Two executive measures, however, remained pending: a freeze on the inventory tax and an extension of Act 60 benefits for individual resident investors through 2055.
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What's happening? At the close of the first legislative session, which ended June 30, the Legislature approved hundreds of measures, 101 of which are in the process of being sent to La Fortaleza for review by Gov. Jenniffer González. In addition to the budget, roughly 20 appointments and measures on energy, culture, technology, the environment and mental health were considered.
Five of those measures concern housing, among them changes to affordable housing incentives in historic downtowns (House Bill 359), the creation of temporary shelter at Isla Grande for residents of Vieques and Culebra (House Bill 36) and the creation of a law to promote "high economic impact residences" (priced above $600,000, Senate Bill 543).
Two executive measures remain: The legislative chambers did not reach agreement on a 5-year freeze on the inventory tax (House Bill 420) or the extension of the tax program for individual resident investors under Act 60 (House Bill 505), so the governor's bills were left for the next session, which begins Aug. 18.
Legislative process
How are laws made?
INTRODUCTION
COMMITTEE
SESSION
SECOND CHAMBER
ENROLLED
SIGNATURE
A bill may be introduced by the Executive, a legislator, or by petition.
It is assigned a number and referred to committee.
Types of measures: Bills, Resolutions, Joint Resolutions, Concurrent Resolutions.
It appears on First Reading.
It is assigned to the relevant committee.
Meetings and public hearings are held (at the committee's discretion).
Measures are considered and reports are prepared.
Statements, information and testimony for and against are received.
The committee produces a positive report (with or without amendments) or a negative one.
It is referred to the Rules and Calendar Committee.
A decision is made on when to bring it to the floor for discussion and a vote.
In session: Reading, Debate, Amendments, Motions and Vote.
The result is an approved measure that moves to the next chamber.
The final approved text is sent to the second legislative chamber.
The second chamber carries out its own committee work.
It is referred to the relevant committee and goes through a similar process.
It may approve with or without amendments.
The approved bill is enrolled (a document prepared before it is sent to the Governor).
If it has amendments, the originating chamber may concur or not concur.
If it does not concur, it goes to a Conference Committee.
The Secretaries and the Presidents of both chambers sign it.
The bill is sent to the Governor for signature.
While the Legislative Assembly is in session, the governor has 10 days to sign or expressly veto it. If the governor takes no action, it becomes law.
Out of session: if the governor does not sign within 30 days, a Pocket Veto applies.
The Legislature may override the veto with 2/3 of its members.
1 of 6
Source: Oficina de Servicios Legislativos
Why does it matter? The first legislative session typically sets the political and social direction of an administration, and it is when many of the reforms that will define governance are approved. No measures can be approved until the next legislative session, which begins Aug. 18, unless the governor calls a special session.
Among those approved in this session is the separation of the Police as an independent agency from the Department of Public Safety (DSP) (House Bill 406), after both were consolidated under the same umbrella in 2017.
Of the 13 measures advancing the first phase of tax reform, at least three passed both chambers: the tax exemption for hospitals (Senate Bill 93), the strengthening of benefits for bona fide farmers (Senate Bill 495) and the simplification and standardization of the electronic tax return filing process (Senate Bill 345).
📊 By the numbers:
Period analyzed: June 17 to 30
86 bills and 15 resolutions approved by the House and Senate are on their way to La Fortaleza
71 bills approved in the Senate
138 bills approved in the House
34 resolutions approved in the Senate
54 resolutions approved in the House
19 appointments reviewed by the Senate
3 appointments reviewed by the House
Starts Aug. 18: third Monday of August
Ends Nov. 18: the Tuesday before the third Thursday of November
✍🏼 On the way to La Fortaleza
About 101 bills and resolutions approved by the House and Senate are in the process of being sent to La Fortaleza, where they could become law in the coming days. We present only a selection of them, by topic.
🏡 Housing:
House Bill 359: Proposes amendments to Law 182 of 2024, which creates new incentives for the construction of affordable housing in historic downtowns on properties declared a public nuisance or in a state of abandonment. The changes would help the law finally take effect.
House Bill 36: Establishes the Temporary Housing Law for Residents of Vieques and Culebra, so that the Department of Housing can provide residents of the island municipalities with temporary shelter in Isla Grande (Fajardo) when they need to travel for medical or personal reasons and cannot return by ferry.
