Senate of Puerto Rico Senado de Puerto Rico | |
|---|---|
| 28th Senate of Puerto Rico | |
.svg) | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | August 13, 1917 (1917-08-13) |
| Preceded by | Executive Council (1900–1917) |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 28 |
 | |
Political groups | PNP (19) PPD (5) PIP (2) Independent (2) |
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large for 16electoral districts seats andsingle non-transferable vote for 11at-large seats[a] | |
Last election | November 5, 2024 |
Next election | November 7, 2028 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Capitol of Puerto Rico,San Juan,Puerto Rico | |
| Website | |
| senado.pr.gov | |
TheSenate of Puerto Rico (Spanish:Senado de Puerto Rico) is theupper house of theLegislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, theterritorial legislature ofPuerto Rico. The Senate, together with theHouse of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control thelegislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico.
The structure and responsibilities of the Senate are defined inArticle III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which vests all legislative power in the Legislative Assembly.[1] Everybill must be passed by both the Senate and the House and then signed by theGovernor of Puerto Rico in order to become law.[2]
The Senate has exclusive powerto try and to decideimpeachments.[3] The constitution also establishes that allsecretaries appointed by the governor to the differentexecutive departments, as well as alljudges and theComptroller, require theadvice and consent of the Senate.[4][5][6]Justices of the Supreme Court can not assume office until after confirmation by the Senate.[6]
The Senate normally has 27 members. Sixteen are elected fromsenatorial districts, with two senators per district, while an additional 11 are electedat-large.[a]
The Senate has been meeting since 1917, after the enactment of theJones–Shafroth Act established the body formally.[8] The current session is the27th Senate of Puerto Rico, which has amajority from thePopular Democratic Party, giving the party control over the Senate without political opposition includingconstitutional amendments.[b]
The Senate, along with its members and staff, are housed in the eastern half of theCapitol of Puerto Rico. These buildings are usually the Rafael Martínez Nadal Senate Annex Building, the Luis Muñoz Marín Office Building, the Antonio R. Barceló Building, the Luis A. Ferré Building, the Ramón Mellado Parsons Office Building and the Baltasar Corrada del Rio Office Building.
The Senate of Puerto Rico was established in 1917, after the signing of theJones-Shafroth Act. Signed on March 2, 1917, the act made Puerto Ricans intoU.S. citizens and empowered them to have a popularly elected Senate.[11] This came to amend and improve theForaker Act, signed in 1900, which granted limited administrative and executive powers to Puerto Ricans.
From 1900 to 1917, Puerto Ricans made several attempts to convince the United States into amending the Foraker Act, so they could elect their own Senate. In February 1914,Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico,Luis Muñoz Rivera presented legislation inCongress insisting in the creation of a Puerto Rican Senate with more powers. Finally, in January 1916, RepresentativeWilliam Jones presented the Jones Act for Puerto Rico and other territories. It was signed byWoodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917.
On August 13, 1917, thefirst Senate of Puerto Rico was sworn in.Antonio R. Barceló was chosen as its first President, withEduardo Georgetti as his Pro tempore. Also,José Muñoz Rivera andManuel Palacios Salazar were selected as Secretary and Sergeant at Arms respectively. In this first instance, the Senate was composed of 19 members, 14 of which were chosen from each of the seven senatorial districts, and five electedat-large.[12]
The Senate, along with theHouse of Representatives, are in charge of thelegislative power of theGovernment of Puerto Rico.[1]
The Senate has exclusive powerto try and to decideimpeachment cases, and in meeting for such purposes, the Senators act in the name ofthe people of Puerto Rico. The Constitution also establishes that all Secretaries appointed by theGovernor to the differentexecutive departments, as well as alljudges, require the advice and consent of the Senate.Justices of the Supreme Court can not assume office until after confirmation by the Senate.
Article III of theConstitution of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the Senate unless the candidate:[13]
Elections to the Senate are held every four years on theTuesday after the first Monday of November, along with the elections forgovernor,resident commissioner, theHouse, themayors, and the municipal assemblies.The last election was held on November 8, 2016, where the members of the26th Senate of Puerto Rico were elected.The next election is scheduled for November 3, 2020 where the members of the27th Senate of Puerto Rico will be elected. Members of the Senate are elected for a four-year term.Tony Fas Alzamora is the most senior and longest-serving senator, having served for nine consecutive terms since 1981 for a total of 44 years.
OnlyAmerican citizens (including Puerto Ricans) that meetall the following requirements may vote for senators:
Citizens cast their votes in colleges (Spanish:colegios) which are simply usually the nearestpublic school to where the voter declared as residence. Votes are required by law to be cast in secret, unless the citizen has a physical impairment that does not allow him to. Those citizens unable to travel to colleges due to medical impairments may vote at their place of residence (homes, elder homes, etc.) or wherever they are convalescing (hospitals, clinics, etc.). In both of these extraordinary cases, officials from the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections will provide aid so that the citizens can cast their vote—either by using verbal or non-verbal communication—with members from the different political parties required to observe the process in order to ensure accuracy, fairness, transparency, order, and legitimacy.
Ballots are redacted in both Spanish and English, regardless of whether English is an official language or not.[c]
To elect the members of the Senate, Puerto Rico is divided into eightsenatorial districts, each based on a similar number of inhabitants:
These districts are in turn divided into one or moreprecincts: electoral divisions which are in turn divided into the aforementioned colleges.[14] For each district, citizens may vote only for the district in which they have declared their residence, and only for two candidates per district byplurality-at-large. The two candidates with the highest votes in the respective district serve as senators for that specific district. District senators are expected to give priority to matters related to the district they represent but are not required to do so by law.
