Senate Fails To Override Mapp Veto On Bill Seeking To Limit Salaries Of Cabinet Members
- Ernice Gilbert
- September 23, 2015
ST. CROIX -- Governor Kenneth Mapp in August vetoed section 9 of bill No. 31-0149, a amendment proposed by Senator Myron Jackson and supported by Democrats, that took away the pay raises Mapp gave to his then-cabinet nominees that were capped, after an agreement between the two branches of government, at $105,000, and set them to the amount each position was paid on December 31, 2014. The amendment was added during a protracted session at the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Hall on July 30, where the Senate took action on a myriad of bills. Members of the body had contended that giving any pay raises at a time when the government was passing legislation to borrow monies in an attempt to keep itself afloat, was an ill-thought-out idea. Mapp, however, disagreed. “I don’t believe that this veto requires much discussion from me,” said the governor in a note accompanying his veto. “My position on the issue of salaries for my cabinet is a matter of public record.” And at a legislative session at ...
