II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2944 

To enable the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to determine 

the political status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. WICKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To enable the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

to determine the political status of the Commonwealth 

of Puerto Rico, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Puerto Rico Status Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—PLEBISCITES 

Sec. 101. Initial plebiscite; runoff plebiscite. 

Sec. 102. Nonpartisan voter education campaign. 

Sec. 103. Oversight. 

Sec. 104. Funds for voter education, plebiscites. 

TITLE II—TRANSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 

INDEPENDENCE STATUS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Constitutional convention. 

Sec. 203. Character of the constitution. 

Sec. 204. Submission; ratification. 

Sec. 205. Election of officers. 

Sec. 206. Conforming amendments to existing law. 

Sec. 207. Joint Transition Commission. 

Sec. 208. Proclamation by President. 

Sec. 209. Legal and constitutional provisions. 

Sec. 210. Judicial pronouncements. 

Sec. 211. Citizenship and immigration laws after Puerto Rican independence. 

Sec. 212. Individual rights to economic benefits and grants. 

TITLE III—TRANSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SOVEREIGNTY 

IN FREE ASSOCIATION WITH THE UNITED STATES OPTION 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Constitutional convention. 

Sec. 303. Character of the constitution. 

Sec. 304. Submission; ratification. 

Sec. 305. Election of officers. 

Sec. 306. Conforming amendments to existing law. 

Sec. 307. Proclamation by President; head of state of the nation Puerto Rico. 

Sec. 308. Legal and constitutional provisions. 

Sec. 309. Judicial pronouncements. 

Sec. 310. Citizenship and immigration laws after sovereignty through free association. 

Sec. 311. Bilateral Negotiating Commission. 

Sec. 312. Articles of free association approval, effective date, and termination. 

Sec. 313. Individual rights to economic benefits and grants. 

TITLE IV—TRANSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STATEHOOD 

STATUS 

Sec. 401. Definitions. 

Sec. 402. Puerto Rico readiness for statehood; Presidential proclamation; admission into the Union of the United States. 

Sec. 403. Conforming amendments to existing law. 

Sec. 404. Territory and boundaries. 

Sec. 405. Constitution. 

Sec. 406. Elections of Senators and Representatives; certification; jurisdiction. 

Sec. 407. State title to land and property. 

Sec. 408. Continuity of laws, government, and obligations. 

Sec. 409. Judicial pronouncements. 

TITLE V—TRANSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 

COMMONWEALTH STATUS 


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Sec. 501. Bilateral Negotiating Commission. 

Sec. 502. Approval; effective date. 

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 601. Application of Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic 

Stability Act. 

Sec. 602. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) in 1898, the United States gained posses4 sion of Puerto Rico following the Spanish-American 

5 War; 

6 (2) Spain formally ceded Puerto Rico to the 

7 United States of America under the Treaty of Peace 

8 between the United States of America and the King9 dom of Spain, signed at Paris on December 10, 

10 1898 (30 Stat. 1754); 

11 (3) after a brief period of military rule, the Act 

12 of April 12, 1900 (commonly known as the ‘‘Foraker 

13 Act’’) (31 Stat. 77, chapter 191), was enacted to es14 tablish a civil government in Puerto Rico, which— 

15 (A) provided for— 

16 (i) an executive branch headed by a 

17 Governor and an executive council, to be 

18 appointed by the President, with the advice 

19 and consent of the Senate; and 

20 (ii) a house of delegates, to be elected 

21 by qualified voters of Puerto Rico; and 


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1 (B) was replaced in 1917 by a new organic 

2 Act for Puerto, the Act of March 2, 1917 (com3 monly known as the ‘‘Jones-Shafroth Act’’) (39 

4 Stat. 951, chapter 145), which— 

5 (i) established an elected Senate; 

6 (ii) provided a bill of rights; 

7 (iii) provided United States citizenship 

8 to the people of Puerto Rico; and 

9 (iv) in 1947, was amended to give 

10 qualified voters of Puerto Rico the right to 

11 elect a Governor; 

12 (4) in 1950, Congress enacted the Act of July 

13 3, 1950 (commonly known as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Fed14 eral Relations Act of 1950’’) (64 Stat. 319, chapter 

15 446), which— 

16 (A) established that, ‘‘fully recognizing the 

17 principle of government by consent’’, the law 

18 was ‘‘adopted in the nature of a compact so 

19 that the people of Puerto Rico may organize a 

20 government pursuant to a constitution of their 

21 own adoption’’; and 

22 (B) on approval by the qualified voters of 

23 Puerto Rico in a referendum, authorized the 

24 Puerto Rico legislature to call a constitutional 


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1 convention to draft a constitution for Puerto 

2 Rico; 

3 (5) in a popular referendum held on June 4, 

4 1951, 76.5 percent of the voters in Puerto Rico 

5 voted in favor of drafting a constitution for Puerto 

6 Rico; 

7 (6) during the period beginning on September 

8 17, 1951, and ending on February 6, 1952, a con9 stitutional convention was held in Puerto Rico; 

10 (7) the constitution of the Commonwealth of 

11 Puerto Rico produced by the constitutional conven12 tion was submitted to the people of Puerto Rico, 

13 who approved the constitution with 81.9 percent of 

14 the vote in a referendum held on March 3, 1952; 

15 (8) after receiving the constitution of the Com16 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the President— 

17 (A) declared that the constitution of the 

18 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico— 

19 (i) conformed fully with the applicable 

20 provisions of— 

21 (I) the Act of July 3, 1950 (com22 monly known as the ‘‘Puerto Rico 

23 Federal Relations Act of 1950’’) (64 

24 Stat. 319, chapter 446); and 


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1 (II) the Constitution of the 

2 United States; 

3 (ii) contained a bill of rights; and 

4 (iii) provided for a republican form of 

5 government; and 

6 (B) transmitted the constitution of the 

7 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to Congress for 

8 approval; 

9 (9) after receiving the constitution of the Com10 monwealth of Puerto Rico from the President, Con11 gress— 

12 (A) considered the constitution of the 

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

14 (B) found the constitution of the Common15 wealth of Puerto Rico to conform to the appli16 cable requirements; and 

17 (C) with the approval of the Joint Resolu18 tion of July 3, 1952 (66 Stat. 327, chapter 

19 567), conditionally approved the constitution of 

20 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

21 (10) under Resolution number 34 of the con22 stitutional convention of Puerto Rico, the constitu23 tional convention of Puerto Rico accepted the condi24 tions of Congress ‘‘in the name of the people of 

25 Puerto Rico’’; 


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1 (11) the Governor of Puerto Rico subsequently 

2 issued a formal proclamation accepting the condi3 tions of Congress on the constitution of the Com4 monwealth of Puerto Rico; 

5 (12) the constitution of the Commonwealth of 

6 Puerto Rico— 

7 (A) was subsequently amended by the con8 stitutional convention; and 

9 (B) became effective on July 25, 1952; 

10 (13) the amendments to the constitution of the 

11 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico were ratified by the 

12 people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with 

13 87.8 percent of voters approving the constitution of 

14 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in a referendum 

15 held on November 4, 1952; 

16 (14) the United States informed the United Na17 tions that, because the Commonwealth of Puerto 

18 Rico had become a self-governing jurisdiction, the 

19 United States would cease reporting on conditions in 

20 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under article 73 

21 of the United Nations Charter, which requires re22 ports from member states responsible ‘‘for the ad23 ministration of territories whose people have not yet 

24 attained the full measure of self-government.’’; 


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1 (15) in response to the United States, the 

2 United Nations General Assembly acknowledged in 

3 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 748 

4 (1953) that ‘‘the people of the Commonwealth of 

5 Puerto Rico, by expressing their will in a free and 

6 democratic way, have achieved a new constitutional 

7 status and have effectively exercised their right to 

8 self-determination’’; 

9 (16) to bilaterally address the issue of Puerto 

10 Rico self-determination, Public Law 88–271 (78 

11 Stat. 17) established the United States-Puerto Rico 

12 Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico, composed 

13 of— 

14 (A) 7 members from the United States, of 

15 whom— 

16 (i) 3 members were to be appointed 

17 by the President; 

18 (ii) 2 members were to be members of 

19 the Senate, appointed by the President of 

20 the Senate with the approval of the major21 ity and minority leaders of the Senate; and 

22 (iii) 2 members were to be members 

23 of the House of Representatives appointed 

24 by the Speaker of the House of Represent25 atives, with the approval of the majority 


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1 and minority leaders of the House of Rep2 resentatives; and 

3 (B) 6 members were to be from the Com4 monwealth of Puerto Rico; 

5 (17) in the report entitled ‘‘Report of the 

6 United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Sta7 tus of Puerto Rico’’ and dated August 1966, the 

8 United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Sta9 tus of Puerto Rico found that— 

10 (A) ‘‘all three forms of political status— 

11 the Commonwealth, Statehood, and Independ12 ence—are valid and confer upon the people of 

13 Puerto Rico equal dignity with equality of sta14 tus and national citizenship.’’; and 

15 (B) ‘‘it is inconceivable that either the 

16 United States or Puerto Rico would, by an act 

17 of unilateral revocation, undermine the very 

18 foundation of their common progress: the fun19 damental political and economic relationships 

20 which were established on the basis of mutu21 ality.’’; 

22 (18) pursuant to the findings and recommenda23 tions of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission 

24 on the Status of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico legis25 lature enacted the Act of December 23, 1966 (PuerVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:45 Sep 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2944.IS S2944

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1 to Rico Act No. 1), which called for a plebiscite on 

2 the status of Puerto Rico; 

3 (19) in the July 23, 1967, plebiscite— 

4 (A) 60.4 percent of voters in the Common5 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for commonwealth 

6 status; 

7 (B) 39 percent of voters in the Common8 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for statehood; and 

9 (C) 0.6 percent of voters in the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for independence; 

11 (20) in 1989, on the joint request of the pro12 Commonwealth Governor of Puerto Rico and the 

13 presidents of the pro-statehood and pro-independ14 ence parties, the Senate took up the issue of Puerto 

15 Rico self-determination through S. 712 (101st Con16 gress) and S. 244 (102nd Congress), which recog17 nized that Commonwealth, statehood, and independ18 ence were valid options for the status of Puerto 

19 Rico; 

20 (21) the failure of the 1989 effort with respect 

21 to statehood and the coming to power in the Com22 monwealth of Puerto Rico of a pro-statehood govern23 ment in 1992, 1996, 2008, and 2016 prompted a 

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1 eral policy, particularly with respect to an effort to 

2 undermine the commonwealth status to the benefit 

3 of statehood; 

4 (22) the first referendum was held in 1993, al5 lowing each of the political parties to provide the 

6 definition of the particular status option, under 

7 which— 

8 (A) 48.6 percent of voters in the Common9 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for commonwealth 

10 status; 

11 (B) 46.3 percent of voters in the Common12 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for statehood; and 

13 (C) 4.4 percent of voters in the Common14 wealth of Puerto Rico voted for independence; 

15 (23) during a second referendum held in 

16 1998— 

17 (A) the pro-statehood government— 

18 (i) drafted the ballot language for all 

19 status options; and 

20 (ii) identified each status option by 

21 number rather than by name; 

22 (B) in protest for what the pro-Common23 wealth party considered to be an ill-defined 

24 Commonwealth option, the pro-Commonwealth 


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1 party asked supporters to vote for ‘‘none of the 

2 above’’; and 

3 (C) the results of the referendum were 

4 that— 

5 (i) 50.3 percent of voters in the Com6 monwealth of Puerto Rico voted for ‘‘none 

7 of the above’’; 

8 (ii) 46.5 percent of voters in the Com9 monwealth of Puerto Rico voted for state10 hood; 

11 (iii) 2.5 percent of voters in the Com12 monwealth of Puerto Rico voted for inde13 pendence; and 

14 (iv) 0.3 percent of voters in the Com15 monwealth of Puerto Rico voted for free 

16 association; 

17 (24) on May 29, 2009, pro-statehood Resident 

18 Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi introduced a bill in 

19 the House of Representatives, H.R. 2499 (111th 

20 Congress), which provided for— 

21 (A) a 2-round vote on the status of the 

22 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that provided for 

23 a first vote to ‘‘continue to have its present 

24 form of political status’’ or for ‘‘a different po25 litical status’’; and 


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1 (B) if the ‘‘different political status’’ op2 tion received the most votes during the first 