Senate Bill 19: Extends by 30 years the tax exemption on income earned from residential property rentals, excluding short-term supplemental lodging rentals from the definition of "eligible landlord."
Senate Bill 542: Establishes a new mechanism for reviewing the parameters for social-interest and middle-class housing under the Public-Private Partnership Law for the New Housing Operation (Law 47-1987).
Senate Bill 543: Creates a new special legal framework to expedite the investment, development, sale and financing of housing units deemed to have "high economic impact" (high-priced units, above $600,000). This would allow developers to exclude their projects from Law 130-1967, which promotes a series of consumer protections on housing sales and requires a permit from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO).
🏡 Our Housing coverage
🎭 Culture:
House Bill 17: Establishes a new structure for the Archivo General de Puerto Rico and a new public policy for the management, protection and preservation of public records. It also creates the Public Records Management Program, which would apply to the government and municipalities.
Senate Bill 455: Creates a new law for the Corporación de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, consolidating three other corporations: the Corporación de las Artes Musicales, the Corporación de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico and the Corporación de las Artes Escénico-Musicales de Puerto Rico.
🤖 Technology:
Senate Joint Resolution 16: Orders the creation of an artificial intelligence-based application to monitor public auction processes in Puerto Rico. Development of the application would be handled by the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS).
House Bill 179: Would prohibit the use of cellphones, tablets, laptops and other internet-connected electronic devices (watches, consoles, headphones) in public elementary and middle schools during the entire school day, including recesses and institutional activities. The measure responds to concerns about the negative effects of the improper use of these devices in educational settings.
House Bill 21: Establishes a law to create an electronic portal where sexual violence victims can check the status of information related to their sexual assault kit (SAK). It also establishes a tracking system for victims to follow the status of their cases.
Senate Bill 329: Establishes the new regulatory framework for the use, development, acquisition and ownership of developed technologies and application programming interfaces, and eliminates duplication of efforts in government services through the use of these technological instruments.
💡 Energy:
House Bill 422: Establishes that the Negociado de Energía will determine the percentage of energy production from renewable sources that must be met in Puerto Rico until reaching 100% in 2050.
Senate Bill 82: The use of hydrogen-based technologies is incorporated into the definition of alternative renewable energy, in line with what the federal Department of Energy (DOE) has established. This would allow hydrogen to be used as a renewable energy alternative.
🏞️ Environment/Climate change:
House Bill 277: Amends the law prohibiting the use of single-use plastics (Law 51-2022) to extend the implementation of the ban and penalties for businesses until Dec. 31, 2026. A working committee is created to evaluate and determine the regulatory framework. Context: Fines were set to begin July 1, but the Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO) said it did not have the tools to implement them, while merchants criticized the lack of clarity and of alternatives to single-use plastics for food packaging.
House Joint Resolution 145: Would transfer Finca Nolla, its land and facilities, to the municipality of Camuy. The nature reserve currently belongs to the Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA).
House Joint Resolution 146: Would transfer to the municipality of Camuy the land and facilities of the Área Escénica located in the barrio Puente of that town. They currently belong to the Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportación (ACT).
House Joint Resolution 147: Would transfer to the municipality of Camuy the land and facilities of the Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy, which are currently under the DRNA.
Senate Bill 83: Creates the Ley para el Manejo de Especies Introducidas for the purpose of regulating, controlling and managing species that may be introduced into Puerto Rico's jurisdiction and threaten native and endemic species. It establishes fines and penalties.
🌾 Our agriculture coverage
🧠 Mental health:
Senate Bill 90: Recognizing the mental health challenges facing young people, it creates the Ley para el Rescate de una Generación and establishes the Programa de Ayuda al Estudiante under the Departamento de Educación.
Senate Bill 91: Expands the definition of intimidation or cyberbullying to include cases in which a person impersonates another online, whether by creating a webpage or posting content without that person's consent, with the intent to damage their image or identity.
Senate Bill 428: Establishes that September will be known as Unwanted or Chronic Loneliness Awareness Month in Puerto Rico, and Sept. 25 as Unwanted or Chronic Loneliness Awareness Day.
🏗️ Infrastructure:
Senate Bill 327: Authorizes the Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportación (ACT) to carry out eminent domain proceedings on behalf of the Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas (DTOP) when necessary for the execution of road reconstruction, maintenance and development projects.
