[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2019 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2019

  To provide for referenda to resolve the political status of Puerto 
                     Rico, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 1996

 Mr. Craig (for himself, Mr. Simon, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Reid, Mr. Graham, 
Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for referenda to resolve the political status of Puerto 
                     Rico, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States exercises sovereignty over Puerto 
        Rico pursuant to the Treaty of Paris proclaimed by President 
        McKinley on April 11, 1899, Article IX of which provides that 
        the ``civil rights and political status of the native 
        inhabitants'' of Puerto Rico ``shall be determined by the 
        Congress'';
            (2) Congress continues to carry out all Federal 
        responsibilities with respect to Puerto Rico, including those 
        set forth in article IX of the treaty of cession, pursuant to 
        the territorial clause of the United States Constitution 
        (article IV, section 3, clause 2), which provides that 
        ``Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful 
        Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other 
        Property belonging to the United States'';
            (3) in the Act of March 2, 1917 (39 stat. 951, chapter 
        145), Congress provided for civil administration of Puerto Rico 
        and declared that, by virtue of that Act, the inhabitants of 
        Puerto Rico shall be citizens of the United States, with such 
        civil rights and political status as Congress determined to be 
        consistent with residence in an unincorporated territory rather 
        than a State of the Union;
            (4) in accordance with the Act of July 3, 1950 (64 Stat. 
        319, chapter 446), the people of Puerto Rico adopted a 
        constitution in 1952 that, after amendment and approval by 
        Congress, established the current Commonwealth structure for 
        self-government in respect of internal affairs and local 
        government administration, subject to the United States 
        Constitution and Federal law applicable to Puerto Rico; and
            (5) the United States, consistent with its constitutional 
        process, is committed to respecting the principle of self-
        determination as part of any procedure to resolve the political 
        status of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 2. REFERENDA.

    (a) Policy of the United States.--(1) In general.--It is the policy 
of the United States that the residents of Puerto Rico periodically 
should be afforded an opportunity freely to express their wishes 
regarding their political status.--
    (2) Options.--The self-determination process for Puerto Rico should 
be one that enables the people of Puerto Rico to preserve their current 
political status if that is their preference, or to choose to seek, in 
accordance with a process approved by Congress and the residents of 
Puerto Rico--
                    (A) admission as a State of the Union on the basis 
                of full equality; or
                    (B) withdrawal of United States sovereignty in 
                favor of independence or free association.
    (b) Requirements.--A referendum under this Act--
            (1) shall be conducted among persons in Puerto Rico who 
        meet the residency, United States citizenship, and other 
        requirements of applicable law governing voter eligibility in 
        Puerto Rico;
            (2) shall otherwise be in accordance with applicable 
        provisions of the elections law of Puerto Rico and other 
        relevant local and Federal law consistent with this Act; and
            (3) shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast.
    (c) Referendum by the End of 1998.--
            (1) In general.--A referendum under this Act shall be 
        conducted not later than December 31, 1998.
            (2) Format.--
                    (A) Part one of the ballot.--In the referendum 
                under paragraph (1), the option of continuing the 
                current Commonwealth arrangements and Puerto Rico's 
                current political status, or, alternatively, entering 
                on a process leading to permanent full self-government 
                through separate sovereignty or statehood, shall be 
                presented in Part One of the ballot as Options A and B, 
                as follows:

