The Puerto Rico Senate approved Senate Bill 1463 for the third time. The measure officially recognizes Puerto Rican Sign Language (LSP) as the natural, cultural and linguistically legitimate language of the island’s deaf community. Authored by majority senator Ángel Toledo López, it also establishes as public policy the protection of the deaf community’s linguistic rights and its inclusion, and recognizes LSP as part of Puerto Rico’s cultural heritage.
Toledo explained that the bill had received unanimous approval in both the Senate and the House on two earlier occasions but did not become law. The second version, which included an amendment to conduct a census of the deaf community, was killed by a pocket veto. Toledo said he revised the bill a third time to add references to scientific literature justifying it, adding that the deaf community’s honor must be respected, that its members are bilingual, and that their effort to learn a language that is not their own to communicate with others should be recognized.
Independent senator Eliezer Molina Pérez also backed the measure, saying the deaf community has long been left behind and that the bill integrates everyone as a society. The Senate also approved Senate Bill 1151, which sets up a mechanism to address hard-to-fill hiring situations in municipalities.