3 vote, a second vote with the options of— 

4 (i) independence; 

5 (ii) sovereignty in association with the 

6 United States; and 

7 (iii) statehood; 

8 (25) an amendment to H.R. 2499 (111th Con9 gress) was approved by the House of Representa10 tives on April 29, 2010, to include the Common11 wealth option on the second vote, with the proponent 

12 of the amendment stating that ‘‘Puerto Ricans’ 

13 views should be given equal and fair consideration.’’; 

14 (26) H.R. 2499 (111th Congress), as amended, 

15 was approved by the House of Representatives, but 

16 was not considered in the Senate; 

17 (27) in April 2011, the White House published 

18 a report of the Task Force on Puerto Rico Status 

19 that found that— 

20 (A) the permissible status options for the 

21 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico include— 

22 (i) statehood; 

23 (ii) independence; 

24 (iii) free association; and 

25 (iv) commonwealth status; and 


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1 (B) ‘‘removing the Commonwealth option 

2 would raise real questions about the vote’s legit3 imacy’’; 

4 (28) ignoring the amendment to H.R. 2499 

5 (111th Congress) described in paragraph (25), the 

6 pro-statehood government called for a locally legis7 lated plebiscite in 2012 that adopted the 2-vote 

8 structure rejected by the House of Representatives 

9 that excluded the Commonwealth option in the sec10 ond vote; 

11 (29) to further stack the deck in the 2012 pleb12 iscite— 

13 (A) the first vote would be in favor or 

14 against the ‘‘current territorial status’’ (a ge15 neric term intended to downplay the constitu16 tional process of the Act of July 3, 1950 (com17 monly known as the ‘‘Puerto Rico Federal Rela18 tions Act of 1950’’) (64 Stat. 319, chapter 

19 446)); and 

20 (B) a second vote would be for— 

21 (i) statehood; 

22 (ii) independence; or 

23 (iii) free association (which was con24 fusingly referred to as ‘‘sovereign Com25 monwealth’’); 


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1 (30) the voting structure in the 2012 plebiscite 

2 had several evident defects, including that— 

3 (A) the current commonwealth status could 

4 lose even if commonwealth status had the high5 est voter preference; and 

6 (B) by instructing individuals who voted 

7 for the current commonwealth status on the 

8 first question to answer the second question, re9 gardless, the votes for the options of the second 

10 question would be inflated with those ‘‘second11 preference’’ votes, so it would not be known 

12 how many voters actually preferred any of those 

13 options; 

14 (31) the results of the 2012 plebiscite were a 

15 mixture of all the potential problems, as— 

16 (A) the status quo received 828,077 votes 

17 on question 1, and statehood received 834,191 

18 votes on question 2, which is a difference of 

19 6,114 votes; 

20 (B) it is not known how many voters that 

21 voted for the current status on question 1 voted 

22 for statehood on question 2; and 

23 (C) since the law authorizing the plebiscite 

24 prohibited considering blank ballots for allo25 cating percentages, the commonwealth status 


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1 was said to have obtained 46 percent of the 

2 vote in the first vote and statehood was said to 

3 have obtained 61 percent of the vote in the sec4 ond vote; 

5 (32) on May 15, 2013, the pro-statehood Resi6 dent Commissioner introduced H.R. 2000 (113th 

7 Congress), which— 

8 (A) stated that statehood had obtained 

9 61.16 percent of the votes of ‘‘voters who chose 

10 an option’’; 

11 (B) based on that characterization of the 

12 results, called for a ratification vote that would 

13 provide for a self-executing implementation of 

14 the admission of the Commonwealth Puerto 

15 Rico as a State of the Union of the United 

16 States; and 

17 (C) was not acted on by the House of Rep18 resentatives; 

19 (33) instead, the Consolidated Appropriations 

20 Act, 2014 (Public Law 113–76; 128 Stat. 5), appro21 priated $2,500,000 ‘‘for objective, nonpartisan voter 

22 education about, and a plebiscite on, options that 

23 would resolve Puerto Rico’s future political status, 

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1 mission of Puerto Rico.’’, with the accompanying re2 port stating that— 

3 (A) the $2,500,000 was ‘‘for objective, 

4 nonpartisan voter education about, and a plebi5 scite on, options that would resolve Puerto 

6 Rico’s future political status’’; 

7 (B) the ‘‘funds provided for the plebiscite 

8 shall not be obligated until 45 days after the 

9 Department of Justice notifies the Committees 

10 on Appropriations that it approves of an ex11 penditure plan from the Puerto Rico Elections 

12 Commission for voter education and plebiscite 

13 administration, including approval of the plebi14 scite ballot’’; and 

15 (C) the ‘‘notification shall include a finding 

16 that the voter education materials, plebiscite 

17 ballot, and related materials are not incompat18 ible with the Constitution and laws and policies 

19 of the United State.’’; 

20 (34) on February 3, 2017, with the pro-state21 hood party back in power locally, the Commonwealth 

22 of Puerto Rico passed Law Number 7, which called 

23 ‘‘for the immediate decolonization of Puerto Rico’’ 

24 through a plebiscite to be held on June 11, 2017; 


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1 (35) claiming that the Commonwealth option 

2 had been rejected in the 2012 plebiscite, the ballot 

3 for the 2017 plebiscite would offer only 2 options 

4 of— 

5 (A) statehood; and 

6 (B) free association or independence; 

7 (36) on April 13, 2017, the Department of Jus8 tice denied certification of the plebiscite, stating: 

9 ‘‘The Department has concluded that the plebiscite 

10 ballot is not compatible with these policies, as it is 

11 not drafted in a way that ensures that its result will 

12 accurately reflect the current popular will of the peo13 ple of Puerto Rico. As transmitted, the ballot omits 

14 Puerto Rico’s current territorial status as an avail15 able option and instead provides the people of Puer16 to Rico with only two choices: ‘Statehood’ or ‘Free 

17 Association/Proclamation of Independence’. This 

18 omission appears to be based on a determination 

19 that the people of Puerto Rico definitively rejected 

20 Puerto Rico’s current status in the plebiscite held on 

21 November 6, 2012. See Act No. 7–2017, Art. III§ 

22 1(a). The Department does not believe that the re23 sults of the 2012 plebiscite justify omitting Puerto 

24 Rico’s current status as an option on the ballot. For 

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1 scite’s results ‘have been the subject of controversy’ 

2 and debate. See Congressional Research Service, 

3 Puerto Rico’s Political Status and the 2012 Plebi4 scite: Background and Key Questions, at 8 (June 

5 25, 2013) (‘CRS Report’). Furthermore, nearly five 

6 years have elapsed since that plebiscite, during 

7 which significant political, economic, and demo8 graphic changes have occurred in Puerto Rico and 

9 the United States. As a result, it is uncertain that 

10 it is the present will of the people to reject Puerto 

11 Rico’s current status. Accordingly, any plebiscite 

12 that now seeks to ‘resolve Puerto Rico’s future polit13 ical status,’ as the Appropriations Act contemplates, 

14 should include the current territorial status as an 

15 option. See 2011 Task Force Report, at 26 (noting 

16 that the current status ‘must be an available option 

17 for the people of Puerto Rico’). Otherwise, there 

18 would be ‘real questions about the vote’s legitimacy’ 

19 and its ability to reflect accurately the will of the 

20 people. Id. Furthermore, the Department has deter21 mined that the plebiscite ballot language contains 

22 several ambiguous and potentially misleading state23 ments, which may hinder voters’ ability to make a 

24 fully informed choice as well as efforts to ascertain 

25 the will of the people from the plebiscite results. The 


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1 statements of concern are as follows: The ballot’s de2 scription of the ‘Statehood’ option contains the fol3 lowing statement: ‘I am aware that Statehood is 

4 [the] only option that guarantees the American citi5 zenship by birth in Puerto Rico’. This statement is 

6 inaccurate when considered in the context of all 

7 available status options, as under current law, Puer8 to Ricans have an unconditional statutory right to 

9 birthright citizenship. The sentence therefore is po10 tentially misleading and reinforces the ballot’s 

11 flawed omission of an option for retaining Puerto 

12 Rico’s current territorial status.’’; 

13 (37) the local government amended the bill pur14 portedly to comply with the Department of Justice 

15 demands, but did not allow for Department of Jus16 tice certification, provoking a massive boycott by the 

17 Commonwealth supporters and independence sup18 porters; 

19 (38) in the plebiscite of June 11, 2017— 

20 (A) there was a historically low participa21 tion rate of 23 percent of registered voters in 

22 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and 

23 (B) 508,862 voters in the Commonwealth 

24 of Puerto Rico voted for statehood, which was 

25 97 percent of votes cast; 


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1 (39) the same pro-statehood administration in 

2 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico called for a new 

3 plebiscite in 2020 that would include an up-or-down 

4 statehood vote; 

5 (40) by letter of July 29, 2020, addressed to 

6 the Chairman of the Puerto Rico Elections Commis7 sion, the Department of Justice again rejected cer8 tification, stating that— 

9 (A) the United States has consistently re10 mained neutral about the legally permissible 

11 status options for the Commonwealth of Puerto 

12 Rico, of which the current status is 1; and 

13 (B) a plebiscite that asks voters if the 

14 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should be admit15 ted immediately into the Union of the United 

16 States as a State is regarded as a pro-statehood 

17 initiative that departs from that policy of neu18 trality; 

19 (41) Executive Order 13183 (48 U.S.C. 731 

20 note; relating to establishment of the President’s 

21 Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status), states that the 

22 policy of the executive branch is ‘‘to work with lead23 ers of the Commonwealth and the Congress to clar24 ify the options to enable Puerto Ricans to determine 

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1 ture status that are not incompatible with the Con2 stitution and basic laws and policies of the United 

3 States; and to implement such an option if chosen 

4 by a majority.’’; and 

5 (42) the status options for the Commonwealth 

6 of Puerto Rico that are not incompatible with the 

7 Constitution and basic laws and policies of the 

8 United States are— 

9 (A) commonwealth status; 

10 (B) statehood; 

11 (C) independence; and 

12 (D) free association. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT.—The term 

16 ‘‘Commonwealth government’’ means the govern17 ment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (includ18 ing any department, agency, or instrumentality of 

19 the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto 

20 Rico). 

21 (2) ELECTIONS COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Elec22 tions Commission’’ means the Puerto Rico State 

23 Commission on Elections. 

24 (3) ELIGIBLE VOTER.—The term ‘‘eligible 

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1 wealth of Puerto Rico who is otherwise qualified to 

2 vote in a general election in the Commonwealth of 

3 Puerto Rico. 

4 (4) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

5 the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

6 (5) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra7 tion laws’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

8 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1101). 

10 (6) INITIAL PLEBISCITE.—The term ‘‘initial 

11 plebiscite’’ means the plebiscite required by section 

12 101(a)(1). 

13 (7) LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.—The term ‘‘Leg14 islative Assembly’’ means the Legislative Assembly 

15 of Puerto Rico. 

16 (8) RUNOFF PLEBISCITE.—The term ‘‘runoff 

17 plebiscite’’ means the plebiscite required by section 

18 101(a)(4). 

19 (9) STATUS OPTION.—The term ‘‘status op20 tion’’ means an option described in section 

21 101(a)(2). 

22 TITLE I—PLEBISCITES 

23 SEC. 101. INITIAL PLEBISCITE; RUNOFF PLEBISCITE. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL PLEBISCITE.—A plebiscite to re2 solve the political status of the Commonwealth of 

3 Puerto Rico shall be held on August 4, 2024. 

4 (2) OPTIONS.—The initial plebiscite shall offer 

5 eligible voters a choice of 1 of the following 4 op6 tions on the ballot: 

7 (A) Independence. 

8 (B) Sovereignty in Free Association with 

9 the United States. 

10 (C) Statehood. 

11 (D) Commonwealth. 

12 (3) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED.—Approval of a 

13 status option shall be by a majority of the valid 

14 votes cast by eligible voters. 

15 (4) RUNOFF PLEBISCITE.—If there is not a ma16 jority vote in favor of 1 of the status options in the 

17 initial plebiscite, a runoff plebiscite shall be held on 

18 March 16, 2025, which shall offer eligible voters a 

19 choice on the ballot of the 2 status options that re20 ceived the most votes in the initial plebiscite. 

