What is really at stake in the Legislature in the 2024 Elections?

Photo: The organization Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción held the panel titled “My opinion, my choice”, where the youth questioned candidates running for at-large legislative seats.

Editorial Note: This story was made possible thanks to a grant from María Fund, in collaboration with Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción and Escuela de Liderazgo. 9 Millones, as well as these two organizations, are part of the #PrendeTuVoto coalition.

The next Legislative Assembly may have in its hands some of the potential goalposts set for the development of the country. Among them, changes to the operation of the power grid, increasing anti-corruption measures, reversing budget cuts to the university system, streamlining medical licensing, and even changing how the health system is administered, judging by some of the proposals presented by the five parties debating for power.

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However, everything will depend on how the legislative seats are finally constituted after the elections. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 27 senators and 51 representatives, although the Puerto Rico Constitution allows it to be expanded to ensure minority party representation.  

As voters prepare to visit the polls on Tuesday, November 5 and have the ballot before them, it is critical to consider what is really at stake in the Legislature:

Why does the final composition of legislative bodies matter?

Legislative advisor Erick Vázquez González explained, in an interview for this story, that the Legislative Branch is the most representative of the three branches of government.

“People only choose one person to represent them in the governor’s seat and that person goes up, appoints secretaries who are going to assist him in their task of governing. And in the case of the Supreme Court, there are nine judges—there are currently eight—but the country does not elect any of them because there is no system to select those judges by popular vote. However, Puerto Ricans do choose their legislators. They choose the 78 [people] who will represent them in the Legislative Assembly,” the lawyer said.

Above all, its composition is important because “that is where the country's public policy is established”. “Although it is the Executive Branch that implements and executes it with the Cabinet Secretaries, it is the Legislature that defines the contours of such public policy”, added Vázquez González.

In addition to the measures it will examine, the next Legislature must confirm important appointments made by the governor, such as three appointments to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, the position of Women's Advocate, the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, and the president of the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections.

For the attorney and legislative advisor, it is important to know the parties' proposals. “At the end of the day, what they propose today, as part of their campaign, is what they will defend in the Legislative Assembly if they are elected,” said Vázquez González.

The following are some of the proposals included in the government programs of the parties, which will require action by the Legislature to address some of the problems faced by the archipelago.

Energy transformation

The energy crisis in Puerto Rico—with frequent blackouts, high costs, obsolete infrastructure and high dependence on fossil fuels—continues to occupy center stage in Puerto Ricans’ lives. LUMA Energy and Genera PR have faced strong criticism due to increases in energy costs, mismanagement of public resources and a lack of progress in the modernization of the power grid.

On the other hand, the 2019 Energy Public Policy Law requires reaching 100% renewable energy by 2050, but the transition has been slow, and there is also no certainty that this goal will be met. On this issue, the parties propose different legislative measures, although they use ambiguous language when mentioning them.

• New Progressive Party (PNP, in Spanish): “We will review all of Puerto Rico's energy public policy legislation to make sure it fits our reality.” This will include the appointment of an energy czar, as a manager in charge of overseeing the compliance of private operators and coordinating efforts to rebuild the power grid.
• Popular Democratic Party (PPD, in Spanish): Their government program establishes that, after the announcement of the cancellation of the contract with LUMA Energy, “we will present our public policy through the necessary legislation and the APP Law will be amended.” It refers specifically to amendments that will allow the transfer of the supervision of the operation of the power transmission and distribution system to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), “until the model that will operate permanently is replaced”.
• The Alliance between the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP, in Spanish) and Citizens’ Victory Movement (MVC, in Spanish): “Under a reformed public model, the new PREPA will be an autonomous, professional and depoliticized entity, with a Governing Board made up of experts from various sectors, selected for their competence and not for their political affiliations. This process will include the amendment of Act 83 to ensure that PREPA is a truly democratic entity at the service of the people's interests,” says the PIP. Similarly, the MVC states that it will establish “a public electric system outside of partisan control, managed by experts in the area and under citizen control.”‍
• Dignity Project (PD, in Spanish): Following the cancellation of the contract with LUMA Energy, the party’s government program states that they “will create, through legislation, a non-profit corporation with sufficient autonomy so that it will not be subject to political ups and downs or to any pressure from any politician.”

Government transparency

Corruption continues to be one of the greatest challenges in Puerto Rico. According to a study by the Observatory of Society, Governance and Public Policy of the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (PUCPR, in Spanish), the economic cost of government corruption exceeds $527 million per year. This phenomenon causes essential resources to not be allocated to improve public services, infrastructure and citizens’ quality of life.

• PNP: “We will review the Anti-Corruption Code and the laws of government audit agencies, so that better forms of auditing can be developed.”
• PPD: “We will create a new anti-corruption code to unify ethical and anti-corruption laws and principles for more effective enforcement.” In this case, the repeal and creation of a new anti-corruption code would require legislative action.  
• The Alliance between PIP and MVC:  The MVC anticipates the creation of bills to “give more power to the control agencies and generate new areas of control and penalization of corruption in all government agencies of Puerto Rico.” The party says that these measures will have as a goal “the timely and forceful prosecution of acts of corruption.” Meanwhile, the PIP proposes a series of government reforms, because they argue that “the government is inefficient, complex and does not respond to the interests of the population, being affected by corruption and impunity.” For the “transformation of the executive branch”, they propose to carry out a study to reorganize the Executive Branch, with the Legislature’s approval.
• PD: “We will establish through legislation that no contract shall have a term longer than the term for which the governor, mayor or appointed official was elected, with some exceptions for vehicle and equipment financing.” Such a proposal would require legislative action.