In addition, citizens are allowed to vote for one candidateat-large of their preference bysingle non-transferable vote. The eleven at-large candidates with the most votes serve as senators at-large alongside the district senators with the same powers and rights. Senators at-large are expected to serve any individual or group but are not required to do so by law; they also serve as a mechanism for citizens who do not wish to channel their affairs through their district senator for whatever reason.
Senators serve terms of four years each. A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a "senator-elect"; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a "senator-designate". The Puerto Rico Constitution does not provide for term limits and, in fact, one current senator is completing his ninth four-year term as a senator and his tenth as a legislator.
The annualsalary for full-time work of each senator is US$73,775 annually, except for thePresident of the Senate which receives $110,663, and thePresident pro tempore, theMajority and Minority Leaders, theMajority and Minority Whips, and the presidents of theCommission on Government and theCommission on Treasury which receive $84,841 each.[15]
Senators are allowed to generate additional income from outside their legislative employment subject to restrictions, and only the senators which do not receive an annual salary are entitled to additional benefits such asper diem orcar allowance. Costs associated to traveling outside of Puerto Rico is reimbursed.[15] Cost-of-living adjustments have been frozen since 2005.[citation needed] All senators qualify for the same retirement and health benefits as of all other employees of the government of Puerto Rico.
In addition, all senators are provided with office space, secretarial services, advisors, support personnel, office supplies, and stationery. Hiring of personnel working directly for each senator is at the discretion of each senator.[15] Rather than providing these resources and services directly, senators are instead assigned a budget from which they retrieve funds to pay for these. Senators that preside commissions are assigned larger budgets than those who don't; creating a difference between the budgets assigned to senators from the party holding a majority in the Senate versus the ones in minority as majority senators tend to be the ones that preside commissions.
The "Majority party" is thepolitical party that has a majority of seats. The next-largest party is known as the minority party. The president pro tempore, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party.
Whenever the elected members of the minority constitute less than nine members, the Constitution provides for the certification of additional "add-on" minority Senators, who will serve in an at-large capacity. Such was the case after the2004 elections, when four defeated Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Senate candidates, one at-large, and three district candidates, were added on as at-large Senators, joining the five PPD Senators who had achieved election in their own right. This constitutional guarantee of a minimum legislative minority representation is unique to Puerto Rico among all legislatures under the American flag, incorporating an element of proportionality usually found only in proportional representation bodies.
The Senate is served by several officers with and without voting powers, which are elected from within and outside its ranks. Of these, only thepresident was established by the Constitution; all other officers were established by internal rules adopted by the Senate. Only thepresident andpresident pro tempore have voting powers as all are elected from within. Non-voting officers are elected from outside Senate ranks and simply assist in internal procedures and clerical tasks, and in the observance of internal rules, laws, and theConstitution. Typical non-voting officers include thesecretary, thesergeant-at-arms, and other officers appointed by the different commissions as part of their own internal affairs.
Thepresident is the highest-ranking officer and thepresiding officer of the Senate. The post was created byArticle III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which establishes that, "The Senate shall elect a President [...] from among [its] members." The president is substituted by thepresident pro tempore in his absence. Its counterpart in theHouse is thespeaker.
The current president isThomas Rivera Schatz, senatorat-large from theNew Progressive Party of Puerto Rico.
Thepresident pro tempore is the second highest-ranking officer of the Senate and substitutes thepresident of the House in his absence. Its counterpart in theHouse is thespeaker pro tempore.
The current president pro tempore is Marially González Huertas, senator forDistrict V Ponce from thePopular Democratic Party.
Each party elects floor leaders denominated "majority leader" or "minority leader", accordingly, as well as a "majority whip" or a "minority whip". Floor leaders act as the party chief spokespeople. The current leaders are Majority LeaderGregorio Matías Rosario, Majority WhipJuan Oscar Morales; Minority LeaderLuis Javier Hernández Ortiz, Minority WhipMarially González Huertas; Minority LeaderMaría de Lourdes Santiago; Minority WhipAdrian González Costa; Minority LeaderJoan Rodríguez Vevé; and Minority LeaderEliezer Molina Pérez (write-in candidate).
The Senate is served by two elected officials who are not members.
The Senate's chief legislative officer is thesecretary of the Senate, who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks.[16]
The other official is thesergeant-at-arms who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the Senate floor and other premises.
These officers are elected by the Senate, usually during its inaugural session, immediately after the election of the body's president. The current secretary isYamil Rivera Vélez[17] while the current sergeant-at-arms is Javier Torres.[18]
The current session is the28th Senate of Puerto Rico, theupper house of the20th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, which will meet from January 2, 2025, to January 1, 2029. All members were elected in thegeneral elections of 2020 with aplurality or relative majority coming from theNew Progressive Party. The other major party, thePopular Democratic Party resulted with the second largest number of seats. ThePuerto Rican Independence Party elected two member At-large senators. One seat toProyecto Dignidad, in addition to oneindependent candidate.
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TheOffice of Legislative Services was headed in early 2009 by Kevin Rivera, while Eliezer Velázquez currently serves as Superintendent of the Capitol, the first to serve during two four-year terms.
The Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly also receives support services from theCouncil of State Governments (CSG), CSG'sEastern Regional Conference, theNational Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and theNational Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).
(in Spanish)18°28′8″N66°6′22″W / 18.46889°N 66.10611°W /18.46889; -66.10611
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