21 (b) BALLOT LANGUAGE.—A ballot for a plebiscite re22 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following lan23 guage: 

24 ‘‘INSTRUCTIONS.—Mark the status option you choose 

25 as each is defined below. A ballot with more than 1 option 


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1 marked will not be counted. A ballot with no option 

2 marked will not be counted. 

3 ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENCE.—If you agree, mark here 

4 lllllllll. 

5 ‘‘(A) Puerto Rico is a sovereign nation 

6 that has full authority and responsibility over 

7 its territory and population under a constitution 

8 of its own adoption which shall be the supreme 

9 law of the nation. 

10 ‘‘(B) Puerto Rico is vested with full powers 

11 and responsibilities consistent with the rights 

12 and responsibilities that devolve upon a sov13 ereign nation under international law, including 

14 its own fiscal and monetary policy, immigration, 

15 trade, and the conduct in its own name and 

16 right of relations with other nations and inter17 national organizations. 

18 ‘‘(C) Puerto Rico has full authority and re19 sponsibility over its citizenship and immigration 

20 laws. Birth in Puerto Rico or relationship to 

21 persons with statutory United States citizenship 

22 by birth in the former territory shall cease to 

23 be a basis for United States nationality or citi24 zenship, except that persons who have such 

25 United States citizenship have a right to retain 


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1 United States nationality and citizenship for 

2 life, by entitlement or election, as provided by 

3 United States law. 

4 ‘‘(D) Puerto Rico will no longer be a pos5 session of the United States for purposes of the 

6 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any suc7 cessor code). United States citizens and United 

8 States businesses in Puerto Rico will be subject 

9 to United States Federal tax laws (as is the 

10 case with any other United States citizen or 

11 United States business located abroad) and to 

12 Puerto Rican tax laws. The status of Puerto 

13 Rico as an independent, sovereign nation will be 

14 the controlling factor in the taxation of Puerto 

15 Rican taxpayers. 

16 ‘‘(E) The Constitution and laws of the 

17 United States no longer apply in Puerto Rico, 

18 and United States sovereignty in Puerto Rico is 

19 ended. 

20 ‘‘(2) SOVEREIGNTY IN FREE ASSOCIATION WITH

21 THE UNITED STATES.—If you agree, mark here 

22 lllllllll. 

23 ‘‘(A) Puerto Rico is a sovereign nation 

24 that has full authority and responsibility over 

25 its territory and population under a constitution 


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1 of its own adoption, which shall be the supreme 

2 law of the nation. 

3 ‘‘(B) Puerto Rico is vested with full powers 

4 and responsibilities consistent with the rights 

5 and responsibilities that devolve upon a sov6 ereign nation under international law, including 

7 its own fiscal and monetary policy, immigration, 

8 trade, and the conduct in its own name and 

9 right of relations with other nations and inter10 national organizations, except as otherwise pro11 vided for in the Articles of Free Association to 

12 be negotiated by Puerto Rico and the United 

13 States. 

14 ‘‘(C) Puerto Rico has full authority and re15 sponsibility over its citizenship and immigration 

16 laws. Persons who have United States citizen17 ship have a right to retain United States na18 tionality and citizenship for life by entitlement 

19 or election as provided by United States law. 

20 ‘‘(D) Birth in Puerto Rico shall cease to be 

21 a basis for United States nationality or citizen22 ship, except that children born in Puerto Rico 

23 to parents, both of whom are United States citi24 zens, shall be eligible to acquire United States 

25 citizenship. The application process for United 


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1 States citizenship for such children shall be 

2 similar to the process for descendants of citi3 zens born in a foreign country, since the chil4 dren would be born outside the jurisdiction of 

5 the United States, despite being children of 

6 United States citizens. 

7 ‘‘(E) Puerto Rico enters into Articles of 

8 Free Association with the United States, with 

9 such devolution and reservation of governmental 

10 functions and other bilateral arrangements as 

11 may be agreed to by the United States and 

12 Puerto Rico under the Articles of Free Associa13 tion, which shall be terminable at will by either 

14 the United States or Puerto Rico at any time. 

15 ‘‘(F) Puerto Rico will no longer be a pos16 session of the United States for purposes of the 

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any suc18 cessor code). United States citizens and United 

19 States businesses in Puerto Rico will be subject 

20 to United States Federal tax laws (as is the 

21 case with any other United States citizen or 

22 United States business located abroad) and to 

23 Puerto Rican tax laws. The status of Puerto 

24 Rico as an independent, sovereign nation will be 

25 the controlling factor in the taxation of Puerto 


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1 Rican taxpayers. Puerto Rico will enter into an 

2 agreement with the United States to provide for 

3 ‘Sovereignty in Free Association’ that may 

4 modify the otherwise-applicable tax rules, sub5 ject to negotiation and ratification by Puerto 

6 Rico and the United States. 

7 ‘‘(G) The Constitution and the laws of the 

8 United States no longer apply in Puerto Rico, 

9 except as otherwise provided in the Articles of 

10 Free Association, and United States sovereignty 

11 in Puerto Rico is ended. 

12 ‘‘(H) All matters pertaining to the govern13 ment-to-government relationship between Puer14 to Rico and the United States, which may in15 clude foreign affairs, trade, finance, taxation, 

16 security, defense, dispute resolution, and termi17 nation, shall be provided for in the Articles of 

18 Free Association. 

19 ‘‘(3) STATEHOOD.—If you agree, mark here 

20 lllllllll. 

21 ‘‘(A) The State of Puerto Rico shall re22 quest admission into the Union of the United 

23 States on an equal footing with the other States 

24 in all respects and as a part of the permanent 

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1 stitution of the United States, with powers not 

2 prohibited by the Constitution of the United 

3 States to the States reserved to the State of 

4 Puerto Rico. 

5 ‘‘(B) The residents of Puerto Rico shall, 

6 on admission, be fully self-governing with the 

7 rights of the residents secured under the Con8 stitution of the United States, which shall be 

9 fully applicable in Puerto Rico and which, with 

10 the laws and treaties of the United States, is 

11 the supreme law and has the same force and ef12 fect in Puerto Rico as in the other States of the 

13 Union of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(C) United States citizenship of individ15 uals born in Puerto Rico is recognized, pro16 tected, and secured under the Constitution of 

17 the United States in the same way citizenship 

18 is recognized, protected, and secured for all 

19 United States citizens born in the other States. 

20 Such rights shall be accompanied by the same 

21 responsibilities, including the immediate initi22 ation of full payment of Federal taxes in the 

23 same manner as residents of the other States. 

24 In the event that Puerto Rico becomes a State 

25 of the United States, the provisions of chapter 


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1 2205 of title 36, United States Code, relating 

2 to the exclusive existence of a single United 

3 States Olympic Committee shall apply to Puer4 to Rico. 

5 ‘‘(D) On admission, Puerto Rico will no 

6 longer be considered to be a possession of the 

7 United States for purposes of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 (or any successor code). In 

9 lieu of such consideration as a possession, the 

10 State of Puerto Rico will become a State on 

11 equal footing with each of the 50 States in the 

12 United States. Individuals and businesses resid13 ing in the State of Puerto Rico will be subject 

14 to United States Federal tax laws and to tax 

15 laws of the State of Puerto Rico. 

16 ‘‘(4) COMMONWEALTH-ESTADO LIBRE

17 ASOCIADO.—If you agree, mark here 

18 lllllllll. 

19 ‘‘(A) A vote for Commonwealth-Estado 

20 Libre Asociado shall be a mandate to empower21 ment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 

22 accordance with the principles and parameters 

23 described in subparagraphs (B) through (E). 

24 ‘‘(B) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

25 shall be united to the United States by a formal 


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1 compact of political autonomy. The compact 

2 shall have the character of a permanent rela3 tionship and shall establish, as public policy of 

4 the United States, that any modification to the 

5 relationship shall be approved by the people of 

6 Puerto Rico by referendum. 

7 ‘‘(C) United States citizenship of individ8 uals born in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

9 shall be guaranteed and protected as provided 

10 in the United States Constitution. The applica11 tion, protections, and rights associated with 

12 citizenship shall be equal to the protections and 

13 rights of citizens born in the States of the 

14 United States of America. 

15 ‘‘(D) Federal laws and programs shall 

16 apply to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 

17 accordance with the provisions of the autono18 mous compact. However, if the government of 

19 Puerto Rico determines that the enactment of 

20 a Federal law or a specific provision of a stat21 ute or regulation of the United States modifies 

22 or affects the powers granted to the people of 

23 Puerto Rico with respect to self-government, 

24 fiscal autonomy, or cultural identity, the gov25 ernment of Puerto Rico may request an exempVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:45 Sep 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2944.IS S2944

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1 tion from the application of the statute or regu2 lation. The compact shall include an expedited 

3 mediation mechanism to address such claims. 

4 ‘‘(E) The compact shall replace the cor5 responding provisions of the Act of July 3, 

6 1950 (commonly known as the ‘Puerto Rico 

7 Federal Relations Act of 1950’) (64 Stat. 319, 

8 chapter 446), regarding the application of cer9 tain Federal laws that, due to the scope of the 

10 Federal laws, could unilaterally modify the na11 ture of the political autonomy relationship.’’. 

12 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLEBISCITE.—The plebi13 scites authorized by this section shall be implemented by 

14 the Elections Commission, consistent with— 

15 (1) the laws of Puerto Rico; and 

16 (2) applicable Federal law. 

17 (d) RESULTS.—The Elections Commission shall sub18 mit to the President, the President pro tempore of the 

19 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 

20 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen21 ate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

22 House of Representatives— 

23 (1) not later than 30 calendar days after the 

24 date on which the initial plebiscite is held, the re25 sults of the initial plebiscite; and 


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1 (2) not later than 30 calendar days after the 

2 date on which a runoff plebiscite is held, if applica3 ble, the results of the runoff plebiscite. 

4 (e) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURT.—The United 

5 States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico shall 

6 have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil ac7 tion alleging a dispute or controversy relating to a plebi8 scite conducted under this section. 

9 SEC. 102. NONPARTISAN VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 103, the Elec11 tions Commission shall— 

12 (1) carry out a nonpartisan voter education 

13 campaign with respect to the plebiscites to be con14 ducted under section 101 through traditional paid 

15 media; and 

16 (2) make available at all voting locations in the 

17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico voter education mate18 rials relating to the plebiscites to be conducted 

19 under section 101. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER EDUCATION MATE21 RIALS.—At a minimum, the voter education materials 

22 made available under subsection (a)(2) shall address, for 

23 each status option— 

24 (1) international representation; 

25 (2) citizenship and immigration; and 


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1 (3) access and treatment under Federal law 

2 and programs. 

3 (c) BILINGUAL VOTER EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

4 AND BALLOTS.—All voter educational materials and bal5 lots made available for a plebiscite required by section 101 

6 shall be made available in English and Spanish. 

7 SEC. 103. OVERSIGHT. 

8 (a) SUBMISSION OF MATERIALS.—The Elections 

9 Commission shall submit to the Attorney General for re10 view— 

11 (1) not later than 60 days after the date of en12 actment of this Act— 

13 (A) the ballot design for the initial plebi14 scite; and 

15 (B) any voter education materials for the 

16 initial plebiscite to be made available in accord17 ance with section 102; and 

18 (2) not later than 30 days after the date on 

19 which an initial plebiscite is held in which there is 

20 not a majority vote in favor of 1 of the status op21 tions— 

22 (A) the ballot design for the runoff plebi23 scite; and 


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1 (B) any voter education materials for the 

2 runoff plebiscite to be made available in accord3 ance with section 102. 

4 (b) REVIEW.—Not later than 45 days after receiving 

5 ballot design and voter education materials under sub6 section (a), the Attorney General shall— 

7 (1) review the ballot design and voter education 

8 materials to ensure— 

9 (A) consistency with this Act; and 

10 (B) that each of 4 status options are rep11 resented fairly, particularly if any of the 4 op12 tions are not represented on the Elections Com13 mission by a member of a political party that 

14 supports the status option; and 

15 (2)(A) return the ballot design and voter edu16 cation materials to the Elections Commission with 

17 comments and instructions for changes, as applica18 ble; or 

19 (B) inform the Elections Commission that— 

20 (i) no instructions or requests for changes 

21 shall be made under subparagraph (A); but 

22 (ii) the Attorney General reserves the right 

23 to submit instructions for changes in accord24 ance with this section if additional information 


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•S 2944 IS

1 comes to the attention of the Attorney General 

2 during the remainder of the 45-day period. 

