,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hfe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ah1 #bjba ,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,markey1 and ,mr4 ,wicker7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,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-determination1 and to establish a mechanism for congressional consideration of such decision1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,puerto ,rico ,self-,determination ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,in #ahih1 the ,united ,states defeated the ,spanish ,kingdom in the ,spanish-,american ,war and acquired by conquest ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 and the ,philippines pursuant to the ,treaty of ,paris4 7#b7 ,in #aijj1 ,congress established a civilian government on the island through the ,foraker ,act4 ,among other points1 that ,act established an executive council consisting of various department heads and a presidentially appointed civilian governor4 7#c7 ,the ,foraker ,act also established the ,resident ,commissioner position to represent island interests in ,congress4 ,these duties came to include nonvoting service in the ,house of ,representatives4 7#d7 ,in #aija1 the ,supreme ,court's decisions in ,downes v4 ,bidwell and its progeny held that for purposes of the ,constitution's ,uniformity ,clause1 ,puerto ,rico was not part of the ,united ,states and subject to the plenary powers of ,congress1 which in turn established a colonial relationship4 ,justice ,white1 in concurrence1 opined that ,congress has discretion to decide whether and when to incorporate a territory into the ,united ,states4 7#e7 ,congress recognized ,puerto ,rico's authority over matters of internal governance in #aiej with the passage of the ,puerto ,rico ,federal ,relations ,act of #aiej 7,public ,law #ha-fjj71 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 #aieb4 7#f7 ,on ,november #ah1 #aiec1 the ,united ,nations recognized ,puerto ,rico as a self-governing political entity under the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly ,resolution #gdh4 7#g7 ,the political status of ,puerto ,rico is of significant interest to communities both on and off the island1 including diaspora groups that continue having strong cultural ties and socioeconomic ties to ,puerto ,rico4 7#h7 ,the ,united ,states has a legal duty to comply with ,article #a of the ,international ,covenant on ,civil and ,political ,rights1 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 economic1 social and cultural development4 7#i7 ,the status convention provides a deliberative1 comprehensive1 and uninterrupted space of dialogue that can define the future of ,puerto ,rico4 #c4 ,puerto ,rico status convention 7a7 ,in general ,the legislature of ,puerto ,rico has the inherent authority to call a status convention through an ,act or ,concurrent ,resolution1 constituted by a number of delegates to be determined in accordance with legislation approved by the ,government of ,puerto ,rico1 for the purpose of proposing to the people of ,puerto ,rico self-determination options4 ,a status convention called by the legislature of ,puerto ,rico shall-- 7#a7 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 #e2 and 7#b7 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 ,rico4 7b7 ,public financing of delegate elections 7#a7 ,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 ,commission4 ,to the extent amounts are made available in the fund for this purpose1 the ,puerto ,rico ,state ,commission on ,elections shall distribute amounts in the fund such that #d is distributed to each candidate for delegate for every #a that the candidate receives as a campaign contribution that is-- 7,a7 less than #ajj2 and 7,b7 donated by a resident of ,puerto ,rico4 7#b7 ,requirements for funding ,to be eligible to receive funds under this subsection1 a candidate for delegate shall-- 7,a7 agree to increased financial oversight from the ,federal ,election ,commission2 7,b7 limit campaign spending to not more than #be1jjj2 and 7,c7 demonstrate a basic level of support from residents of ,puerto ,rico by receiving from residents of ,puerto ,rico not fewer than #ej donations from #ej individuals of not more than #ej4 7#c7 ,administrative amounts ,not more than #aj percent of amounts made available under paragraph 7#d7 may be use for administrative costs of the ,federal ,election ,commission4 7#d7 ,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 #e1ejj1jjj4 7c7 ,delegates ,delegates elected under subsection 7a77#b71 in consultation with the ,commission1 shall-- 7#a7 debate and draft definitions on self-determination options for ,puerto ,rico1 which shall be outside the ,territorial ,clause of the ,united ,states ,constitution2 7#b7 draft a least one accompanying transition plan for each self-determination option2 and 7#c7 select and present to the people of ,puerto ,rico the self-determination options that will be included in the referendum under section #e4 #d4 ,congressional ,bilateral ,negotiating ,commission 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established a ,congressional ,bilateral ,negotiating ,commission 7hereinafter referred to as the ,commission7 to provide advice and consultation to delegates elected under section #c7;a77#b74 7b7 ,composition 7#a7 ,in general ,the members of the ,commission shall include-- 7,a7 the chairs of the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ranking members of the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate2 7,c7 one member selected by the majority leader of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,d7 one member selected by the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,e7 one member selected by the majority leader of the ,senate2 7,f7 one member selected by the minority leader of the ,senate2 7,g7 the ,resident ,commissioner of ,puerto ,rico2 7,h7 with the consent of the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives and majority leader of the ,senate1 a member from the ,department of ,justice2 and 7,i7 with the consent of the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives and majority leader of the ,senate1 a member from the ,department of the ,interior4 7#b7 ,requirements for certain members ,members selected under subparagraphs 7,c7 through 7,f7 of paragraph 7#a7 shall represent a ,state or district in a ,state that1 as determined by the most recently publicly available data from the ,bureau of the ,census1 represents one of the #aj ,states with the largest population of people who identified on the most recent ,census as ,puerto ,rican4 7c7 ,duties and functions ,the ,commission-- 7#a7 shall meet periodically with the delegates in ,puerto ,rico and the ,district of ,columbia1 at the request of a majority of the delegates1 with each meeting required to include