Key Features of Puerto Rico Status Act

The Elections Commission will conduct a “nonpartisan voter education campaign through traditional paid media.”

As with the ballots, educational materials will be available in English and Spanish.

“At a minimum, the voter education materials shall address for each option—(1) taxation of persons and businesses; (2) international representation; (3) citizenship and immigration; and (4) access and treatment under Federal law and programs,” the bill reads.

The bill also allows for the appropriation of funds for the Electoral Commission to carry out said education campaign and both the initial plebiscite and, if need be, a runoff plebiscite.

If Independence Wins

Constitutional Convention

No later than six months after certification of the plebiscite results, the legislature of Puerto Rico will conduct a special election for delegates to a convention for the drafting of a constitution.

“All eligible voters may vote in the election of delegates to the constitutional Convention,” reads the bill.

No later than three months after the special election, the chosen delegates will meet at a place and time determined by the legislature, and that meeting will mark the start of the convention.

The constitution of an independent Puerto Rico must guarantee “the protection of fundamental human rights, including—(1) due process and equal protection under the law; (2) freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion; (3) the rights of the accused; (4) any other economic, social, and cultural rights as the constitutional Convention may deem appropriate and necessary; and (5) provisions to ensure that no individual born in the nation of Puerto Rico shall be stateless at birth.”

The convention has one year to draft a constitution, at which point the draft will be submitted for approval or rejection by the eligible voters of Puerto Rico in a special election.

Should the voters of Puerto Rico reject the constitution drafted by the convention, the entire process will be repeated beginning with the election of delegates.

Should the voters ratify the constitution, the governor of Puerto Rico, no less than a month after ratification, will call for an election of officers required by the new constitution (president, etc.) in accordance with the election procedures outlined in the constitution. The election of officers will take place no less than six months after ratification.

Joint Transition Commission

No less than three months after the start of the constitutional convention, the president of the United States and the president of the convention will each appoint an equal number of members to a Joint Transition Commission “responsible for expediting the orderly transfer of all functions currently exercised by the Federal Government in Puerto Rico, or in relation to Puerto Rico to the nation of Puerto Rico, and shall recommend to Congress any appropriate legislation to carry out such transfer.”

Transfer of Power

No later than one month after the official certification of the election of officers, the president of the United States will formally proclaim the transfer all federal authority, rights, and property to the government of Puerto Rico.

Everything granted to the U.S. government by the 1898 Treaty of Paris will be handed over to the Puerto Rican government.

The presiding officer of the constitutional convention, with the advice of the head of state elected under the new constitution, will decide the date on which the new government takes office.

All legal proceedings currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico will be transferred to corresponding Puerto Rican courts.

Citizenship

Any Puerto Rican who was a U.S. citizen before independence will remain so afterward, but any Puerto Rican born after independence will not be a U.S. citizen—unless born to parents who were born and lived in one of the 50 states, in accordance with current U.S. citizenship laws.

Immigration

The citizens of Puerto Rico will not be subject to U.S. immigration laws for a period of 25 years following independence, meaning they can travel to and work in the United States. After the 25-year transition period, the citizens of Puerto Rico who are not U.S. citizens will be subject to U.S. immigration like all other immigrants.

Social Security and Other Benefits

All federal benefits enjoyed by individual citizens of Puerto Rico before independence —“such as rights and benefits for veterans or relatives of veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, retired Government employees, or beneficiaries of old age, disability, or survivors’ insurance benefits under the Social Security Act”— will continue as normal after independence.

“All contributions made by employees and employers in Puerto Rico to the Social Security system” will be transferred to the Puerto Rican government for the sole purpose of establishing its own social security system.

Federal Funding

During the 10 years following the proclamation of independence, the U.S government will provide the Puerto Rican government with annual block grants amounting to the total funding of all programs that currently extend to Puerto Rico, or the total of such programs in the year prior to independence, “whichever is greater.”

After the 10-year period, the annual block grants will decrease by a rate of 10 percent each year.

If Free Association Wins

There is a lot of overlap here with the independence scenario, for obvious reasons, though there are a few key differences.