3 (c) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If the Attor4 ney General fails to comply with the requirements of sub5 section (b) within the 45-day period described in that sub6 section, the ballot design and voter education materials 

7 submitted under subsection (a) shall be considered to be 

8 approved. 

9 (d) REVISION.—Not later than 45 days after receiv10 ing comments and instructions for changes from the At11 torney General under subsection (b)(2), the Elections 

12 Commission shall revise the ballot design and voter edu13 cation materials in accordance with the comments and in14 structions submitted by the Attorney General. 

15 SEC. 104. FUNDS FOR VOTER EDUCATION, PLEBISCITES. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec18 essary for the Elections Commission to carry out— 

19 (1) a nonpartisan voter education campaign 

20 under section 102; and 

21 (2)(A) an initial plebiscite; and 

22 (B) if necessary, a runoff plebiscite. 

23 (b) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

25 2014 (Public Law 113–76; 128 Stat. 5), the unobligated 


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•S 2944 IS

1 balance of funds made available to carry out a plebiscite 

2 on the status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico under 

3 paragraph (1) under the heading ‘‘STATE AND LOCAL LAW

4 ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE’’ under the heading ‘‘OFFICE

5 OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPART6 MENT OF JUSTICE’’ in title II of division B of that 

7 Act (Public Law 113–76; 128 Stat. 61) shall be made 

8 available to carry out this Act. 

9 TITLE II—TRANSITION AND IM10 PLEMENTATION OF INDE11 PENDENCE STATUS 

12 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this title: 

14 (1) CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.—The term 

15 ‘‘constitutional convention’’ means a constitutional 

16 convention established under section 202(d)(2). 

17 (2) PROCLAMATION.—The term ‘‘Proclama18 tion’’ means a Presidential proclamation issued 

19 under section 208(a). 

20 SEC. 202. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

21 (a) ELECTION OF DELEGATES.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the effective date of certification of a plebiscite 

23 under this Act that favors independence, the Legislative 

24 Assembly shall provide for the election of delegates to a 


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•S 2944 IS

1 constitutional convention to formulate and draft a con2 stitution for the nation of Puerto Rico. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE VOTERS.—All eligible voters may vote 

4 in the election of delegates to the constitutional convention 

5 under subsection (a). 

6 (c) GENERAL APPLICABILITY OF ELECTORAL

7 LAW.—The laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico re8 lating to the electoral process shall apply to an election 

9 held under subsection (a). 

10 (d) INITIAL MEETING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of the election of delegates to the con13 stitutional convention under subsection (a), the 

14 elected delegates shall meet at such time and place 

15 as the Legislative Assembly shall determine. 

16 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The initial meeting of 

17 the elected delegates to the constitutional convention 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be the 

19 establishment of the constitutional convention. 

20 SEC. 203. CHARACTER OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

21 The constitutional convention shall formulate and 

22 draft a constitution for the nation of Puerto Rico that 

23 guarantees the protection of fundamental human rights, 

24 including— 


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1 (1) due process and equal protection under the 

2 law; 

3 (2) freedom of speech, press, assembly, associa4 tion, and religion; 

5 (3) the rights of the accused; 

6 (4) any other economic, social, and cultural 

7 rights as the constitutional convention may deter8 mine to be necessary; and 

9 (5) provisions to ensure that no individual born 

10 in the nation of Puerto Rico shall be stateless at 

11 birth. 

12 SEC. 204. SUBMISSION; RATIFICATION. 

13 (a) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of establishment of the constitutional convention, the 

15 Elections Commission shall submit the constitution formu16 lated and drafted by the delegates to the constitutional 

17 convention to the eligible voters for ratification or rejec18 tion in a special election. 

19 (b) MANNER OF ELECTION.—The special election 

20 held under subsection (a) shall be held in the manner pre21 scribed by the Legislative Assembly. 

22 (c) REJECTION.—If the constitution of the nation of 

23 Puerto Rico is rejected in a special election held under 

24 subsection (a), the process provided for under sections 202 

25 and 203 and subsections (a) and (b) shall be repeated, 


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1 except that section 202(a) shall be applied by sub2 stituting— 

3 (1) ‘‘the special election’’ for ‘‘a plebiscite’’; and 

4 (2) ‘‘rejects the Constitution’’ for ‘‘favors inde5 pendence’’. 

6 SEC. 205. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

8 date of ratification of the constitution of the nation of 

9 Puerto Rico under section 204, the Governor shall issue 

10 a proclamation calling for the election of any officers of 

11 the nation of Puerto Rico that may be required by the 

12 ratified constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

13 (b) DEADLINE; PROCEDURES.—The election of the 

14 officers under subsection (a) shall be held— 

15 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

16 ratification of the constitution of the nation of Puer17 to Rico; and 

18 (2) in accordance with the procedures and re19 quirements established by the constitution of the na20 tion of Puerto Rico. 

21 (c) CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS.—Not later than 10 

22 days after the date of the election of officers under sub23 section (a), the Elections Commission shall certify the re24 sults of the election under that subsection. 


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1 (d) NOTICE.—As soon as practicable after the date 

2 of the certification under subsection (c), the Governor 

3 shall submit notice of the results of the election certified 

4 under that subsection to— 

5 (1) the President; 

6 (2) the President pro tempore of the Senate; 

7 (3) the Speaker of the House of Representa8 tives; 

9 (4) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re10 sources of the Senate; and 

11 (5) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

12 House of Representatives. 

13 SEC. 206. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAW. 

14 (a) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the initial 

15 meeting of the constitutional convention under section 

16 202(d), the President shall initiate a review of Federal 

17 laws with respect to Puerto Rico, including Federal laws 

18 relating to— 

19 (1) taxation of persons and businesses; 

20 (2) health care; 

21 (3) housing; 

22 (4) transportation; 

23 (5) education; and 

24 (6) entitlement programs. 


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1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date on which the President initiates a review 

3 under subsection (a), the President shall submit to Con4 gress recommendations for changes to Federal laws identi5 fied during the review, as the President determines to be 

6 appropriate. 

7 SEC. 207. JOINT TRANSITION COMMISSION. 

8 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of establishment of the constitutional convention, 

10 a Joint Transition Commission shall be established, with 

11 the President and the presiding officer of the constitu12 tional convention appointing an equal number of members 

13 to the Joint Transition Commission. 

14 (b) DUTIES.—The Joint Transition Commission es15 tablished under subsection (a) shall— 

16 (1) be responsible for expediting the orderly 

17 transfer to the nation of Puerto Rico of all functions 

18 exercised by the Federal Government in the Com19 monwealth of Puerto Rico or with respect to the 

20 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

21 (2) develop procedures relating to the oper22 ations and governance of the Joint Transition Com23 mission; and 

24 (3) provide to the appropriate committees of 

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1 islation to carry out the transfer under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Commonwealth govern4 ment and Federal agencies shall collaborate with the Joint 

5 Transition Commission and the officers of the nation of 

6 Puerto Rico to provide for the orderly transfer of the func7 tions under subsection (b)(1). 

8 SEC. 208. PROCLAMATION BY PRESIDENT. 

9 (a) PROCLAMATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the date of certification of the elected officers of the nation 

11 of Puerto Rico under section 205(c), the President shall, 

12 by proclamation— 

13 (1) withdraw and surrender all rights of posses14 sion, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty 

15 exercised by the United States over the Common16 wealth of Puerto Rico and residents of the Common17 wealth of Puerto Rico on the day before the date of 

18 issuance of the Proclamation; 

19 (2) recognize, on behalf of the United States, 

20 the independence of the nation of Puerto Rico and 

21 the authority of the government of the nation of 

22 Puerto Rico adopted by eligible voters under the 

23 constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico; and 

24 (3) state that the effective date of withdrawal 

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1 tion of independence of the nation of Puerto Rico 

2 shall be the date of issuance of the Proclamation. 

3 (b) TRANSMISSION OF PROCLAMATION.—Not later 

4 than 7 days after the date of issuance of the Proclamation, 

5 the President shall transmit a copy of the Proclamation 

6 to each of— 

7 (1) the presiding officer of the constitutional 

8 convention; 

9 (2) the officer elected as head of state of the 

10 nation of Puerto Rico; 

11 (3) the President pro tempore of the Senate; 

12 (4) the Speaker of the House of Representa13 tives; 

14 (5) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re15 sources of the Senate; and 

16 (6) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

17 House of Representatives. 

18 (c) DATE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OFFICE.—Not 

19 later than 7 days after the date of receipt of the Proclama20 tion under subsection (b) and with the advice of the officer 

21 elected as head of state of the nation of Puerto Rico, the 

22 presiding officer of the constitutional convention shall— 

23 (1) determine the date on which the govern24 ment of the nation of Puerto Rico shall take office; 

25 and 


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1 (2) submit notice of the date determined under 

2 paragraph (1) to— 

3 (A) the Governor; 

4 (B) the President; 

5 (C) the President pro tempore of the Sen6 ate; and 

7 (D) the Speaker of the House of Rep8 resentatives. 

9 SEC. 209. LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS. 

10 On the date of issuance of the Proclamation and ex11 cept as otherwise provided in this title or in any agree12 ments between the United States and the nation of Puerto 

13 Rico— 

14 (1) all property, rights, and interests that the 

15 United States may have acquired in the Common16 wealth of Puerto Rico under the Treaty of Peace be17 tween the United States of America and the King18 dom of Spain, signed at Paris on December 10, 

19 1898 (30 Stat. 1754), and otherwise by cession, pur20 chase, or eminent domain, with the exception of land 

21 and other property, rights, or interests that may 

22 have been sold or otherwise legally disposed of before 

23 the date of issuance of the Proclamation, shall vest 

24 in the nation of Puerto Rico; and 


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1 (2) except as provided in section 212, all laws 

2 of the United States applicable to the Common3 wealth of Puerto Rico on the day before the date of 

4 issuance of the Proclamation shall no longer apply 

5 in the nation of Puerto Rico. 

6 SEC. 210. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS. 

7 (a) JUDGMENTS BEFORE PROCLAMATION.—The na8 tion of Puerto Rico shall recognize and give effect to all 

9 orders and judgments rendered by courts of the United 

10 States or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the day 

11 before the date of issuance of the Proclamation pursuant 

12 to the laws of the United States applicable to the Com13 monwealth of Puerto Rico. 

14 (b) CONTINUITY OF PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—All 

15 judicial proceedings pending in the courts of the Common16 wealth of Puerto Rico on the date of issuance of the Proc17 lamation shall be continued in the corresponding courts 

18 under the constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

19 (c) TRANSFER OF JUDICIAL POWER.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of 

21 issuance of the Proclamation— 

22 (A) the judicial power of the United States 

23 shall no longer extend to the nation of Puerto 

24 Rico; 


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1 (B) any proceeding pending in the United 

2 States District Court for the District of Puerto 

3 Rico as of that date shall be transferred to the 

4 applicable court in the nation of Puerto Rico or 

5 other competent judicial authority under the 

6 constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico for 

7 disposition in accordance with laws applicable 

8 on the date on which the controversy that is the 

9 subject of the proceeding arose; and 

10 (C) any proceeding pending in the United 

11 States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit or 

12 in the Supreme Court of the United States as 

13 of that date that initiated in, or that could have 

14 been initiated in, the courts of the Common15 wealth of Puerto Rico or in the United States 

16 District Court for the District of Puerto Rico 

17 shall— 

18 (i) continue until the date of final dis19 position; and 

20 (ii) be submitted to the competent au21 thority of the nation of Puerto Rico for 

22 proper execution. 

23 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

24 (1), if the United States or any officer of the United 

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•S 2944 IS

1 paragraph (B) or (C) of that paragraph, any final 

2 judgment in that proceeding shall be properly exe3 cuted by the competent authority of the United 

4 States. 

5 SEC. 211. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION LAWS AFTER 

6 PUERTO RICAN INDEPENDENCE. 

7 (a) CITIZENSHIP STATUS.— 

8 (1) PUERTO RICAN NATIONALITY.—Beginning 

9 on the date of issuance of the Proclamation, the citi10 zenship status of each individual born in Puerto 

11 Rico shall be determined in accordance with the con12 stitution and laws of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

13 (2) UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION LAWS.—Ex14 cept as provided in this section, beginning on the 

15 date of issuance of the Proclamation, a citizen of 

16 Puerto Rico seeking to enter into the United States 

17 or obtain citizenship in the United States shall be 

18 subject to the immigration laws. 

