More than 50 civil society organizations, along with community and academic leaders, urged Gov. Jenniffer González Colón on Wednesday to veto the bill amending Puerto Rico’s Transparency Act, warning that its approval would make it even harder for the public to access government information.
On Tuesday — the final day of the legislative session for approving measures — the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 63, which amends the Transparency Act, despite widespread objections from community organizations and civic leaders. They argued that the changes to an already flawed law would eliminate existing rights and create additional barriers to obtaining public records. The governor has 30 days to sign or veto the bill.
“The version of SB 63 approved by the Senate and the House Conference Committee makes an already restrictive bill even worse,” said Carlos Francisco Ramos Hernández, attorney for the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo. “It keeps all the previous amendments and now allows an agency to request up to 50 business days to deliver information or documents exceeding 300 pages, or if the records are more than three years old.”
The House approved SB 63 — with amendments negotiated in a Conference Committee — with 28 votes in favor, all from the ruling New Progressive Party (PNP), and 20 votes against from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), the Project Dignity representative, and four members of the PNP. Five representatives were absent, including PNP member José “Che” Pérez Cordero, chair of the Judiciary Committee, which held the bill’s only public hearing. Pérez Cordero had originally voted against the measure during the first vote by discharge on Nov. 13.
In the Senate, the bill passed by a vote of 19 to 7. Two senators were absent.
Among the amendments agreed to by the majority legislators is a provision stating that when the requested information consists of a document or file exceeding 300 pages, or is more than three years old, the agency’s information officer will have 30 business days to produce it. Under the amendments, the agency may also request a 20-business-day extension — effectively allowing close to 70 calendar days, or roughly two and a half months, to respond.
The bill also establishes that information deemed confidential by a judicial ruling cannot be disclosed. In other words, if a judge has previously declared certain information confidential, agencies may cite that ruling as grounds for denial, even if the decision came from a lower court and not from the Puerto Rico Supreme Court .
Senate Bill 63, authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, would, if enacted, delay journalistic investigations and hinder vital processes for citizens and communities that rely on data to address issues directly affecting them.
The bill would also allow agencies to classify information as confidential through internal regulations. It would authorize agencies to deny requests if the information is divided among multiple files and eliminate the requirement to provide data in accessible, analyzable formats such as CSV. In addition, it would require that each information request be reported to the agency head and would remove existing protections for the identities of those submitting requests.
Brandon Cruz González | Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
“We’re not surprised — we had already seen the lack of leadership and integrity in the House of Representatives — but we are deeply disappointed in the process,” said Wilma Maldonado Arrigoitía, editorial director of the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo and president of the Overseas Press Club. “The outcome produced by the Conference Committee resulted in legislation even worse than the original version. We call on Governor Jenniffer González not to sign this bill, which severely undermines the right of access to public information.”
Nydia Bauzá, president of the Puerto Rico Journalists Association (ASPPRO, in Spanish), joined the call to the governor.
“We will take our fight against the harmful Senate Bill 63 all the way to La Fortaleza. We urge the governor to listen to the demands of Puerto Rico’s communities, because if this measure becomes law, they will be left powerless in their pursuit of the information to which they are entitled — just like every citizen of this Island,” Bauzá said.
Meanwhile, Issel Masses, executive director of the NGO Sembrando Sentido, described the legislative action as “unprecedented and shameful for anyone who claims to defend democracy.”
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
