shall be a law. If any bill presented to the Governor contains several items of appropriations of money, he may object to one or more of such items, or any part or parts, portion or portions thereof, while approving the other items, parts, or portions of the bill. In such a case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement of the items, or parts or portions thereof, to which he objects, and the items, or parts or portions thereof, so objected to shall not take effect.

[Use of prior appropriations upon failure to pass appropriation bills]

(e) If at the termination of any fiscal year the legislature shall have failed to pass appropriation bills providing for payment of the obligations and necessary current expenses of the government of the Virgin Islands for the ensuing fiscal year, then the several sums appropriated in the last appropriation bills for the objects and purposes therein specified, so far as the same may be applicable, shall be deemed to be reappropriated item by item.

[Journal of proceedings; contents]

(f) The legislature shall keep a journal of its proceedings and publish the same. Every bill passed by the legislature and the yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the journal.

[Transmittal of laws to Secretary of Interior and Congress]

(g) Copies of all laws enacted by the legislature shall be transmitted within fifteen days of their enactment by the Governor to the Secretary of the Interior and by him annually to the Congress of the United States.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 9, 68 Stat. 501; amended Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, §§ 2, 3, 82 Stat. 839.

§ 10. [General elections; time; transfer of Council functions, property, etc.] The next general election in the Virgin Islands shall be held on November 2, 1954. At such time there shall be chosen the entire membership of the legislature as herein provided. Thereafter the genral elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, beginning with the year 1956, and every two years thereafter. The Municipal Council of Saint Thomas and Saint John, and the Municipal Council of Saint Croix, existing on the date of approval of this Act, shall continue to function until January 10, 1955, at which time all of the functions, property, personnel, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations and funds of the governments of the municipality of Saint Thomas and Saint John and the municipality of Saint Croix shall be transferred to the government of the Virgin Islands.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 10, 68 Stat. 502.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

§ 11. [Governor and Lieutenant Governor; election; powers and duties generally]

The executive power of the Virgin Islands shall be vested in an executive officer whose official title shall be the "Governor of the Virgin Islands". The Governor of the Virgin Islands, together with the Lieutenant Governor, shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast by the people who are qualified to vote for the members of the legislature of the Virgin Islands. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly, by the casting by each voter of a single vote applicable to both officers. If no candidates receive a majority of the votes cast in any election, on the fourteenth day thereafter a runoff election shall be held between the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor receiving the highest and second highest numbers of votes cast. The first election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be held on November 3, 1970. Thereafter, beginning with the year 1974, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected every four years at the general election. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall hold office for a term of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. No person who has been elected Governor for two full successive terms shall be again eligible to hold that office until one full term has intervened. The term of the elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall commence on the first Monday of January following the date of election.

No person shall be eligible for election to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor unless he is an eligible voter and has been for five consecutive years immediately preceding the election a citizen of the United States and a bona fide resident of the Virgin Islands and will be, at the time of taking office, at least thirty years of age. The Governor shall maintain his official residence in the Government House on Saint Thomas during his incumbency, which house, together with land appurtenant thereto, is hereby transferred to the government of the Virgin Islands. While in Saint Croix the Governor may reside in Government House on Saint Croix free of rent.

The Governor shall have general supervision and control of all the departments, bureaus, agencies, and other instrumentalities of the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands. He may grant pardons and reprieves and remit fines and forfeitures for offenses against local laws. He may veto any legislation as provided in this Act. He shall appoint, and may remove, all officers and employees of the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands, except as otherwise provided in this or any other Act of Congress, or under the laws of the Virgin Islands, and shall commission all officers that he may be authorized to appoint. He shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of the Virgin Islands and the laws of the United States applicable in the Virgin Islands. Whenever it becomes necessary, in case of disaster, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion or imminent danger thereof, or to prevent or suppress lawless violence, he may summon the posse comitatus or call out the militia or request assistance of the senior military or naval commander of the Armed Forces of the United States in the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, which may be given at the discretion of such commander if not disruptive of, or inconsistent with, his Federal responsibilities. He may, in case of rebellion or invasion or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it, proclaim the islands, insofar as they are under the jurisdiction of the government of the Virgin Islands, to be under martial law. The members of the legislature shall meet forthwith on their own initiative and may, by a two-thirds vote, revoke such proclamation.

The Governor shall make to the Secretary of the Interior under section 30 of this Act an annual report of the transactions of the government of the Virgin Islands for transmission to the Congress and such other reports at such other times as may be required by the Congress or under applicable Federal law. He shall have the power to issue executive orders and regulations not in conflict with any applicable law. He may recommend bills to the legislature and give expression to his views on any matter before that body.

