Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning

BLOCK I              

 Bill No. 36-0248                    An act amending title 29 Virgin Islands Code by enacting the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Act.

 Invited Testifiers:
Ludence Romney, Tax Assessor, Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Kyle Fleming, Director, Virgin Islands Energy Office
Leah Wiggs, Executive Director, C-PACE Alliance
Michael Sammartino, President, Alba Capital Corporation
Zachary Chandler, Senior Vice President, Peachtree Group
John Hebert, Owner & Operator, Calidad Construction
Llewellyn and Anecia Sewer, Owner-Operators, Love City Car Ferries
Angel Torres, Business Owner and Retired Deputy Fire Chief 

BLOCK II 

The Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning will receive testimony and conduct oversight on the status of federal disaster recovery funding and the Territory’s workforce capacity to support ongoing recovery and infrastructure projects from the following: 

Office of Disaster Recovery on a comprehensive status update on all disaster recovery, projects. 

Invited Testifier:
Adrienne L. Williams-Octalien, Director, Office of Disaster Recovery

Department of Labor: The Committee will receive testimony regarding the Territory’s workforce capacity to support disaster recovery and infrastructure projects, including:

• Current status of the Territory’s labor workforce
• The Department’s role in recruiting workers for disaster recovery and FEMA-funded projects
• Workforce development and training programs designed to prepare local workers for these projects
• Engagement with contractors to prioritize local hiring

 Invited Testifier:
Honorable Gary Molloy, PhD, Commissioner, VI Department of Labor

Contractors involved in disaster recovery and infrastructure projects will be asked to provide testimony regarding:

• Plans for recruiting labor during the duration of their projects
• The state or territory from which workers are being recruited, if applicable
• Housing arrangements for workers, including location and number of workers to be housed
• Anticipated challenges in securing local labor or adequate worker housing 

Invited Testifiers:
Lisa Anders, Senior Vice President, MCN Build Caribbean
James Benton, President, J. Benton Construction, LLC
Ryan Attard, Director of Marketing, Haugland Group
J. Platt, Project Manager, Persons Services Corporation
Keith Couch, Executive Vice President, Caribbean, Suffolk Construction
Kenneth Canty, President/CEO, AMC Civil Corporation