House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
| House of Representatives of Puerto Rico | |
|---|---|
| 29th House of Representatives of Puerto Rico | |
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| Type | |
| Type | Lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker | Jaime Perelló Borrás |
| Speaker pro tem | Roberto Rivera |
| Majority Leader | Charlie Hernández |
| Majority Whip | Eduardo Ferrer |
| Minority Leader | Jenniffer González |
| Minority Whip | Johnny Méndez |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 |
| Political groups | PDP PNP |
| Elections | |
| Last election | 2012 general election |
| Meeting place | |
| Capitol of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| Website | |
| www.camaraderepresentantes.org | |
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| This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Puerto Rico |
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House is usually composed of 51 Representatives, representing forty constituent representative districts across the commonwealth, with one representative elected per district; an additional eleven Representatives are elected at-large. Whenever the minority party elects less than 9 representatives, the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides for the enlargement of the body through the recognition of "add-on" representatives, who become representatives "at-large".
The House has exclusive power to initiate impeachment proceedings and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the total number of members of which it is composed, to bring an indictment. The Constitution also establishes that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House. The appointment of the Secretary of State shall in addition require the advice and consent of the House.
The House is counterparted by the Senate of Puerto Rico as its upper house.
The House of Representatives, along with its members and staff, are housed in the western half of the Capitol Building, the Ernesto Ramos Antonini House Annex Building, the Antonio R. Barceló Building, and the Luis A. Ferré Building.
History
Created in 1900 as the House of Delegates under the Foraker Act, the lower body of the Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly was the only elected body until the Senate was created in 1917 under the Jones-Shafroth Act, creating a bicameral legislature.
The House of Delegates was controlled by the Republican Party from its creation in 1900 through 1904. In January 1905, the House switched to control by the Union Party, which would remain in power until 1924. A coalition of the Republican and Socialist Parties controlled the House until 1944, save for a brief period from 1941 to 1943 of the Popular Democratic Party.
After the Popular Democratic Party's landslide victory in 1944, that party controlled the House until 1969, when the New Progressive Party won the House and the governorship, but not the Senate, creating Puerto Rico's first "split" government. Angel Viera Martinez, a former prosecutor and freshman representative from San Juan, was elected to the first of three stints as Speaker.
In 1973, the Popular Democratic Party reacquired control of the House but was ousted as the majority party in the 1976 elections, won by the New Progressive Party. Viera Martinez was elected in 1977 to his second stint as Speaker.
As a result of the 1980 elections, the New Progressive Party had won 26 seats and the Popular Democratic Party 25, but the latter challenged the results of the 35th Representative District, creating a tie with each party holding 25 seats, pending the final results of that district.[1] Since the new House in 1981 was tied, it was unable to elect a Speaker, as required, by an absolute majority. To complicate matters, Ramón Muñíz (PPD-32nd District) died on the House floor in January 1981 and Representative-elect Fernando Tonos Florenzán's election was invalidated due to him not having the Constitutionally required 25 years to serve in the House,[2] leaving the House with 25 New Progressives and 23 Popular Democrats. House Secretary Cristino Bernazard, who normally would have presided over the House only until it elected its new Speaker in its inaugural session, became the first unelected Acting Speaker of the House. During Bernazard's incumbency, he appointed co-chairs to the House standing committees and required that all House decisions and legislation be approved by consensus. After some political wrangling, in what became known as the Viera-Colberg Pact, the House elected Viera Martinez once again as Speaker for the remainder of 1981 and maverick Popular Democratic Rep. Severo Colberg Ramírez as Speaker from 1982 until 1984. In late 1981, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Popular Democratic candidate in the 35th District, and with the Popular Democrats finally filling in the two vacancies they had, that party gained control of the House, with a majority of 26.
Even though the Popular Democratic Party retained the House in the 1984 general elections, Colberg was not re-elected Speaker, and instead José Ronaldo "Rony" Jarabo served as Speaker from 1985 to 1992. Jarabo was defeated in a primary in 1992, and as the New Progressive Party won the 1992 general elections, he was succeeded by the first woman Speaker, Zaida Hernandez Torres, who served until 1996, when she left the House to run for Mayor of San Juan.
Hernandez's Speaker pro Tempore, Edison Misla Aldarondo, became Speaker in 1997. After he left office in 2000, he was convicted of corruption charges in federal and state courts. He was succeeded in office by Carlos Vizcarrondo during the 2001–2004 term.
