House approves bill expanding municipal police training on domestic violence, human trafficking and disability interactions

The Puerto Rico House of Representatives on June 10, 2025 approved House Project 109, a measure that amends Article 3.025 of Law 107‑2020 (Código Municipal de Puerto Rico) to broaden mandatory training for municipal police to include domestic violence, human trafficking, grooming and procedures for interacting with persons with disabilities. The chamber approved the measure as amended in a final vote of 48 in favor, 0 against.

Representative Junior Pérez Ortiz, who presented the measure on the floor, said the bill seeks to give municipal officers “tools” for front‑line response and cited endorsements received during committee review. “La capacitación que aquí se propone es un acto de justicia. Gracias señora presidenta,” Pérez Ortiz said on the floor when urging approval.

Why it matters: Municipal police are frequently the first public officials to encounter victims. Pérez Ortiz told the House that agencies and organizations including the Office of the Women’s Advocate (Oficina de Procuradoras de las Mujeres), the Defensoría de las Personas con Impedimento, the Department of Public Safety, the Federación de Alcaldes, the Frente Unido de Policías Organizados and the Asociación de Alcaldes of Puerto Rico provided input during the committee process; some asked for terminology changes now reflected in the amendments (the transcript records an acceptance of using the term “persona con impedimento” in place of “diversidad funcional”).

The measure’s floor presentation included a read‑through of the amendments. The changes that were read into the record remove certain parenthetical phrasing and modify the explanatory text in the bill’s statement of purpose; the dispositive language amends Article 3.025 to add the new training topics. On the floor, the House approved the in‑chamber amendments and then voted to pass the bill as amended.

On procedure: the floor docket shows the bill came to the chamber with committee consideration complete and with proposed amendments available in the electronic bill text. The report of committee supporters was summarized by Pérez Ortiz during his remarks; the transcript records his statement that the Defensoría backed the measure provided the bill uses the term “persona con impedimento” rather than “diversidad funcional.”

Votes at a glance (final tally reported in the House electronic roll call): - House Project 109 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 14 — approved, 47 or 48 yes, 0 no (transcript lists both 47 and 48; final roll call entry lists the item as approved). - House Project 44 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 112 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 119 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 140 — approved, 47 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention. - House Project 157 (reconsideration) — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 226 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 249 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 456 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 542 — approved, 48 yes, 0 no. - House Project 586 — approved, 44 yes, 4 no. - House Project 712 — approved, 45 yes, 3 no. - Concurrent Resolution RCC 152 — approved, 45 yes, 3 no.

All vote tallies and the chamber’s statement that the measures were approved appear in the transcript’s final roll call reported by the presiding officer.

What’s next: The House recessed after the final vote and the chamber scheduled a special session for Thursday, June 12, 2025 (the transcript records a special session at 11:00 a.m. and a regular session at 1:00 p.m.). The approved bills will proceed according to the statutory process for enactment and any measures requiring executive action or further administrative steps will follow those procedures.