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Committee advances bill to raise sanitation fines, Health Department urges clear fee schedule and posting of inspection grades
Summary
The committee voted to forward bill 36‑0043 to Rules and Judiciary after testimony from the Department of Health calling for modernization of fines, mandatory posting of inspection grades and clarified suspension/revocation and appeals procedures; the Department cited a 2019 NEHA study showing USVI fines far below comparable jurisdictions.
The Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services voted to advance bill 36‑0043, an act to increase penalties for sanitation law violations, after extensive testimony from the Department of Health and other witnesses who urged a broader update to Title 19, Chapter 53 and a clear, objective fee schedule.
Justa Encarnacion, Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Health, told the committee that the territory's citation and fine schedule dates back to 1949 and is now "severely outdated." Encarnacion said a 2019 National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) study found USVI first‑citation fines were roughly 30 times lower than comparable jurisdictions. "The U.S. Virgin Islands' division of environmental health…
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