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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2017 Contact: 340-693-3519
SENATE PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO CLAIMS OF SECRET MEETINGS
Senate President Myron D. Jackson has responded to criticism that the 32 Legislature’s first act in office was to break the law, according to a headline and repeated articles in the Virgin Islands Daily News.
“While I respect the goal of the Daily News to inform the public, it should not extend to the publication of misguided news,” Jackson said. “The fact is that the gatherings were called by Governor Kenneth Mapp, and each Senator was individually invited to meet in an informal manner with business leaders and selected government officials. No Senator was compelled to attend, and as evidence of its inFormality, several Senators did not attend, left early, or at the conclusion of the discussions. No decision was made or contemplated to be made at the end of the discussion. The three Senators who remained afterwards did not commit to support or endorse any matter discussed by the Governor and the business leaders in the presence of the Legislature,” Senator Jackson said.
“The paper’s loose use of the term ‘quorum,’ was simply designed to portray the Senators as having met, participated in a roll call, established that a roll call was present, and began an illegal deliberative process,” Jackson said. “The fact is that it was a simple meeting and effort by the Governor to make the business community aware of a proposal which he intends to resubmit to the Legislature for their consideration in a formal session of the Legislature. As such, nothing can change the fact that neither Legislature not the Governor violated any law pertaining to the public’s right to know the workings of their government.”