He Senate defeated this Wednesday 10 legislative measures of the House of Representativesincluding one that would have given legal authority to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) to intervene “without prior request” in emergency situations related to coastal erosion.
“You cannot intervene in a coastal area without having the endorsement of the federal authorities, and here they are going once again (to try)”said the independent senator Eliezer Molinaby registering his rejection of the House Bill (PC) 281.
According to Molina, the measure – which obtained 11 votes in favor and 15 against – made the secretary of the DRNA, Waldemar Quilesin the “Tsar of the Emergency”. “This person wants to have full authority to be able to intervene in the properties that people claim as private, as long as it is on the coast,” he argued.
The senator Roxanna Soto Aguilu requested, without success, the support of his delegation of the New Progressive Party (PNP) to the project. “It is necessary to break paradigms of administrative bureaucracies to accelerate exceptional procedures. If we want to shorten bureaucracy and address first-hand the climatic and coastal emergencies of Puerto Rico, we must give way to the project,” he explained.
The full Senate also rejected the PC 352authored by the president of the House, Carlos “Johnny” Mendez,and the representative José “Che” Pérezto exempt Judiciary of the applicability of Article 10,006 of the “Law for the Supervision of the Financing of Political Campaigns” (Law 222-2011), which establishes the rules and procedures for the evaluation and allocation of the government’s public dissemination expenses during an election year.
According to the authors of the measure, the applicability of said article on the Judiciary is unnecessary, since the “Canons of Judicial Ethics“Already contemplate safeguards on this issue. Canon 28, in particular, prohibits the participation of judges in partisan political activities during the time of their appointment, as well as the endorsement of candidates, attendance at political events and making donations to campaigns.
Other defeated House projects include the 108to provide that future constructions of public schools meet the standards of the “American National Standard Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools”; he 139which expanded the powers and duties of the municipal police; and the 407which declared the forest of the Laura Mercado school, in Saint German.
The same fate befell the 543which classified as a serious crime failure to comply protection orders issued under the “Law for the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence” (Law 148-2015) and the “Anti-Stalking Law” (Law 284-1999); and the 544which eliminated the requirement of exhaustion of administrative remedies in cases in which a minor was charged with a class III offense, according to the “Minors Law” (Law 88-1986).
The other three rejected chamber projects were the 456, 568 and 624.
Sieve for artificial intelligence
On the other hand, the senatorial majority granted its endorsement Senate Bill (PS) 769 to define the government’s public policy in the management of artificial intelligence (AI) and create a structure for the Artificial Intelligence Development and Innovation Institute.
The measure aims to turn the island into a regional and global hub for the development, research and ethical application of AI, according to its explanatory statement. “The need to consolidate efforts around artificial intelligence as an engine of economic growth is recognizedgovernment efficiency and modernization of essential services, while promoting transparency,” reads the report prepared by the Senate Science Commission.
The new body would have its own legal personality and would be recognized as a public interest entity dedicated to promoting sustainable development, innovation and economic competitiveness. Its main headquarters would be Engine-4in Bayamón, and would have the collaboration of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the University of Puerto Rico, the Trust for Science, Technology and Research, and Invest Puerto Rico.
PS 769 obtained 22 votes in favor and four against.