Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021
Bill: S.865 | Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021
This bill establishes a process for the people of Puerto Rico to vote on the political status (e.g., statehood) of the territory. Congress may ratify the decision through a joint resolution.
The bill declares that the legislature of Puerto Rico has the authority to call a status convention regarding the political status of the territory.
The bill provides for public financing of delegate elections to the status convention and establishes a Congressional Bilateral Negotiating Commission to provide advice and consultation to delegates of the status convention.
The status convention must provide self-determination options for a referendum of the people of Puerto Rico. Ranked-choice voting is a permitted format for the referendum. Delegates shall carry out an educational campaign through traditional paid media related to the referendum.
The bill provides for congressional consideration of a joint resolution to ratify the self-determination option selected through the referendum.

To recognize the right of the People of Puerto Rico to call a status 
convention through which the people would exercise their natural right 
 to self-determination, and to establish a mechanism for congressional 
        consideration of such decision, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act 
of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) In 1898, the United States defeated the Spanish Kingdom 
        in the Spanish-American War and acquired by conquest Puerto 
        Rico, Guam, and the Philippines pursuant to the Treaty of 
        Paris.
            (2) In 1900, Congress established a civilian government on 
        the island through the Foraker Act. Among other points, that 
        Act established an ``executive council'' consisting of various 
        department heads and a presidentially appointed civilian 
        governor.
            (3) The Foraker Act also established the Resident 
        Commissioner position to represent island interests in 
        Congress. These duties came to include nonvoting service in the 
        House of Representatives.
            (4) In 1901, the Supreme Court's decisions in Downes v. 
        Bidwell and its progeny held that for purposes of the 
        Constitution's Uniformity Clause, Puerto Rico was not part of 
        the United States and subject to the plenary powers of 
        Congress, which in turn established a colonial relationship. 
        Justice White, in concurrence, opined that Congress has 
        discretion to decide whether and when to incorporate a 
        territory into the United States.
            (5) Congress recognized Puerto Rico's authority over 
        matters of internal governance in 1950 with the passage of the 
        Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 (Public Law 81-600), 
        providing for a constitutional government for the island which 
        was adopted by Congress as a compact for the people of Puerto 
        Rico and the subsequent ratification of the island's 
        constitution in July 1952.
            (6) On November 18, 1953, the United Nations recognized 
        Puerto Rico as a self-governing political entity under the 
        United Nations General Assembly Resolution 748.
            (7) The political status of Puerto Rico is of significant 
        interest to communities both on and off the island, including 
        diaspora groups that continue having strong cultural ties and 
        socioeconomic ties to Puerto Rico.
            (8) The United States has a legal duty to comply with 
        Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights, which establishes that all peoples have the right to 
        self-determination and ``by virtue of that right they freely 
        determine their political status and freely pursue their 
        economic, social and cultural development''.
            (9) The status convention provides a deliberative, 
        comprehensive, and uninterrupted space of dialogue that can 
        define the future of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 3. PUERTO RICO STATUS CONVENTION.