🔢 Senate: activity in detail from June 17 to 30
In the period analyzed, the last two weeks of the first legislative session, the Senate approved 19 appointments, 71 bills and 34 resolutions across seven legislative sessions (June 19, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 30). It also concurred with amendments and changes in conference committees on roughly 40 measures.
Highlights:
Budget approved: The Senate approved the $13,095 million budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, noting that it is "more responsible and aligned with Puerto Rico's fiscal reality," said Migdalia Padilla, chair of the Treasury, Budget and PROMESA Committee. She added that the budget "has considered strategies to strengthen the government's financial stability ahead of an eventual exit from the Fiscal Oversight Board."
The approved budget is $33 million higher than the previous one (2024-2025) and includes new allocations for overtime pay for police officers ($84.2 million) and the "Paygo" system ($223.9 million). It also includes $3 million for new firefighters and $4.5 million for new ambulances, among other items.
Senate calls for dissolution of the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF): The Senate approved Senate Resolution 236 to ask Congress and the president of the United States for the dissolution of the JSF "for having clearly exceeded the terms established in the PROMESA Act."
For Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, the JSF has become a "permanent government" that "exceeds the limits clearly established by the PROMESA Act." He added that the federal body has become "an obstacle" that has even "failed spectacularly in the restructuring of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) debt."
Senator Soto Aguilú removed from the Judiciary Committee: The Senate president removed Sen. Roxanna Soto Aguilú ("la abogada motorizada") from the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee after she had addressed only 3% of the measures referred to the committee. When she objected to remaining on the committee without chairing it, Rivera Schatz removed her from all Senate committees on which she served.
Sen. Ángel Toledo López took over as chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Agriculture
Dispute over restoration of Laguna de Guánica: As a bill for the restoration of Laguna de Guánica, drained in 1955, is under discussion, several farmers and organizations representing them expressed reservations about moving forward, citing the potential impact on agriculture. They made their views known before the Senate's Special Full Committee in San Germán.
Farmers' opposition: "The proposal to restore Laguna de Guánica could reverse the gains of the southwest irrigation system by causing saturation and salinization of agricultural soils," said Luis Pérez Alegría, a retired professor of Agricultural Engineering at UPR in Mayagüez. He added that the lagoon was "seasonal, not permanent" and that the restoration "could flood up to 2,000 acres of agricultural land, reducing the country's agricultural frontier and increasing flood risks."
NOAA allocated $7.4 million for the project: Two years ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) allocated the funds for the restoration of Laguna de Guánica, a project that would be in the hands of Protectores de Cuencas. In May, the governor confirmed that the project was part of her public policy.
🔢 House of Representatives: activity in detail from June 17 to 30
At the close of the first legislative session, the House approved three appointments, 138 bills and 54 resolutions across eight legislative sessions (June 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29 and 30). It also concurred with amendments and reviewed measures in conference committees.
Highlights:
Secretary of State confirmed: The House unanimously confirmed Rosachely Rivera Santana as secretary of state, the third person appointed to the position by the governor. She becomes the seventh woman to hold the office, which is first in the line of succession to replace the governor in the event of absence, resignation or death.
Following her confirmation, Rivera Santana announced her resignation as mayor of Gurabo, effective July 2.
Budget approved: The House approved the "first balanced budget" of $13,095 million for fiscal year 2025-2026, addressing shortfalls identified in the Department of Education and the Administración de Seguros de Salud (ASES), which have allocations of $3,044 million and $834.5 million, respectively.
There is also $983 million for payment of the Plan of Adjustment of Debt and $560.8 million for the Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR), which is 26.2% lower than the $842.7 million it had requested.
Infrastructure
Possible illegal construction of telecommunications tower in Dorado under investigation: Rep. Elinette González Aguayo requested that "serious fines" be issued against the company Elite Towers for having built a telecommunications tower in the barrio Mameyal, in Dorado, after receiving a permit containing incorrect information about its alleged compliance.
The permit had even been revoked by the Court of Appeals at the request of the Municipio de Dorado, but the company continued construction, according to testimony at a public hearing of the Comisión de Desarrollo Económico on June 24. "This process has been riddled with errors," the representative pointed out.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
