Legislation

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing civil and human rights and defending access to public information, warns that Senate Bill 63—which proposes, among other changes, extending from 10 to 20 working days the period agencies have to respond to information requests, lengthening the extension period up to 40 days, and adding additional technical requirements—constitutes in practice a setback to the constitutional right of access to information and to citizen oversight. The ACLU of Puerto Rico believes that these amendments unjustifiably delay access to data of high public interest, open the door to greater opacity and bureaucracy, and could even strip this right of its substance, and therefore urges the rejection of SB 63. Status: https://sutra.oslpr.org/medidas/152452

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Puerto Rico, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending civil and human rights and access to public information, opposes Senate Bill 331, which seeks to amend the Demographic Registry Act to declare all certificates issued by that office confidential and to restrict who may access them by redefining the concept of an “interested party.” The ACLU of Puerto Rico argues that this measure effectively attempts to overturn judicial decisions that recognized the right of the press and the public to access death certificates of high public interest, thereby undermining freedom of expression, freedom of the press, transparency, and government accountability. It further warns that SB 331 constitutes an attack on the separation of powers by trying to legislatively undo what the courts have already decided, promotes censorship under the pretext of protecting privacy, and, by limiting access to essential data, weakens journalistic and scientific investigations as well as democratic processes, and therefore the organization urges its rejection. Status: https://sutra.oslpr.org/medidas/153837