                               ``part one

            ``Option A.--COMMONWEALTH: The residents of Puerto Rico 
        desire to continue the current Commonwealth structure for self-
        government with respect to internal affairs and administration 
        under a local constitution, subject to the provisions of the 
        Constitution and laws of the United States that apply to Puerto 
        Rico. Puerto Rico will remain an unincorporated territory of 
        the United States, and application of Federal law and 
        provisions of the Constitution to Puerto Rico remains within 
        the discretion of Congress. The future status of Puerto Rico 
        will be determined through a process authorized by Congress 
        that includes self-determination by the residents of Puerto 
        Rico in periodic referenda.
            ``Option B.--PATH TO SEPARATE SOVEREIGNTY OR STATEHOOD: The 
        residents of Puerto Rico desire to enter on a process for 
        Congress and the residents of Puerto Rico to define and approve 
        in a later vote a transition to permanent full self-government 
        through either separate sovereignty or statehood as set forth 
        in Part Two of this ballot.''.
                    (B) Part two of the ballot.--Part Two of the ballot 
                shall present voters with a choice between 2 options 
                for ending the current territorial status in favor of 
                separate sovereignty, in the form of independence, or 
                free association as may be agreed, according to 
                international law and definitions compatible with the 
                constitutional process and practices of the United 
                States, or, alternatively, full integration into the 
                United States constitutional system on the basis of 
                equality. The definitions of separate sovereignty and 
                full integration leading to statehood shall appear in 
                Part Two of the ballot as Options A and B, as follows:
            ``Option A.--SEPARATE SOVEREIGNTY: The residents of Puerto 
        Rico desire to be a separate sovereign nation that exercises 
        all the powers of government with respect to its territory and 
        population, with full authority and responsibility for its 
        internal and external affairs, through independence (or free 
        association as may be agreed). Puerto Rico will become fully 
        self-governing under its own constitution establishing a 
        republican form of government, which shall be the supreme law. 
        The United States Constitution and laws shall no longer apply, 
        and the sovereignty, nationality, and citizenship of the United 
        States in Puerto Rico shall terminate based on approval of 
        separate sovereignty by Congress and the residents of Puerto 
        Rico. Birth in Puerto Rico or relationship to a person who 
        acquired United States citizenship by statute due to birth in 
        Puerto Rico during the territorial period no longer will confer 
        United States citizenship, but such persons shall have a right 
        to retain statutory United States citizenship for life based on 
        continued allegiance to the United States and election or 
        designation as prescribed by Congress consistent with the 
        transition to separate sovereignty and succession of 
        nationality.
            ``Option B.--STATEHOOD: The residents of Puerto Rico desire 
        admission of Puerto Rico as a State of the Union. Through 
        statehood residents of Puerto Rico will have a status and 
        rights secured under the United States Constitution, which will 
        be the supreme law of the land with the same force and effect 
        as in the other States of the Union. The sovereign State of 
        Puerto Rico will be in permanent union with the United States, 
        and powers not delegated to the Federal Government or 
        prohibited to the States by the United States Constitution 
        shall be reserved to the people of Puerto Rico or the State 
        Government. The United States nationality and citizenship of 
        persons born in Puerto Rico will be guaranteed in the same way 
        it is for all United States citizens born in other States of 
        the Union. United States citizens in Puerto Rico will have full 
        and equal rights and duties of United States citizenship, 
        including voting rights in elections for President and Vice 
        President, as well as representation by 2 members in the United 
        States Senate and proportionally on the basis of population in 
        the House of Representatives.''.
            (3) Instructions to voters.--
                    (A) Part one.--The instructions to voters for Part 
                One of the ballot in a referendum under this subsection 
                shall state that a voter may select Option A or Option 
                B by marking either option, but that ballots with both 
                options marked in Part One will not be counted.
                    (B) Part two.--The instructions to voters for Part 
                Two of the ballot in such a referendum shall state that 
                a voter may vote on Part Two regardless of how the 
                voter voted on Part One, or even if they did not vote 
                on Part One. The instructions to voters on Part Two 
                shall also state that Part Two is to determine the 
                preference of voters as between the options for seeking 
                separate sovereignty or statehood in case a majority of 
the voters voting on Part One approve that course as set forth in 
Option B on Part One of the ballot. The voters shall be instructed to 
approve Option A or Option B in Part Two by marking either, but that 
ballots with both options marked in Part Two will not be counted.
            (4) Validity of either part.--On any ballot cast in a 
        referendum under this subsection either Part One or Part Two 
        shall be counted if properly cast, even if the other part of 
        the ballot is not counted due to the manner in which the other 
        part has been cast.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Selection of Current Status or Rejection of Transition.--If a 
majority of the voters approve continuation of the current 
unincorporated status and the present `Commonwealth' structure for 
local self-government, or on rejection of a transition plan, unless 
otherwise provided by Congress, referenda on the future political 
status of Puerto Rico shall be held in accordance with this Act every 4 
years thereafter, but not within 270 calendar days of a general 
election, in order to ensure that the right of the people of Puerto 
Rico to self-determination is respected, and that the people 
periodically are afforded the opportunity freely to express their 
wishes with respect to resolution of Puerto Rico's status based on 
permanent full self-government.
    (b) Selection of Statehood.--If statehood is selected, the 
President, not later than 180 days after the referendum, shall transmit 
to the Congress legislation providing for the admission of Puerto Rico 
as a State of the Union in accordance with a transition plan that 
includes procedures for approval of the terms of admission and 
implementation thereof by a majority vote of the residents of Puerto 
Rico.
    (c) Selection of Separate Sovereignty.--If separate sovereignty is 
selected, the President, not later than 180 days after the referendum, 
shall transmit to the Congress legislation to providing a plan for the 
transition to an international sovereign-to-sovereign relationship 
governed by a treaty or international agreement (including measures to 
cease conferral of United States citizenship on persons born in Puerto 
Rico), and such legislation shall include procedures for approval of 
the transition to separate sovereignty by a majority vote of the 
residents of Puerto Rico.
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