The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved House Bill 1385, an administration measure from Governor Jenniffer González, declaring religious services "essential" and barring their closure during emergencies, epidemics, or natural disasters, as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill passed Thursday with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) delegations voting against it.
House Speaker Carlos "Johnny" Méndez said the measure expands protection for people exercising religious freedom without affecting others’ rights. The bill cites a late-2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that federal pandemic restrictions on churches violated the First Amendment. It recalls that in March 2020, under then-Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced’s lockdown, churches were forced to close, later reopening in person on June 16, 2020, at 50% capacity.
Some religious leaders at the time called it "disrespectful and inciting" to label churches infection hotspots without scientific evidence. PIP Representative Adriana Gutiérrez called the bill unconstitutional, discriminatory, and contrary to separation of church and state, arguing that pandemic-era restrictions should be based on scientific evidence like space, ventilation, and duration rather than an organization’s religious nature.