Congress wants changes to draft V.I. Constitution
Published: June 30, 2010
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ST. THOMAS — The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a joint resolution Tuesday to reconvene the territory’s Fifth Constitutional Convention in order to revisit the proposed V.I. constitution.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice report, the draft V.I. Constitution contains a number of controversial provisions which may be in conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
The joint resolution was passed by the Senate on June 17, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign the resolution today.
Once signed, the territory’s Constitutional Convention — which has been on recess for a year — can reconvene to revisit the proposed Virgin Islands Constitution.
In her statement on the House floor Tuesday, V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen supported the measure.
“The resolution we are considering attempts to respond to the concerns about the proposed constitution raised by the Justice Department by providing for its reconsideration and revision to correct provisions that are inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and federal law,” Christensen said. “It is a clear statement from the Congress that the Convention should consider these provisions although it does not dictate what the outcome of the ‘reconsiderations’ should be.”
She said her initial position was that Congress should amend the document before sending it back to the people of the Virgin Islands for a vote.
“But after listening to testimony given in the Congress and when at home, to the many sides of the issue and varied opinions of a broad cross-section of my community, a different position evolved and despite my misgivings on the constitutionality of the document, my views came more consistent with my long held stance that the people of the territories should be the ones to decide on issues of their self governance,” she said.
The resolution was a compromise, she said. It allows the 30 delegates elected to the Fifth Constitutional Convention to reconsider the document and make changes rather than have the document altered by Congress.
Regardless of whether or not the convention changes the draft, the document would then return to the president and Congress for final review. The executive and legislative branches of the federal government would have another 45 days to make final comments, after which it would be sent back to the people of the Virgin Islands for a vote.
There is no time frame or deadline for the constitutional convention to return the finished document.
Christensen said after the vote Tuesday that, while there is no funding included in the joint resolution, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has pledged some funding to reconvene the convention. The exact amount has not been finalized, she said.
Gerard Luz James III, president of the Fifth Constitutional Convention, said he was optimistic about the House vote. He said he does not believe the document should be changed, but he has only one vote.
“The constitution may not be the best loved draft for everyone, but it gives us a start. It gives us something that we’ve never had before,” James said.
He said as soon as funding is available, he will reconvene the convention.
“This is of great importance to us, to complete the constitution,” he said.
He argued that the allegations about the document being unconstitutional are irrelevant, because only the U.S. Supreme Court can decide what is constitutional or not.
Christensen said if the convention works quickly, it could send the document back in time to get it on the November general election ballot for a referendum vote.
James did not see the need to rush in order to make that deadline. He said it is important to have a well-funded public education campaign, so the voters understand what is included in the document.
“I want things to be done the right way, so we can get the results that we expect to get, so we can have a constitution,” he said.
Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone, who was the primary sponsor of the legislation to convene the Fifth Constitutional Convention, said he was happy to hear that the process is continuing.
“The goal here is for the Virgin Islands to have a constitution,” he said.
Having a constitution would help to protect Virgin Islanders, he said. Currently, the territory is governed by the Revised Organic Act, which can be altered or repealed by Congress with no say from the territory.
Malone said he would be willing to appropriate additional funding to the constitutional convention for the body to reconvene.
“I can’t speak for the other senators, but I am willing to do it, yes,” Malone said.
— Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.