19 (b) EFFECT OF PUERTO RICAN CITIZENSHIP.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), nothing in this title precludes or limits 

22 the applicability of section 349 of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481). 

24 (2) EXCEPTION.—The provision of citizenship 

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1 section (a)(1) shall not constitute, or otherwise serve 

2 as the basis of, loss or relinquishment of United 

3 States citizenship under section 349 of the Immigra4 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481). 

5 (c) CITIZENSHIP AT BIRTH AFTER INDEPEND6 ENCE.—An individual born in the nation of Puerto Rico 

7 after the date of issuance of the Proclamation to at least 

8 1 parent who became a United States citizen under section 

9 302 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1402) shall not be considered to be a United States citizen 

11 at birth under subsection (c), (d), or (g) of section 301 

12 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1401). 

13 (d) TRAVEL AND WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual in any of the 

15 following categories may enter, lawfully engage in 

16 occupations, and establish residence as a non17 immigrant in the United States and territories and 

18 possessions of the United States without regard to 

19 paragraphs (5)(A) and (7) of section 212(a) of the 

20 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1182(a)): 

22 (A) An individual who acquires citizenship 

23 of Puerto Rico at birth, on or after the date of 

24 issuance of the Proclamation. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (B) A naturalized citizen of Puerto Rico 

2 who— 

3 (i) has been an actual resident of 

4 Puerto Rico for not fewer than 5 years 

5 after attaining naturalization; and 

6 (ii) holds a proof of that residence. 

7 (2) EMPLOYMENT PERMISSION.—An individual 

8 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

9 (1) shall be considered to have the permission of the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security to accept employ11 ment in the United States. 

12 (3) LIMITATIONS.—The right of an individual 

13 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

14 (1) to establish habitual residence in a territory or 

15 possession of the United States may be subjected to 

16 nondiscriminatory limitations provided for— 

17 (A) in laws or regulations of the United 

18 States; or 

19 (B) in laws or regulations of the applicable 

20 territory or possession that are authorized by 

21 Federal law. 

22 (4) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—This 

23 subsection shall expire on the date that is 25 years 

24 after the date of issuance of the Proclamation. 

25 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (36), by striking ‘‘Puerto 

5 Rico,’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (38), by striking ‘‘Puerto 

7 Rico,’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of 

10 issuance of the Proclamation. 

11 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion limits the authority of the United States to change 

13 any requirement for United States citizenship. 

14 SEC. 212. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS TO ECONOMIC BENEFITS 

15 AND GRANTS. 

16 (a) RIGHTS AND BENEFITS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any vested rights and bene18 fits that accrue to residents of the Commonwealth of 

19 Puerto Rico under the laws of the United States 

20 from past services or contributions, such as rights 

21 and benefits for veterans of the Armed Forces or eli22 gible relatives of veterans of the Armed Forces, re23 tired Federal Government employees, or beneficiaries 

24 of old age, disability, or survivor benefits under the 

25 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), shall 


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•S 2944 IS

1 not be interrupted after the date of issuance of the 

2 Proclamation, but shall continue until the date on 

3 which the rights and benefits are extinguished ac4 cording to applicable Federal law. 

5 (2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—All services to be 

6 provided as part of the rights and benefits described 

7 in paragraph (1) shall be made available through the 

8 government of the nation of Puerto Rico in accord9 ance with agreements entered into by the govern10 ment of the nation of Puerto Rico and the Govern11 ment of the United States. 

12 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

14 (a) and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of 

15 the Treasury shall transfer all contributions made by 

16 employees and employers in the Commonwealth of 

17 Puerto Rico to the Social Security system under the 

18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) with re19 spect to individuals who, as of the date of issuance 

20 of the Proclamation, are residents of the nation of 

21 Puerto Rico and are not yet eligible for old age, dis22 ability, or survivor benefits under the Social Security 

23 system to the government of the nation of Puerto 

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1 tion of Puerto Rico establishes a social security sys2 tem for the nation of Puerto Rico. 

3 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The government of the 

4 nation of Puerto Rico may not use the amounts 

5 transferred under paragraph (1) for any purpose 

6 other than the establishment and operation of a so7 cial security system for the nation of Puerto Rico. 

8 (3) OBLIGATIONS.—On the transfer of the 

9 amounts under paragraph (1), the obligations of the 

10 Federal Government under the Social Security Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) with respect to the residents 

12 of the nation of Puerto Rico shall cease. 

13 (c) OTHER FEDERAL TRANSFER PAYMENTS.— 

14 (1) BLOCK GRANTS.—Any Federal transfer 

15 payments to individuals and to the Commonwealth 

16 government not described in subsection (a) or (b) 

17 shall be maintained in the form of annual block 

18 grants to be used by the government of the nation 

19 of Puerto Rico at the discretion of the government 

20 of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

21 (2) ANNUAL AGGREGATE FUNDING.—During 

22 the 10-fiscal-year period beginning on the date of 

23 issuance of the Proclamation, the amount of an an24 nual block grant described in paragraph (1) shall be 

25 equal to the greater of— 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (A) the annual aggregate funding of all 

2 programs described in that paragraph that ex3 tend to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico dur4 ing the applicable fiscal year; and 

5 (B) the annual aggregate funding of all 

6 programs described in that paragraph that were 

7 extended to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

8 during the fiscal year immediately prior to the 

9 date of issuance of the Proclamation. 

10 (3) DECREASE IN AMOUNT.—Beginning in the 

11 11th fiscal year after the date of issuance of the 

12 Proclamation, the amount of the annual block 

13 grants described in paragraph (1), as calculated 

14 under paragraph (2), shall decrease at the rate of 10 

15 percent each year. 

16 (4) MODIFICATION OF TERMS.—The terms of 

17 this subsection may be modified by agreement be18 tween the United States and the nation of Puerto 

19 Rico. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 TITLE III—TRANSITION AND IM2 PLEMENTATION OF SOV3 EREIGNTY IN FREE ASSOCIA4 TION WITH THE UNITED 

5 STATES OPTION 

6 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.—The term 

9 ‘‘constitutional convention’’ means a constitutional 

10 convention established under section 302(d)(2). 

11 (2) PROCLAMATION.—The term ‘‘Proclama12 tion’’ means a Presidential proclamation issued 

13 under section 307(a). 

14 SEC. 302. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

15 (a) ELECTION OF DELEGATES.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the effective date of certification of a plebiscite 

17 under this Act that favors sovereignty in free association 

18 with the United States, the Legislative Assembly shall pro19 vide for the election of delegates to a constitutional con20 vention to formulate and draft a constitution for the na21 tion of Puerto Rico. 

22 (b) ELIGIBLE VOTERS.—All eligible voters may vote 

23 in the election of delegates to the constitutional convention 

24 under subsection (a). 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (c) GENERAL APPLICABILITY OF ELECTORAL

2 LAW.—The laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico re3 lating to the electoral process shall apply to an election 

4 held under subsection (a). 

5 (d) INITIAL MEETING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of the election of delegates to the con8 stitutional convention under subsection (a), the 

9 elected delegates shall meet at such time and place 

10 as the Legislative Assembly shall determine. 

11 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The initial meeting of 

12 the elected delegates to the constitutional convention 

13 under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be the 

14 establishment of the constitutional convention. 

15 SEC. 303. CHARACTER OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

16 The constitutional convention shall formulate and 

17 draft a constitution for the nation of Puerto Rico that 

18 guarantees the protection of fundamental human rights, 

19 including— 

20 (1) due process and equal protection under the 

21 law; 

22 (2) freedom of speech, press, assembly, associa23 tion, and religion; 

24 (3) the rights of the accused; 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (4) any other economic, social, and cultural 

2 rights as the constitutional convention may deter3 mine to be necessary; and 

4 (5) provisions to ensure that no individual born 

5 in the nation of Puerto Rico shall be stateless at 

6 birth. 

7 SEC. 304. SUBMISSION; RATIFICATION. 

8 (a) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 2 years after the 

9 date of establishment of the constitutional convention, the 

10 Elections Commission shall submit the constitution formu11 lated and drafted by the delegates to the constitutional 

12 convention to the eligible voters for ratification or rejec13 tion in a special election. 

14 (b) MANNER OF ELECTION.—The special election 

15 held under subsection (a) shall be held in the manner pre16 scribed by the Legislative Assembly. 

17 (c) REJECTION.—If the constitution of the nation of 

18 Puerto Rico is rejected in a special election held under 

19 subsection (a), the process provided for under sections 302 

20 and 303 and subsections (a) and (b) shall be repeated, 

21 except that section 302(a) shall be applied by sub22 stituting— 

23 (1) ‘‘the special election’’ for ‘‘a plebiscite’’; and 

24 (2) ‘‘rejects the Constitution’’ for ‘‘favors sov25 ereignty in free association with the United States’’. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 SEC. 305. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date of ratification of the constitution of the nation of 

4 Puerto Rico under section 304, the Governor shall issue 

5 a proclamation calling for the election of any officers of 

6 the nation of Puerto Rico that may be required by the 

7 ratified constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

8 (b) DEADLINE; PROCEDURES.—The election of the 

9 officers under subsection (a) shall be held— 

10 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

11 ratification of the constitution of the nation of Puer12 to Rico; and 

13 (2) in accordance with the procedures and re14 quirements established by the constitution of the na15 tion of Puerto Rico. 

16 (c) CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS.—Not later than 10 

17 days after the date of the election of officers under sub18 section (a), the Elections Commission shall certify the re19 sults of the election under that subsection. 

20 (d) NOTICE.—As soon as practicable after the date 

21 of the certification under subsection (c), the Governor 

22 shall submit notice of the results of the election certified 

23 under that subsection to— 

24 (1) the President; 

25 (2) the President pro tempore of the Senate; 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (3) the Speaker of the House of Representa2 tives; 

3 (4) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re4 sources of the Senate; and 

5 (5) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 SEC. 306. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAW. 

8 (a) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the initial 

9 meeting of the constitutional convention under section 

10 302(d), the President shall initiate a review of Federal 

11 laws with respect to Puerto Rico, including Federal laws 

12 relating to— 

13 (1) taxation of persons and businesses; 

14 (2) health care; 

15 (3) housing; 

16 (4) transportation; 

17 (5) education; and 

18 (6) entitlement programs. 

19 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date on which the President initiates a review 

21 under subsection (a), the President shall submit to Con22 gress recommendations for changes to Federal laws identi23 fied during the review, as the President determines to be 

24 appropriate. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 SEC. 307. PROCLAMATION BY PRESIDENT; HEAD OF STATE 

2 OF THE NATION PUERTO RICO. 

3 (a) PROCLAMATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

4 the date of certification of the elected officers of the nation 

5 of Puerto Rico under section 305(c), the President shall, 

6 by proclamation— 

7 (1) withdraw and surrender all rights of posses8 sion, supervision, jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty 

9 exercised by the United States over the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico and residents of the Common11 wealth of Puerto Rico on the day before the date of 

12 issuance of the Proclamation; 

13 (2) recognize, on behalf of the United States, 

14 the international sovereignty through free associa15 tion of the nation of Puerto Rico and the authority 

16 of the government of the nation of Puerto Rico insti17 tuted by eligible voters under the constitution of the 

18 nation of Puerto Rico; and 

19 (3) state that the effective date of withdrawal 

20 of the sovereignty of the United States and recogni21 tion of international sovereignty through free asso22 ciation shall be the date of issuance of the Proclama23 tion. 

