Vice Chair

The jurisdiction of the Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning encompasses, and the Committee shall receive, consider, and make recommendations on:

(1) all bills and matters relating to mitigation, planning, response, and recovery actions in connection with natural disasters;

(2) all government contracts for coordinating recovery efforts for recent hurricanes projects, including all contracts between the Public Finance Authority and consultants that are in the business of providing FEMA consulting services to assist the Public Finance Authority in coordinating its recovery efforts with FEMA and other federal agencies, and other contracts for management of federal funds, construction of housing, house repair transportation, utilities, public building, and other projects coordinated by the office of Disaster Recovery, and all other such contracts of other department, agencies or instrumentalities of the Government.

(3) public works, water supply systems, sewage disposal systems, government-owned properties, roads and highways, and all other matters submitted to the Legislature under 31 V.I.C.§ 3; and

(4) receive, consider, and make recommendations on all bills relating to the Virgin Islands Energy Office and the Water and Power Authority as it relates to energy matters and electrical power systems; and

(5) receive, consider, and make recommendations on bills relating to land use, and development, building codes, planned area development permits, subdivisions, shorelines, and natural resources and historic preservation.

(b) The Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning has oversight and investigatory authority over all government agency operations, including the operations the Office of Disaster Recovery, Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management, the Public Finance Authority, the Department of Public Works, and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, involved in disaster recovery and rebuilding the Territory’s infrastructure and shall make specific findings and recommendations concerning their operations to the appropriate authority .