Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has rejected a bill that would have channeled fuel-tax revenue away from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority to subsidise hospitals' electricity costs, expressing concern that the move would damage the utility's financial standing and ultimately burden ratepayers.
The decision came Thursday as part of Bryan's action on 16 bills from the 36th Legislature's September 25 session. He signed 15 measures, among them appropriations for mental health services, abattoir repairs and road work across the territory.
Bill No. 36-0391 sought to alter how money in the Virgin Islands Water and Power Generating and Infrastructure Fund flows out, directing some fuel-tax collections toward hospital electricity credits. Lawmakers intended the change to ease the hospitals' financial pressures.
In his letter to Senate President Milton Potter, Bryan acknowledged the hospitals face genuine hardship but argued the solution would create a different problem. Removing revenue from WAPA without replacement funding, he said, risked destabilising the utility's finances, hampering its ability to borrow money and potentially raising electricity bills for households and businesses.
"Our hospitals need reliable electricity and the financial resources to provide the care our people depend on. But we cannot solve one financial challenge by creating another that could ultimately affect every household and business in the Virgin Islands," Bryan wrote.
The governor also noted that the proposed credits would cover only a fraction of what hospitals spend annually on energy at current fuel-tax levels, leaving their outstanding utility debts unresolved.
Bryan called on lawmakers to partner with his office, the hospitals and WAPA to design an alternative that would help the institutions without jeopardising essential utility operations.
Approved Measures
Bill No. 36-0393, signed by the governor, allocates $2.5 million for behavioral health services within the Department of Health. The funding redirects money already budgeted in fiscal year 2026 to expand mental health treatment and support.
Bryan also approved Bill No. 36-0394, granting $1.8 million to repair and upgrade the St. Thomas abattoir. The amount was reduced from an initial $2 million proposal during legislative debate. The Department of Agriculture had previously sought roughly $2 million through the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, but a federal suspension affecting VIHFA disrupted that effort. The facility's extended closure has created difficulties for livestock farmers who cannot access local slaughter services.
On St. John, Bill No. 36-0352 directs $500,000 from the Capital Improvements Fund toward milling, resurfacing and paving work on Rudolph A. Thomas Jr. Road and Contant Point Road, where surface deterioration has raised safety risks.
Bryan also signed legislation authorising pedestrian safety upgrades near the former Addelita Cancryn Junior High School on St. Thomas, though he objected to a clause requiring the Department of Public Works to submit implementation plans to a legislative committee first. He maintained that executing laws falls to the executive branch.
Bill No. 36-0392, which Bryan approved, establishes the Virgin Islands Contractor Bonds Cost Revolving Loan Fund to help local construction firms manage the expense of obtaining performance bonds for major projects. The governor noted, however, that further legislative action is needed before the loan program can operate fully. The bill did not specify a funding source or appropriate funds, and Bryan recommended lawmakers decide where money will come from, formally launch the program and name the administering agency.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.