24 (b) TRANSMISSION OF PROCLAMATION.—Not later 

25 than 7 days after the date of issuance of the Proclamation, 


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•S 2944 IS

1 the President shall transmit a copy of the Proclamation 

2 to— 

3 (1) the presiding officer of the constitutional 

4 convention; 

5 (2) the officer elected as head of state of the 

6 nation of Puerto Rico; 

7 (3) the President pro tempore of the Senate; 

8 (4) the Speaker of the House of Representa9 tives; 

10 (5) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re11 sources of the Senate; and 

12 (6) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

13 House of Representatives. 

14 (c) DATE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OFFICE.—Not 

15 later than 7 days after the date of receipt of the Proclama16 tion under subsection (b) and with the advice of the officer 

17 elected as head of state of the nation of Puerto Rico, the 

18 presiding officer of the constitutional convention shall— 

19 (1) determine the date on which the govern20 ment of the nation of Puerto Rico shall take office; 

21 and 

22 (2) submit notice of the date determined under 

23 paragraph (1) to— 

24 (A) the Governor; 

25 (B) the President; 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (C) the President pro tempore of the Sen2 ate; and 

3 (D) the Speaker of the House of Rep4 resentatives. 

5 SEC. 308. LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS. 

6 On the date of issuance of the Proclamation and ex7 cept as otherwise provided in this title or in any agree8 ments between the United States and the nation of Puerto 

9 Rico— 

10 (1) all property, rights, and interests that the 

11 United States may have acquired in and to the Com12 monwealth of Puerto Rico under the Treaty of Peace 

13 between the United States of America and the King14 dom of Spain, signed at Paris on December 10, 

15 1898 (30 Stat. 1754), and otherwise by cession, pur16 chase, or eminent domain, with the exception of land 

17 and other property, rights, or interests that may 

18 have been sold or otherwise legally disposed of before 

19 the date of issuance of the Proclamation, shall vest 

20 in the nation of Puerto Rico; and 

21 (2) except as provided in section 313, all laws 

22 of the United States applicable to the Common23 wealth of Puerto Rico on the day before the date of 

24 issuance of the Proclamation shall no longer apply 

25 in the nation of Puerto Rico. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 SEC. 309. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS. 

2 (a) JUDGMENTS BEFORE PROCLAMATION.—The na3 tion of Puerto Rico shall recognize and give effect to all 

4 orders and judgments rendered by courts of the United 

5 States or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the day 

6 before the date of issuance of the Proclamation pursuant 

7 to the laws of the United States applicable to the Com8 monwealth of Puerto Rico. 

9 (b) CONTINUITY OF PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—All 

10 judicial proceedings pending in the courts of the Common11 wealth of Puerto Rico on the date of issuance of the Proc12 lamation shall be continued in the corresponding courts 

13 under the constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

14 (c) TRANSFER OF JUDICIAL POWER.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of 

16 issuance of the Proclamation— 

17 (A) the judicial power of the United States 

18 shall no longer extend to the nation of Puerto 

19 Rico; 

20 (B) any proceeding pending in the United 

21 States District Court for the District of Puerto 

22 Rico as of that date shall be transferred to the 

23 applicable court in the nation of Puerto Rico or 

24 other competent judicial authority under the 

25 constitution of the nation of Puerto Rico for 

26 disposition in accordance with laws applicable 


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•S 2944 IS

1 on the date on which the controversy that is the 

2 subject of the proceeding arose; and 

3 (C) any proceeding pending in the United 

4 States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit or 

5 in the Supreme Court of the United States as 

6 of that date that initiated in, or that could have 

7 been initiated in, the courts of the Common8 wealth of Puerto Rico or in the United States 

9 District Court for the District of Puerto Rico 

10 shall— 

11 (i) continue until the date of final dis12 position; and 

13 (ii) be submitted to the competent au14 thority of the nation of Puerto Rico for 

15 proper execution. 

16 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

17 (1), if the United States or any officer of the United 

18 States is a party to a proceeding described in sub19 paragraph (B) or (C) of that paragraph, any final 

20 judgment in that proceeding shall be properly exe21 cuted by the competent authority of the United 

22 States. 

23 SEC. 310. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION LAWS AFTER 

24 SOVEREIGNTY THROUGH FREE ASSOCIATION. 

25 (a) CITIZENSHIP STATUS.— 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (1) PUERTO RICAN NATIONALITY.—Beginning 

2 on the date of issuance of the Proclamation, the citi3 zenship status of each individual born in Puerto 

4 Rico shall be determined in accordance with the con5 stitution and laws of the nation of Puerto Rico. 

6 (2) UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION LAWS.—Ex7 cept as provided in this section, beginning on the 

8 date of issuance of the Proclamation, a citizen of 

9 Puerto Rico seeking to enter into the United States 

10 or obtain citizenship in the United States shall be 

11 subject to the immigration laws. 

12 (b) EFFECT OF PUERTO RICAN CITIZENSHIP.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), nothing in this title precludes or limits 

15 the applicability of section 349 of the Immigration 

16 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481). 

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—The provision of citizenship 

18 by the laws of the nation of Puerto Rico under sub19 section (a)(1) shall not constitute, or otherwise serve 

20 as the basis of, loss or relinquishment of United 

21 States citizenship under section 349 of the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481). 

23 (c) CITIZENSHIP AT BIRTH AFTER SOVEREIGNTY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), an individual born in the nation of Puerto 


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•S 2944 IS

1 Rico after the date of issuance of the Proclamation 

2 to at least 1 parent who became a United States cit3 izen under section 302 of the Immigration and Na4 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1402) shall not be considered 

5 to be a United States citizen at birth under sub6 section (c), (d), or (g) of section 301 of that Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1401). 

8 (2) TRANSITION PERIOD.—During the period 

9 beginning on the effective date of certification of a 

10 plebiscite under this Act that favors sovereignty in 

11 free association with the United States and ending 

12 on the date of issuance of the Proclamation, an indi13 vidual born in the nation of Puerto Rico to 2 par14 ents who are citizens of the United States shall be 

15 considered to be a United States citizen at birth 

16 under section 301(c) of the Immigration and Na17 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401(c)) if the individual is 

18 otherwise eligible for United States citizenship. 

19 (d) TRAVEL AND WORK AUTHORIZATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual in any of the 

21 following categories may enter, lawfully engage in 

22 occupations, and establish residence as a non23 immigrant in the United States and territories and 

24 possessions of the United States without regard to 

25 paragraphs (5)(A) and (7) of section 212(a) of the 


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•S 2944 IS

1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1182(a)): 

3 (A) An individual who acquires citizenship 

4 of Puerto Rico at birth, on or after the date of 

5 issuance of the Proclamation. 

6 (B) A naturalized citizen of Puerto Rico 

7 who— 

8 (i) has been an actual resident of 

9 Puerto Rico for not fewer than 5 years 

10 after attaining naturalization; and 

11 (ii) holds a proof of that residence. 

12 (2) EMPLOYMENT PERMISSION.—An individual 

13 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

14 (1) shall be considered to have the permission of the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security to accept employ16 ment in the United States. 

17 (3) LIMITATIONS.—The right of an individual 

18 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

19 (1) to establish habitual residence in a territory or 

20 possession of the United States may be subjected to 

21 nondiscriminatory limitations provided for— 

22 (A) in laws or regulations of the United 

23 States; or 


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1 (B) in laws or regulations of the applicable 

2 territory or possession that are authorized by 

3 Federal law. 

4 (4) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—This 

5 subsection shall expire on termination of the articles 

6 of free association in accordance with section 312(c). 

7 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (36), by striking ‘‘Puerto 

12 Rico,’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (38), by striking ‘‘Puerto 

14 Rico,’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

16 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of 

17 issuance of the Proclamation. 

18 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion limits the authority of the United States to change 

20 any requirement for United States citizenship. 

21 SEC. 311. BILATERAL NEGOTIATING COMMISSION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a plebiscite held under this Act 

23 results in a majority vote for sovereignty in free associa24 tion with the United States, there shall be established, in 

25 accordance with this section, a commission, to be known 


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•S 2944 IS

1 as the ‘‘Bilateral Negotiating Commission’’, which shall 

2 conduct negotiations on articles of free association with 

3 the United States. 

4 (b) MEMBERS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of establishment of the constitutional convention— 

6 (1) the constitutional convention shall elect, by 

7 majority vote of the delegates to the constitutional 

8 convention, 5 members from among the delegates of 

9 the constitutional convention to join the Bilateral 

10 Negotiating Commission on behalf of Puerto Rico; 

11 and 

12 (2) the President shall appoint 5 members to 

13 the Bilateral Negotiating Commission, 1 of whom 

14 shall be nominated as ambassador, to negotiate on 

15 behalf of the United States. 

16 (c) INITIAL MEETING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of the election and appointment of the 

19 members to the Bilateral Negotiating Commission 

20 under subsection (b), the members of the Bilateral 

21 Negotiating Commission shall meet at such time and 

22 place as the Legislative Assembly determines to be 

23 appropriate. 

24 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The initial meeting 

25 under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be the 


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•S 2944 IS

1 establishment of the Bilateral Negotiating Commis2 sion. 

3 (d) DUTIES.—The Bilateral Negotiating Commission 

4 shall— 

5 (1) be responsible for expediting the orderly 

6 transfer to the nation of Puerto Rico of all functions 

7 exercised on the day before the date of the Procla8 mation by the Government of the United States in 

9 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

10 (2) provide to Congress recommendations on 

11 any appropriate legislation to carry out the transfer 

12 under paragraph (1), including such appropriate en13 abling legislation as may be required by the articles 

14 of free association; 

15 (3) negotiate all matters pertaining to the gov16 ernment-to-government relationship between Puerto 

17 Rico and the United States through the development 

18 of the articles of free association, including foreign 

19 affairs, trade, finance, taxation, security, and de20 fense, dispute resolution, immigration, economic ben21 efits (including grants), and termination of the free 

22 association status; and 

23 (4) to the maximum extent practicable, com24 plete the articles of free association not later than 


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•S 2944 IS

1 2 years after the date of establishment of the con2 stitutional convention. 

3 (e) COLLABORATION.—The Commonwealth govern4 ment and Federal agencies shall collaborate with the Bi5 lateral Negotiating Commission to provide for the orderly 

6 transfer of the functions of government as required by the 

7 articles of free association completed under this section. 

8 SEC. 312. ARTICLES OF FREE ASSOCIATION APPROVAL, EF9 FECTIVE DATE, AND TERMINATION. 

10 (a) APPROVAL.—The articles of free association com11 pleted by the Bilateral Negotiating Commission under sec12 tion 311 shall take effect on mutual agreement between 

13 the Government of the United States and the Government 

14 of Puerto Rico after approval by— 

15 (1) a separate ratification vote on the articles 

16 of free association by the eligible voters in the spe17 cial election held under section 304; and 

18 (2) the Government of the United States, in ac19 cordance with procedures under the Constitution of 

20 the United States. 

21 (b) REJECTION.—If a special election under sub22 section (a)(1) results in rejection of the articles of free 

23 association, the process provided for in section 311 and 

24 subsection (a) shall be repeated. 


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1 (c) TERMINATION.—The articles of free association 

2 between the United States and the nation of Puerto Rico 

3 approved under this section may be terminated at will by 

4 the United States or the nation of Puerto Rico at any 

5 time. 

6 SEC. 313. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS TO ECONOMIC BENEFITS 

7 AND GRANTS. 

8 (a) RIGHTS AND BENEFITS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any vested rights and bene10 fits that accrue to residents of the Commonwealth of 

11 Puerto Rico under the laws of the United States 

12 from past services or contributions, such as rights 

13 and benefits for veterans of the Armed Forces or 

14 relatives of veterans of the Armed Forces, retired 

15 Federal Government employees, or beneficiaries of 

16 old age, disability, or survivor benefits under the So17 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), shall not 

18 be interrupted after the date of issuance of the Proc19 lamation, but shall continue until the date on which 

20 the rights and benefits are extinguished according to 

21 applicable Federal law. 

22 (2) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—All services to be 

23 provided as part of the rights and benefits described 

24 in paragraph (1) shall be made available through the 

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1 ance with agreements entered into by the govern2 ment of the nation of Puerto Rico and the Govern3 ment of the United States. 

4 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

6 (a) and subject to paragraph (2), on the date on 

7 which the government of the nation of Puerto Rico 

8 establishes a social security system for the nation of 

9 Puerto Rico, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

10 transfer to the government of the nation of Puerto 

11 Rico all contributions made by employees and em12 ployers in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the 

13 Social Security system under the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) with respect to individuals 

15 who, as of the date of issuance of the Proclamation, 

16 are residents of the nation of Puerto Rico and are 

17 not yet eligible for old age, disability, or survivor 

18 benefits under the Social Security system under the 

19 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.). 

