Senate Finds Bryan Administration's Use of $45 Million Without Legislative Approval Carries Jail Time Penalty, $10,000 Fine

The legal opinion sought by lawmakers about the executive branch’s decision to transfer millions of dollars out of the territory’s general fund without legislative approval is now in.

Earlier this month, members of the 35th Legislature’s Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance were shocked and outraged to learn that Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s finance team had taken $45 million dollars out of general fund, without Senate authorization, to pay the first tranche of a settlement negotiated by the V.I. Water and Power Authority. That money went to energy trading firm Vitol, to whom WAPA owed hundreds of millions following a propane conversion project that ballooned in cost partially due to questionable management decisions.

According to Office of Management & Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal, the line of credit that had been approved by the Senate had not yet been established, so money in the general fund was used to meet Vitol’s payment deadline. Lawmakers did not take kindly to that disclosure and vowed to find out what kind of penalties or censure could be imposed in this regard.

A memorandum dated June 21, 2023 was sent to the office of Senator Alma Francis Heyliger, one of the legislators who has been most vocal about the perceived impropriety. The question, whether Act 8701 gives the Governor, through the Commissioner of Finance, the authority to reprogram government funds without the approval of the Legislature, was answered simply by the Senate’s legal office: “No.”

Act 8701 is the measure introduced by the governor and considered in a special session of the Legislation, that authorized the $100 million line of credit, from which the $45 million initial payment to Vitol was to have been taken. When asked by Senator Francis Heyliger who had authorized taking the money out of the general fund, Ms. O’Neal responded “the authorization was the authorization for the line of credit, and the $45 million that was included with that.” According to Ms. O’Neal’s rationale at the time, “the line of credit [was] not closed. We [had] an obligation to make a payment by a certain date, and the payment was made utilizing the funding we had.”