Tacking an amendment hastily onto the tobacco settlement bill before the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen made good Tuesday on her promise to fight for keeping Memorial Day a school holiday. The amendment was approved and will be part of the tobacco funds measure that now goes to the Rules Committee for consideration.
An Education Department task force announced plans last week to make Memorial Day a makeup day for time lost during the school year, largely due to fall storms. Hansen vowed then to challenge the decision.
When she proposed the amendment to the bill addressing redistribution of the territory's share of tobacco settlement funds, committee chair Lorraine Berry said the resolution wasn't germane. Hansen demanded that it be heard, saying that failure to observe Memorial Day would be an insult to veterans.
The committee approved the amendment by a vote of 3-2, with Sens. Hansen, Berry and Roosevent David in favor and Sens. Violet Anne Golden and George Goodwin opposed. It states that "all legal holidays outlined in the V.I. Code that were not repealed by Act. No. 0333… shall remain legal holidays in the Virgin Islands, including Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and all government offices including the Department of Education shall be closed on those days."
The Omnibus Act of 1999, enacted late last year, eliminated four government holidays as a cost-saving measure.