Lawmakers Assert Authority to Set Salaries During Regular Session

The 36th Legislature Wednesday cleared a slate of nominations, zoning changes and bills, many of which were approved unanimously by the 14 members in attendance.

Those included a measure rescinding raises for the governor, lieutenant governor and other top officials recommended by the V.I. Public Officials Compensation Commission, which Senate President Milton Potter called the day’s “explosive bill.”

“The bill addresses — in my view— a fundamental constitutional issue: the Legislature’s exclusive authority to set public official salary under the Revised Organic Act,” he said. “The bill services three critical purposes. First, it upholds the constitutional government by ensuring salary decisions flow through proper legislative channels. Second, it protects taxpayers by requiring the return of unauthorized payments to the General Fund. And third, it establishes accountability measures with regards to preventing future circumvention of legislative authority.”

“The Legislature cannot allow its constitutional prerogatives to be eroded through procedural oversights or administrative endruns,” he added. “The bill restores the proper balance of powers while ensuring that any future compensation adjustments receive the deliberative review our system of government demands.”

The vote came two days after lawmakers considered the measure during a Committee of the Whole and after months of public frustration over how the raises were implemented. In a statement Government House issued Tuesday, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. dismissed legislators’ efforts as political theater.