Government House, St. Croix
Governor Albert Bryan on Friday signed fiscal year 2021 budget bills into law, enabling the government of the Virgin Islands to continue functioning by providing funding — including in excess of $632 million dollars from the general fund — to the various departments and agencies. Senators in the Committee of Finance, chaired by Senator Kurt Vialet, spent months vetting budget measures, and lawmakers unanimously approved the budget bills two weeks ago.
In his transmittal letter to Senate President Novelle Francis, Mr. Bryan said he used his line-item veto to correct a duplication of the appropriation for WTJX, according to Government House. The governor also noted a number of discrepancies and errors in the itemized budget and said amendments are required to make adjustments to reconcile those discrepancies, Government House said.
“The funding for WTJX is already appropriated in the miscellaneous appropriations subsection on Page 9 as line item ‘MIS15 WTJX PUBLIC TELEVISION $3,627,111,’” Mr. Bryan wrote. “In addition to this line item, several critical errors have been identified and will need immediate amendments in order to allow the government of the Virgin Islands to operate appropriately.”
According to the release, Mr. Bryan also noted that Bill No. 33-0405, which appropriates funding for salaries and expenses for the University of the Virgin Islands, also requires a critical amendment to reconcile a major fund sourcing error.
“Section 1 of the bill incorrectly states that the $25,225,458 appropriated is ‘out of any available funds’ instead of stating ‘the General Fund,’” wrote the governor. “Additionally, the total amount appropriated to the University of the Virgin Islands out of the General Fund on page 4 of the Bill incorrectly states ‘$34,366,559’ instead of the correct total of ‘$34,336,559.’”
Here is the full list of bills the governor signed (no further details were provided):
- Bill No. 33-0377
- Bill No. 33-0378
- Bill No. 33-0379
- Bill No. 33-0380
- Bill No. 33-0381
- Bill No. 33-0382
- Bill No. 33-0383
- Bill No. 33-0384
- Bill No. 33-0385
- Bill No. 33-0386
- Bill No. 33-0387
- Bill No. 33-0388
- Bill No. 33-0389
- Bill No. 33-0390
- Bill No. 33-0391
- Bill No. 33-0392
- Bill No. 33-0393
- Bill No. 33-0394
- Bill No. 33-0395
- Bill No. 33-0396
- Bill No. 33-0397
- Bill No. 33-0398
- Bill No. 33-0400
- Bill No. 33-0401
- Bill No. 33-0402
- Bill No. 33-0403
- Bill No. 33-0404
- Bill No. 33-0405
- Bill No. 33-0406
- Bill No. 33-0407
- Bill No. 33-0408
- Bill No. 33-0409
- Bill No. 33-0412
- Bill No. 33-0413
- Bill No. 33-0417
