Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz has introduced two legislative measures aimed at promoting greater autonomy for people with disabilities and facilitating access to information about available services and resources. The measures follow the Intellectual Disability Forum held at the Capitol, where families, professionals, organizations, and government agency representatives discussed issues related to transitioning to adult life, independence, and continuity of services.
The first measure, Senate Project 1489, proposes the 'Law for Assisted Decision-Making', which would establish a voluntary and extrajudicial mechanism for adults with disabilities to select trusted individuals to assist them in understanding information, evaluating alternatives, and exercising their rights. Rivera Schatz stated that these measures address concrete issues affecting the autonomy of people with disabilities and their families' ability to access necessary services.