A Senate panel approved a bill Wednesday giving preference for government contracts to V.I. companies that employ sizeable percentages of local residents. The bill, passed by the Rules and Judiciary Committee, sets rigorous benchmarks: qualifying companies would need to have at least 50 percent of their management roles and 80 percent of rank-and-file positions filled by V.I. natives or residents.
Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, the bill’s primary sponsor, offered an amendment to the bill during the committee meeting, adding a series of clauses explaining the bill’s rationale. They were added to address concerns raised by legal counsel about possible legal challenges to the bill, by helping to make the case there was a compelling state interest in hiring locally, he said.
The set of "whereas" clauses cite increasing crime due to increasing unemployment, high levels of poverty, and the greater difficulty island residents face in traveling to find employment, among others.
"One point I would like to make is there is an exception to this rule if a company cannot find a local individual for the specific job," said Sen. Sammuel Sanes, speaking in support of the bill.
As he has done at prior hearings on this bill, Sen. Usie Richards argued the bill should have a minimum threshold of contracts $50,000 or greater, or enforcement would be too expensive and difficult to be effective.
No amendment to do so was offered.
Voting to sent the bill on to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation were: Richards, Sanes, Sens. Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Patrick Sprauve, Michael Thurland and Celestino White. Sen. Neville James was absent at the time of the vote.
The committee also approved a bill reprogramming $193,000 in unspent federal Community Development Block Grant funds and giving them to programs to address homelessness and transitional housing. The unspent funds were taken away from an array of small programs, from St. Croix Farmers in Action to the Elmo Plaskett Little League, dating from 1998 to 2008.
On St. Thomas, $101,000 was given to the Methodist Training and Outreach Center, to fix up a building at Krondprindsens Gade to be used as the central outreach center for homeless services.
On St. Croix, $93,000 was allocated to V.I. Partners In Recovery to fix up a building at 3181 Estate Richmond to be used as a transitional housing facility for individuals in recovery and their immediate families.
Rules and Judiciary held in committee a bill amending the V.I. Casino Control Act to allow casino gaming at horse racing tracks in the territory. The senators largely expressed support for the bill, which passed the Housing Sports and Veterans Affairs Committee Tuesday. It was held in committee pending the drafting and review of amendments.
The bill aims to promote horse racing in the territory by increasing the available income stream for tracks and for race purses.
Treasure Bay, V.I. is the parent company of Traxco, which operates the Randall "Doc" James racetrack on St. Croix and of Divi Carina Bay Casino—the only casino currently operating in the territory. Treasure Bay also owns casinos in the states and in several Caribbean countries.
Susan Varnes, president of Treasure Bay V.I., said her company wants the "racino" bill, but she hoped the awaited amendments would lower the tax on gaming revenues from the 22.5 percent specified in the bill to a sliding scale of between 16 and 20 percent.
She said the racetrack has lost $7 million since 2005 and a higher tax rate would make it impossible for the track to start making a profit. The V.I. Thoroughbred Breeders Association wants a higher tax rate.
The St. Croix Chamber of Commerce and developers hoping to build resorts on St. Croix oppose the bill, arguing it dilutes the incentives to build hotels on the island established by the V.I. Casino Control Act and jeopardizes those long-awaited projects.