House hearing examines bill to restore correction department's rehabilitation certificate and ease municipal hiring of ex-inmates

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Lawmakers on the House Commission on Municipal Affairs heard Feb. 19 testimony and questions about Proyecto de la Ce1mara 6, a bill that would restore the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation's (DCR) authority to issue a "Certificado de Rehabilitacif3n y Capacitación para Trabajar" and carve that certificate into the municipal hiring rules so some formerly incarcerated people could obtain municipal public-service jobs.

The measure drew broad, conditional support from agency witnesses but prompted detailed questions about eligibility criteria, municipal autonomy, appeals and oversight. The Department of Justice and the Department of Labor recommended technical changes and consultation with other agencies; DCR said the bill offers an additional tool for reinsertion but that implementing rules and resources will determine results.

The bill would amend Article 2.048 of Law 107-2020 (the Puerto Rico Municipal Code), Section 6.8 of Law 8-2017 (Law for the Administration and Transformation of Human Resources in the Government of Puerto Rico), add a new Article 10-B to the DCR's 2011 reorganization plan, and amend provisions of Law 254 of July 27, 1974 to change how criminal records are displayed in certain certificates.

"Entendemos que dicha omisif3n fue por inadvertencia y no es la intencif3n del legislador proponente," said Viviana Catale1 Dedaz of the Department of Justice while reading the agency's written comments, noting the bill as drafted omits anti-discrimination language previously in Article 2.048 and recommending the committee evaluate whether an amendment is needed. The department recommended consultation with the DCR, the Police Bureau (Negociado de la Policeda), the Department of Labor and the Office of Administration and Transformation of Human Resources (Oficina de Administracif3n y Transformacif3n de los Recursos Humanos).

Representatives and agency witnesses reviewed the criterion DCR expects to use for eligibility: completion or "extincif3n" of sentence; good conduct while confined; classification at minimum custody when sentence is extinguished; satisfactory completion of court-imposed conditions; absence of disciplinary sanctions in the final year of confinement; no positive drug tests in the last year or during supervision; and no pending criminal proceedings. The bill also contemplates a judicial hearing and, if favorable, a judicial order directing the Police Bureau not to include the conviction in a certificate of criminal record for certain hiring purposes while keeping the conviction in the recidivism file.

"La rehabilitacif3n es una pieza clave en todos los procesos dentro de nuestro sistema," said Alex Joel Torres, secretary auxiliary for Programs and Services at the DCR, arguing the agency supports the bill as a tool to help ex-convicts reenter the workforce and describing DCR vocational programs such as workshops, artisanship, electrical and plumbing training and cooperative-business development.

The Department of Labor, represented by Coralis Sosa Castellanos, said the proposed certificate should be treated as complementary to the habilitation process and warned the measure must respect municipal autonomy and the merit principle in local human-resources systems. "Entendemos que hay forma de que la medida no genere conflicto," Sosa said, recommending that the DCR's regulation for issuing the certificate be harmonized with habilitation criteria the department administers so the certificate meets merit standards.

Lawmakers pressed agencies on operational details. Representatives asked whether municipalities could refuse to hire certificate holders, how appeals would work if a certificate were denied, whether DCR has capacity to perform psychological evaluations and follow-up, and whether there will be ongoing supervision after release. DCR officials said the current regulatory framework already contemplates a process to appeal administrative decisions under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act and that the agency has some contracted staff for community services but asked for time to quantify resource needs and fiscal impact.

Key operational figures discussed in the hearing included that about 250 people exit the correctional system each month and that DCR currently has brigades or interagency contracts with four to five municipalities for work programs; DCR told the committee it would provide more detailed data by request.

Several lawmakers urged that any implementing regulation include provisions for follow-up. "Si la ley nos faculta, podredamos condicionar el certificado de rehabilitacif3n a una supervisif3n prospectiva por un peredodo especedfico," Torres said, describing the DCR's preference for statutory authority to supervise beneficiaries in the community for a defined term.

Agencies also discussed exceptions. The bill preserves some categorical exclusions under Article 2.048 but proposes to remove the phrase "delito grave" and add specific references such as malversation and bribery; witnesses said they would reserve final comment until they could review a complete, retyped bill text. The Department of Justice noted certain anti-discrimination provisions that previously protected victims of domestic violence, veterans, persons with disabilities and natural-hair protections were not carried forward in the draft and urged repair if omission was unintended.

No formal vote was taken during the session; the hearing functioned as information gathering. Committee members asked agencies to submit requested data and suggested redrafting the bill language and regulations to clarify appeals, supervision, eligibility windows, and how municipal autonomy and the principle of merit will be preserved.

Votes at a glance: none (hearing only).

Outlook: Agencies generally supported the measure's goal of increasing employment opportunities for rehabilitated persons, but all urged technical amendment, interagency consultation (notably with the Office of Administration and Transformation of Human Resources and the Police Bureau), and a regulatory scheme to specify eligibility, appeals and any prospective supervision.

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