President of the Senate of Puerto Rico

The president of the Senate of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Presidente del Senado) is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the Senate of Puerto Rico. The president has voting powers as it is elected amongst the own members of the Senate as established by Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico. The Constitution, however, does not establish its functions and since the Senate is the only body authorized by the Constitution to regulate its own internal affairs, the functions of the president vary from session to session—save being called "President" as the Constitution establishes.^[1] The president is typically elected during the Senate's inaugural session.^[2]

President of the Senate of Puerto Rico
Incumbent Jose Luis Dalmau (PPD) since January 2, 2021
Style	The Honorable diplomatic Mister President when presiding over the Senate
Nominator	nominated internally by the Senate
Appointer	elected internally by the Senate
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	Antonio R. Barceló August 13, 1917
Formation	March 2, 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico
Deputy	President pro tempore

When absent, the president is substituted by the president pro tempore.^[2] Its counterpart in the House is the speaker.

The current president is Jose Luis Dalmau, senator at-large from the Popular Democratic Party

Background

The president traces its history back to more than 107 years ago when the Jones–Shafroth Act formally established the post on March 2, 1917. Said act was eventually superseded by another law, and the post was eventually established by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, specifically Article III, which establishes that, "The Senate shall elect a President [...] from among [its] members." The Constitution, however, does not establish what a "president" is nor what its function should be.^[1] Internal rules adopted by the Senate through a simple resolution establish its definition, functions, responsibilities, and legal scope.^[2]

Functions

Typically the president is responsible for the observance and compliance of the Senate's internal rules. He also typically:^[2]

• presides all Senate meetings
• resolves and decides all parliamentary situations and rules of order brought in sessions,
• names all permanent and special commissions of the Senate,
• signs all bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, reorganization plans, and simple resolutions approved by the Senate and the Legislative Assembly,
• convenes special sessions of the Senate,
• maintains order and decorum in the Senate, a responsibility typically delegated to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate,
• must vote in all matters presented in the Senate (can not abstain),
• represents the Senate in all forums,
• is responsible for all administrative matters of the Senate, a responsibility typically delegated to the Secretary of the Senate,
• appoints an internal auditor for the Senate,
• prepares a registry of all lobbyists that must be freely available to the public,
• is responsible of providing free access to the public to all works generated by the Senate, and
• offers training and continuing education opportunities to Senate members, advisors, and employees.

Presidents

  Union Party    Republican Party    New Progressive Party    Popular Democratic Party

#	Portrait	President	Date it took office	Date it left office	Political party	President pro-tempore
1		Antonio R. Barceló (1868–1938)	1917	1929	Union	Eduardo Georgetti 1917–1921 Juan Hernández López 1921–1924 Luis Sánchez Morales 1926–1929
2		Luis Sánchez Morales (1867–1934)	1929	1933	Republican	Celestino Iriarte Miró
3		Rafael Martínez Nadal (1877–1941)	1933	1941	Republican	Bolívar Pagán 1933–1940 Luis Padrón Rivera 1940–1941
4		Luis Muñoz Marín (1898–1980)	1941	1949	PPD	Francisco M. Susoni Abreu 1941–1944 Samuel R. Quiñones 1945–1949
5		Samuel R. Quiñones (1904–1976)	1949	1969	PPD	Luis Negrón López
6		Rafael Hernández Colón (1936–2019)	1969	1973	PPD	Juan J. Cancel Ríos
7		Juan J. Cancel Ríos (1925–1992)	1973	1977	PPD	Miguel Hernández Agosto
8		Luis A. Ferré Aguayo (1904–2003)	1977	1981	PNP	Manuel Ramos Barroso
9		Miguel Hernández Agosto (1927–2016)	1981	1993	PPD	Sergio Peña Clos 1981–1988 Miguel Deynes Soto 1989–1993
10		Roberto Rexach Benítez (1929–2012)	1993	1997	PNP	Nicolás Nogueras Cartagena 1993–1995 Luisa Lebrón de Rivera 1995–1997
11		Charles A. Rodríguez Colón (b. 1954)	1997	2001	PNP	Aníbal Marrero Pérez 1997–2000 Luz Z. Arce Ferrer 2000–2001
12		Antonio Fas Alzamora (b. 1948)	2001	2005	PPD	Velda González de Modestti
13		Kenneth D. McClintock Hernández (b. 1957)	2005	2009	PNP	Orlando Parga Figueroa
14		Thomas Rivera Schatz (b. 1966)	2009	2013	PNP	Margarita Nolasco Santiago
15		Eduardo Bhatia (b. 1964)	2013	2017	PPD	José Luis Dalmau
16		Thomas Rivera Schatz (b. 1966)	2017	2021	PNP	Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez
17		José Luis Dalmau (b. 1966)	2021	present	PPD	Marially González Huertas

See also

• List of Legislative Assemblies of Puerto Rico

References

1. "Article III, Section 9". Constitution of Puerto Rico. July 25, 1952. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
2. R. del S. 21 del 2013, "Reglamento del Senado de Puerto Rico" (in Spanish) Senate of Puerto Rico (January 15, 2013). Retrieved on August 9, 2013.