LEGISLATIVE BRANCH


5. LEGISLATIVE POWER.

 (a) The Legislative power and authority of the Virgin Islands shall be vested in a
 legislature, consisting of one house, to be designated the "Legislature of the Virgin
 Islands," herein referred to as the legislature.

 COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF ELECTIONS

 (b) The Legislature shall be composed of eleven members, to be known as
 Senators. The Virgin Islands shall be divided into three legislative districts, as follows:
 The District of Saint Thomas, comprising Saint Thomas, Hassel, Water, Savana, Inner
 Brass, Outer Brass, Hans Lollik, Great Saint James, Little Saint James, and Capella
 Islands, Thatch Cay and adjacent islets and cays; the District of Saint Croix,
 comprising of Saint Croix and Buck Island and adjacent islets and cays; and the
 District of Saint John, comprising Saint John and Flanagan Islands; Grass, Mingo,
 Lovango, and Congo cays and adjacent islets and cays. Three Senators shall be
 elected by the qualified electors of the District of Saint Thomas; three
 senators shall be elected by the qualified electors of the District of Saint
 Croix; and one senator shall be elected by the qualified electors of the
 District of St. John. The other four senators shall be senators at-large
 and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the Virgin Islands from
 the Virgin Islands as a whole. The order of names upon the ballot for
 each office shall be determined as the legislature may by law prescribe.

 6. TERMS OF OFFICE.

 (a) The term of office of each member of the legislature shall be two years. The
term of office of each member shall commence on the second Monday in January
following his election.

 (b) QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS

 No person shall be eligible to be a member of the legislature who is not a citizen
of the United States, who has not attained the age of twenty-five years, who is not a
qualified voter in the Virgin Islands, who has not been a bonafide resident of the Virgin
Islands for at least three years next preceding the date of his election, or who has been
convicted of a felony or of a crime involving moral turpitude and has not received a
pardon restoring his civil rights: Provided, that in case of District candidates
no person shall be eligible who has not resided in the respective district
for at least one year of the three years required to qualify above. Federal
employees and persons employed in the legislative, executive or judicial branches of
the government of the Virgin Islands shall not be eligible for membership in the
legislature.