U.S. Senate calls for V.I. to reconvene Constitutional Convention
Published: June 19, 2010
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The U.S. Senate passed a joint resolution this week to reconvene the territory’s Fifth Constitutional Convention to revisit the draft V.I. Constitution and address some of the concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.
V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen said the joint resolution will likely be considered by the House of Representatives next week. If the House fails to act before the end of the month, it will automatically return — as it is currently drafted — to the Virgin Islands for a referendum vote in November.
The draft V.I. Constitution contains a number of controversial provisions which may be in conflict with the U.S. Constitution. If the Senate’s joint resolution passes the House, the Constitutional Convention will reconvene and have the option of making changes to the draft. The revised 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.
According to a statement by Christensen, the Senate resolution recognizes the efforts of the Fifth Constitutional Convention and urges the delegates to reconsider the draft, in response to the views of the federal executive branch.
Twenty of the convention’s 30 delegates voted to approve the current draft in May 2009. It was forwarded to Gov. John deJongh Jr., who refused to send it on to President Barack Obama, because he believed parts of it were unconstitutional.
The matter went to court, and the governor was ordered to send the constitution to the White House. He did so on Dec. 31.
Federal law states that, after the president receives the proposed constitution, he has 60 days to review, comment on it, if he chooses, and submit it to Congress. In March, Obama sent the document to Congress, along with an 18-page analysis done by the U.S. Department of Justice in collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The analysis listed a number of concerns and possible legal problems with the draft. Chief among them was that the proposed V.I. constitution states it will be the supreme law of the land — with no mention of the U.S. Constitution. The law granting the territory the right to draft its own constitution specifies that any constitution must recognize and be consistent with U.S. sovereignty and the supremacy or federal law.
Other controversial measures include special rights and privileges to ancestral native Virgin Islanders. As defined in the draft, ancestral native Virgin Islanders are individuals who can trace their ancestry to people living in the territory before 1932.
The draft constitution would exempt ancestral native Virgin Islanders from paying property taxes and would require that future governors and lieutenant governors be able to trace their bloodlines back to someone born in the Virgin Islands.
The document could be ratified without changing those provisions, but it may open the new constitution up to legal challenges in territorial and federal courts.
There have been two congressional committee hearings on the proposed constitution in recent months. In March, the House Committee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife heard testimony on the document. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a similar hearing May 19.
Constitutional Convention President Gerard Luz James II testified at both hearings, asking Congress to let the people of the Virgin Islands choose whether the constitution is good for the territory.
He said the joint resolution is a good sign. The Congress has the option to revise the document themselves, but chose not to take that route, he said.
“I think they are fully aware and understand where we are in the process of trying to make this constitution become a reality,” James said.
He believes the draft is a good place to start, and Virgin Islands voters must be allowed to vote it up or down. James said it is critical to get a constitution in place, regardless of its flaws. Once it is established, it can always be amended, he said.
“We need to put our house in order, that’s the best way I can put it,” James said. “And, to put our house in order, we need to have a document that really and truly represents the people’s wish.”
Christensen said it is better to send the draft constitution back to the convention than to have the Congress make changes.
“We are hopeful that the Fifth Convention will choose to act swiftly which would enable a vote by the people this November,” Christensen said in a written statement.
If the draft constitution comes up for a vote and a majority ratifies it, then the document will become the new supreme law of the territory. If it does not receive more than half of the votes cast, the territory will continue to be governed by the Revised Organic Act of 1954.
— Contact reporter Aldeth Lewin at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail alewin@dailynews.vi.
