33rd Virgin Islands Legislature

The 33rd Virgin Islands Legislature was a meeting of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. It convened in Charlotte Amalie on January 14, 2019 and ended in December 2020, during the first two years of Albert Bryan’s governorship.^[1]

• January 14, 2019: Members of the 33rd Legislature sworn in at Emancipation Garden.; Session convenes.
• January 28, 2019: Newly elected Governor Albert Bryan delivered his First State of the Territory Address.
• May 15, 2019: Senate President Kenneth Gittens ousted by Majority caucus. Senator Novelle Francis becomes new Senate President of the 33rd Legislature.

• July 20, 2019: Act 8183 (Bill No. 33-0027): An act amending title 17, chapter 7, section 61a of the Virgin Islands Code to allow the Department of Education greater flexibility in setting the school calendar upon the declaration of a state of emergency. Act 8187 (Bill No. 33-0101): An Act appropriating $39,467,909 that was awarded to the Virgin Islands Medical Assistance Program as a result of a multi-year account reconciliation and review of several of the Territory’s health care entities to various governmental entities.
• January 18, 2020: Act 8248 (Bill No. 33-0019): An act amending title 17, chapter 7, section 61a of the Virgin Islands Code regarding the school year and the amount of instructional hours per school year. Act 8254 (Bill No. 33-0107): An Act authorizing the Commissioner of Public Works to permit advertisements to be placed on VITRAN buses. Act 8270 (Bill No. 33-0207): An Act amending title 17, chapter Il, section 121 of the Virgin Islands Code by requiring persons teaching children in kindergarten through third grade to have specific early childhood education requirements outlined by the Board of Education, thereby ensuring that primary grade students are receiving a quality education; requiring the Board of Education to promulgate rules and regulations to support the criteria for the minimum requirements; and providing funding for early childhood educators to obtain the minimum requirements.
• May 19, 2020: Act 8303 (Bill No. 33-0224): An Act amending title 14, chapter 23, section 485(f) of the Virgin Islands Code by increasing the fines for selling or serving alcoholic beverages to minors.
• October 6, 2020: Act 8202: An Act honoring and commending Robert O’Connor, Jr. for his commitment to the people of the Virgin Islands through his service as a Senator, his membership on the Port Authority Board and his work as a community leader by naming the new Port Authority maintenance building in his honor. Act 8362: An Act making an appropriation of $30,000 to the University of the Virgin Islands as a grant to the League of Women Voters to conduct an educational campaign on the referendum to be held at the November 2020 General Election.
• December 14, 2020: Act 8392: An Act renewing and extending the state of emergency in the Virgin Islands based on the COVID-19 Pandemic for an additional 60 days from December 8, 2020 to February 6, 2021.
• December 21, 2020: Act 8395 (Bill No. 33-0220): An Act providing for the construction of ramps or walkways at least two beaches in each island district that would allow persons with disabilities access to the beaches. Act 8416: An Act ratifying the Governor of the Virgin Islands approval of Minor Coastal Zone Management Permit No. CZJ-07-20W issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources to Lovango Island Holdings I, LLP. Act 8424 (Bill No. 33-0226): An Act amending title 1, chapter 7 of the Virgin Islands Code to establish the official madras design of the Virgin Islands of the United States.
• December 31, 2020: Act 8404 (Bill No. 33-0432): An Act honoring and commending Orville Edward Kean, Ph.D. for his contributions to the University of the Virgin Islands and the Virgin Islands community by renaming the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands “The Orville Edward Kean Campus of the University of the Virgin Islands”. Act 8415 (Bill No. 33-0449): A bill amending title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 15 relating to the Virgin Islands Higher Education Scholarship Program to extend eligibility for scholarships to students in the Dual Credit Program.
• January 14, 2021: An Act ratifying the Governor’s approval of Minor Coastal Zone Permit No. CZT-46-19(W) by the St. Thomas Committee of the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Commission.
• January 21, 2021: Act 8430: A Bill recognizing and honoring the late Mrs. Dorothy Lockhart-Elskoe for her vast contributions to the preservation of the arts and culture of the Virgin Islands by renaming Raphune Hill the “Dorothy “Dotsy” Lockhart-Elskoe Drive”.

• Bill No. 33-0002: An Act requiring that the Division of Banking and Insurance explore different insurance companies to do business in the Virgin Islands and to also encourage those companies to conduct business in the Virgin Islands.
• Bill No. 33-0008: An Act amending title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11, section 133 relating to school monitors employed by the Department of Education to prohibit school monitors from carrying metal batons while on school premises.

• Res 1855: A resolution honoring and commending Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptiste, Jr. for his outstanding contributions to the music industry and to the Virgin Islands community.

• Act 8433: An Act amending Official Zoning Map No. SCZ-18 for the island of St. Croix for Plot No. 39A Prince Street, Frederiksted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands from R-4 (Residential-Medium Density) to B-3 (Business-Scattered)