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House approves Senate bill 331 to add confidentiality protections for demographic records amid protests from press and researchers
Summary
The House approved Senate Bill 331 after floor debate; opponents — including journalists, researchers and civil-society groups — warned the measure would restrict access to birth, death and marriage records that have been used for public-health and investigative reporting.
The House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 331 on Aug. 21, 2025, a measure that adds confidentiality rules to certain records held by Puerto Rico's Demographic Registry, voting 30 in favor and 7 opposed, the clerk announced after the final tally.
Opponents on the floor and in earlier public hearings said the bill would substantially restrict access to data used in public-health research, investigative reporting and oversight of government services. Representative Héctor Ferrer Santiago read a multi-page report from public hearings convened by the Colegio de Abogados and the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, summarizing testimony from civil-society groups, academic researchers and journalists who urged rejection of the bill. "Se recomienda rechazar el proyecto del Senado 3 3 1 en su totalidad," Ferrer Santiago said while reading recommendations from the hearings.
Witnesses at the public forum said access to death certificates and other demographic data has enabled independent research into excess deaths after Hurricane Maria, patterns in policing-related deaths, disparities in gender-based violence and the identification of deceased registered voters used in voter-list maintenance. Organizations that testified included Kilf3metro 0, the Centro del Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), the Observatorio de Equidad de Ge9nero and university legal clinics. Experts suggested alternatives such as anonymization, controlled-access protocols and statistical data releases rather than a blanket confidentiality rule.
Supporters of the bill, including Representative Gabriel Rodredguez Aguilf3, the House health committee chair, said the measure aims to protect sensitive personal information and to clarify "partes interesadas" (who may request records). Rodredguez Aguilf3 argued that guardians, direct relatives and properly authorized legal representatives should be prioritized for access to sensitive records.
On the final vote announced at the end of the day, the clerk reported the project of the Senate 331 passed 30-7. The floor debate included calls from both sides for clearer procedural safeguards: opponents asked for robust data-access protocols for researchers and journalists; supporters stressed protecting privacy and preventing misuse of personal information.
The bill modifies provisions related to Law 24 (Registro Demogre1fico) and changes the definition of "parte interesada," limits disclosure to specified circumstances (direct relatives, judicial order or anonymized data for public-policy research) and directs the Demographic Registry to implement safeguards. The measure now moves to whatever follow-up steps are required post-floor approval in the legislative process.
