The USVI Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse

 

Information on USVI’s 6th Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention Enabling Acts

Hearing on the Enabling Act for
the Nov. 3, 2020 Referendum
to Call a Constitutional Convention 

Bill No. 33-0292, May 5, 2020. “An Act providing for referendum vote on convening a constitutional convention to consider adopting the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands or portions of it as the Constitution of the Virgin Islands.” The question on the ballot: “Are you in favor of the Legislature enacting legislation to convene a constitutional convention to adopt the Revised Organic Act off the Virgin Islands, 68 Stat. 497 as the Constitution of the Virgin Islands?” Amended in Bill No. 33-0339.  “Are you in favor of the Legislature enacting legislation to convene a constitutional convention to adopt the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands, 68 Stat. 497 or a portion of it as the Constitution of the Virgin Islands?” The first version, which called for a limited constitutional convention, would likely have been litigated and viewed as unconstitutional. Since legal counsel for the Legislature acknowledges that it’s illegal to limit a constitutional convention’s agenda when passing a constitution for a U.S. territory, one must presume that the proposed limitations on the convention’s agenda was specified for political purposes. As a political maneuver to dissuade candidates with a different agenda from running for delegate or elected delegates from pursuing a different agenda, it is likely to be effective, as legislators and their allies can protest that that’s not what voters approved when they approved the referendum.

Was the Nov. 3, 2020  majority in support of calling a convention advisory or mandatory? The enabling act includes the following provision:

The Legislature is not required to take any action toward enacting a statute to convene a constitutional convention to adopt the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands as the Constitution of the Virgin Islands, unless both: (1) a majority, fifty percent plus one, of the persons casting a ballot during the General Election on November 3, 2020, vote on the referendum issue set forth in Section 1 of this Act and (2) a majority, fifty percent plus one, of those persons voting on the referendum cast a vote in the affirmative.

Since the vote received a majority of those voting on the question (71.92%) and more than 50% of those voting at the election (55.79%) voted on the question, it might appear that the legislature is required to pass an enabling act to call a convention. But the consensus view among legislators is that the referendum the voters passed was non-binding on them. 

J.H. Snider Introductory Note: Between Jan. 19, 2022 and December 29, 2022, the legislature held three public hearings to discuss a proposed enabling act for the constitutional convention voters approved on Nov. 3, 2020.  In the annals of U.S. constitutional convention history, the 13-month delay between the approval of the convention call and the public introduction of legislation to implement it is remarkable. The 26-month delay to approve it is even more remarkable. And the blatant errors, including inconsistencies, in the approved  enabling act that makes it unworkable in practice is unprecedented.

What is not remarkable is a legislature, including in USVI’s past five enabling acts beginning in the early 1960s, passing an enabling act with many details designed to weaken constituent power (the people as opposed to political elites) as much as possible while claiming to do otherwise. It is also not remarkable that a legislature would invite experts to testify at public hearings on the proposed enabling act who would focus on many details of the proposed enabling act while ignoring the elephant in the room: whether the various details would weaken or strengthen the legislature’s inappropriate control of the convention process.

It is also not remarkable that a legislature would attempt to restrict its debates about the most important features of the convention process–that is, how it impacts the legislature’s power–to the backroom. But it is remarkable the extent to which the legislature was successful in keeping these issues hidden not only from its public hearings (much easier to do with such a small legislature) but public deliberation outside of the legislature. Also remarkable is its hiding from the public the amendments passed during the wee hours of Dec. 29, 2022 until days after the Governor signed them into law on January 19, 2023.

 

Proposed Enabling Act for Convening the
Constitutional Convention,
Including the Election of Delegates

 

January 19, 2022,
Hearing on the Proposed Enabling Act, Bill No. 34-0157,
by the Committee on
Government Operations & Consumer Protection (GOCP)

 

Contents

  • Notice and Agenda
  • Bill and Committee Report on Bill
  • Testimony
  • Senators Late To The Meeting
  • Video Recording of the Meeting

Notice & Agenda

Bill and Committee Report on the Bill

  • Bill No. 34-0153: An Act establishing the Sixth Constitutional Convention of the Virgin Islands; and providing for an appropriation to cover convention-related expenses. This bill is sponsored by Senators Janelle K. Sarauw and Genevieve Whitaker.
  • Committee Report: In the third block of the meeting, Senator Janelle K. Sarauw introduced Bill No. 34-0153. The following individuals testified in support of the bill: The Honorable Myron D. Jackson, Former Senator; Ms. Gwen Marie Moolenaar, Ph.D., President- League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands, Mr. Russell Christopher, Resident and Mr. Gerard Emmanuel, Former Delegate 5th Constitutional Convention. Mr. Malik Sekou, Ph.D., Professor University of the Virgin Islands and Mr. Joe Paris, Jr., Resident testimonies were read into the record. Senators were given one (1) round of seven (7) minutes round of questioning. Senator Francis made a motion for Bill No. 34-0153 to be approved and forwarded to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration. The motion was seconded by Senator Francis Heyliger. Voting in favor of the motion were Senators Francis, Francis Heyliger, James, Johnson, Joseph, and Potter. The motion was carried.

