The 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico will meet from January 2, 2021, to January 1, 2025. Members of the 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico were elected in the 2020 House of Representatives election, while members of the 27th Senate of Puerto Rico were elected the same day in the Senate election. The Popular Democratic Party (PPD in Spanish) does not have an outright majority in the Senate, but controls the chamber. While the PPD had a simple majority of representatives in the 31st House of Representatives from 2021 to 2022, this has ceased to be the case since 4 May 2022.
Major legislation
The following is a non-extensive list of legislation with far-reaching impact in Puerto Rican society approved by the 19th Legislative Assembly. For an extensive list of all legislation approved in this legislature see List of acts of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico.
Enacted
- Law 10 of 2022: Special Law for the Minimum Salary of Teachers in the Public Education System.[2] Increased the minimum salary for teachers to $2,750 monthly.
- Law 47 of 2021: Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act. [3] The law increased the minimum wage from 7.25 to $10.50 per hour (or higher) by 1 July 2024; allows Puerto Rico’s minimum wage to prevail over the federal minimum wage if Puerto Rico's is higher; created the Minimum Wage Review Commission within the Department of Labor and Human Resources which will review and increase the minimum wage yearly via decrees; and provided employees of local businesses not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 with protections.
- Law 7 of 2021: Dignified Retirement Act. [4] Declares a state of emergency for the government of Puerto Rico and its pension systems, proposes a model to manage creditors' classes under a Plan of Adjustment of Puerto Rico's public debts, setting a goal for zero pension cuts, as well as rejecting prima facie any Plan of Adjustment or Restructuring Support Agreement proposed by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico that requires the cutting of essential public services by the central government and public corporations or the municipalities.
Proposed
- Senate Bill 693: Law for the Protection of the Conceived in its Gestational Stage of Viability.[5] Would remove or restrict medical exemptions from the abortion section of the Puerto Rico penal code as recognized in Pueblo de Puerto Rico v. Pablo Duarte Mendoza (1980). The Senate approved it on 21 June 2022, by a vote of 16 for, 9 against, one abstained and one absent. It has been referred to the House of Representatives, and awaits consideration.
- House Bill 1037: To amend Section 404 (a) of the Puerto Rico Controlled Substances Act, Act No. 4 of 23 June 1971, as amended, for the purpose of decriminalizing the simple possession of fourteen (14) grams or less of marijuana.[6] Would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. Puerto Rico currently allows medical marijuana use and sales, but not recreational marijuana use. Failed to pass in the House of Representatives on 1 November 2022, by a vote of 19 for, 26 against, 2 abstained, 3 absent.
Leadership
Senate
| Office | Senator[7] | Party | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | José Luis Dalmau Santiago | PPD | District VII |
| Vice President | Marially González Huertas | PPD | District V |
| Majority Leader | Javier Antonio Aponte Dalmau | PPD | District VIII |
| Minority Leaders | Thomas Rivera Schatz | PNP | At-large |
| María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón | PIP | At-large | |
| Ana Irma Rivera Lassén | MVC | At-large | |
| Joanne Rodríguez Veve | PD | At-large |
House of Representatives
| Office | Representative | Party | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Tatito Hernández Montañez | PPD | District 11 |
| Speaker Pro Tem | Conny Varela | PPD | District 32 |
| Majority Leader | Angel Matos García | PPD | District 40 |
| Minority Leaders | Johnny Méndez | PNP | District 36 |
| Mariana Nogales Molinelli | MVC | At-large | |
| Denis Márquez Lebrón | PIP | At-large | |
| Lisie Burgos Muñiz | PD | At-large |
Party summary
- Resignations and new members are discussed in the "Changes in membership" section below.
