Sept. 30, 2008 — Ideas were bounced around Tuesday's Constitutional Convention session about the creation of a local immigration and border-patrol agency, property-tax exemptions for native ancestral Virgin Islanders, and municipal governments on all three islands, but delegates weren't able to vote on any of it because they didn’t have a quorum.
The session was scheduled to start at 10 a.m., but didn't get going until about an hour later. At that time, only eight delegates were present. After pushing through with informal discussion for a few hours, the decision was made to go into committee of the whole to finalize some language that could be voted on during another session scheduled for Wednesday. The number of delegates picked up throughout the day, but there was still no more than 19 present at any given time, short of the 21 needed to make up a quorum.
Members of the executive committee were at the Legislature for most of the day, lobbying senators to extend the deadline set for the completion of a draft document. The Senate unanimously passed an extension until May 2009, James said, but did not appropriate any funding that would take the convention through the rest of the process. Senators did not address other issues, such as a reduction in the number of delegates needed to constitute a quorum and an increase in the number of meetings the delegates are allowed to have, James said.
"These are some things that really need to be dealt with, especially when we're talking about getting a quorum, because that's what's holding us back," James said. "Almost all of us are here during the plenary sessions, but that's not always the case during the committee meetings, and I think that if we get that addressed, we would be able to finish as soon as mid December."
Remaining optimistic, he added that the delegates should definitely be able to hammer out a document by Jan. 15.
"I'm really pleased that the Senate passed the extension — it shows that they really care about us finishing this document, and making sure that we don't go down in history like the last four conventions did," James said.
Municipal Governments
Picking up where they left off during last week's session, delegates discussed restructured language proposed by the Government Committee about the establishment of local municipal governments, and butted heads about whether the Legislature or territory's voters should have the final say on how those governments are actually set up. (See "More Meetings Scheduled to Finalize Constitution Draft.")
Coming out of about three hours of debate, delegates tentatively agreed to direct the Legislature to designate each island — St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix — as a political subdivision, or independent district, and have voters decide how the government on each island would be structured.
"The problem with this is that you could have a trifurcated government, and I think that could pose an issue for you," said attorney Lloyd Jordan, the convention's legal counsel, later in the meeting.
Other delegates agreed, including Charles W. Turnbull and Myron Jackson, saying the section "creates the possibility of one island voting in favor of having a local government and another voting against it."
The delegates also discussed giving each island a certain amount of time to adopt a charter that lays out exactly how each government would be run.
Taxation
The issue of native rights once again came to the forefront Tuesday, as several delegates campaigned for language that exempts "native ancestral Virgin Islanders" from having to pay property taxes. In the end, the majority of delegates agreed on language stating that the Senate may provide for the "levy and collection" of real-property taxes, but can "pass no law with respect to real property owned by ancestral native Virgin Islanders."
The language once again raised concerns for Jordan, who cautioned the delegates against making a separate designation for native Virgin Islanders.
"If you look at a state like Hawaii, you'll see that every time they tried to do something like that, they were rejected by the Supreme Court," Jordan said. "If we make it generic, like it was initially, I don't think there would be a problem with this type of protection, but every time you have the term 'native Virgin Islander,' it's going to be challenged."
Some delegates said the property-tax issue had to be dealt with fairly by taking into account all residents suffering from economic hardship and approving a new property-tax rate structure with recently assessed property values.
"We cannot just look at ancestral natives alone — we just can't do it, it's not fair," said Delegate Wilma Marsh Monsanto. "There are some people moved there 50 years ago for all sorts of reasons, and we can't just leave them out. We have to be careful because we want to get this thing to go through. We have to consider everyone and look at it for a fair point of few. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander."
With the new tax laws, property-tax bills on St. John have skyrocketed by 300 percent, and residents with moderate incomes and homes have seen their land values go up because of multi-million dollar homes and other developments on the island, she said.
But other delegates said it was time to take a stand.
"We're either going to do it or we're not," said Delegate Michael Thurland. "Because when people come in here, or when there are people within ourselves taking our land, they're not doing it on a fair playing field. One of the greatest denominators of that playing field is wealth, economic wealth, and the fact that ancestral Virgin Islanders historically did not have access to that kind of wealth."
One delegate took a hardline approach.
"'Fear' or 'fair' — which one you're talking about?" asked Delegate Adelbert Bryan. "I can't go to Alaska and own a fishing industry — the courts would protect against that. So why can't we protect what we have here? You know what it is in the Caribbean? We're afraid to defend ourselves. I read recently about a Jewish man in Alabama paying other Jews to move to that part of Alabama — and that's what going to happen here. If native Virgin Islanders have to pay property tax, I got enough people out there to sink this whole thing."
The delegates also discussed setting up a "taxpayer's bill of rights," which would put safeguards in place to prevent the government from overtaxing local residents or taking their homes away if they are not able to pay what they owe in full immediately.
Delegates also discussed establishing a tax-review commission, which would reevaluate the government's property-tax structure and assessment system.
Tuesday's meeting wrapped up with a discussion on illegal immigration and the establishment of a local immigration and border patrol department.
Present during Tuesday's meeting were Delegates Craig W. Barshinger, Douglas Brady, Rena Brodhurst, Bryan, Lois Hassell-Habtes, Myron Jackson, James, Monsanto, Thomas Moore, Mary Moorhead, Kendall Petersen, Claire Roker, Robert Schuster, Richard Schrader Jr., Lawrence "Larry" Sewer, Thurland, Elsie Thomas-Trotman, Turnbull, Alecia Wells and Lisa Williams.
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