Senate of Puerto Rico
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| Senate of Puerto Rico Senado de Puerto Rico |
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| Type | |
|---|---|
| Type | Upper house |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | Thomas Rivera Schatz, (PNP) since 2009 |
| Majority Leader | Roberto Arango, (PNP) since 2009 |
| Minority Leader | José Luis Dalmau Santiago, (PDP) since 2005 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 27 |
| Political groups | New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico |
| Election | |
| Last election | November 4, 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
| Capitol of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States | |
| Web site | |
| http://www.senadopr.us/en/ | |
The Senate of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate is composed of 27 senators, representing eight constituent senatorial districts across the commonwealth, with two senators elected per district; an additional eleven senators are elected at-large.
The Senate, along with its members and staff, are housed in the eastern half of the Capitol Building, the Rafael Martinez Nadal Senate Annex Building, the Luis Muñoz Marín Office Building, the Antonio R. Barceló Building, the Luis A. Ferré Building and the Ramón Mellado Parsons Office Building.
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[edit] Composition
In order to elect the members of the Senate, Puerto Rico is divided into eight senatorial districts:
For each one of these districts, the people of Puerto Rico elect two Senators. In addition, the people are allowed to vote for one Senator at-large of their preference. The eleven Senators at-Large with the majority of votes integrate the rest of the Senate.
Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the Senate unless he or she:
- is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English;
- is a citizen of the United States;
- has resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment;
- is over thirty years of age.
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[edit] Latest election
[edit] Summary of the November 4, 2008 elections
| Party | Pre-Election Seats |
District Votes |
District Seats |
% of Votes |
At-Large Votes |
At-Large Seats |
% of Votes |
+/- | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Progressive | 17 | 1,576,542 | 16 | 47.4 | 913,907 | 6 | 48.4 | +5 | 22 | |
| Popular Democratic | 9 | 1,566,217 | 0 | 47.1 | 818,770 | 5 | 43.4 | -4 | 5 | |
| Puerto Rican Independence | 1 | 76,555 | 0 | 0.2 | 82,577 | 0 | 4.4 | -1 | 0 | |
| Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico | 0 | 79,386 | 0 | 0.2 | 37,457 | 0 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent | 0 | - | 0 | 0.0 | 16,269 | 0 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Others | 0 | 1,572 | 0 | 0.0 | 549 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 3,300,272 | 16 | 1,869,529 | 11 | 27 | ||||
The Senate is currently composed of 22 members elected under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (NPP), and nine members elected under the pro-status quo Popular Democratic Party (PDP). Current leadership is as follows:
- Secretary Manuel A. Torres - Acting President of the Senate
- Senator Thomas Rivera Schatz - Incoming President
- Senator Margarita Nolasco Santiago - Incoming President Pro Tem
- Senator Roberto Arango - Senate Majority Leader
- Senator José Luis Dalmau Santiago - Senate Minority Leader
- Senator Eduardo Bhatia - Senate Minority Whip
The Office of Legislative Services is currently headed by Francisco Domenech, while Eliezer Velázquez currently serves as Superintendent of the Capitol.
[edit] Current members of the Puerto Rico Senate
At Large Senators'
- Luz Arce Ferrer (1997-present) NPP-At Large
- Norma Burgos Andújar (2001-present) NPP-At Large
- Antonio Fas Alzamora (1981-present) PDP-At Large (former President of the Senate)
- Sila María González Calderón (2005-present) PDP-At Large
- Juan Eugenio Hernández Mayoral (2005-present) PDP-At Large
- Thomas Rivera Schatz (2009-) NPP-At Large
- José Luis Dalmau Santiago (2001-present) PDP-At Large (add-on)
District Senators
- Roberto Arango Vinent (2005-present) NPP-San Juan
- Migdalia Padilla Alvelo (2000-present) NPP-Bayamón
- Carmelo Ríos Santiago (2005-present) NPP-Bayamón
- José Emilio González Velázquez (2005-present) NPP-Arecibo
- Luis Daniel Muñiz (2005-present) NPP-Mayagüez-Aguadilla
- Héctor Martínez Maldonado (2005-present) NPP-Carolina
- Lornna Soto Villanueva (2005-present) NPP-Carolina
[edit] Notable former Senators
- Rubén Berríos Martínez (1973-1977,1985-1989,1993-2000) PIP-At Large (long-time political activist for the Puerto Rican independence movement, current president of the PIP party)
- Luis A. Ferré (1977-1984), former Governor
- Fernando Martín García (1989-1993,2001-2005) PIP-At Large
- Kenneth McClintock (1993-2008) "NPP-At Large" (Thirteenth President of the Senate 2005-2008)
- Luis Muñoz Marín (1941-48, 1965-70), former Governor
- Victoria Muñoz Mendoza (1986-1993) PDP-At Large (daughter of Luis Muñoz Marín, former gubernatorial candidate)
- Luis Negrón López, former PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senate Majority Leader and Vice President
- Héctor O'Neill García (1989-1993) NPP-Bayamón (current mayor of Guaynabo)
- Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz (1993-2001) NPP-Bayamón (current mayor of Bayamón)
- Jorge Santini Padilla (1997-2001) NPP-San Juan (current mayor of San Juan)
- Ruth FernándezPDP-At Large (Puerto Rican Singer)
[edit] Former Senators
The following is a list of former Senators of Puerto Rico, along with their years of service and the senatorial district they represented.
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[edit] Presidents of the Puerto Rico Senate
Rafael Martínez Nadal (1933-1941) Third President of the Senate
Luis Muñoz Marín (1941-1948) Fourth President of the Senate
Samuel R. Quiñones (1949-1968) Fifth President of the Senate
Rafael Hernández Colón (1969-1972) Sixth President of the Senate
Juan Cancel Ríos (1973-1976) Seventh President of the Senate
Luis A. Ferré (1977-1980) Eighth President of the Senate
Miguel Hernández Agosto (1981-1992) Ninth President of the Senate
Roberto Rexach Benítez (1993-1996) Tenth President of the Senate
Charlie Rodríguez (1997-2000) Eleventh President of the Senate
Antonio Fas Alzamora (2001-2004) Twelfth President of the Senate
Kenneth McClintock (2005-2008) Thirteenth President of the Senate
Thomas Rivera Schatz (2009- ) Fourteenth President of the Senate-Elect
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Puerto Rican Senate official site (Spanish)
- The Puerto Rican Senate official site (English)
- The Office of Legislative Services / Oficina de Servicios Legislativos (Spanish)
- The Office of Legislative Services / Oficina de Servicios Legislativos (English)
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