The Puerto Rico Senate approved Resolution 595 on Thursday, which orders a study on the state of justice administration in Puerto Rico and a request for information on a second questioned contract in the Department of Family (DF). The investigation, led by the Senate’s Juridical Committee, may cover the Department of Justice, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, the Parole Board, the Court Administration Office, the Police, and the Department of Public Safety, among other entities.
The resolution clarifies that the process will not interfere with the adjudicative function of the courts. According to Senator Ángel Toledo López, the purpose is to formulate a more coherent, efficient, and compatible legal framework for the current times. The investigation will identify structural deficiencies, administrative practices susceptible to improvement, and areas where the current legal framework needs to be revised.
The request for information from the DF corresponds to the agreement signed by Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes with SAMU Foundation Corp. for $355,646.50 to provide mentorship services to young people between 18 and 35 years old. The Senate also approved Project 1403, which creates the Housing Development, Improvement, Land Administration, and Property Title Program in the Department of Housing to streamline processes for usufruct, rental, and concession of titles.
The measure amends the Organic Law of the Department of Housing to gather faculties and processes that are currently dispersed in several laws.