[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2661 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2661

    To provide for a plebiscite in Puerto Rico on the status of the 
                               territory.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 26, 2006

   Mr. Martinez (for himself, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Craig, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Carper, Mr. Allard, Ms. Landrieu, Mrs. Clinton, 
and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for a plebiscite in Puerto Rico on the status of the 
                               territory.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) in the Memorandum on the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 
        (28 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 2324, dated November 30, 1992), 
        President George H.W. Bush recognized that ``[a]s long as 
        Puerto Rico is a territory ... the will of its people regarding 
        their political status should be ascertained periodically by 
        means of a general right of referendum . . .'';
            (2) consistent with this policy, in Executive Order No. 
        13183 (65 Fed. Reg. 82889), President William J. Clinton 
        established the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status 
        to identify--
                    (A) options for the territory's future political 
                status ``... that are not incompatible with the 
                Constitution and basic laws and policies of the United 
                States ...''; and
                    (B) the process for realizing the identified 
                options;
            (3) in Executive Order 13319 (68 Fed. Reg. 68233), 
        President George W. Bush amended Executive Order No. 13183 (65 
        Fed. Reg. 82889) to require that the President's Task Force on 
        Puerto Rico's Status issue a report ``... no less frequently 
        than once every 2 years, on progress made in the determination 
        of Puerto Rico's ultimate status.''; and
            (4) on December 22, 2005, the Task Force appointed by 
        President George W. Bush issued a report recommending that not 
        later than 1 year after the date on which the report was 
        published, Congress should provide for a federally sanctioned 
        plebiscite in which the people of Puerto Rico would be asked to 
        vote on whether the people opt to--
                    (A) remain a United States territory; or
                    (B) pursue a constitutionally viable path toward a 
                permanent nonterritorial status with the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Puerto 
        Rico State Elections Commission.
            (2) Commonwealth.--The term ``Commonwealth'' means the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
            (3) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
        President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status.

SEC. 4. FEDERALLY SANCTIONED PROCESS FOR PUERTO RICO'S SELF-
              DETERMINATION.

    (a) Plebiscite.--
            (1) In general.--During the 110th Congress, but not later 
        than December 31, 2007, the Commission shall conduct a 
        plebiscite in the Commonwealth, the ballot of which shall 
        provide for voters to choose only 1 of the following options:
                    (A) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should 
                continue to be a territory of the United States. If you 
                agree, mark here____.''.
                    (B) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should pursue 
                a path toward permanent non-territory status. If you 
                agree, mark here ______. ''.
            (2) Rules and regulations.--The Commission shall issue any 
        rules and regulations necessary to conduct the plebiscite under 
        this subsection.
            (3) Certification of results.--The Commission shall certify 
        the results of the plebiscite conducted under this subsection 
        to the President and Congress.
    (b) Federal Court Jurisdiction.--The Federal courts of the United 
States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any legal claim or 
controversy arising from the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 5. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE SELF-DETERMINATION PROCESS.

    (a) Availability of Amounts Derived From Tax on Foreign Rum.--
            (1) In general.--During the period beginning on October 1, 
        2006, and ending on the date on which the results of the 
        plebiscite have been certified under section 4(a)(3), the 
        Secretary of the Treasury shall allocate to the Commission, 
        from amounts that would otherwise be covered into the treasury 
        of the Commonwealth under section 7652(e)(1) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986, not more than $5,000,000 to pay the costs 
        incurred by the Commission in conducting the plebiscite, as 
        determined under paragraph (2).
            (2) Determination by the task force.--The amount needed to 
        cover the costs of the plebiscite shall be determined by the 
        Task Force.
    (b) Use of Funds for Educational and Other Materials.--The amounts 
made available to the Commission under subsection (a)(1) may be used 
for the cost of voter education materials if the content of the 
materials has been certified by the Task Force as not being 
incompatible with the Constitution or any Federal laws or policies.
                                 <all>