Health

Meanwhile, access to health services remains a critical concern. A study by the Puerto Rico Pharmaceutical Industry Association revealed that by 2030, the island will not have enough specialists to meet the demand for medical services. This deficiency will particularly affect those in need of specialist and subspecialist care, making access to health services even more difficult.

• PNP: “We will amend the Medical Licensing and Discipline Board Act to expedite the processes by which a newly graduated physician obtains his or her specialty certificate, so that they can begin the paperwork to obtain their credentials with insurers as soon as possible.” Amending this law would require the endorsement of the Legislature.  
• PPD: “We will reform the Licensing Boards to provide uniformity, agility and competence to the medical personnel licensing process on the island.” According to the proposal, it would be a “reformulation”; however, any change to the structure of said Board requires legislative action to amend the current law.
• The Alliance between PIP and MVC: “The PIP proposes the creation of a public and non-discriminatory National Health Insurance (SNS, in Spanish) that covers a wide range of health services for all residents of Puerto Rico.” This proposal involves a reengineering of the current health care system in Puerto Rico, which is why it would need the legislature’s approval. Meanwhile, the MVC had already moved in this  direction by filing Senate Joint Resolution 80, to order the Multisectoral Council of the Puerto Rico Health System to conduct a baseline and financial feasibility study for a universal health insurance system, a proposal they support for the next four-year term.
• PD: The party’s government plan proposes the elimination of the Health Insurance Administration (Ases, in Spanish), and states that they “will be transferring the personnel and budget, along with the functions currently performed by the Ases, to the Department of Health.” The elimination of Ases would require the legislature’s approval.

Public education: UPR

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) has suffered budget cuts that have increased tuition costs, downsized academic programs, and aggravated the immigration of local talent abroad, where students and professionals seek better opportunities. Although the parties propose specific measures to reform the UPR, the reforms depend on the institution's budget, which is determined by the House of Representatives. This budget could increase, remain the same or face new cuts, depending on legislative decisions.

• PNP: The party does not recognize the cuts to the country's premiere educational center as a problem, but rather speaks exclusively of the drastic decline in its enrollment. In its platform, the party does not highlight structural changes that require legislation, but rather public policy approaches so that the academic offerings complement the fastest growing careers.“We need a UPR that is self-sufficient and that responds to the new needs of the people,” reads the document.
• PPD: The party will promote “a University Reform with the participation of all sectors.” Regarding the budgetary issue, the party recognizes budget cuts as a problem, but does not commit to allocating more state funds. Instead, it states that other “opportunities will be explored to increase the income generated by extracurricular activities, the provision of specialized educational services and the commercialization of academic research.”
• The Alliance between PIP and MVC: The Alliance pledges to “reverse the budget cuts to public education.” Both parties state that they will comply with Law 2 of 1966, which establishes the formula of 9.6% of central government revenues to the UPR (currently only 4.9% is contributed). In addition, they mention that they will approve a University Reform Law for the UPR, as proposed by the university community and expressed in the bills promoted by the Multisectoral Commission for University Reform. Likewise, they commit to reduce the cost of university tuition, among other actions.
• PD: The party’s proposal for the UPR also does not address the issue of resource allocation, but rather communicates the vision that the university system must “realign its resources and curriculums to respond to the current and future needs of the labor market and society.”

Shelved legislation that can return

The Legislative Assembly, which held its last ordinary session in June, avoided discussing some proposed legislation of great importance for different sectors of the country. However, this does not imply that they cannot return to public discussion with the new Legislative Assembly in 2025.

Among the topics covered in shelved legislation are environmental issues, corruption, affordable housing and reproductive health.

Regarding environmental issues, the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan of the Committee of Experts and Advisors on Climate Change (CEACC, in Spanish), which included more than 800 strategies to combat climate change, was put on hold in the Legislature.

Senate President José Luis Dalmau Santiago said that it would be up to the next Legislative Assembly to address the matter, since he was not going to “accept pushes, outrages and pressures for a document that should have been delivered four or five years ago, because we need to have the space to evaluate it.”

On the other hand, several anti-corruption measures were put on hold, despite the insistence of organizations Somos Más and Sembrando Sentido, which presented these measures for the Legislature’s consideration. One of these measures would prohibit cash donations to political campaigns, for example.

Somos Más executive director Johnny Rullán and Sembrando Sentido executive director Issel Masses have seized the occasion to demand that candidates take action on anti-corruption projects. “What better way to show the electorate that their anti-corruption promises are not hollow than by adopting them in their government programs? The people have lost confidence in public institutions, and actions such as these are necessary for that confidence to begin to be regained,” said Rullán Schmidt in a press release.

Regarding the issue of housing, the House of Representatives never voted on Senate Bill 778, which sought to create a Plan to Address Homelessness, so that this would become a rare, brief, and non-recurring phenomenon. The measure was approved in the Senate, but was stalled in its counterpart body.

A similar fate befell House Bill 1242, a measure that sought to create the “Puerto Rico Rent Stabilization Act” to protect people from rent increases. Said bill was left pending for further action in the House of Representatives.

Senators also failed to approve a measure to regulate short-term housing.

Reproductive health was constantly in the public eye, including proposed legislation to protect pregnant people’s right to terminate a pregnancy, as well as bills to restrict this right. For example, the House Judiciary Committee did not recommend approval of P. 1403, to create the “Law for the Protection of the Reproductive Rights of Women and Pregnant People.” Instead, the Senate approved—with the votes of the PPD, PNP and PD—S. P. 693, to create the “Law for the Protection of the Conceived Child in its Gestational Stage of Viability”, in order to prohibit abortion services after 22 weeks of pregnancy. This measure, however, was opposed in the House of Representatives, where it was not recommended for approval.  

Journalists Laura Quintero and Luis Alfaro contributed to this story as editors for 9 Millones.