at least one delegate from each of the self-determination options2 7#b7 shall have the authority to-- 7,a7 study2 7,b7 make findings2 7,c7 develop recommendations regarding self-determination options on constitutional issues and policies related to-- 7i7 culture2 7ii7 language2 7iii7 judicial and public education systems2 7iv7 taxes2 and 7v7 ,united ,states citizenship2 and 7,d7 provide technical assistance and constitutional advice to the delegates during the ,puerto ,rico status convention2 7#c7 may hold public hearings in connection with any aspects of the convention at the request of the delegates or on its own2 and 7#d7 may receive testimony4 7d7 ,reports ,the ,commission shall-- 7#a7 not less than quarterly1 provide status reports1 findings1 and studies to the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate2 7#b7 not less than once every #ab months1 submit a status report to the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate2 and 7#c7 make reports submitted under paragraph 7#b7 available to the general public in widely accessible formats in ,english and ,spanish on the same day that such reports are submitted under paragraph 7#b74 #e4 ,puerto ,rico status referendum2 education campaign 7a7 ,structure and process 7#a7 ,in general ,a referendum vote by the people of ,puerto ,rico-- 7,a7 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 ranked2 7,b7 may consist of choices each composed of a self-determination definition and accompanying transition plan as presented by the delegates under section #c2 and 7,c7 may include more than one choice with the same self-determination definition1 but a distinct accompanying transition plan as presented by the delegates under section #c4 7#b7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated the ,puerto ,rico ,state ,commission on ,elections1 #b1ejj1jjj to carry out a referendum vote under this subsection4 7b7 ,educational campaign 7#a7 ,in general ,delegates shall carry out an educational campaign through traditional paid media related to the referendum under subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,authorization of ,appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated the ,puerto ,rico ,state ,commission on ,elections1 #e1jjj1jjj to carry out an educational campaign under this subsection4 ,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 ,act4 7#c7 ,quarterly campaign reports ,each delegates shall submit quarterly campaign reports of the educational campaigns to the ,federal ,election ,commission4 #f4 ,congressional deliberation and enacting resolution ,if the referendum under this ,act is approved by the people of ,puerto ,rico1 ,congress shall approve a joint resolution to ratify the preferred self-determination option approved in that referendum vote4 ,if the ,congress adjourns sine die before acting on the self-determination option1 the ,puerto ,rico status convention created under this ,act may meet again and send or resend a self-determination options to the following ,congress4 #g4 ,joint resolution 7a7 ,definition ,the term joint resolution means a joint resolution that is introduced within the #aj-;day period beginning on the date when the results of the referendum are certified by ,puerto ,rico's ,commission on ,elections4 7b7 ,referral ,a resolution described in subsection 7a7 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 ,resources4 7c7 ,discharge ,if the committee to which a resolution described in subsection 7a7 is referred has not reported such resolution 7or an identical resolution7 by the end of the day period beginning on the day of certification of referendum results shall be1 at the end of such period1 discharged from further consideration of such resolution1 and such resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the body involved4 7d7 ,consideration 7#a7 ,on or after the third day after the date on which the committee to which such a resolution is referred has reported1 or has been discharged 7under subsection 7c77 from further consideration of1 such a resolution1 it is in order 7even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to7 for any ,member of the respective body to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution4 ,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 motion1 except that1 in the case of the ,house of ,representatives1 the motion may be made without such prior announcement if the motion is made by direction of the committee to which the resolution was referred4 ,all points of order against the resolution 7and against consideration of the resolution7 are waived4 ,the motion is highly privileged in the ,house of ,representatives and is privileged in the ,senate and is not debatable4 ,the motion is not subject to amendment1 or to a motion to postpone1 or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business4 ,a motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order4 ,if a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution is agreed to1 the respective body shall immediately proceed to consideration of the joint resolution without intervening motion1 order1 or other business1 and the resolution shall remain the unfinished business of the respective body until disposed of4 7#b7 ,debate on the resolution1 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith1 shall be limited to not more than #b hours1 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the resolution4 ,an amendment to the resolution is not in order4 ,a motion further to limit debate is in order and not debatable4 ,a motion to postpone1 or a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business1 or a motion to recommit the resolution is not in order4 ,a motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order4 7#c7 ,immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a resolution described in subsection 7a7 and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the appropriate body1 the vote on final passage of the resolution shall occur4 7#d7 ,appeals from the decisions of the ,chair relating to the application of the rules of the ,senate or the ,house of ,representatives1 as the case may be1 to the procedure relating to a resolution described in subsection 7a7 shall be decided without debate4 7e7 ,consideration by other body ,if1 before the passage by one body of a resolution of that body described in subsection 7a71 that body receives from the other body a resolution described in subsection 7a71 then the following procedures shall apply3 7#a7 ,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 7,b77ii74 7#b7 ,with respect to a resolution described in subsection 7a7 of the body receiving the resolution-- 7,a7 the procedure in that body shall be the same as if no resolution had been received from the other body2 but 7,b7 the vote on final passage shall be on the resolution of the other body4