With strong opposition from community leaders, nonprofit organizations, journalists’ associations, and media outlets across Puerto Rico, Senate Bill 63 (SB 63), which adds new restrictions to Act 141-2019, known as the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act, was approved Tuesday by the New Progressive Party (PNP, in Spanish) majority in the Senate. The measure now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Among the last-minute amendments added to the bill, authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, is one stipulating that no government agency will be required to create or produce a document that does not already exist when responding to an information request. Additionally, if the requested information is not available in the format specified by the requester, the agency must notify the requester and provide the data in whatever form it is currently available.
During her floor remarks, Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP, in Spanish) Senator María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón argued: “If we were to request a document identifying all expenses related to the [security detail] of former governors over the past 15 or 20 years, that document doesn’t exist. It would have to be created, since the data may appear in budget allocations, disbursement records, or payroll for the agents, but the document itself doesn’t exist. This would give the Puerto Rico Police an escape route to avoid providing information that the press, and all of us, have the right to access.”
The PIP delegation voted against the measure, as did the Popular Democratic Party, Project Dignity Senator Johanne Rodríguez Veve, and independent Senator Eliezer Molina.
“No one here can pretend to be naïve and say this doesn’t create obstacles,” Santiago Negrón said. “This is perfectly designed, carefully designed, and, with the newly approved amendments, it adds another layer of difficulty so that it’s no longer presumed that government documents and data in Puerto Rico are public,” the PIP senator added.
The bill, approved without public hearings or debate, will further delay and obstruct government accountability and the timely release of public data, warned a coalition of more than 20 organizations that have opposed the measure.
If enacted, the bill would double response deadlines from 10 to 20 business days — and with extensions, those could reach 40 or even 50 days — for agencies to respond to information requests. Another amendment to SB 63 would also require notifying all agency officials whenever a document is requested.
Santiago Negrón described this change as “toxic micromanagement.” “What’s the point of requiring that someone who requests information from the Senate has to send a letter to Thomas Rivera Schatz?” she said.
“This bill in no way limits access to information,” countered Rivera Schatz. “It does not take away any rights from any journalist or citizen. It simply seeks a reasonable framework — one where there’s a real balance between a citizen’s or journalist’s request and the government’s capacity to provide information promptly, which is the principle this legislation promotes in matters of transparency.”
Among the changes included in the measure is a provision allowing government agencies to establish regulations that declare certain documents confidential without needing to justify thedecision. It would also eliminate the current requirement to provide data in open formats that guarantee access to the requested information, something currently possible under existing law.
The bill further stipulates that if an agency cannot deliver the requested information, the requester may be asked to review documents or files in person at the agency’s offices and could be given only one day to do so.
Santiago Negrón noted that for entities handling highly complex files, such as the Planning Board, this would create significant obstacles.
“Reviewing a permit approval document is an extremely complex and time-consuming task for anyone unfamiliar with the agency’s processes. What might take an employee just a few minutes to locate could be a challenging task for a community representative visiting the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources or the Planning Board,” the senator explained.
But none of these objections swayed the Senate president.
“We’re going to pass Senate Bill 63. The journalists’ associations can do whatever they want, say whatever they want. If they want to take us to court, they can do that too. We’re acting with a clear conscience that we’re improving a tool proposed by the New Progressive Party… So let’s vote in favor of Bill 63, let’s move it forward. We won’t be intimidated by leftists, communists, socialists, the small-minded, or the so-called enlightened ones; no one intimidates us. If they want to do something, let them go for it,” Rivera Schatz concluded before calling for a vote in favor of the measure.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
