Bryan signed bill amending St. John land-exchange language

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed Bill No. 35-0159 on Jan. 15, approving legislation passed by the 35th Legislature during its Dec. 19 session that amended language tied to the St. John land exchange.

In a transmittal letter to Senate President Novelle E. Francis, Bryan said the amendment corrected the text of Act 8741 and ensured that a clean title could be obtained.

Section 10 of the bill amended language concerning the use of and public access to Whistling Cay and the waterway known as the Fungi Passage.

The bill also included appropriations for several government agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget, the Division of Personnel, the Department of Finance and the Department of Property and Procurement, as well as funding for equipment, supplies and staffing for the Schneider Regional Medical Center's Interventional Cardiology Unit.

Bryan said Section 5 of the bill, which required every government agency and department to provide all oral and written communications to the public in both English and Spanish, was overly broad and could be interpreted to cover both internal and external communications. He wrote that the government did not have the resources to meet that mandate.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-acts-on-bill-amending-language-of-st-john-land-exchange/