GovTrack’s Bill Summary
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H.R. 3706 (112th): To create the Office of Chief Financial Officer of the Government of the Virgin Islands, and for other purposes.
- Introduced:
- Dec 16, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
- Sponsor:
- Del. Donna Christensen [D-VI0]
- Status:
- Died (Passed House)
- See Instead:
- This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 85 on Jan 03, 2013. See H.R. 85 for current action on this subject.
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
- Summary
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No summaries available.
- Text
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Last updated Aug 02, 2012.
9 pages
- Primary Source
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View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)
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- Citation
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Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
8/1/2012--Passed House amended.
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 17, 2012.
The summary of that version is repeated here.) Requires the Governor of the Virgin Islands to appoint a Chief Financial Officer, with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, from a list required by this Act. States that if:
(1) the Legislature has not confirmed a nominee within 90 days of receiving such list the Governor shall appoint a Chief Financial Officer on an acting basis until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial Officer,
(2) a Chief Financial Officer has not been appointed within 180 days after enactment of this Act the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission shall appoint from such list an Acting Chief Financial Officer until a Chief Financial Officer is appointed, and
(3) the Acting Chief Financial Officer serving in an acting capacity for 180 consecutive days shall become the Chief Financial Officer. Sets forth the Chief Financial Officer's duties.
Directs the Board of Elections of the Virgin Islands, as part of the closest regularly scheduled, islands-wide election in the Virgin Islands to the expiration of the fourth year of the five-year term of the Chief Financial Officer, to hold a referendum to determine whether the position of Chief Financial Officer shall be made a permanent part of the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands. Establishes the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission to recommend at least three candidates for the Chief Financial Officer position.
Terminates the Commission upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Financial Officer.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/hr3706.
Background
According to the Committee on Natural Resources, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the U.S. It is an unincorporated territory because Congress has selected only certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution to apply to the territory. The USVI is an organized territory due to federal legislation, the Organic Act. The Organic Act is analogous to a state constitution and is intended to serve as a basic charter of government for the territory until the USVI adopts its own constitution. The Organic Act made comprehensive and complete provisions for the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the USVI government, including imposing limitations. Only Congress can make changes to the Organic Act, whereas, if the USVI adopts its own constitution, changes could be made locally without Congressional action. To date, the USVI has held five constitutional conventions, the latest held in 2004. However, none of these efforts have resulted in the adoption of a constitution.
The USVI has outstanding debts totaling over $1.2 billion. The Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior testified at a Subcommittee hearing that this type of deficit situation arises due to disputes between the executive and legislative branches over revenue projections. This “estimation discrepancy” leads to revenue management issues, resulting in the accumulation of harmful debt over a period of years. The charges on such debt interferes with the territory’s ability to solve current fiscal issues.
Summary
H.R. 3706 would require the Governor of the Virgin Islands to appoint a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. The CFO would be required to:
- Develop and report on the financial status of the Government of the Virgin Islands not later than 6 months after appointment and quarterly thereafter.
- Each year prepare and certify spending limits of the annual budget, including annual estimates of all revenues of the territory without regard to sources, and whether or not the annual budget is balanced.
- Revise and update standards for financial management, including inventory and contracting, for the Government of the Virgin Islands in general and for each agency in conjunction with the agency head.
Under the legislation, the CFO would be appointed for a term of five years and could only be removed for cause. The CFO’s salary would be determined by the Governor of the Virgin Islands.
In order to recommend candidates for the CFO position, the bill would establish the “Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission.” The Commission would be required to recommend at least three candidates for nomination as the CFO. The Commission would be composed of 8 members appointed within 30 days of the enactment of the bill. The Commission members would be appointed by relevant stakeholders from the Virgin Islands, including the Governor, the Legislature, the Chamber of Commerce, and the AARP. Each member of the Commission would be appointed for life and serve without pay.
Once a candidate is selected by the governor, the legislature would be required to confirm the appointment within 90 days. If they fail to do so, the governor would be permitted to appoint an acting CFO. If the CFO serves for more than 180 days without further action by the legislature, the commission would be required to appoint a CFO by majority vote.
Cost
According to CBO, H.R. 3706 would have no significant effect on the federal budget.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.