There is hereby established the office of Lieutenant Governor of the Virgin Islands. The Lieutenant Governor shall have such executive powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Governor or prescribed by this Act or under the laws of the Virgin Islands.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 11, 68 Stat. 503; amended Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, § 4, 82 Stat. 837. 812. [Removal of Governor by referendum]

Any Governor of the Virgin Islands may be removed from office by a referendum election in which at least two-thirds of the number of persons voting for Governor in the last preceding general election at which a Governor was elected vote in favor of recall and in which those so voting constitute a majority of all those participating in the referendum election. That referendum election shall be initiated by the legislature of the Virgin Islands following (a) a two-thirds vote of the members of the legislature in favor of a referendum, or (b) a petition for such a referendum to the legislature by registered voters equal in number to at least 50 per centum of the whole number of votes cast for Governor at the last general election at which a Governor was elected preceding the filing of the petition.-July 22, 1964, ch. 558, § 12, 68 Stat. 503; amended Aug. 23, 1968. Pub. L. 90-496, § 5, 82 Stat. 838.

§ 13. Repealed, Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, § 6, 82 Stat. 839, eff. Aug. 23, 1968.

§ 14. [Disability or absence of Governor or Lieutenant Governor-Governor's temporary disability or absence]

(a) In case of the temporary disability or temporary absence of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor shall have the powers of the Governor.

[Permanent vacancy or disability; Governor, Governor-elect]

(b) In the case of a permanent vacancy in the office of Governor, arising by reason of the death, resignation, removal by recall or permanent disability of the Governor, or the death, resignation, or permanent disability of a Governor-elect, or for any other reason, the Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant Governor-elect shall become the Governor, to hold office for the unexpired term and until he or his successor shall have been duly elected and qualified at the next regular election for Governor.

[Temporary disability or absence of Lieutenant Governor]

(c) In case of the temporary disability or temporary absence of the Lieutenant Governor, or during any period when the Lieutenant Governor is acting as Governor, the president of the legislature shall act as Lieutenant Governor.

[Permanent vacancy in office of Lieutenant Governor]

(d) In case of a permanent vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor, arising by reason of the death, resignation, or permanent disability of the Lieutenant Governor, or because the Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant Governor-elect has succeeded to the office of Governor, the Governor shall appoint a new Lieutenant Governor, with the advice and consent of the legislature, to hold office for the unexpired term and until he or his successor shall have been duly elected and qualified at the next regular election for Lieutenant Governor.

[Temporary disability or absence of both Governor and Lieutenant Governor]

(e) In case of the temporary disability or temporary absence of both the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, the powers of the Governor shall be exercised, as Acting Governor, by such person as the laws of the Virgin Islands may prescribe. In case of a permanent vacancy in the offices of both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the office of Governor shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner prescribed by the laws of the Virgin Islands.

[Compensation of person acting as Governor or Lieutenant Governor]

(f) No additional compensation shall be paid to any person acting as Governor or Lieutenant Governor who does not also assume the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor under the provisions of this Act.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 14, 68 Stat. 504; amended Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, § 7(a), 82 Stat. 839.

§ 15. Repealed. Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, § 7(b), 82 Stat. 839.

§ 16. [Reorganization of government-Consolidation of departments, bureaus, etc.; limitation on creation of new departments]

(a) The Governor shall, within one year after the date of approval of this Act, reorganize and consolidate the existing executive departments, bureaus, independent boards, agencies, authorities, commissions, and other instrumentalities of the government of the Virgin Islands or of the municipal governments into not more than nine executive departments except for independent_bodies whose existence may be required by Federal law for participation in Federal programs. The head of each executive department other than the department of law shall be designated at the commissioner thereof, and the commissioner of finance shall be bonded. The head of the department of law shall be known as the attorney general of the Virgin Islands. Members of school boards, which entities of government have been duly organized and established by the gov ernment of the Virgin Islands, shall be popularly elected.

[Changes after examination from time to time]

(b) The Governor shall, from time to time, after complying with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, examine the organization of the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands, and shall make such

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changes therein, subject to the approval of the legislature, not inconsistent with this Act, as he determines are necessary to promote effective management and to execute faithfully the purposes of this Act and the laws of the Virgin Islands.

[Appointment of department heads; tenure; removal; powers and duties]

(c) The heads of the executive departments created by this Act shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the legislature. Each shall hold office during the continuance in office of the Governor by whom he is appointed and until his successor is appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the Governor. Each shall have such powers and duties as may be prescribed by the legislature. The chairman and members of any board, authority, or commission established by the laws of the Virgin Islands shall, if the laws of the Virgin Islands hereafter provide, also be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the legislature, if such board, authority, or commission has quasi-judicial functions: Provided, That no law of the Virgin Islands dealing with the chairmanship, membership, or chairmanship and membership of any such board, authority, or commission, and requiring an appointment or appointments to be made with the advice and consent of the legislature, shall relate to more than one such board, authority, or commission, nor shall it relate to any other legislative matter.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 16, 68 Stat. 504; amended Aug. 30, 1957, Pub. L. 85-224, 71 Stat. 510; Sept. 16, 1959, Pub. L. 86-289, § 3, 73 Stat. 569; Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496, § 8(a), 82 Stat. 839.

