48 U.S.C. § 1593 : US Code - Section 1593: Initiative and recall

Search 48 U.S.C. § 1593 : US Code - Section 1593: Initiative and recall

(a) Grant of rights
The people of the Virgin Islands shall have the rights of
initiative and recall to be exercised as provided in subsection (b)
and subsection (c) of this section, respectively.
(b) Initiative
(1) An initiative may enact, amend, or repeal any law, except
that an initiative shall not be used to repeal a law declared by
the legislature at the time of passage to be an emergency law
necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or
peace.
(2) An initiative that proposes a reduction of taxes shall also
provide for an equivalent reduction of expenditures or an
equivalent increase in revenues from other sources.
(3) An initiative shall address one subject only and matters
reasonably related to that subject.
(4) The ballot question shall be in such form that a "yes" vote
is a vote in favor of the proposal and a "no" vote is a vote
against the proposal.
(5) A copy of the proposed initiative petition, including a
complete text of the proposed law and containing signatures equal
to at least 1 percent of the voters of each legislative district or
4 percent of all voters of the Virgin Islands must be submitted to
the Supervisor of Elections prior to circulation for ballot
qualification. The Supervisor of Elections must determine within 10
days after the submission whether the preliminary signatures are
sufficient. If so determined, the Supervisor of Elections shall
refer the preliminary petition to an initiative titling board
consisting of the Attorney General, the Supervisor of Elections,
and the legislative counsel of the legislature. The board shall, in
an open hearing, prepare the official ballot title, the submission
question, and a summary of the initiative proposal, and this
preparation shall be completed within 30 days after the referral.
(6) After the ballot title has been written, proponents of the
initiative proposal shall have a maximum of 180 days to circulate
the petition. Petitions containing signatures equal to at least 10
percent of the voters of each legislative district or 41 percent of
all voters of the Virgin Islands must be submitted to the
Supervisor of Elections. The Supervisor shall have 15 days to
determine that the minimum number of valid signatures are contained
in the petition and he shall forward the certified proposal to the
legislature which must accept or reject the measure within 30 days.
If approved, the initiative shall take effect in accordance with
its terms. If the legislature does not approve, the initiative
shall be submitted to the voters at the next general election,
unless the legislature approves a special election for this
purpose. The legislature may submit its own version of the
initiative to the voters. Should both measures be approved by the
voters, the measure receiving the higher number of votes shall
prevail. The voters shall have a clear alternative of rejecting
either version or the entire proposition.
(7) An initiative submitted to the voters shall take effect if
the initiative is approved by a majority of persons voting and if a
majority of the voters of the Virgin Islands vote on the
initiative. An initiative may not be vetoed by the Governor, and
when approved by the voters, may not be amended or repealed by the
legislature during the 3-year period after its approval unless the
legislature acts by a two-thirds majority.
(8) The legislature may provide the manner in which petitions
shall be circulated, filed, certified, and the ballot question
shall be submitted to the voters.
(c) Recall
(1) An elected public official of the Virgin Islands may be
removed from office by a recall election carried out under this
subsection. The grounds for recall are any of the following: lack
of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duty, or corruption.
(2) A recall election may be initiated by a two-thirds vote of
the members of the legislature or by a petition under this
subsection.
(3) Prior to circulation a recall petition which identifies by
name and office the official being recalled and which states the
grounds for recall shall be submitted to the Supervisor of
Elections. The sponsors of the recall petition shall be allowed a
period of 60 days after such submission for filing with the
Supervisor of Elections a list of signatures equal in number to at
least 50 percent of the whole number of votes cast for that office
in the last general election at which that office was filled. The
Supervisor of Elections shall have 15 days in which to determine
whether the minimum number of valid signatures are contained in the
recall petition.
(4) A special recall election shall be held with respect to an
elected public official not earlier than 30 days after a vote of
the legislature under paragraph (2) or a determination of the board
of elections under paragraph (3), as the case may be, and not later
than 60 days after such vote or determination.
(5) An official shall be removed from office upon approval of the
recall in an election in which at least two-thirds of the number of
persons voting for such official in the last preceding general
election at which such official was elected vote in favor of recall
and in which those so voting constitute a majority of all those
participating in such recall election.
(6) No recall election shall be held with respect to an elected
public official -
(A) during the first year of the first term of office of the
official; or
(B) less than 3 months before a general election for the
office.
(d) "Law" and "voter" defined
As used in this section, the term -
(1) "law" means a law of the Virgin Islands; and
(2) "voter" means a registered voter who is eligible to vote on
the issue or for the office involved.