House approves bill lowering age barrier for youth membership on cooperative boards, credits students' initiative

The House approved House Bill 220 on March 20 to change age‑related eligibility for youth participation on cooperative boards, aiming to increase youth inclusion in credit‑union and cooperative governance. Representative Rodríguez Aguiló said the proposal originated from a student working group at Fernando Zuria Chávez High School in Barceloneta and was intended to encourage youth entry into the cooperative movement.

Rodríguez Aguiló described the measure as a priority that had been worked on in a prior legislative term and reintroduced now to give young people greater opportunity for involvement in cooperatives. He thanked the chair of the Cooperativism Committee for prioritizing the bill and asked colleagues to support it.

The House voted to approve the bill; the final roll-call vote recorded 48 in favor, 0 opposed. Proponents said the change would motivate youth participation and strengthen cooperative governance in non‑metropolitan municipalities. The bill text amends Article 5.19 of the governing cooperative law (cited in the reading as Law 255 of 2012) to increase an age limit for youth committee membership, although the transcript does not specify the exact numeric change to the statute’s text.