Territory of the Virgin Islands Message to the Congress Transmitting the Territory's Proposed Constitution.

To the Congress of the United States:

I am today transmitting to the Congress the proposed constitution for local self-government for the Virgin Islands, as authorized by Public Law 94-584. Until now, an organic act of the Congress provided the basis for local government in this unincorporated territory of the United States.

A locally elected constitutional convention drafted the constitution over a period of several months and held a series of public hearings and meetings throughout the Virgin Islands. The constitutional convention approved the constitution in April 1978. On July 20, 1978, the Governor of the Virgin Islands officially presented me with the constitution.

By law, I must transmit the constitution to the Congress, along with comments, within 60 days of the document's receipt. The Congress then has 60 more days to amend, modify, or approve it. As approved or modified, the constitution will be submitted to a referendum in the Virgin Islands for acceptance or rejection.

Several Federal agencies have commented on the constitution for the Executive Branch that it meets the criteria established by Public Law 94-584: it is consistent with sovereignty of the United States, its constitution, and its laws applicable to the Virgin Islands; it provides for a republican form of government with executive, legislative, and judicial branches; it contains a bill of rights; it sets up a system of local courts; and it deals with those portions of the revised organic act related to local self-government.

However, the agencies commenting on the constitution noted several matters that the Congress may wish to alter. Those comments are attached.

I commend this accomplishment of the members of the constitutional convention and the other citizens of the Virgin Islands who helped to draft the constitution. It is a significant step toward greater local self-government. It is therefore wholly appropriate that the electorate of the Virgin Islands, and not the Federal Government, has the ultimate right to accept or reject it.

To facilitate congressional deliberations, I have asked that the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Interior offer their advice and technical assistance to the committees that review the document.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

September 20, 1978.

ATTACHMENT

1. Under the constitution, the aggregate public debt limitation for the Virgin Islands Government may not exceed two and one-half times its average annual revenue for the previous three fiscal years (exclusive of Federal grants). But because the constitution does not adequately define "revenue," the exact level of the new .debt limitation is unclear and could conceivably be a substantial increase over the current level, depending on which receipts from various Virgin Island governmental accounts are counted as revenue. Therefore, the definition of revenue in determining the public debt limitation under the constitution should be clarified. The present debt limitation, authorized by the organic act and subsequent legislation, is primarily based on a percentage of assessed property valuation in the Virgin Islands.

2. The constitution also creates the position of Territorial Comptroller General, who would be responsible for auditing all revenues, expenditures, and programs of the local government. The relationship of the proposed Comptroller General with the current Federal Comptroller for the Virgin Islands should be clarified. Because major Federal assistance is received by the Virgin Islands, the proposed Comptroller General should complement, but not substitute for, the Federal Comptroller.

3. Section 3 of the transitional schedule of the constitution provides that, after the effective date of the constitution, "laws, executive orders, and regulations that are inconsistent with the constitution shall be void to the extent of the inconsistency." The Department of Justice advises me that section 3 cannot apply to the sources of law based on Federal authority, such as Federal statutes, executive orders, and regulations—including executive orders and regulations issued by the territorial-appointed governors. The Department, however, recommends revising in the section to remove any uncertainty about the applicability of Federal law.