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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1591. Governor and Lieutenant Governor; election; eligibility; official residence; powers and duties; report
The executive power of the Virgin Islands shall be vested in an
executive officer whose official title shall be the "Governor of
the Virgin Islands". The Governor of the Virgin Islands, together
with the Lieutenant Governor, shall be elected by a majority of the
votes cast by the people who are qualified to vote for the members
of the legislature of the Virgin Islands. The Governor and
Lieutenant Governor shall be chosen jointly, by the casting by each
voter of a single vote applicable to both officers. If no
candidates receive a majority of the votes cast in any election, on
the fourteenth day thereafter a run-off election shall be held
between the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast. The
first election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be held
on November 3, 1970. Thereafter, beginning with the year 1974, the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected every four years
at the general election. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall
hold office for a term of four years and until their successors are
elected and qualified. No person who has been elected Governor for
two full successive terms shall be again eligible to hold that
office until one full term has intervened. The term of the elected
Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall commence on the first Monday
of January following the date of election.
No person shall be eligible for election to the office of
Governor or Lieutenant Governor unless he is an eligible voter and
has been for five consecutive years immediately preceding the
election a citizen of the United States and a bona fide resident of
the Virgin Islands and will be, at the time of taking office, at
least thirty years of age. The Governor shall maintain his official
residence in the Government House on Saint Thomas during his
incumbency, which house, together with land appurtenant thereto, is
hereby transferred to the government of the Virgin Islands. While
in Saint Croix the Governor may reside in Government House on Saint
Croix, which house, together with land appurtenant thereto is also
transferred to the government of the Virgin Islands.
The Governor shall have general supervision and control of all
the departments, bureaus, agencies, and other instrumentalities of
the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands. He
may grant pardons and reprieves and remit fines and forfeitures for
offenses against local laws. He may veto any legislation as
provided in this chapter. He shall appoint, and may remove, all
officers and employees of the executive branch of the government of
the Virgin Islands, except as otherwise provided in this or any
other Act of Congress, or under the laws of the Virgin Islands, and
shall commission all officers that he may be authorized to appoint.
He shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of
the Virgin Islands and the laws of the United States applicable in
the Virgin Islands. Whenever it becomes necessary, in case of
disaster, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion or imminent danger
thereof, or to prevent or suppress lawless violence, he may summon
the posse comitatus or call out the militia or request assistance
of the senior military or naval commander of the Armed Forces of
the United States in the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, which may
be given at the discretion of such commander if not disruptive of,
or inconsistent with, his Federal responsibilities. He may, in case
of rebellion or invasion or imminent danger thereof, when the
public safety requires it, proclaim the islands, insofar as they
are under the jurisdiction of the government of the Virgin Islands,
to be under martial law. The members of the legislature shall meet
forthwith on their own initiative and may, by a two-thirds vote,
revoke such proclamation.
The Governor shall prepare, publish, and submit to the Congress
and the Secretary of the Interior a comprehensive annual financial
report in conformance with the standards of the National Council on
Governmental Accounting within one hundred and twenty days after
the close of the fiscal year. The comprehensive annual financial
report shall include statistical data as set forth in the standards
of the National Council on Governmental Accounting relating to the
physical, economic, social, and political characteristics of the
government, and any other information required by the Congress. The
Governor shall also make such other reports at such other times as
may be required by the Congress or under applicable Federal law. He
shall have the power to issue executive orders and regulations not
in conflict with any applicable law. He may recommend bills to the
legislature and give expression to his views on any matter before
that body.
There is hereby established the office of Lieutenant Governor of
the Virgin Islands. The Lieutenant Governor shall have such
executive powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him
by the Governor or prescribed by this chapter or under the laws of
the Virgin Islands.
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