Пуэрто-Рико Сенаты: Тарихы мен құрылымы

Subnational legislature

The Senate of Puerto Rico (lang es) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The structure and responsibilities of the Senate are defined in Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which vests all legislative power in the Legislative Assembly. Every bill must be passed by both, the Senate and the House, and signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico in order to become law. The Senate has exclusive power to try and to decide impeachments. The constitution also establishes that all secretaries appointed by the governor to the different executive departments, as well as all judges and the Comptroller, require the advice and consent of the Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court can not assume office until after confirmation by the Senate. The Senate has been meeting since 1917, after the enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act established the body formally. The current session is the 27th Senate of Puerto Rico which has a majority from the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico; giving the party control over the Senate without political opposition including constitutional amendments. The Senate, along with its members and staff, are housed in the eastern half of the Capitol of Puerto Rico. These buildings are usually the Rafael Martínez Nadal Senate Annex Building, the Luis Muñoz Marín Office Building, the Antonio R. Barceló Building, the Luis A. Ferré Building, the Ramón Mellado Parsons Office Building and the Baltasar Corrada del Rio Office Building.

The Senate of Puerto Rico was established in 1917, after the signing of the Jones Shafroth Act. Signed on March 2, 1917, the act made Puerto Ricans into U. S. citizens and empowered them to have a popularly elected Senate. This came to amend and improve the Foraker Act, signed in 1900, which granted limited administrative and executive powers to Puerto Ricans. From 1900 to 1917, Puerto Ricans made several attempts to convince the United States into amending the Foraker Act, so they could elect their own Senate. In February 1914, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Luis Muñoz Rivera presented legislation in Congress insisting in the creation of a Puerto Rican Senate with more powers. Finally, in January 1916, Representative William Jones presented the Jones Act for Puerto Rico and other territories. It was signed by Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. On August 13, 1917, the first Senate of Puerto Rico was sworn in. Antonio R. Barceló was chosen as its first President, with Eduardo Georgetti as his Pro tempore. Also, José Muñoz Rivera and Manuel Palacios Salazar were selected as Secretary and Sergeant at Arms respectively. In this first instance, the Senate was composed of 19 members, 14 of which were chosen from each of the seven senatorial districts, and five elected at large.

Senators serve terms of four years each. A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a "senator elect"; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a "senator designate". The Puerto Rico Constitution does not provide for term limits and, in fact, one current senator is completing his ninth four year term as a senator and his tenth as a legislator.

The annual salary for full time work of each senator is US$73,775 annually, except for the President of the Senate which receives $110,663, and the President pro tempore, the Majority and Minority Leaders, the Majority and Minority Whips, and the presidents of the Commission on Government and the Commission on Treasury which receive $84,841 each. Senators are allowed to generate additional income from outside their legislative employment subject to restrictions, and only the senators which do not receive an annual salary are entitled to additional benefits such as per diem or car allowance. Costs associated to traveling outside of Puerto Rico is reimbursed. The other official is the sergeant at arms who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the Senate floor and other premises. These officers are elected by the Senate, usually during its inaugural session, immediately after the election of the body's president. The current secretary is Yamil Rivera Vélez while the current sergeant at arms is Javier Torres.

The current session is the 27th Senate of Puerto Rico, the upper house of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, which will meet from January 2, 2021, to January 1, 2025. All members were elected in the general elections of 2020 with a plurality or relative majority coming from the Popular Democratic Party. The other major party, the New Progressive Party resulted with the second largest number of seats. For the first time ever, five different political parties were represented, including the two major parties, in addition to one independent candidate. The Puerto Rican Independence Party elected its traditional member At large and the two emergent parties, Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana and Proyecto Dignidad, also elected their At large nominees.

The Office of Legislative Services was headed in early 2009 by Kevin Rivera, while Eliezer Velázquez currently serves as Superintendent of the Capitol, the first to serve during two four year terms. The Puerto Rico Legislative Assembly also receives support services from the Council of State Governments (CSG), CSG's Eastern Regional Conference, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).