    (a) In General.--The legislature of Puerto Rico has the inherent 
authority to call a status convention through an Act or Concurrent 
Resolution, constituted by a number of delegates to be determined in 
accordance with legislation approved by the Government of Puerto Rico, 
for the purpose of proposing to the people of Puerto Rico self-
determination options. A status convention called by the legislature of 
Puerto Rico shall--
            (1) be a semipermanent body that is dissolved only when the 
        United States ratifies the self-determination option presented 
        to Congress by the status convention as selected by the people 
        of Puerto Rico in the referendum under section 5; and
            (2) consist of delegates elected by the voters of Puerto 
        Rico in an election conducted according to the enabling 
        legislation for the status convention as approved by the 
        legislature of Puerto Rico.
    (b) Public Financing of Delegate Elections.--
            (1) Fund established.--There is hereby established in the 
        Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 
        ``Puerto Rico Status Convention Public Matching Fund'' which 
        shall be administered by the Puerto Rico State Commission on 
        Elections and subject to oversight by the Federal Election 
        Commission. To the extent amounts are made available in the 
        fund for this purpose, the Puerto Rico State Commission on 
        Elections shall distribute amounts in the fund such that $4 is 
        distributed to each candidate for delegate for every $1 that 
        the candidate receives as a campaign contribution that is--
                    (A) less than $100; and
                    (B) donated by a resident of Puerto Rico.
            (2) Requirements for funding.--To be eligible to receive 
        funds under this subsection, a candidate for delegate shall--
                    (A) agree to increased financial oversight from the 
                Federal Election Commission;
                    (B) limit campaign spending to not more than 
                $25,000; and
                    (C) demonstrate a basic level of support from 
                residents of Puerto Rico by receiving from residents of 
                Puerto Rico not fewer than 50 donations from 50 
                individuals of not more than $50.
            (3) Administrative amounts.-- Not more than 10 percent of 
        amounts made available under paragraph (4) may be use for 
        administrative costs of the Federal Election Commission.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated and deposited into the Puerto Rico Status 
        Convention Public Matching Fund to carry out this section 
        $5,500,000.
    (c) Delegates.--Delegates elected under subsection (a)(2), in 
consultation with the Commission, shall--
            (1) debate and draft definitions on self-determination 
        options for Puerto Rico, which shall be outside the Territorial 
        Clause of the United States Constitution;
            (2) draft a least one accompanying transition plan for each 
        self-determination option; and
            (3) select and present to the people of Puerto Rico the 
        self-determination options that will be included in the 
        referendum under section 5.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BILATERAL NEGOTIATING COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a Congressional Bilateral 
Negotiating Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ``Commission'') 
to provide advice and consultation to delegates elected under section 
3(a)(2).
    (b) Composition.--
            (1) In general.--The members of the Commission shall 
        include--
                    (A) the chairs of the Committee on Natural 
                Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the ranking members of the Committee on Natural 
                Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
                Senate;
                    (C) one member selected by the majority leader of 
                the House of Representatives;
                    (D) one member selected by the minority leader of 
                the House of Representatives;
                    (E) one member selected by the majority leader of 
                the Senate;
                    (F) one member selected by the minority leader of 
                the Senate;
                    (G) the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico;
                    (H) with the consent of the Speaker of the House of 
                Representatives and majority leader of the Senate, a 
                member from the Department of Justice; and
                    (I) with the consent of the Speaker of the House of 
                Representatives and majority leader of the Senate, a 
                member from the Department of the Interior.
            (2) Requirements for certain members.--Members selected 
        under subparagraphs (C) through (F) of paragraph (1) shall 
        represent a State or district in a State that, as determined by 
        the most recently publicly available data from the Bureau of 
        the Census, represents one of the 10 States with the largest 
        population of people who identified on the most recent Census 
        as Puerto Rican.
    (c) Duties and Functions.--The Commission--
            (1) shall meet periodically with the delegates in Puerto 
        Rico and the District of Columbia, at the request of a majority 
        of the delegates, with each meeting required to include at 
        least one delegate from each of the self-determination options;
            (2) shall have the authority to--
                    (A) study;
                    (B) make findings;
                    (C) develop recommendations regarding self-
                determination options on constitutional issues and 
                policies related to--
                            (i) culture;
                            (ii) language;
                            (iii) judicial and public education 
                        systems;
                            (iv) taxes; and
                            (v) United States citizenship; and
                    (D) provide technical assistance and constitutional 
                advice to the delegates during the Puerto Rico status 
                convention;
            (3) may hold public hearings in connection with any aspects 
        of the convention at the request of the delegates or on its 
        own; and
            (4) may receive testimony.
    (d) Reports.--The Commission shall--
            (1) not less than quarterly, provide status reports, 
        findings, and studies to the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate;
            (2) not less than once every 12 months, submit a status 
        report to the House of Representatives and the Senate; and
            (3) make reports submitted under paragraph (2) available to 
        the general public in widely accessible formats in English and 
        Spanish on the same day that such reports are submitted under 
        paragraph (2).

SEC. 5. PUERTO RICO STATUS REFERENDUM; EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.