Written Testifiers (only invited testifiers allowed)*

Submitted Written Testimony & Appeared

  1. The Honorable Myron Jackson, Former Senator, Legislature of the Virgin Islands, and Delegate, 5th Constititonal Convention
  2. Ms. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, Ph D. President, League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands
  3. Mr. Gerard Emanuel, Professor, University of Virgin Islands, and Delegate, 5th Constititonal Convention
  4. Mr. Russell Christopher, Resident

Only Submitted Written Testimony

  1. Mr. Malik Sekou, Ph D., Professor, University of the Virgin Islands
  2. Mr. Joe Paris, Resident

* Note that all verbal testifiers had to precisely read from previously submitted written testimony. Only the legislators did not need to provide their comments in writing and in advance.

    Correspondence

    Roll Call (seven members serve on the Committee)

    Senators who attended the entire meeting:

    • Senator Carla Joseph, Chair
    • Senator Alma Francis Heyliger,
    • Senator Javan James Sr.,
    • Senator Potter

    Senators late to the meeting:

    Senator absent from the meeting:

    • Senator Marvin Blyden.

    Video Recording of the Meeting

    https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=1017911942127230

    Full hearing lasts 7 hours and 3 minutes. The third block that discusses the constitutional convention bill begins at 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 25 seconds and ends at 6 hours, 57 minutes, and 30 seconds. Excluding about fifteen minutes of recesses, it lasted about 3.5 hours.

    At the end of the meeting, the bill was approved by a vote of six in favor and 1 absent and sent on to the rules committee. The planned path for the bill is for the committee of the whole to discuss its path forward without any public comment and then have amendments later proposed in the rules committee.

    March 23, 2022,
    Hearing on the     Proposed Enabling Act, Bill No. 34-0157,
    by the Committee on on Rules and the Judiciary

    Source: https://www.legvi.org/committeemeetings

    Bill No. 34-0153: An Act establishing the Sixth Constitutional Convention of the Virgin Islands; and providing for an appropriation to cover convention-related expenses. This bill is sponsored by Senators Janelle K. Sarauw (main sponsor) and Genevieve Whitaker.

    At the last minute and without any public notice, the main sponsor of Bill No. 34-0157 withdrew it from the agenda for the March 23, 2022 public hearing. The feeling was that the bill was too consequential and needed more internal debate. The plan is that it will be dealt with at an as yet undetermined date by the committee-of-the-whole.

    Here is the original agenda and the minutes of the actual meeting. Despite canceling the hearing, one of the two invited witnesses, Supervisor of Elections Carolyn Fawkes, submitted her testimony as scheduled. The invited testifiers (with only invited testifiers allowed) were:

    • Carolyn Fawkes, Supervisor of Elections (her submitted testimony is here)
    • Raymond J. Williams, Board Chair, VI Board of Elections

      Proposed Enabling Act for Convening the
      Constitutional Convention,
      Including the Election of Delegates

      December 29, 2022,
      Hearing on the       Proposed Enabling Act, Bill No. 34-0157,
      by the Committee of the Whole (the entire legislature)

      Revised Bill

      Bill No. 34-0153

      Legislative History of 34-0153

      Published Agenda (the actual agenda differed)

      Video Recording of the Meeting

      Hearing on 34-0153 begins at 13:05 and ends at 2:49:05 (2 hours and 36 minutes)

      Five individuals gave opening testimony (note that all times are approximate even if given precisely):

      Myron Jackson, Former Senator, USVI, 22:00 to 29:50

      Gerard Emanuel, Delegate, 5th Constitutional Convention, 30:00 to 38:20

      Gerard Luz James II, President, 5th Constitutional Convention,  Former Lt. Governor and Senator, USVI, 38:35 to 42:00

      Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, President, USVI League of Women Voters, 42:10 to 57:00

      Malekau Thomas (spelling), Invited Private Citizen, 57:10 to 104:30

      These opening comments took up about fifty minutes.

      Next, each senator was given time to ask questions of the invited witnesses and legal counsel. They were nominally given three minutes each but most took longer and in some cases much longer. This took up the bulk of the hearing.

      Finally, each witness was given thirty seconds to make final comments, which consisted of pleasantries.