27th Senate of Puerto Rico

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27th Senate of Puerto Rico
November 5, 2024
Legislature
19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico
Lower house
31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Sessions
1stJanuary 11, 2021[3] – June 30, 2021
2ndAugust 16, 2021 – November 16, 2021
3rdJanuary 10, 2022 – June 30, 2022
4thAugust 15, 2022 – November 15, 2022
5thJanuary 9, 2023 – June 30, 2023
6thAugust 21, 2023 – November 14, 2023
7thJanuary 8, 2024 – June 30, 2024
8thAugust 19, 2024* – November 19, 2024*

The 27th Senate of Puerto Rico is the upper house of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. Its counterpart in the lower house is the 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.

The body will meet from January 2, 2021, to January 1, 2025, under the Federal Oversight and Management Board established by PROMESA.

The 27th Senate features a return to the standard composition of the body, with the number of senators decreasing to 27 from 30 in the 26th Senate of Puerto Rico, in accordance to Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico (1952). For the first time in the Constitutional period starting in 1952, there was no clear majority party for the body, with the plurality coming from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD in Spanish) at 12 seats of the 14 needed to have a majority when the body is at 27 members.

The body is counterparted by the 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico in the lower house. It has given advice and consent to the nominees put forth by Pedro Pierluisi.

Leadership

Current leadership

  
PIP  MVC  PD
Office Senator District Party
President
José Luis Dalmau Santiago
At-large PPD
President pro tempore
Marially González Huertas
District V – Ponce
PPD
Majority Leader Javier Antonio Aponte Dalmau
District VIII – Carolina
PPD
Majority Whip Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry
District VI – Guayama
PPD
Minority Leader – PNP Thomas Rivera Schatz At-large PNP
Minority Whip – PNP Carmelo Ríos Santiago
District II – Bayamón
PPD
Minority Leader – MVC Ana Irma Rivera Lassén At-large MVC
Minority Whip – MVC Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl At-large MVC
Minority Leader – PIP María de Lourdes Santiago At-large PIP
Minority Leader – PD Joanne Rodríguez Veve At-large PD
Minority Leader José "Chaco" Vargas Vidot At-large Independent

Vote for President of the Senate

Senatorial presidential election
José Luis Dalmau Santiago (PPD
)
Ballot → 11 January 2021
Required majority → 14 out of 27 checkY
Yes
14 / 27
No
  • • No parties or delegations voted against.
0 / 27
Abstentions
13 / 27
Absentees
  • • No absences.
0 / 350
Sources[4]

Members

  
PIP  MVC  PD
District Name Affiliation
District I San Juan
Juan O. Morales Rodríguez PNP
Nitza Morán Trinidad
PNP
District II Bayamón
Migdalia Padilla PNP
Carmelo Ríos Santiago PNP
District III Arecibo
Elizabeth Rosa Vélez PPD
Rubén Soto Rivera PPD
District IV Mayagüez–Aguadilla
Ada García Montes PPD
Migdalia González Arroyo PPD
District V Ponce
Marially González Huertas PPD
Ramón Ruiz Nieves PPD
District VI Guayama
Héctor Santiago Torres PPD
Albert Torres Berríos PPD
District VII Humacao
Rosamar Trujillo Plumey PPD
Wanda Soto Tolentino PNP
District VIII Carolina
Javier Aponte Dalmau PPD
Marissa Jiménez Santoni
PNP
At-large Thomas Rivera Schatz PNP
William Villafañe Ramos PNP
Gregorio Matías Rosario PNP
Keren Riquelme Cabrera PNP
Juan Zaragoza Gómez PPD
José Dalmau Santiago PPD
Ana Irma Rivera Lassén MVC
Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl MVC
María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón PIP
Joanne Rodríguez Veve PD
José Vargas Vidot Independent

Non-officers

  PPD
Post Name Political party
Secretary
Yamil Rivera Vélez[5] PPD
Sergeant-at-Arms
Javier Torres Rodríguez [a] PPD

Commissions

A notable departure from previous senates is the addition of more commission presidencies from outside the largest party in the chamber. While the 26th Senate had an independent senator as president of the Commission for the Development of Community Initiatives, José Vargas Vidot, this current body assigned one commission presidency to each delegation, as may be better seen in this table of standing commissions.