§ 17. [Government Comptroller-Appointment, compensation, tenure, removal or transfer]

(a) The Secretary of the Interior shall appoint in the Department of the Interior a government comptroller for the Virgin Islands who shall be under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Interior and shall not be a part of any executive department in the government of the Virgin Islands, and whose salary and expenses of office shall be paid by the United States from funds derived by transfer from the internal revenue collections appropriated for the Virgin Islands. Sixty days prior to the effective date of transfer or removal of the government comptroller, the Secretary shall communicate to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives his intention to so transfer or remove the government comptroller and his reasons therefor.

[Audit and review of accounts, claims, funds and expenditures]

(b) The government comptroller shall audit all accounts and review and recommend adjudication of claims pertaining to the revenue and receipts of the government of the Virgin Islands and of funds derived from bond issues, and he shall audit, in accordance with law and administrative regulations, all expenditures of funds and property pertaining to the government of the Virgin Islands, including those pertaining to trust funds held by the government of the Virgin Islands.

[Duty to report uncollected accounts and irregular expenditures]

(c) It shall be the duty of the government comptroller to bring to the attention of the Secretary of the Interior and the Governor of the Virgin Islands all failures to collect amounts due the government, and expenditures of funds or uses of property which are irregular or not pursuant to law. The audit activities of the government comptroller shall be directed so as to (1) improve the efficiency and economy of programs of the government of the Virgin Islands, and (2) discharge the responsibility incumbent upon the Congress to insure that the substantial Federal revenues which are covered into the treasury of the government of the Virgin Islands are properly accounted for and audited.

[Certification of net amount of revenues]

(d) It shall be the duty of the government comptroller to certify to the Secretary of the Interior the net amount of government revenues which form the basis for Federal grants for the civil government of the Virgin Islands.

[Finality of decisions: appeal to Secretary of the Interior]

(e) The decisions of the government comptroller shall be final except that appeal therefrom may, with the concurrence of the Governor, be taken by the party aggrieved or the head of the department concerned, within one year from the date of the decision, to the Secretary of the Interior, which appeal shall be in writing and shall specifically set forth the particular action of the government comptroller to which exception is taken, with the reasons and the authorities relied upon for reversing such decision.

[Other remedies for aggrieved party]

(f) If the Governor does not concur in the taking of an appeal to the Secretary, the party aggrieved may seek relief by suit in the District Court of the Virgin Islands if the claim is otherwise within its jurisdiction. No later than thirty days following the date of the decision of the Secretary of the Interior, the party aggrieved or the Governor, on behalf of the head of the department concerned, may seek relief by suit in the District Court of the Virgin Islands if the claim is otherwise within its jurisdiction.

[Direct communications with claimant or deparmental personnel: witnesses; oaths]

(g) The government comptroller is authorized to communicate directly with any person or with any department officer or person having official relation with his office. He may summon witnesses and administer oaths.

[Annual fiscal report]

(h) As soon after the close of each fiscal year as the accounts of said fiscal year may be examined and adjusted, the government comptroller shall submit to the Governor of the Virgin Islands and the Secretary of the Interior an annual report of the fiscal condition of the government, showing the receipts and disbursements of the various departments and agencies of the government. The Secretary of the Interior shall submit such report along with his comments and recommendations to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

[Other reports]

(i) The government comptroller shall make such other reports as may be required by the Governor of the Virgin Islands, the Comptroller General of the United States, or the Secretary of the Interior.

[Review of office and activities: reports]

(j) The office and activities of the government comptroller of the Virgin Islands shall be subject to review by the Comptroller General of the United States, and reports thereon shall be made by him to the Governor, the Secretary of the Interior, President of the Senator, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

[Comptroller's right to information]

(k) All departments, agencies, and establishments shall furnish to the government comptroller such information regarding the powers, duties, activities, oranizations, financial transactions, and methods of business of their respective offices as he may from time to time require of them; and the government comptroller, or any of his assistants or employees, when duly authorized by him, shall, for the purpose of securing such information, have access to and the right to examine any books, documents, papers, or records of any such department, agency, or establishment.-July 22, 1954, ch. 558, § 17, 68 Stat. 505; amended Aug. 28, 1958, Pub. L. 85-851, §§ 4, 5, 72 Stat. 1094, 1095; March 20, 1962, Pub. L. 87-421, 76 Stat. 43; Aug. 23, 1968, Pub. L. 90-496 § 9, 82 Stat. 840, eff. Aug. 23, 1968.

SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS

§ 18. [Establishment and maintenance of system of accounts; scope]

The Governor shall establish and maintain systems of accounting and internal control designed to provide