20 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The government of the 

21 nation of Puerto Rico may not use the amounts 

22 transferred under paragraph (1) for any purpose 

23 other than the establishment and operation of a so24 cial security system for the nation of Puerto Rico. 


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1 (3) OBLIGATIONS.—On the transfer of the 

2 amounts under paragraph (1), the obligations of the 

3 United States Government under the Social Security 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) with respect to residents 

5 of the nation of Puerto Rico shall cease. 

6 (c) OTHER FEDERAL TRANSFER PAYMENTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal transfer pay8 ments to individuals and to the Commonwealth gov9 ernment not described in subsection (a) or (b) shall 

10 be maintained in the form of annual block grants to 

11 be used by the government of the nation of Puerto 

12 Rico at the discretion of the government of the na13 tion of Puerto Rico. 

14 (2) ANNUAL AGGREGATE FUNDING.—During 

15 the 10-fiscal-year period beginning on the date of 

16 issuance of the Proclamation, the amount of an an17 nual block grant described in paragraph (1) shall be 

18 equal to the greater of— 

19 (A) the annual aggregate funding of all 

20 programs described in that paragraph that ex21 tend to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico dur22 ing the applicable fiscal year; and 

23 (B) the annual aggregate funding of all 

24 programs described in that paragraph that have 

25 been extended to the Commonwealth of Puerto 


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1 Rico during the fiscal year immediately prior to 

2 the date of issuance of the Proclamation. 

3 (3) DECREASE IN AMOUNT.—Beginning in the 

4 11th fiscal year after the date of issuance of the 

5 Proclamation, the amount of the annual block 

6 grants described in paragraph (1), as calculated 

7 under paragraph (2), shall decrease at the rate of 10 

8 percent each year. 

9 (4) MODIFICATION OF TERMS.—The terms of 

10 this subsection may be modified by agreement be11 tween the United States and the nation of Puerto 

12 Rico. 

13 (d) REVISION.—The terms and conditions of sub14 sections (a) and (b) may be revised as part of an agree15 ment under the articles of free association approved under 

16 section 312. 

17 TITLE IV—TRANSITION AND IM18 PLEMENTATION OF STATE19 HOOD STATUS 

20 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this title: 

22 (1) ADMISSION DATE.—The term ‘‘admission 

23 date’’ means the date on which the Commonwealth 

24 of Puerto Rico is admitted as a State of the Union 


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1 of the United States, as established under section 

2 402(b)(1). 

3 (2) PROCLAMATION.—The term ‘‘Proclama4 tion’’ means a Presidential proclamation issued 

5 under section 402(b)(1). 

6 SEC. 402. PUERTO RICO READINESS FOR STATEHOOD; 

7 PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION; ADMISSION 

8 INTO THE UNION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

9 (a) ASSESSMENT OF READINESS FOR STATEHOOD.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of a certification 

11 of the plebiscite results of the Elections Commission 

12 pursuant to section 101(d) in which the statehood 

13 status option is favored, the Comptroller General of 

14 the United States shall conduct a study on the read15 iness of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for state16 hood, under which the Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall examine— 

18 (A) whether the majority of eligible voters 

19 that voted for statehood in the plebiscite re20 flects a sufficiently stable majority such that it 

21 is likely that the majority of the eligible votes 

22 would not revert to a minority of eligible voters 

23 in a future plebiscite; 

24 (B) whether the proposed new State, with 

25 a per capita income of $13,318, according to 


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•S 2944 IS

1 the 2020 decennial census, has sufficient re2 sources— 

3 (i) to support the State government; 

4 (ii) to meet the restructured debt pay5 ment obligations, as set forth in the appli6 cable plan of adjustment filed under sec7 tion 312 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2172); 

8 and 

9 (iii) to provide the applicable State 

10 share of the costs of the Federal Govern11 ment, including demonstrating the capacity 

12 to comply with full payment of Federal 

13 taxes and other contributions in the same 

14 manner as existing States of the United 

15 States; and 

16 (C) the impact on existing States of the 

17 United States and the United States as a whole 

18 of— 

19 (i) the fact that the population of the 

20 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico— 

21 (I) is greater than the population 

22 of 29 other States; and 

23 (II) is greater than the popu24 lation of any State as of the date on 


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1 which the State entered the Union of 

2 the United States; 

3 (ii) the fact that, of the 98.7 percent 

4 of the population of the Commonwealth of 

5 Puerto Rico that is Hispanic, a substantial 

6 proportion considers Puerto Rico to be a 

7 Spanish-speaking, Latino nation; and 

8 (iii) the fact that 43.4 percent of the 

9 population of the Commonwealth of Puerto 

10 Rico is below the poverty line, according to 

11 the 2020 decennial census. 

12 (2) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 years after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

14 General of the United States shall submit to the ap15 propriate committees of Congress a report describing 

16 the results of the study under paragraph (1). 

17 (3) VOTE.—As soon as practicable after the 

18 date of submission of the study under paragraph 

19 (2), the Senate and the House of Representatives 

20 shall each hold a vote on the admission of the Com21 monwealth of Puerto Rico as a State of the Union 

22 of the United States. 

23 (b) PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION; DATE OF ADMIS24 SION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of notice of a ma2 jority vote in the Senate and the House of Rep3 resentatives in favor of the admission of the Com4 monwealth of Puerto Rico as a State of the Union 

5 of the United States under subsection (a)(3), the 

6 President shall issue a proclamation declaring the 

7 date on which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is 

8 admitted as a State of the Union of the United 

9 States, subject to paragraph (2). 

10 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The date referred to in 

11 paragraph (1) shall be a date not later than 1 year 

12 after the date on which the President receives the 

13 notice under that paragraph. 

14 (3) SUBMISSION OF PROCLAMATION.—The 

15 President shall submit the Proclamation to— 

16 (A) the Governor; 

17 (B) the President pro tempore of the Sen18 ate; 

19 (C) the Speaker of the House of Rep20 resentatives; 

21 (D) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

22 Resources of the Senate; and 

23 (E) the Committee on Natural Resources 

24 of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (4) ADMISSION INTO THE UNION OF THE

2 UNITED STATES.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provi4 sions of this Act, on the admission date, the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be a State 

6 of the United States and admitted into the 

7 Union of the United States on an equal footing 

8 with the other States in all respects. 

9 (B) DESIGNATION.—On admission into the 

10 Union of the United States under subparagraph 

11 (A), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be 

12 known as ‘‘the State of Puerto Rico’’. 

13 (C) INCORPORATION.—The Commonwealth 

14 of Puerto Rico shall remain unincorporated 

15 until the admission date. 

16 SEC. 403. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAW. 

17 (a) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

18 of certification of the plebiscite results of the Elections 

19 Commission pursuant to section 101(d) in which the state20 hood status option is favored, the President shall initiate 

21 a review of Federal laws with respect to Puerto Rico, in22 cluding Federal laws relating to— 

23 (1) taxation of persons and businesses; 

24 (2) health care; 

25 (3) housing; 


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1 (4) transportation; 

2 (5) education; and 

3 (6) entitlement programs. 

4 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date on which the President initiates a review 

6 under subsection (a), the President shall submit to Con7 gress recommendations for changes to Federal laws identi8 fied during the review, as the President determines to be 

9 appropriate. 

10 SEC. 404. TERRITORY AND BOUNDARIES. 

11 The State of Puerto Rico shall consist of all of the 

12 islands, appurtenant reefs, seafloor, submerged land, and 

13 territorial waters in the seaward boundary under the juris14 diction of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the day 

15 before the admission date. 

16 SEC. 405. CONSTITUTION. 

17 (a) FINDING; DECLARATION.—Congress— 

18 (1) finds that the constitution of the Common19 wealth of Puerto Rico approved by Public Law 82– 

20 447 (66 Stat. 327, chapter 567), as subsequently 

21 amended and in effect as of the day before the date 

22 of enactment of this Act is— 

23 (A) republican in form; and 


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1 (B) in conformity with the Constitution of 

2 the United States and the principles of the Dec3 laration of Independence; and 

4 (2) declares that the constitution of the Com5 monwealth of Puerto Rico approved by Public Law 

6 82–447 (66 Stat. 327, chapter 567), as subsequently 

7 amended and in effect as of the day before the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, is accepted, ratified, and 

9 confirmed as the constitution of the State of Puerto 

10 Rico. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENT.—The constitution of the State of 

12 Puerto Rico— 

13 (1) shall remain republican in form; and 

14 (2) shall not be repugnant to— 

15 (A) the Constitution of the United States; 

16 or 

17 (B) the principles of the Declaration of 

18 Independence. 

19 SEC. 406. ELECTIONS OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTA20 TIVES; CERTIFICATION; JURISDICTION. 

21 (a) ELECTIONS OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTA22 TIVES.—Not later than 30 days after the date of issuance 

23 of the Proclamation, the Governor shall issue a declaration 

24 to designate and announce the dates and other require25 ments for primary and general elections under applicable 


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•S 2944 IS

1 Federal and local law for representation of the State of 

2 Puerto Rico in the Senate and the House of Representa3 tives on admission of the State of Puerto Rico into the 

4 Union of the United States. 

5 (b) RESIDENT COMMISSIONER.—The office of Resi6 dent Commissioner of Puerto Rico shall cease to exist on 

7 the swearing in of the first Member of the House of Rep8 resentatives from the State of Puerto Rico. 

9 (c) SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—On admission into the Union 

11 of the United States, the State of Puerto Rico shall 

12 be entitled to representation in the Senate and 

13 House of Representatives, with the Senators and 

14 Representatives from the State of Puerto Rico enti15 tled— 

16 (A) to be admitted to seats in Congress; 

17 and 

18 (B) to all the rights and privileges of Sen19 ators and Representatives of the other States in 

20 Congress. 

21 (2) FIRST ELECTION OF SENATORS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the first election of 

23 Senators from the State of Puerto Rico held 

24 after the admission date— 


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1 (i) the 2 senatorial offices shall be 

2 separately identified and designated; and 

3 (ii) no individual may be a candidate 

4 for both Senatorial offices designated 

5 under clause (i). 

6 (B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this paragraph 

7 affects the privilege of the Senate to determine 

8 the class and term to which each of the Sen9 ators elected under this paragraph shall be as10 signed, except that the 2 Senators may not be 

11 in same class. 

12 (3) ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

13 (A) INITIAL ELECTIONS.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—In the first election 

15 of Representatives from the State of Puer16 to Rico held after the admission date and 

17 each election thereafter until the first cen18 sus-based reapportionment election held 

19 after the admission date— 

20 (I) the State of Puerto Rico shall 

21 be entitled to the same number of 

22 Representatives as the State, the most 

23 recent census population of which was 

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1 ulation of the State of Puerto Rico; 

2 and 

3 (II) the Representatives elected 

4 shall be in addition to the number of 

5 Members of the House of Representa6 tives as prescribed by law. 

7 (ii) INCREASE.—Any temporary in8 crease in the membership in the number of 

9 Members of the House of Representatives 

10 under clause (i)(II) shall not— 

11 (I) increase or decrease the per12 manent membership of the House of 

13 Representatives as prescribed in sec14 tions 1 and 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An 

15 Act for the apportionment of Rep16 resentatives in Congress among the 

17 several States under the Thirteenth 

18 Census’’, approved August 8, 1911 (2 

19 U.S.C. 2); or 

20 (II) affect the basis of reappor21 tionment established by section 22 of 

22 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide 

23 for the fifteenth and subsequent de24 cennial censuses and to provide for 

25 apportionment of Representatives in 


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•S 2944 IS

1 Congress’’, approved June 18, 1929 

2 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless Congress in3 creases the total number of Members 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 (B) CENSUS-BASED REAPPORTIONMENT

6 ELECTIONS.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—During the first 

8 census-based reapportionment election held 

9 after the admission date and each election 

10 thereafter, the State of Puerto Rico shall 

11 be entitled to the number of Representa12 tives as provided for by applicable law, 

13 based on the applicable reapportionment. 

14 (ii) APPLICABLE LAW.—The appor15 tionment of congressional districts for an 

16 election under clause (i) shall be conducted 

17 as provided for by the constitution and 

18 laws of the State of Puerto Rico for State 

19 legislative districts. 

