Governor Jenniffer González Colón said she will address the judicial reform measure next week because her current priority is the rising electricity bill, which "goes directly to people’s pockets," she said in an interview with TeleOnce. Asked whether she would veto Senate Project 1096, she said she would evaluate it like any other measure, noting she signed some bills and vetoed others this week.
The measure, authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz and approved October 22 by the Legislative Assembly, creates a new Judicial Branch law, repeals the one in force since 2003, reorganizes the judiciary’s administrative structure and prospectively eliminates the category of municipal judge. Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez asked the governor to veto the bill, arguing it weakens the direction of a constitutional branch and that any redistribution of responsibilities within the judiciary should come through a constitutional amendment put to the people.
Rivera Schatz has defended the reform, denied it limits the chief justice’s powers, and accused her of presenting an incorrect interpretation of the measure. The governor’s deadline to sign or veto is Wednesday, November 4.