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House commission approves driver’s-license extension for activated service members and a federal-lien registry update
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Summary
The House Commission on Federal, International Relations, Status and Veterans Affairs approved two measures in a unanimous 7-0 committee vote June 4, 2024: House Project 1598 extends a 120-day renewal window for activated U.S. service members’ driver’s licenses; Senate Project 1307 creates a federal-lien registration law to modernize commercial transactions.
The Commission on Federal, International Relations, Status and Veterans Affairs of the House of Representatives approved two measures in a public final-consideration session on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, by a 7-0 vote. The body certified both measures for positive reports and instructed staff to prepare certification acts and the final texts for submission to the secretary.
Aribel Figueroa Acevedo, director of the commission, told the record that members received notice of the session on June 3 and confirmed there were no additional amendments in the filing period: “no, no se recibieron enmiendas en el periodo dispuesto.” With quorum present, the director called the roll and seven members registered their votes in favor of both measures.
Votes at a glance - House Project 1598: Amends Article 3.14 of Law 22 of 2000 (Ley de Vehículos de Tránsito de Puerto Rico) to grant members of the U.S. Armed Forces, reservists, and the Puerto Rico National Guard who are domiciled in Puerto Rico an extension of 120 days after the end of activation or mobilization to renew driver’s licenses when those documents expire while the member is activated and serving outside the United States. The measure cites U.S. Code, Title 10, Section 101 as the activation authority. Outcome: Approved by commission (7-0). - Senate Project 1307: Establishes a new law to register federal liens with the stated aims of updating Puerto Rican commercial-transaction law and reducing duplication in registry systems. Outcome: Approved by commission (7-0).
Representative Juan José Santiago recorded his vote “A favor de ambas medidas.” Other members who verbally registered votes in favor were Representatives Jesús Santa Rodríguez, Jesús Hernández Arroyo, Edgardo Feliciano Sánchez, José J. Pérez Cordero, José Aponte Hernández and Joel Sánchez Ayala. The director then read the official tally: seven votes in favor, zero opposed, zero abstentions.
The commission’s president said the director should prepare the certification of the public-consideration session and finalize the texts as approved so they can be presented with positive reports to the secretary. The session concluded at 5:15 p.m.
Background and endorsements The president noted that Senate Project 1307 was supported in the commission record by the Puerto Rico Bar Association (Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico) and the Academy of Jurisprudence, and that House Project 1598 carried endorsements from the Department of Transportation and Public Works and from the Office of the Veterans Advocate and various veterans organizations.
What happens next The commission directed staff to produce the certification acts and deliver the approved texts to the secretary with positive reports. The measures will proceed according to the House’s calendaring process for plenary consideration.
