[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1936 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1936

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2007

   Mr. Salazar (for himself, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bayh, Mr. 
Carper, Mr. Craig, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. McCain, Mr. 
Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Hagel, and 
Mr. Brownback) 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 on the future status of Puerto Rico.

    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 2007''.

SEC. 2. 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.

SEC. 3. PLEBISCITE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than September 30, 2009, the Commission 
shall conduct a plebiscite in the Commonwealth, the ballot of which 
shall provide for voters to choose 1 of the following options only:
            (1) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should continue to 
        have its present status and relationship with the United 
        States. If you agree, mark here _______.''.
            (2) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should seek 
        independence from the United States. If you agree, mark here 
        _______.''.
            (3) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should seek 
        nationhood in free association with the United States. If you 
        agree, mark here ______.''.
            (4) ``The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should seek admission 
        as a State of the United States. If you agree, mark here 
        ______.''.
    (b) Rules and Regulations.--The Commission shall issue any rules 
and regulations necessary to conduct the plebiscite under subsection 
(a).
    (c) Certification of Results.--The Commission shall certify the 
results of the plebiscite conducted under subsection (a) to the 
President and each member of Congress.
    (d) Federal Court Jurisdiction.--The Federal courts of the United 
States shall have jurisdiction over any legal claim or controversy 
arising from the implementation of this Act.

SEC. 4. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE PLEBISCITE.

    (a) Availability of Amounts Derived From Tax on Foreign Rum.--
During the period beginning on October 1, 2007, and ending on the date 
on which the results of the plebiscite have been certified under 
section 3(c), 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 
by the President, in consultation with the Commission.
    (b) Use of Funds for Educational and Other Materials.--In 
allocating amounts to the Commission under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall ensure that the content of any Commission voter 
education materials to be prepared by the Commisison using those 
amounts are not incompatible with the Constitution and the laws and 
policies of the United States.
                                 <all>