Puerto Rico’s Senate on Tuesday approved a substitute bill for Senate Bills 1173 and 1183 that would create a new Planning and Permits Code for Puerto Rico, repealing 46 legal and administrative instruments and 50 laws. The original bills had been under discussion since April and were the subject of four public hearings, but the approved version replaces both, runs 868 pages and was filed last Wednesday.
Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, whose Innovation, Reform and Appointments Committee handled the measure, said most permits would shift to a process where the applicant notifies the government and can begin operating, even the same day, with the government auditing afterward. Currently, activity cannot proceed until agencies verify the permit. A use declaration would be filed in the Unified Information System, with the fee paid and no prior inspection.
Oversight would follow through risk-based inspections and fines of up to $100,000 for false information. The Code also sets controls for authorized professionals, licensees and inspectors, creates a single digital file per project, and adds audits, cease and stop orders, and fines. Besides the New Progressive Party (PNP) majority, Rivera Schatz secured votes from independent senators Eliezer Molina Pérez and Joanne Rodríguez Veve, whose amendments he accepted.
The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and Popular Democratic Party (PPD) delegations opposed it. The PIP cited problems with how the maritime-terrestrial zone is defined and measured, and said the bill lets government adjudicate land use without anyone requesting it. The PPD said it centralizes permits by removing powers from towns and the Planning Board and requires permit opponents to post a bond equal to 10% of the halted work’s value.
Molina Pérez said it adds protection for public access to maritime-terrestrial areas. Citizens and community groups protested at dawn Tuesday, including activist Alberto "Tito Kayak" de Jesús. They said they were denied a meeting with Rivera Schatz and alleged invoices from Senate consultant Anthony Maceira Zayas show he met other interested groups to integrate their amendments. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, which may hold hearings.