By DÁNICA COTO
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González signed a polemic invoice on Sunday that critics say is a blow to democracy and can make it harder to entry public info in a U.S. territory lengthy recognized for its lack of presidency transparency.
González stated the invoice amends an present legislation to supply extra outlined guidelines, keep away from confusion and cut back what she stated was a “appreciable variety of lawsuits.” She stated it additionally units penalties for non-compliance
Greater than a dozen journalism organizations and civil rights teams have rejected the invoice, noting that solely someday of public hearings was held on quick discover.
“It’s inconceivable that Puerto Rico’s leaders would exit of their approach to hurt their constituents’ entry to info and degrade the standard of press freedom on the island,” stated Clayton Weimers, government director for Reporters With out Borders in North America.
With the brand new legislation, authorities companies now have 20 enterprise days as a substitute of 10 at hand over paperwork with fewer than 300 pages or that had been created lower than three years in the past.
Businesses additionally now have as much as one month to launch paperwork longer than 300 pages or greater than three years outdated, with a 20-day extension upheld.
“By signing this measure into legislation, regardless of widespread opposition, the governor makes it clear that her curiosity is just not in authorities transparency,” the ACLU of Puerto Rico stated. “(The legislation) is just not in anybody’s greatest curiosity, apart from any public official who seeks to hinder or forestall the general public from receiving the knowledge they’ve a proper to see.”
Earlier this month, a coalition of journalism organizations and civil society teams despatched a letter to the governor asking that she veto the invoice, calling it a “harmful infringement on the general public’s proper to know.”
The letter famous the invoice not solely doubles the size of time authorities companies must launch requested info, it will additionally “permit the federal government to categorise info as confidential with out judicial evaluate and eradicate private privateness protections for these requesting info.”
The invoice additionally removes “the federal government’s earlier obligation underneath the 2019 legislation to supply info within the requested format, making knowledge evaluation harder …(and) would additionally permit the federal government to disclaim legitimate requests as a result of the knowledge is unfold throughout a number of paperwork or companies,” in accordance with the letter.
Acquiring public info in Puerto Rico has lengthy been troublesome, usually forcing native media organizations that might afford it to go to court docket regardless of the federal government approving a legislation in 2019 to permit entry to public info held by state companies.
The 2019 legislation famous that in Puerto Rico, “residents and the press are topic to discretionary court docket processes which can be expensive and may take months after they request public info. Though the precise to entry info is enshrined within the Structure, the shortage of a procedural mechanism to implement it results in frequent violations.”
The 2019 legislation additionally said that “many governments have promised transparency however have by no means dedicated to it. This is among the components that has contributed to the erosion of public belief within the authorities, which has turn out to be a posh, bureaucratic, and opaque construction in its decision-making.”
A number of years in the past, one native newspaper made it a behavior to publish its requests for public info and the way a lot time had handed with out receiving a response from state companies.
Puerto Rico’s Senate accepted the invoice in mid-October with 18 votes in favor and 9 towards, with no public hearings held. The Home handed it in November after solely someday of hearings, with 29 votes in favor and 24 towards.
