Florida Senate - 2026                                     SM 746
       
       
        
       By Senator Arrington
       
       
       
       
       
       25-01029-26                                            2026746__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to establish an end date for the
    4         Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto
    5         Rico.
    6  
    7         WHEREAS, in 2016, the United States Congress enacted the
    8  Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act
    9  (PROMESA), establishing the Financial Oversight and Management
   10  Board for Puerto Rico to oversee the restructuring of Puerto
   11  Rico’s public debt and manage the island’s fiscal plans, and
   12         WHEREAS, nearly a decade later, the board continues to
   13  exert sweeping authority over the island’s fiscal policies,
   14  raising serious concerns about the erosion of local democratic
   15  governance and self-determination for Puerto Ricans, and
   16         WHEREAS, while Puerto Rico has made progress in
   17  restructuring its debt, restoring access to capital markets, and
   18  implementing fiscal reforms, the continued operation of the
   19  board without a defined end date poses a threat to long-term
   20  recovery, fiscal autonomy, and democratic accountability, and
   21         WHEREAS, the residents of Puerto Rico are United States
   22  citizens, and Puerto Ricans deserve the same rights to self
   23  governance as the citizens of any other nation, and
   24         WHEREAS, austerity measures imposed under the board’s
   25  oversight have severely undermined public services, particularly
   26  in education, health care, and municipal infrastructure, with
   27  devastating consequences for the most vulnerable populations,
   28  and
   29         WHEREAS, the University of Puerto Rico, a cornerstone of
   30  the island’s public education system and a pathway to economic
   31  mobility, has suffered funding cuts of over 50 percent,
   32  jeopardizing its mission and accessibility, and
   33         WHEREAS, deep reductions to the municipal equalization fund
   34  have destabilized local governments across the island, impairing
   35  their ability to deliver essential services and maintain public
   36  infrastructure, and
   37         WHEREAS, over 600,000 Puerto Ricans have migrated to the
   38  continental United States since the board’s creation, a mass
   39  exodus fueled by rising costs of living, deteriorating public
   40  services, and limited economic opportunities, and
   41         WHEREAS, recovery from natural disasters, including
   42  Hurricanes María and Fiona, a series of earthquakes, and the
   43  COVID-19 pandemic, has been delayed by federal disbursement
   44  bottlenecks and onerous approval processes controlled by the
   45  board, and
   46         WHEREAS, the indefinite existence of the board undermines
   47  Puerto Rico’s fiscal sovereignty, perpetuates dependency, and
   48  erodes public trust in government institutions, and
   49         WHEREAS, Florida is home to one of the largest Puerto Rican
   50  communities in the United States, with over 1.3 million Puerto
   51  Rican residents who maintain deep familial, cultural, and
   52  economic ties to the island and are directly impacted by
   53  policies enacted by the board, NOW, THEREFORE,
   54  
   55  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   56  
   57         That the Congress of the United States is urged to:
   58         (1) Establish a definitive end date for the operation of
   59  the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico.
   60         (2) Place the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority under
   61  Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
   62         (3) Ensure a transition toward full fiscal autonomy and
   63  local democratic governance in Puerto Rico.
   64         (4) Promote economic self-actualization and just recovery
   65  efforts that are community-driven and accountable to Puerto
   66  Ricans on the island.
   67         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   68  copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
   69  to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of
   70  the United States House of Representatives, and to each member
   71  of the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.