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House finance committee approves three bills and UPR matching resolution in final-consideration session
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Summary
The Comisión de Hacienda y Presupuesto de la Cámara de Representantes approved three bills (Proyecto de la Cámara 1275, 1759, 1988) and Joint Resolution Cámara 639 in a block vote on May 20, 2024; vote tallies ranged from unanimous approvals to split votes and several abstentions.
The Comisión de Hacienda y Presupuesto de la Cámara de Representantes approved three bills and a joint resolution during a public final-consideration session on May 20, 2024, voting in a block on measures that address municipal certification timelines, tax lien procedures, a teachers' Christmas bonus and matching funds for rehabilitation at the University of Puerto Rico.
The committee chair opened the session at 10:21 a.m. and identified the four items on the agenda: Proyecto de la Cámara 1275 (amends procedures for municipal certifications), Proyecto de la Cámara 1759 (clarifies gravámenes and embargos under the local internal-revenue code), Proyecto de la Cámara 1988 (sponsored by the teachers’ association to provide a $600 Christmas bonus to retired teachers) and the joint resolution Cámara 639 (an $18,842,308.48 appropriation for matching funds to rehabilitate Torre Norte at UPR, Río Piedras).
Why it matters: Proyecto 1275 proposes to align municipal response deadlines with the central government's five-day certification timeline; Proyecto 1759 seeks to separate and clarify lien and collection procedures to reduce past confusion in tax-enforcement practice; Proyecto 1988 would create a roughly $19 million fiscal obligation for a one-time bonus to retired teachers; Cámara 639 would deploy $18,842,308.48 in matching funds intended to unlock FEMA and university resources to reopen student housing at Torre Norte.
The committee recorded votes in a roll call. Final tallies announced by committee staff were: Proyecto de la Cámara 1275, 13 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention; Proyecto de la Cámara 1759, 10 yes, 1 no, 3 abstentions; Proyecto de la Cámara 1988, 12 yes, 0 no, 2 abstentions; Resolución conjunta de la Cámara 639, 13 yes, 1 no, 0 abstentions. The chair summarized the result: "Como resultado de la votación ... han sido aprobados."
Notable individual positions included Junior Pérez Ortiz, who stated during the roll call that he voted in favor of Proyecto 1275 and 1988 but opposed 1759 and Cámara 639; Joel Sánchez Ayala stated he voted in favor of all measures. Several members registered abstentions on one or more items during the roll call.
On funding for the teachers’ bonus and the UPR project, the chair cited a fiscal-impact estimate of about $19 million for Proyecto 1988 from the Office of Management and Budget (Opal) and identified an account of about $41 million in a budget draft prepared by the Financial Oversight Board (Junta de Supervisión Fiscal) as a possible source for matching needs. Regarding Cámara 639, the chair said technical staff and the Speaker's office had engaged with the Financial Oversight Board and there was an informal "visto bueno" but no written approval at the time of the session.
Next steps: The chair instructed the commission director to prepare a certification of the final-consideration session and the approved final texts for the committee's positive report, as required by the chamber's rules. No further business was presented and the commission adjourned at 10:42 a.m.
Votes at a glance: Proyecto de la Cámara 1275 — Passed (13-0-1); Proyecto de la Cámara 1759 — Passed (10-1-3); Proyecto de la Cámara 1988 — Passed (12-0-2); Resolución conjunta de la Cámara 639 — Passed (13-1-0).