    (a) Structure and Process.--
            (1) In general.--A referendum vote by the people of Puerto 
        Rico--
                    (A) may be conducted in a ranked-choice voting 
                format in which voters rank choices by preference on 
                their ballots without a limit on the number of choices 
                ranked;
                    (B) may consist of choices each composed of a self-
                determination definition and accompanying transition 
                plan as presented by the delegates under section 3; and
                    (C) may include more than one choice with the same 
                self-determination definition, but a distinct 
                accompanying transition plan as presented by the 
                delegates under section 3.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated the Puerto Rico State Commission on 
        Elections, $2,500,000 to carry out a referendum vote under this 
        subsection.
    (b) Educational Campaign.--
            (1) In general.--Delegates shall carry out an educational 
        campaign through traditional paid media related to the 
        referendum under subsection (a).
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated the Puerto Rico State Commission on 
        Elections, $5,000,000 to carry out an educational campaign 
        under this subsection. The Federal Election Commission shall 
        ensure that funds made available under this paragraph are 
        divided equally among each self-determination option 
        represented on the referendum held under this Act.
            (3) Quarterly campaign reports.--Each delegates shall 
        submit quarterly campaign reports of the educational campaigns 
        to the Federal Election Commission.

SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL DELIBERATION AND ENACTING RESOLUTION.

    If the referendum under this Act is approved by the people of 
Puerto Rico, Congress shall approve a joint resolution to ratify the 
preferred self-determination option approved in that referendum vote. 
If the Congress adjourns sine die before acting on the self-
determination option, the Puerto Rico status convention created under 
this Act may meet again and send or resend a self-determination options 
to the following Congress.

SEC. 7. JOINT RESOLUTION.

    (a) Definition.--The term ``joint resolution'' means a joint 
resolution that is introduced within the 10-day period beginning on the 
date when the results of the referendum are certified by Puerto Rico's 
Commission on Elections.
    (b) Referral.--A resolution described in subsection (a) that is 
introduced in the House of Representatives shall be referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources and in the Senate shall be referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
    (c) Discharge.--If the committee to which a resolution described in 
subsection (a) is referred has not reported such resolution (or an 
identical resolution) by the end of the day period beginning on the day 
of certification of referendum results shall be, at the end of such 
period, discharged from further consideration of such resolution, and 
such resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the body 
involved.
    (d) Consideration.--(1) On or after the third day after the date on 
which the committee to which such a resolution is referred has 
reported, or has been discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 
consideration of, such a resolution, it is in order (even though a 
previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for any 
Member of the respective body to move to proceed to the consideration 
of the resolution. A Member may make the motion only on the day after 
the calendar day on which the Member announces to the body concerned 
the Member's intention to make the motion, except that, in the case of 
the House of Representatives, the motion may be made without such prior 
announcement if the motion is made by direction of the committee to 
which the resolution was referred. All points of order against the 
resolution (and against consideration of the resolution) are waived. 
The motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives and is 
privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 
in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution 
is agreed to, the respective body shall immediately proceed to 
consideration of the joint resolution without intervening motion, 
order, or other business, and the resolution shall remain the 
unfinished business of the respective body until disposed of.
    (2) Debate on the resolution, and on all debatable motions and 
appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 
hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 
opposing the resolution. An amendment to the resolution is not in 
order. A motion further to limit debate is in order and not debatable. 
A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
other business, or a motion to recommit the resolution is not in order. 
A motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or 
disagreed to is not in order.
    (3) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a 
resolution described in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at the 
conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of 
the appropriate body, the vote on final passage of the resolution shall 
occur.
    (4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives, 
as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution described 
in subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.
    (e) Consideration by Other Body.--If, before the passage by one 
body of a resolution of that body described in subsection (a), that 
body receives from the other body a resolution described in subsection 
(a), then the following procedures shall apply:
            (1) The resolution of the other body shall not be referred 
        to a committee and may not be considered in the body receiving 
        it except in the case of final passage as provided in 
        subparagraph (B)(ii).
            (2) With respect to a resolution described in subsection 
        (a) of the body receiving the resolution--
                    (A) the procedure in that body shall be the same as 
                if no resolution had been received from the other body; 
                but
                    (B) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                resolution of the other body.
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