House hearing on bill to add courts to Puerto Ricos priority-service law highlights separation-of-powers concerns

The House of Representatives held a public hearing Sept. 11 on Proyecto de la Cmara 737, a bill that would amend Article 2 of Law 297 of 2018 (the uniform law on express-service lines and priority-turn sessions) to include the judicial branch and its offices in the law's requirements for express-service queues and priority turns for certain populations.

Proponents including AARP Puerto Rico and the Office of the Public Advocate for Persons with Disabilities urged the committee to adopt the bill as a way to reduce delays that can leave older adults and people with disabilities without timely access to judicial remedies. "Nos preocupa que el remedio no sea gil y a veces la justicia llegue tarde," said Eddy Olivera Robles of AARP Puerto Rico.

The Administration of the Courts, represented by Mnica Hernndez and Giselle Rosa Gonzlez, told the committee it supports expedited administrative service for the public but expressed reservations about applying the statute to courtroom scheduling. Rosa Gonzlez said the law primarily addresses "filas concretas fsicas" for face-to-face administrative services (for example, secretariats that accept filings or provide certifications), and that the courts have used administrative orders since 2002 to provide priority service for older adults, persons with disabilities and other groups. "Lo que esta ley dispone y exige para las agencias s... son las filas concretas fsicas que tienen que hacer las personas cuando acuden presencialmente a las agencias de gobierno," she said.

Court officials described operational steps the judiciary has taken, including regional administrative orders and a continued migration to electronic filing and case-management systems (SUMAR was cited as an existing system). Rosa Gonzlez also told the committee the court planned to launch a more user-friendly electronic form for protection-order requests and other urgent filings and that starting the following Monday there would be staff at court facilities to help users complete electronic petitions.

AARP and the Defensora0de Personas con Impedimentos framed the bill as a complementary tool to institutional practices. The Defensora0noted that roughly 788,610 people with disabilities reside in Puerto Rico ("alrededor de 788610 personas con impedimentos" in the testimony) and argued that harmonizing the court's administrative practices with Law 297 could improve practical access for older adults and people with disabilities.

Witnesses discussed models from other jurisdictions, notably Costa Rica, where speakers said judicial policy included accessibility measures ranging from larger, legible case files to triage-style expedited processing for particularly vulnerable litigants and required staff training. Several legislators and panelists urged better data collection: members asked the Administration of the Courts to provide region-by-region statistics on the number and calendaring of older-adult cases so the committee could assess where specialized calendars or other operational changes might be feasible.

Committee members asked whether specialized "elder days" or dedicated calendars in every judicial region would resolve delays. Court officials and other witnesses said that could help in some jurisdictions but that implementation depends on local case loads, staffing and interagency resources; one witness noted Utuado had very few older-adult cases while San Juan receives many more. Committee chair Representative Ricardo Chino Reyes Castillo Ramos asked the court to provide the requested regional statistics within 10 business days.

No formal vote on House Bill 737 was recorded during the hearing. The committee took public testimony, questioned court administrators and advocacy organizations, and asked the Administration of the Courts for follow-up data to inform potential amendments.

The hearing closed at 10:50 a.m.