The Senate of Puerto Rico () is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico.
The structure and responsibilities of the Senate are defined in Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which vests all legislative power in the Legislative Assembly. Every bill must be passed by both the Senate and the House and then signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico in order to become law.
The Senate has exclusive power to try and to decide impeachments. The constitution also establishes that all secretaries appointed by the governor to the different executive departments, as well as all judges and the Comptroller, require the advice and consent of the Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court can not assume office until after confirmation by the Senate.
The Senate normally has 27 members. Sixteen are elected from senatorial districts, with two senators per district, while an additional 11 are elected at-large.
The Senate has been meeting since 1917, after the enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act established the body formally. The current session is the 28th Senate of Puerto Rico, which has a majority from the Popular Democratic Party, giving the party control over the Senate without political opposition including constitutional amendments.
The Senate, along with its members and staff, are housed in the eastern half of the Capitol 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.
History
The Senate of Puerto Rico was established by the Jones–Shafroth Act of 1917. Signed on March 2, 1917, the act granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans and empowered them to have a popularly elected Senate. This amended and expanded the Foraker Act, signed in 1900, which established a civilian government in Puerto Rico while granting only limited self-governance.
From 1900 to 1917, Puerto Ricans made several attempts to convince the United States to amend the Foraker Act, so they could elect their own Senate. In February 1914, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Rivera, presented legislation in Congress insisting on the creation of a Puerto Rican Senate with more powers. Finally, in January 1916, Representative William Jones presented the Jones Act for Puerto Rico and other territories. It was signed by Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917.
On August 13, 1917, the first Senate of Puerto Rico was sworn in. Antonio R. Barceló was chosen as its first President, with Eduardo Georgetti as his Pro tempore. Also, José Muñoz Rivera and Manuel 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 elected at-large.
Functions The Senate, along with the House of Representatives, are in charge of the legislative power of the Government of Puerto Rico.
The Senate has exclusive power to try and to decide impeachment cases, and in meeting for such purposes, the Senators act in the name of the people of Puerto Rico. The Constitution also establishes that all Secretaries appointed by the Governor to the different executive departments, as well as all judges, require the advice and consent of the Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court can not assume office until after confirmation by the Senate.
Commissions
Agriculture Banking, Consumer Affairs, and Public Corporations Civil Legal Commerce and Cooperativism Criminal Justice Government Economic Development and Planning Education and Family Matters Federal Relations and Informatics Health Internal Affairs Labor, Veterans' Affairs, and Human Resources
Mountain Municipal Matters Natural and Environmental Resources Public Safety and Judiciary Matters Recreation and Sports Rules and Calendar Social Welfare Tourism and Culture Treasury Urbanism and Infrastructure Western Development Women's Affairs
Membership
Qualifications Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the Senate unless the candidate: is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English; is a citizen of the United States and Puerto Rico; has resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment; is over thirty years of age.
Elections
Elections to the Senate are held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, along with the elections for governor, resident commissioner, the House, the mayors, and the municipal assemblies. The last election was held on November 8, 2016, where the members of the 26th Senate of Puerto Rico were elected. The next election is scheduled for November 3, 2020 where the members of the 27th 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 years.
Only American citizens (including Puerto Ricans) that meet all the following requirements may vote for senators:
must legally reside in Puerto Rico, must be at least 18 years old by the date of the election, must have been qualified by the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections before the election or on the very same day of the election after he presents himself to his nearest place of voting and shows proper documentation, and must have not been declared mentally incapacitated by court.
Citizens cast their votes in colleges () which are simply usually the nearest public 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.
To elect the members of the Senate, Puerto Rico is divided into eight senatorial districts, each based on a similar number of inhabitants:
These districts are in turn divided into one or more precincts: electoral divisions which are in turn divided into the aforementioned colleges.Distritos senatoriales y representativos; senadores y representantes por acumulación on RamaJudicial.PR For each district, citizens may vote only for the district in which they have declared their residence, and only for two candidates per district by plurality-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 candidate at-large of their preference by single 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.
Term 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.
Salary and benefits The annual salary for full-time work of each senator is US$73,775 annually, except for the President of the Senate which receives $110,663, and the President pro tempore, the Majority and Minority Leaders, the Majority and Minority Whips, and the presidents of the Commission on Government and the Commission on Treasury which receive $84,841 each.
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 as per diem or car allowance. Costs associated to traveling outside of Puerto Rico is reimbursed. Cost-of-living adjustments have been frozen since 2005. 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. 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.
Majority and minority parties
The "Majority party" is the political 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 the 2004 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.
Officers The Senate is served by several officers with and without voting powers, which are elected from within and outside its ranks. Of these, only the president was established by the Constitution; all other officers were established by internal rules adopted by the Senate. Only the president and president 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 the Constitution. Typical non-voting officers include the secretary, the sergeant-at-arms, and other officers appointed by the different commissions as part of their own internal affairs.
President of the Senate