Senate of Puerto Rico

Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the Senate unless he or she:[12]

• is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English;
• is a citizen of the United States and Puerto Rico;
• 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.

Structure of the Senate of Puerto Rico for the purpose of elections. Puerto Rico is divided into eight districts with two senators per districts. An additional eleven senators are elected at-large. Both groups serve alongside each other with the same powers and rights.

Elections to the Senate are held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, along with the elections for governor, resident commissioner, the House, the mayors, and the municipal assemblies. The last election was held on November 8, 2016 where the members of the 26th Senate of Puerto Rico were elected. The next election is scheduled for November 3, 2020 where the members of the 27th Senate of Puerto Rico will be elected. Members of the Senate are elected for a four-year term. Tony Fas Alzamora is the most senior and longest-serving senator, having served for nine consecutive terms since 1981 for a total of 40 years.

Only American citizens (including Puerto Ricans) that meet all the following requirements may vote for senators:

• must legally reside in Puerto Rico,
• must be at least 18 years old by the date of the election,
• must have been qualified by the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections before the election or on the very same day of the election after he presents himself to his nearest place of voting and shows proper documentation, and
• must have not been declared mentally incapacitated by court.

Citizens cast their votes in colleges (Spanish: colegios) which are simply usually the nearest public school to where the voter declared as residence. Votes are required by law to be cast in secret, unless the citizen has a physical impairment that does not allow him to. Those citizens unable to travel to colleges due to medical impairments may vote at their place of residence (homes, elder homes, etc.) or wherever they are convalescing (hospitals, clinics, etc.). In both of these extraordinary cases, officials from the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections will provide aid so that the citizens can cast their vote—either by using verbal or non-verbal communication—with members from the different political parties required to observe the process in order to ensure accuracy, fairness, transparency, order, and legitimacy.

Ballots are redacted in both Spanish and English, regardless of whether English is an official language or not.[lower-alpha 3]

To elect the members of the Senate, Puerto Rico is divided into eight senatorial districts, each based on a similar number of inhabitants:

These districts are in turn divided into one or more precincts: electoral divisions which are in turn divided into the aforementioned colleges.[13] For each district, citizens may vote only for the district in which they have declared their residence, and only for two candidates per district by plurality-at-large. The two candidates with the highest votes in the respective district serve as senators for that specific district. District senators are expected to give priority to matters related to the district they represent but are not required to do so by law.

In addition, citizens are allowed to vote for one candidate at-large of their preference by single non-transferable vote. The eleven at-large candidates with the most votes serve as senators at-large alongside the district senators with the same powers and rights. Senators at-large are expected to serve any individual or group but are not required to do so by law; they also serve as a mechanism for citizens who do not wish to channel their affairs through their district senator for whatever reason.

Senators serve terms of four years each. A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a "senator-elect"; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a "senator-designate". The Puerto Rico Constitution does not provide for term limits and, in fact, one current senator is completing his ninth four-year term as a senator and his tenth as a legislator.

The annual salary for full-time work of each senator is US$73,775 annually, except for the President of the Senate which receives $110,663, and the President pro tempore, the Majority and Minority Leaders, the Majority and Minority Whips, and the presidents of the Commission on Government and the Commission on Treasury which receive $84,841 each.[14]

Senators are allowed to generate additional income from outside their legislative employment subject to restrictions, and only the senators which do not receive an annual salary are entitled to additional benefits such as per diem or car allowance. Costs associated to traveling outside of Puerto Rico is reimbursed.[14] Cost-of-living adjustments have been frozen since 2005. All senators qualify for the same retirement and health benefits as of all other employees of the government of Puerto Rico.

In addition, all senators are provided with office space, secretarial services, advisors, support personnel, office supplies, and stationery. Hiring of personnel working directly for each senator is at the discretion of each senator.[14] Rather than providing these resources and services directly, senators are instead assigned a budget from which they retrieve funds to pay for these. Senators that preside commissions are assigned larger budgets than those who don't; creating a difference between the budgets assigned to senators from the party holding a majority in the Senate versus the ones in minority as majority senators tend to be the ones that preside commissions.

The president is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the Senate. The post was created by Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which establishes that, "The Senate shall elect a President [...] from among [its] members." The president is substituted by the president pro tempore in his absence. Its counterpart in the House is the speaker.

The current president is José Luis Dalmau, senator at-large from the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico.

The president pro tempore is the second highest-ranking officer of the Senate and substitutes the president of the House in his absence. Its counterpart in the House is the speaker pro tempore.

The current president pro tempore is Marially González Huertas, senator for District V Ponce from the Popular Democratic Party.

Each party elects floor leaders denominated "majority leader" or "minority leader", accordingly, as well as a "majority whip" or a "minority whip". Floor leaders act as the party chief spokespeople. The current leaders are Majority Leader Javier Aponte Dalmau, Majority Whip Gretchen Hau; Minority Leader Thomas Rivera Schatz, Minority Whip Carmelo Ríos Santiago; Minority Leader María de Lourdes Santiago; Minority Leader Ana Irma Rivera Lassén; Minority Leader Joan Rodríguez Vevé; and Minority Leader Vargas Vidot (independent candidate).

The Senate is served by two elected officials who are not members.

The Senate's chief legislative officer is the secretary of the Senate, who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks.[15]

The other official is the sergeant-at-arms who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the Senate floor and other premises.

These officers are elected by the Senate, usually during its inaugural session, immediately after the election of the body's president. The current secretary is Yamil Rivera Vélez[16] while the current sergeant-at-arms is Javier Torres.[17]