The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, based in Washington, D.C., sent a letter on Friday to Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón expressing strong opposition to proposed amendments to the Transparency Act. The organization said the changes would undermine Puerto Rico’s long-standing tradition and commitment to transparency and access to government information and urged her to veto the measure.
“Considering the troubling anti-transparency provisions in the bill — coupled with its rushed passage through the legislature without adequate deliberation — the Reporters Committee respectfully urges you to reject SB 63. The measure is not consistent with Puerto Rico’s laudable history of promoting public access to information and, through that access, an informed electorate,” the organization wrote in the letter dated November 20.
“The bill would amend the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act and contains several troubling revisions that are antithetical to the stated policy objectives animating that law, chiefly that public records remain easily accessible through a swift and transparent request process,” the committee added.
According to the organization, “these changes to existing law would significantly diminish government transparency in Puerto Rico and weaken public accountability.”
“Specifically, these changes would hamper both journalists’ and the general public’s ability to access public records swiftly and economically, which is the express goal in current law,” the letter adds, emphasizing that the island’s Constitution protects the right to access information.
Photo by Brandon Cruz González | Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
On Tuesday, both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved legislation that restricts the public’s right to access government information. Tuesday marked the final day for approving measures during this legislative session. The governor now has 30 days from its passage to either sign or veto the bill.
Photo by Brandon Cruz González | Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
“Puerto Rico chose to make transparency and access to government records a fundamental human right, and these changes would be inconsistent with that objective,” stated the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, an organization dedicated to defending rights protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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