However, the Danish monarch still reserved the right to pick several members of the councils, giving Copenhagen a continued say in the colony's legislative affairs.

The monarch-appointed vice-regent and the king also continued to reserve the right to pass or deny any colonial bills brought upon their desks.

The U.S. Congress's passage of the 1936 Organic Act brought the greatest amount of self-government the islands had ever known.

The Legislative Assembly now could override gubernatorial vetoes with a two-thirds majority, a parliamentary procedure endowed to the U.S. Congress and various state legislatures.

The federal Congress and President, however, continued to reserve the right to veto territorial legislation.

A revision in the territory's constitution in 1966 increased the number of legislators from its original amount of 11 to 15.