Senate
|
| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates control of presidency and leadership of the chamber) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popular Democratic | Citizen Victory | Independence | Independent | Project Dignity | New Progressive | |||
| End of previous Legislature | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 30 | 0 |
| Begin (2 January 2021) | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 27 | 0 |
| 30 June 2022 | 9 | 26 | 1 | |||||
| 11 September 2022 | 10 | 27 | 0 | |||||
| Latest voting share | 44.4% | 7.4% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 37.0% | ||
House of Representatives
|
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| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates control of presidency and leadership of the chamber) |
Total | Vacant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popular Democratic | Citizen Victory | Independence | Independent | Project Dignity | New Progressive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End of previous Legislature | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 51 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Begin (2 January 2022) | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 51 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 January 2021[lower-alpha 1] | 20 | 50 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 March 2021[lower-alpha 1] | 21 | 51 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 May 2022[lower-alpha 2] | 25 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 September 2022 [lower-alpha 3] | 20 | 50 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 December [lower-alpha 3] | 21 | 51 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Latest voting share | 49.0% | 3.9% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 41.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Changes in membership
Senate
| District |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I - San Juan | Henry Neumann | Resigned, effective on 30 June 2022[8] A special election was held on 11 September 2022[9] |
Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez | 11 September 2022 |
House of Representatives
| District |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Luis Raúl Torres | Changed party, 4 May 2022[10] | Luis Raúl Torres | 4 May 2022 |
| 3 | Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez | Became senator, vacating House seat,[11] Vacancy filled in special election in December.[12] |
José «Cheíto» Hernández Concepción.[13] | 6 December 2022 |
| At-large | Néstor A. Alonso Vega | Resigned upon being charged on 11 January 2021.[14] A special election was held on 21 March 2021.[15] |
José «Che» Pérez Cordero.[16] | 21 March 2021 |
Notes
- 1 2 In At-Large seat: Néstor A. Alonso Vega (PNP) resigned on 11 January 2021 as he was charged with corruption. His successor, José Pérez Cordero was elected on 21 March 2021.
- ↑ In District 2: Luis Raúl Torres Cruz (PPD) broke from the party caucus and declared himself independent on 4 May 2022.
- 1 2 In San Juan District 3 seat: Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez (PNP) became Senator, leaving a vacancy that was filled in a special election in December.
References
- ↑ "Ley para Fijar la Duración de las Sesiones Ordinarias y los Plazos para la Radicación y la Consideración de Proyectos, Resoluciones Conjuntas y Resoluciones Concurrentes" (PDF) (in Spanish). 2 March 1997. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ↑ "Ley Especial de Salario Base para el Magisterio del Sistema de Educacion Publico" (PDF). Sistema Único de Trámite Legislativo (in Spanish). Oficina de Servicios Legislativos. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ↑ "Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act" (PDF). Sistema Único de Trámite Legislativo. Oficina de Servicios Legislativos. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ↑ "Dignified Retirement Act Act" (PDF). Sistema Único de Trámite Legislativo. Oficina de Servicios Legislativos. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ↑ "PS0693". Sistema Único de Trámite Legislativo (in Spanish). Oficina de Servicios Legislativos. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ↑ "PC1037". Sistema Único de Trámite Legislativo (in Spanish). Oficina de Servicios Legislativos. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ↑ "Senators of the 19th Legislative Assembly". Senado de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Puerto Rico Senate. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ↑ "El senador Henry Neumann renuncia a su puesto". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ↑ "CEE Event: Special Election for District I senator". senadordistrito1.ceepur.org. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ↑ Rico, Sofía (4 May 2022). "Representante Luis Raúl Torres se desafilia del PPD". Noticel. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ↑ "Juan Oscar Morales es el ganador de la elección especial por silla en el Senado". Metro Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ↑ "CEE Event". representantedistrito3.ceepur.org.
- ↑ "Certificación para el cargo de representante" (PDF). www.ceepur.org (in Spanish). Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ↑ "Néstor Alonso renuncia a su escaño en la Cámara de Representantes". El Nuevo Día. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ↑ "Special Election to cover the vacancy of the At-Large Representative". State Election Commission. State Election Commission.
- ↑ "Lista la CEE para la elección especial del PNP". El Nuevo Día. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
External links
- Puerto Rico State Elections Commission (in Spanish)
- Puerto Rico Senate (in Spanish)
- Puerto Rico House of Representatives (in Spanish)
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