35th Legislature’s Replacement Rules “Erases” Minority Caucus

The provision, included in the new rules adopted by the Senate during its second session on January 23rd, requires at least five members in order to establish a minority caucus. Not only is it a well-known fact that only four members comprise the Legislature’s minority, but those four members–Senators Alma Francis Heyliger, Samuel Carrión, Dwayne M. DeGraff and Franklin D. Johnson–had formally established a caucus based on the rules the 35th Legislature had adopted two weeks prior.

On January 9th, the 35th Legislature held its first Regular Session following its Oath of Office Ceremony. During that session, lawmakers considered and passed a measure to establish the 11-member majority caucus and appoint the majority members, all democrats, to leadership positions within the Legislature. At that point, the 35th Legislature had failed to first establish and adopt a set of rules to govern the institution internally.

Senator Dwayne M. DeGraff, a member of the minority, objected to this formation on the grounds that the Legislature had no authority to special order the measure to the floor without a set of rules authorizing it to do so. Sen. Degraff was ultimately called out of order; the bill, No. 35-0001, which established the 11-member majority caucus and appointed its members to leadership positions within the Senate went on to pass with 11 affirmative votes, all of them cast by majority members.

Following the vote, which established the internal structure of the 35th Legislature, each member of the 15-member body received five minutes of personal privilege. As the first Senator acknowledged for her five minutes, Sen. Francis Heyliger expressed her disappointment with the Legislature’s failure to produce a set of rules in order to regulate all of its important affairs, but maintained she appeared optimistic when looking ahead to working with her fellow members of the 35th Legislature, regardless of their party affiliation.

“Make sure that we have the rules on swearing day so we could govern this institution properly,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger to her colleagues during the first regular session on January 9th. “That’s all I’m asking. Outside of that, I look forward to working with my colleagues.”

At the end of Sen. Francis Heyliger’s five minutes of personal privilege, Senator Kenneth L. Gittens, the newly minted majority leader, offered a motion for the 35th Legislature to operate based on the rules previously established by the 34th Legislature. The motion quickly moved and passed with 10 votes in favor and 5 against. Along with the four minority members, majority member Senator Angel L. Bolques Jr., voted against the measure, but its passage established a set of rules for the 35th Legislature.

Since January 9th, those rules have governed the process under which the entire Legislature has operated. Specifically, those rules allowed for the four-member majority. Under those terms, the four minority members proceeded to formally establish themselves as a caucus.

When the Legislature met again on January 23rd for its second session, its agenda included Bill No. 35-0002. That bill, which ultimately passed, established a new set of rules within the institution. While largely similar, according to majority member, Senator Milton E. Potter, he said that the revised rules contained strategic changes.

Amongst the changes, contained within Bill No. 35-0002, a subtle edit now requires a minimum of five Senators in order to establish a minority caucus. In order to avert the dissolution of the formalized minority caucus, Sen. Francis Heyliger offered a technical amendment with similarly subtle changes which would allow minority members to caucus collectively, just as it had done in the previous Legislature.

When it came to vote on the amendment, only one majority member. Senator Donna Frett-Gregory joined minority members Senators DeGraff, Francis Heyliger and Johnson to vote in favor of the technical amendment. Nine members of the majority voted against the amendment with Senator Javan E. James, Sr. not-voting and Sen. Carrión excused as absent.

Undeterred, Sen. Francis Heyliger said she will introduce legislation in order to allow for the reformation of the minority caucus, so that its members may work collaboratively with the Democratic majority and represent “a significant number of proud Virgin Islanders.”

“In the previous Legislature, the minority caucus demonstrated a willingness to collaborate with majority members to best serve the Virgin Islands,” said Sen. Francis Heyliger in a press release dated Jan. 25th. “I find it disappointing that we need to even address such an injustice when so many other pressing issues require our attention as representatives of the people, but I look forward to rectifying this politicized, deliberate and divisive maneuver so that we, as a body, can focus solely on the important work we were elected to do.”