In 2005, as a Popular Democratic governor took office, the New Progressive Party controlled the Senate and the House, and José Aponte Hernández, a loyalist of former Governor Pedro Rosselló, was elected as Speaker of the House. In addition to the tension with the executive branch, Aponte's term was tinged with greater-than-average tension with the Senate, in which his support for Rossello's bid to oust Senate President Kenneth McClintock, whom he called a "traitor" to his party, took him to lead over 20 New Progressive representatives to converge on the Senate floor in opposition to McClintock's permanence as Senate President, considered by many the all-time historical low-point in Senate-House relations.
Aponte was defeated for re-election as Speaker in the House caucus held after the 2008 general elections, and Jenniffer A. González Colón became the new Speaker, taking office on January 12, 2009.
Functions
The House of Representatives, along with the Senate of Puerto Rico, are in charge of the legislative power of the Government of Puerto Rico.[3]
The House has exclusive power to initiate impeachment proceedings and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the total number of members of which it is composed, to bring an indictment. The Constitution also establishes that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House. The appointment of the Secretary of State shall in addition require the advice and consent of the House.
Procedure
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Daily sessions
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Calendars
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Commissions
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Membership
Qualifications
Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the House of Representatives unless he or she:[4]
- is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English;
- is a citizen of the United States;
- is a citizen of Puerto Rico;
- has resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment; and,
- is over twenty-five years of age.
Elections
Elections to the House of Representatives are held every four years, along with the elections for mayors, the Senate, Governor and Resident Commissioner.
To elect the members of the House of Representatives, Puerto Rico is divided into forty representative districts.
For each one of the constituent representative districts, the people of Puerto Rico elect one representative. In addition, the people are allowed to vote for one representative at-large of their preference. The eleven at-large representatives serve alongside district representatives, totaling 51 members of the House.
Term
Representatives serve terms of four years each. A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a "representative-elect"; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a "representative-designate". The Puerto Rico Constitution does not provide for term limits.
Salary and benefits
As of 2009, the annual salary for full-time work of each representative is $73,775 annually. The Speaker of the House receives $110,663 while the Vice-President, Party Leaders, and the presidents of the Government and Treasury Commission receive $84,841 each.[5][6] Representatives are forbidden by law from having outside earned income or their legislative pay is otherwise docked.
Along with their salaries, representatives qualify for the same retirement and health benefits of all other PR government employees. They also receive benefits like a car allowance for the official use of their private vehicle, and a per diem allowance for each day of attendance to House sessions or committee meetings.
Officers
Speaker
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Speaker pro tempore
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Party leaders
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 Leader Johnny Méndez, Majority Whip Angel Pérez Otero, and interim Minority Leader Luis Raúl Torres Cruz.
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.
Section 9 of Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that should a Party control more than two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives, the losing candidates with the most percentage of votes will be given seats in the Legislature until the total of minority members reaches seventeen (17). In order to qualify to a Section 9 seat, the candidates must belong to a party that received a minimum amount of votes in the General Elections of that year.
Non-member officers
The House is served by several officials who are not members.
The Senate's chief administrative officer is the Secretary of the House, who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks.[7]The Secretary automatically presides over the House in the interim once the term of the incumbent Speaker is finished and before the House elects a new Speaker.[citation needed][awkward]
Another official is the Serjeant-at-Arms of the House who maintains order and security on the Senate premises as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer.[further explanation needed]
This officers are elected by the Senate, usually during its inaugural session, immediately after the election of the body's. The current Secretary is Manuel A. Torres while the current Serjeant At Arms is William Sánchez-Tosado. Torres is the only Secretary in history to have served under two House Presidents.[citation needed][not relevant]
Current composition
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Former members
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Other organizations
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The Office 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 the Council of State Governments (CSG), CSG's Eastern Regional Conference, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).
References
- ^ PPD v. Barreto Pérez, 119 DPR 199 (1981).
- ^ Nogueras v. Tonos Florenzán, 110 DPR 356 (1980) and Tonos Florenzán v. Bernazard, 111 DPR 546 (1981).
- ^ Constitución de Puerto Rico on LexJuris
- ^ Contitution of Puerto Rico in LexJuris.
- ^ Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico: Orden Administrativa 05-02 on CamaradeRepresentantes
- ^ Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico: Orden Administrativa 09-02 on CamaradeRepresentantes
- ^ Secretaría del Senado de Puerto Rico on SenadoPR
External links
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