HR 727 114th Congress House Government Operations and Politics Caribbean area Congressional elections Congressional operations and organization Elections, voting, political campaign regulation House of Representatives Puerto Rico State and local government operations U.S. territories and protectorates

Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act

Introduced: February 4, 2015 See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 16, 2015

Referred to the Subcommittee on Indians, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.

Feb 4, 2015

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Feb 4, 2015

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H760)

Feb 4, 2015

Introduced in House

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Process Act

Authorizes the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico to provide for a vote on Puerto Rico's admission into the Union as a state within one year of this Act's enactment.

Requires the governor of Puerto Rico to transmit the results of such vote to the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate within 10 days after the certification of the vote by the Commission.

Directs the President, if a majority of the votes cast are for Puerto Rico's admission as a state: (1) within 30 calendar days of receipt of the certified results, to issue a proclamation to begin the transition process that will culminate in Puerto Rico's admission as a state effective January 1, 2021; and (2) within 90 calendar days of such receipt, to appoint a Commission on the Equal Application of Federal Law to Puerto Rico, which shall survey U.S. laws and submit recommendations to Congress by July 1, 2018, as to how laws that do not apply, or that apply differently, to the territory should be amended or repealed to treat Puerto Rico equally.

Requires Puerto Rico to carry out necessary actions by January 1, 2020, to enable it to hold elections for federal office in November 2020, including the election to the 117th Congress of two U.S. Senators and the number of Representatives to which it would have been entitled for the 116th Congress if it had been a state during such Congress. Provides for a temporary increase in the membership of the House of Representatives initially and a permanent increase effective with the taking effect of the first reapportionment occurring after the regular decennial census conducted for 2020.

Requires the President, following a transition process, to issue a proclamation declaring that Puerto Rico is admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states, effective January 1, 2021.

Sets forth provisions regarding the continuity of government and the continuity of laws of Puerto Rico.

What's happening now March 16, 2015

Referred to the Subcommittee on Indians, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.

Committees of jurisdiction 2