “Division”. 23 (b) In section 401(a), second sentence, strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert 24 “Director of the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services” 25 6 (c) In section 401(a)(4) strike “Commission” and insert “Director of the Division of 1 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears in the section. 2 (d) In section 401(a)(5) strike “Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 3 and Taxicab Services” 4 (e) In section 401(d) strike “Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation and 5 Taxicab Services” where it appears in the section. 6 (f) Section 401(i) are stricken in their entirety 7 (g) In section 401a strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 8 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 9 (h) Section 401b in the title of the subsection by striking “Taxicab Commission” and 10 inserting “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services” 11 (i) In section 401b(1) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 12 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 13 (j) In section 401b(2) strike the first instance of “Taxicab Commission” and insert 14 “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services; strike the second instance of “Taxicab 15 Commission” and insert “Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer 16 Affairs”. 17 (k) In section 401b(2)(A) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Advisory Council 18 on Transportation and Taxicab Services” and strike “Executive” and insert “of the Division of 19 Transportation and Taxicab Service” after “Director” 20 (l) In Section 401b(2)(B) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 21 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 22 (m) In section 401b(2)(C) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 23 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 24 7 (n) In section 401b(2)(D) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 1 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 2 (o) In section 401b(3) strike the second instance of “Taxicab Commission” and insert 3 “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 4 (p) In section 402 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 5 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 6 (q) In section 403 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 7 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 8 (r) In section 404 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 9 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 10 SECTION 3. Title 20, Chapter 37, Subchapter II, Virgin Islands Code is amended in the 11 following instances: 12 (a) In the subsection heading insert “and Certificate” after the word “Medallion”. 13 (b) In Section 407(a) insert “or certificate” after the word “medallion”. 14 (c) In Section 407(b) strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of 15 Transportation and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 16 (d) In section 407(c) strike the first two instances of “Taxicab Commission” and insert 17 “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services”; add “inclusive of the medallions for 18 veterans” at the end of the third sentence in the section. 19 (e) Add a new subsection (e) that reads as follows: 20 “(e) (1) Tour operators must obtain a certificate from the Division of 21 Transportation and Taxicab Services prior to being issued a business license to conduct 22 business in the Territory. 23 (2) The Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services shall sell to any person, 24 company, corporation, or partnership who owned on October 1, 2023, a tour operator 25 8 service business license, one certificate for each vehicle owned and registered to provide 1 tour operator service. The cost of the certificate is exclusive of any other business license 2 fees imposed by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. The revenues from 3 the sale under this section must be deposited in the Taxi License Fund established in Title 4 33, Chapter 111 of the Virgin Islands Code.” 5 (f) In section 408 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 6 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 7 (g) In section 408 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 8 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 9 (h) In section 410 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 10 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 11 (i) In section 411 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 12 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 13 (j) In section 412 strike “Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division of Transportation 14 and Taxicab Services” where it appears. 15 (k) In section 413(d) strike “not more than” and insert “at least” 16 SECTION 4. Title 20, Chapter 39, Virgin Islands Code is amended in the following 17 instances: 18 (a) Section 433(b) is amended by striking “Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission” and 19 inserting “Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services” in its place; Adding a new sentence 20 that reads “The Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs shall 21 review fees, charges and tariffs every three years, and by regulation has the authority to increase 22 fees, charges and tariffs by no more than 50% without first obtaining the approval of the 23 Legislature of the Virgin Islands.” 24 9 (b) Section 433(c)(2) is amended by striking “Peace Officer Training” and inserting 1 “Taxi License” in its place. 2 (c) Section 435(b) strike “Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission” and insert “Division 3 of Transportation and Taxicab Services”. 4 SECTION 5. Title 33, Chapter 111, Virgin Islands Code is amended in the following 5 instances: 6 (a) Title 33, Chapter 111, Section 3067(a) of the Virgin Islands Code is amended by 7 inserting a “s” at the end of the word “section” and inserting “and 433” before “435”. 8 (b) Title 33, Chapter 111, Section 3067(b) of the Virgin Islands Code is amended by 9 striking “Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission” and inserting “Division of Transportation and 10 Taxicab Services of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs”. 11 SECTION 6. 12 (a) The Executive Director of the Taxicab Commission shall continue as the Director 13 of the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services until a Director is appointed. The 14 Executive Director of the Taxicab Commission shall provide the necessary assistance for the 15 orderly transition of the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services. 16 (b) All employees, equipment, supplies, and materials of the Virgin Islands Taxicab 17 Commission are transferred to the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services of the 18 Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs. 19 (c) The employees salaries, fringe benefits, seniority, classification and working 20 conditions shall be protected. 21 (d) All unexpended balance of appropriations, allocations or other funds of the Virgin 22 Islands Taxicab Commission are reappropriated, reallocated and made available, as applicable, 23 to the Division of Transportation and Taxicab Services of the Department of Licensing and 24 10 Consumer Affairs, as established under this Act, for the execution of its powers and duties, and 1 employment of its personnel. 2 BILL SUMMARY 3 This bill repeals title 3 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 16, section 274 “Virgin Islands 4 Taxicab Commission,” and enacts in its place “The Division of Transportation and Taxicab 5 Services” and amends various sections of the Virgin Islands Code pertaining to the Virgin 6 Islands Taxicab Commission. The bill provides for the transition of employees, equipment and 7 supplies. The bill also directs the Commissioner of the Department of Licensing and Consumer 8 Affairs to review fees, charges and tariffs every three years. 9 BR23-0544/October 17, 2023/NS 10