# 27th Senate of Puerto Rico

The 27th Senate of Puerto Rico is the upper house of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. Its counterpart in the lower house is the 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.
The body will meet from January 2, 2021, to January 1, 2025, under the Federal Oversight and Management Board established by PROMESA.
The 27th Senate features a return to the standard composition of the body, with the number of senators decreasing to 27 from 30 in the 26th Senate of Puerto Rico, in accordance to Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico (1952). For the first time in the Constitutional period starting in 1952, there was no clear majority party for the body, with the plurality coming from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD in Spanish) at 12 seats of the 14 needed to have a majority when the body is at 27 members.
The body is counterparted by the 31st House of Representatives of Puerto Rico in the lower house. It has given advice and consent to the nominees put forth by Pedro Pierluisi.

## Leadership
### Current leadership

PPD  PNP  PIP  MVC  PD :
| Office | Senator | District | Party |
| President | José Luis Dalmau Santiago | At-large | PPD |
| President pro tempore | Marially González Huertas | District V – Ponce | PPD |
| Majority Leader | Javier Antonio Aponte Dalmau | District VIII – Carolina | PPD |
| Majority Whip | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | District VI – Guayama | PPD |
| Minority Leader – PNP | Thomas Rivera Schatz | At-large | PNP |
| Minority Whip – PNP | Carmelo Ríos Santiago | District II – Bayamón | PPD |
| Minority Leader – MVC | Ana Irma Rivera Lassén | At-large | MVC |
| Minority Whip – MVC | Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl | At-large | MVC |
| Minority Leader – PIP | María de Lourdes Santiago | At-large | PIP |
| Minority Leader – PD | Joanne Rodríguez Veve | At-large | PD |
| Minority Leader | José "Chaco" Vargas Vidot | At-large | Independent |

### Vote for President of the Senate

Senatorial presidential election José Luis Dalmau Santiago (PPD) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 11 January 2021 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 14 out of 27 Y |
| | Yes • PPD (12) • PD (1) • Independent (1) | 14 / 27 |
| | No • No parties or delegations voted against. | 0 / 27 |
| | Abstentions • PNP (10) • MVC (2) • PIP (1) | 13 / 27 |
| | Absentees • No absences. | 0 / 350 |
| Sources ||||

## Members

PPD  PNP  PIP  MVC  PD :
| District | Name | Affiliation |
| District I San Juan | Juan O. Morales Rodríguez | PNP |
| District I San Juan | Nitza Morán Trinidad | PNP |
| District II Bayamón | Migdalia Padilla | PNP |
| District II Bayamón | Carmelo Ríos Santiago | PNP |
| District III Arecibo | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | PPD |
| District III Arecibo | Rubén Soto Rivera | PPD |
| District IV Mayagüez–Aguadilla | Ada García Montes | PPD |
| District IV Mayagüez–Aguadilla | Migdalia González Arroyo | PPD |
| District V Ponce | Marially González Huertas | PPD |
| District V Ponce | Ramón Ruiz Nieves | PPD |
| District VI Guayama | Héctor Santiago Torres | PPD |
| District VI Guayama | Albert Torres Berríos | PPD |
| District VII Humacao | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | PPD |
| District VII Humacao | Wanda Soto Tolentino | PNP |
| District VIII Carolina | Javier Aponte Dalmau | PPD |
| District VIII Carolina | Marissa Jiménez Santoni | PNP |
| At-large | Thomas Rivera Schatz | PNP |
| At-large | William Villafañe Ramos | PNP |
| At-large | Gregorio Matías Rosario | PNP |
| At-large | Keren Riquelme Cabrera | PNP |
| At-large | Juan Zaragoza Gómez | PPD |
| At-large | José Dalmau Santiago | PPD |
| At-large | Ana Irma Rivera Lassén | MVC |
| At-large | Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl | MVC |
| At-large | María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón | PIP |
| At-large | Joanne Rodríguez Veve | PD |
| At-large | José Vargas Vidot | Independent |

## Non-officers

PPD :
| Post | Name | Political party |
| Secretary | Yamil Rivera Vélez | PPD |
| Sergeant-at-Arms | Javier Torres Rodríguez | PPD |

## Commissions

A notable departure from previous senates is the addition of more commission presidencies from outside the largest party in the chamber. While the 26th Senate had an independent senator as president of the Commission for the Development of Community Initiatives, José Vargas Vidot, this current body assigned one commission presidency to each delegation, as may be better seen in this table of standing commissions.

### Standing and Special Commissions

PPD  PNP  PIP  MVC  PD  Ind. :
| Name | President | Vice President | Secretary |
| Agriculture and Natural Resources | José Luis Dalmau Santiago | Ada García Montes | Ramón Ruiz Nieves |
| Appointments | José Luis Dalmau Santiago | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Rubén Soto Rivera |
| Compliance and Restructuring | Marially González Huertas | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Ada García Montes |
| Cooperativism | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Migdalia González Arroyo |
| Community Initiatives, Mental Health, and Addiction | José Vargas Vidot | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez |
| Development of the East Region | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Javier Aponte Dalmau | Albert Torres Berríos |
| Development of the North Region | Rubén Soto Rivera | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Albert Torres Berríos |
| Development of the South Central Region | Ramón Ruiz Nieves | Marially González Huertas | Albert Torres Berríos |
| Development of the West Region | Migdalia González Arroyo | Ada García Montes | Rubén Soto Rivera |
| Economic Development, Essential Public Services, and Consumer Affairs | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Ada García Montes | Juan Zaragoza Gómez |
| Education, Tourism, and Culture | Ada García Montes | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Albert Torres Berríos |
| Ethics | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Marially González Huertas | Ramón Ruiz Nieves |
| Government | Ramón Ruiz Nieves | Juan Zaragoza Gómez | Albert Torres Berríos |
| Health | Rubén Soto Rivera | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Ada García Montes |
| Human Rights and Labor Affairs | Ana Irma Rivera Lassén | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Rubén Soto Rivera |
| Innovation, Telecommunication,Urbanism and Infrastructure | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Albert Torres Berríos | Ramón Ruiz Nieves |
| Internal Affairs | Marially González Huertas | Javier Aponte Dalmau | Migdalia González Arroyo |
| Life and Family Affairs | Joanne Rodríguez Veve | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey |
| Municipal Affairs and Housing | Migdalia González Arroyo | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Ramón Ruiz Nieves |
| Poverty Eradication | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Migdalia González Arroyo |
| Public Safety and Veteran Affairs | Thomas Rivera Schatz (PNP) | Albert Torres Berríos | Juan Zaragoza Gómez |
| Rules and Calendar | Javier Aponte Dalmau | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry | Ada García Montes |
| Social Welfare and Elderly Affairs | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Migdalia González Arroyo |
| Treasury, Federal Relations, and the Oversight Board | Juan Zaragoza Gómez | Ramón Ruiz Nieves | Ada García Montes |
| Veterans' Affairs | José Luis Dalmau | Zoé Laboy Alvarado | Carlos J. Rodríguez Mateo |
| Women's Affairs | Migdalia González Arroyo | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry |
| Youth, Recreation and Sports | Albert Torres Berríos | Ada García Montes | Gretchen Marie Hau Irizarry |
| Special Commission on Legislative Monitoring of the Special Education Program of the Department of Education | Mª de Lourdes Santiago Negrón | | |
| Special Commission on Poverty Eradication | Elizabeth Rosa Vélez | Rosamar Trujillo Plumey | Migdalia González Arroyo |
| Sources ||||