20 (d) CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Elections Commission 

22 shall certify the results of the initial primary and 

23 general elections for representation in the Senate 

24 and the House of Representatives from the State of 

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1 section (c) to the Governor of the State of Puerto 

2 Rico. 

3 (2) TRANSMISSION; DECLARATION.—Not later 

4 than 10 days after the date of a certification under 

5 paragraph (1), the Governor of the State of Puerto 

6 Rico shall— 

7 (A) declare the results of the primary or 

8 general election, as applicable; and 

9 (B) transmit the results of the election 

10 to— 

11 (i) the President; 

12 (ii) the President pro tempore of the 

13 Senate; and 

14 (iii) the Speaker of the House of Rep15 resentatives. 

16 (e) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURT.—The United 

17 States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico shall 

18 have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil ac19 tion alleging a dispute or controversy relating to any elec20 toral process conducted under this section. 

21 SEC. 407. STATE TITLE TO LAND AND PROPERTY. 

22 (a) STATE TITLE.—The State of Puerto Rico and po23 litical subdivisions of the State of Puerto Rico shall have 

24 and retain title in and to all property, real and personal, 

25 held by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and political 


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•S 2944 IS

1 subdivisions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the 

2 day before the admission date. 

3 (b) FEDERAL TITLE.—There shall remain the prop4 erty of the United States any land and other property 

5 that, as of the admission date, is set aside for the use 

6 of the United States under— 

7 (1) an Act of Congress; 

8 (2) an Executive order; 

9 (3) a Presidential proclamation; or 

10 (4) a proclamation of the Governor. 

11 (c) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 

12 (1) STATE OF PUERTO RICO.—The State of 

13 Puerto Rico shall have the exclusive right to explore, 

14 exploit, lease, possess, and use all seabed and nat15 ural and mineral resources lying within 3 marine 

16 leagues or 9 nautical miles from the shoreline of the 

17 State of Puerto Rico, as granted under section 8 of 

18 the Act of March 2, 1917 (39 Stat. 954, chapter 

19 145; 48 U.S.C. 749). 

20 (2) UNITED STATES.—All other rights of sov21 ereignty with respect to the outer Continental Shelf 

22 of the State of Puerto Rico shall belong to the 

23 United States, except in cases in which the rights 

24 are vested in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on 

25 the day before the admission date. 


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1 SEC. 408. CONTINUITY OF LAWS, GOVERNMENT, AND OBLI2 GATIONS. 

3 As of the admission date— 

4 (1) all of the territorial laws in effect in the 

5 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on the date of 

6 issuance of the Proclamation that are not incon7 sistent with this Act or the constitution of the State 

8 of Puerto Rico shall continue in force and effect 

9 throughout the State of Puerto Rico, until amended, 

10 modified, or repealed by the State of Puerto Rico; 

11 (2) all of the laws of the United States shall 

12 have the same force and effect within the State of 

13 Puerto Rico as in the other States; 

14 (3) the individuals holding legislative, executive, 

15 and judicial offices of the Commonwealth of Puerto 

16 Rico shall continue to discharge the duties of the re17 spective offices in, under, or by authority of the gov18 ernment of the State of Puerto Rico, as provided by 

19 the constitution and laws of the State; 

20 (4) all contracts, obligations, liabilities, debts, 

21 and claims of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 

22 instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto 

23 Rico in effect on the admission date shall continue 

24 in full force and effect as the contracts, obligations, 

25 liabilities, debts, and claims of the State of Puerto 


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•S 2944 IS

1 Rico and instrumentalities of the State of Puerto 

2 Rico; and 

3 (5) all laws of the United States reserving to 

4 the United States the free use or enjoyment of prop5 erty that vests in or is conveyed to the State of 

6 Puerto Rico or political subdivisions of the State of 

7 Puerto Rico pursuant to this section or reserving the 

8 right to alter, amend, or repeal laws relating to the 

9 property shall cease to be effective. 

10 SEC. 409. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS. 

11 (a) PENDING.—A writ, action, indictment, cause, or 

12 proceeding pending in any court of the Commonwealth of 

13 Puerto Rico as of the admission date— 

14 (1) shall not abate by reason of the admission 

15 of the State of Puerto Rico into the Union of the 

16 United States; but 

17 (2) shall, as the nature of the case may re18 quire— 

19 (A) proceed within any appropriate State 

20 court established under the constitution of the 

21 State of Puerto Rico; or 

22 (B) continue in the United States District 

23 Court for the District of Puerto Rico. 

24 (b) NOT YET PENDING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any civil cause of action or 

2 criminal offense that arose or was committed before 

3 the admission date, but with respect to which no 

4 writ, action, indictment, or proceeding is pending on 

5 the admission date, shall be subject to prosecution in 

6 the appropriate State court or in the United States 

7 District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, to the 

8 same extent, and with the same right of appellate re9 view, as if the State court had been established be10 fore the accrual of the cause of action or the com11 mission of the offense. 

12 (2) PROCEDURAL OR SUBSTANTIVE LAWS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The admission of the 

14 State of Puerto Rico into the Union of the 

15 United States shall not affect a change in the 

16 procedural or substantive laws with respect to a 

17 cause of action or criminal offense that arose or 

18 was committed as of the admission date. 

19 (B) TRIAL.—Any criminal offense de20 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (i) that was committed in violation of 

22 the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto 

23 Rico shall be tried by the appropriate court 

24 of the State of Puerto Rico; and 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (ii) that was committed in violation of 

2 the laws of the United States shall be tried 

3 in the United States District Court for the 

4 District of Puerto Rico. 

5 (c) APPEALS.— 

6 (1) BEFORE ADMISSION DATE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Parties to an action 

8 shall have the same rights of judicial review of 

9 final decisions of the United States District 

10 Court for the District of Puerto Rico or the Su11 preme Court of Puerto Rico in any case decided 

12 before the admission date, regardless of wheth13 er an appeal was perfected prior to the admis14 sion date. 

15 (B) JURISDICTION.—The United States 

16 Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the 

17 Supreme Court of the United States shall have 

18 the same jurisdiction in an action described in 

19 subparagraph (A) as by law provided prior to 

20 the admission date. 

21 (2) AFTER ADMISSION DATE.—Any mandate 

22 issued after the admission date shall be to the 

23 United States District Court for the District of 

24 Puerto Rico or a court of the State of Puerto Rico, 

25 as appropriate. 


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•S 2944 IS

1 (3) PENDING ACTION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Parties shall have the 

3 same rights of appeal from, and appellate re4 view of, all orders, judgments, and decrees of 

5 the United States District Court for the Dis6 trict of Puerto Rico and of the Supreme Court 

7 of Puerto Rico in any case pending on the ad8 mission date. 

9 (B) JURISDICTION.—The Supreme Court 

10 of Puerto Rico and the Supreme Court of the 

11 United States shall have the same jurisdiction 

12 in an action described in subparagraph (A) as 

13 the jurisdiction provided in any case arising 

14 after the admission date. 

15 TITLE V—TRANSITION AND IM16 PLEMENTATION OF COMMON17 WEALTH STATUS 

18 SEC. 501. BILATERAL NEGOTIATING COMMISSION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a plebiscite conducted under 

20 this Act results in a majority vote for the Commonwealth21 Estado Libre Asociado status option, there shall be estab22 lished, in accordance with this section, a commission, to 

23 be known as the ‘‘Bilateral Negotiating Commission’’, 

24 which shall conduct studies and negotiations on changes 

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•S 2944 IS

1 in the general framework of commonwealth status, includ2 ing the potential for a compact agreement between the 

3 United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to 

4 replace the Act of July 3, 1950 (commonly known as the 

5 ‘‘Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950’’) (64 Stat. 

6 319, chapter 446). 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Not later than 180 days after the 

8 date on which the results of a plebiscite in favor of com9 monwealth status are submitted under section 101(d)— 

10 (1) the political party or organization rep11 resenting the Commonwealth-Estado Libre Asociado 

12 status option in the plebiscite shall appoint 5 mem13 bers to the Bilateral Negotiating Commission; and 

14 (2) the President shall appoint 5 members to 

15 the Bilateral Negotiating Commission. 

16 (c) INITIAL MEETING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date on which the members of the Bilateral Ne19 gotiating Commission are appointed under sub20 section (b), the Bilateral Negotiating Commission 

21 shall hold a meeting at such time and such place as 

22 the members of the Bilateral Negotiating Commis23 sion determine to be appropriate. 

24 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The initial meeting 

25 under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be the 


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1 establishment of the Bilateral Negotiating Commis2 sion. 

3 (d) DUTIES.—The Bilateral Negotiating Commission 

4 shall— 

5 (1)(A) examine, discuss, and negotiate improve6 ments to the Commonwealth-Estado Libre Asociado 

7 status; 

8 (B) draft a compact agreement that would re9 place the Act of July 3, 1950 (commonly known as 

10 the ‘‘Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950’’) 

11 (64 Stat. 319, chapter 446), within the general 

12 framework of the Commonwealth-Estado Libre 

13 Asociado status; and 

14 (C) propose the draft compact agreement to eli15 gible voters in a ratification vote in accordance with 

16 section 502(a)(1); 

17 (2) to the maximum extent practicable, com18 plete the work of the Bilateral Negotiating Commis19 sion not later than 2 years after the date of the ini20 tial meeting of the Bilateral Negotiating Commis21 sion. 

22 (e) COLLABORATION.—The Commonwealth govern23 ment and Federal agencies shall collaborate with the Bi24 lateral Negotiating Commission in carrying out the duties 

25 of the Bilateral Negotiating Commission under this title. 


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1 SEC. 502. APPROVAL; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) APPROVAL.—A compact agreement between the 

3 Federal Government and the Commonwealth government 

4 proposed by the Bilateral Negotiating Commission under 

5 section 501 shall take effect on the date of approval of 

6 the proposed compact agreement— 

7 (1) in a ratification vote by eligible voters in a 

8 special election that is held— 

9 (A) not later than 180 days after the date 

10 on which the Bilateral Negotiating Commission 

11 releases the proposed compact agreement; and 

12 (B) in accordance with procedures devel13 oped by the Legislative Assembly; and 

14 (2) by the Federal Government, in accordance 

15 with applicable Federal law and the Constitution. 

16 (b) REJECTION.—If the special election under sub17 section (a)(1) results in a rejection of the proposed com18 pact agreement, the process provided in section 501 and 

19 subsection (a) shall be repeated. 

20 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS 

21 SEC. 601. APPLICATION OF PUERTO RICO OVERSIGHT, 

22 MANAGEMENT, AND ECONOMIC STABILITY 

23 ACT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—On the applicable date described 

25 in subsection (b)— 


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1 (1) the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, 

2 and Economic Stability Act (48 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) 

3 shall no longer apply to the State of Puerto Rico, 

4 the nation of Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth of 

5 Puerto Rico, as applicable; and 

6 (2)(A) the Financial Oversight and Manage7 ment Board established by section 101(b)(1) of the 

8 Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic 

9 Stability Act (48 U.S.C. 2121(b)(1)) shall be termi10 nated; 

11 (B) all duties and responsibilities assigned to 

12 the Financial Oversight and Management Board 

13 under that Act as of that date shall return to the 

14 State of Puerto Rico, the nation of Puerto Rico, or 

15 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as applicable; 

16 and 

17 (C) all funds, property, and assets of the Fi18 nancial Oversight and Management Board as of that 

19 date shall be transferred to the State of Puerto 

20 Rico, the nation of Puerto Rico, or the Common21 wealth of Puerto Rico, as applicable. 

22 (b) APPLICABLE DATE DESCRIBED.—The applicable 

23 date described in this subsection is— 


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1 (1) the date on which the government of the na2 tion of Puerto Rico takes office, as established under 

3 section 208(c) or 307(c); 

4 (2) the date on which the Commonwealth of 

5 Puerto Rico is admitted as a State of the Union of 

6 the United States, as declared under a Presidential 

7 proclamation issued under section 402(b)(1); or 

8 (3) the date of ratification by eligible voters of 

9 a compact agreement for the Commonwealth of 

10 Puerto Rico under section 502(a)(1). 

11 SEC. 602. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this Act, or the application of a 

13 provision of this Act to any person or circumstance, is held 

14 to be invalid by a court of jurisdiction, the remainder of 

15 this Act, and the application of the provisions to any per16 son or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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