Standing and Special Commissions

  
PIP  MVC  PD  Ind.
Name President Vice President Secretary
Agriculture and Natural Resources José Luis Dalmau Santiago Ada García Montes
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Appointments José Luis Dalmau Santiago Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry Rubén Soto Rivera
Compliance and Restructuring Marially González Huertas Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Ada García Montes
Cooperativism Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry
Migdalia González Arroyo
Community Initiatives, Mental Health, and Addiction José Vargas Vidot Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Elizabeth Rosa Vélez
Development of the East Region Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Javier Aponte Dalmau Albert Torres Berríos
Development of the North Region Rubén Soto Rivera Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Albert Torres Berríos
Development of the South Central Region
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Marially González Huertas Albert Torres Berríos
Development of the West Region
Migdalia González Arroyo
Ada García Montes Rubén Soto Rivera
Economic Development, Essential Public Services, and Consumer Affairs Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry Ada García Montes
Juan Zaragoza Gómez
Education, Tourism, and Culture Ada García Montes Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Albert Torres Berríos
Ethics Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry Marially González Huertas
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Government
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Juan Zaragoza Gómez
Albert Torres Berríos
Health Rubén Soto Rivera Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Ada García Montes
Human Rights and Labor Affairs Ana Irma Rivera Lassén Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry Rubén Soto Rivera
Innovation, Telecommunication,Urbanism and Infrastructure Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Albert Torres Berríos
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Internal Affairs Marially González Huertas Javier Aponte Dalmau
Migdalia González Arroyo
Life and Family Affairs Joanne Rodríguez Veve Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Rosamar Trujillo Plumey
Municipal Affairs and Housing
Migdalia González Arroyo
Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Poverty Eradication Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Rosamar Trujillo Plumey
Migdalia González Arroyo
Public Safety and Veteran Affairs Thomas Rivera Schatz (PNP) Albert Torres Berríos
Juan Zaragoza Gómez
Rules and Calendar Javier Aponte Dalmau Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry Ada García Montes
Social Welfare and Elderly Affairs Rosamar Trujillo Plumey Elizabeth Rosa Vélez
Migdalia González Arroyo
Treasury, Federal Relations, and the Oversight Board
Juan Zaragoza Gómez
Ramón Ruiz Nieves
Ada García Montes
Veterans' Affairs José Luis Dalmau Zoé Laboy Alvarado Carlos J. Rodríguez Mateo
Women's Affairs
Migdalia González Arroyo
Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry
Youth, Recreation and Sports Albert Torres Berríos Ada García Montes Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry
Special Commission on Legislative Monitoring of the Special Education Program of the Department of Education Mª de Lourdes Santiago Negrón
Special Commission on Poverty Eradication Elizabeth Rosa Vélez Rosamar Trujillo Plumey
Migdalia González Arroyo
Sources[7][8]

Notes

  1. ^ Senate (2022) "Sesión Ordinaria, día 64"[6]

References

  1. ^ "Certification of a company into the lobbying registry" (PDF). Oficina del Secretario del Senado. Senado de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Javier Torres". Funciones del Sargento de Armas. Senado de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "Diario de sesiones: Procedimientos y debates de la decimonovena Asamblea Legislativa, Iª Sesión Ordinaria" (PDF). senado.pr.gov (in Spanish). Senado de Puerto Rico. 11 January 2021. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Certificación (CERT-2021-0004" (PDF) (in Spanish). Senate of Puerto Rico. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Session Diaries of the Third Ordinary Session of the 19th Legislative Assembly" (PDF) (in Spanish). Senado de Puerto Rico. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Comisiones Permanentes 2021–2024 (translated to "Permanent Composition of Committees"" (PDF) (in Spanish). Senado Puerto Rico. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Public Safety and Veteran Affairs". senado.pr.gov.