Sponsors (10)
Official title: To enable the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to determine the political status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 10, 2026 by Pablo José Hernández · Last progress June 10, 2026
The bill creates a federally guided, extensive process for Puerto Ricans to determine their political status—expanding democratic choice, protections for civil liberties, and the prospect of full representation—while introducing major fiscal, legal, and administrative risks (including potential loss of U.S. citizenship and phased cuts to federal supports) that could produce prolonged uncertainty and costs for residents and taxpayers.
Puerto Rico residents gain a federally authorized, time‑bound, and repeatedly structured process (plebiscites, runoffs, conventions, and ratifying elections) to decide their political status, enabling direct self‑determination and clearer legitimacy for any outcome.
If statehood is chosen, Puerto Rico residents would receive full congressional representation (two U.S. Senators and voting Representatives) and equal legislative voice upon admission.
Any locally drafted constitution (for independence, free association, or other arrangements) must guarantee core civil liberties (due process, equal protection, speech, religion, and rights of the accused), protecting basic rights in transitions to new statuses.
Residents, and especially children born after a transition to Independence or Free Association, could lose automatic U.S. birthright citizenship and many federal legal protections and program eligibilities unless safeguarded by agreements, creating major legal and personal-identity uncertainty.
Choosing statehood or implementing the plebiscites and transition mechanisms will likely increase federal spending (new benefits, representation, and implementation costs) and the bill authorizes flexible appropriations, putting upward pressure on taxpayers and the federal budget.
The processes required by the bill (plebiscites, negotiated Articles of Free Association, transition commissions, federal reviews, and potential repeated votes) create substantial administrative, legal, and diplomatic complexity and can prolong uncertainty, disrupt services, and impose negotiation and oversight costs for years.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Requires a March 14, 2027 plebiscite in Puerto Rico on four status options, sets implementation rules for each outcome, and authorizes funds to run education and votes.
Requires Puerto Rico to hold a federally authorized plebiscite on March 14, 2027 offering four status choices (Independence; Commonwealth/Estado Libre Asociado; Statehood; or Sovereignty in Free Association). If no option receives a majority, a runoff between the top two is required on May 16, 2027. The bill sets ballot language and voter-education requirements, creates processes and timelines for implementing each possible outcome (independence, statehood, or continued commonwealth with a development commission, and free-association), directs federal reviews of law and transfers some oversight responsibilities, and authorizes "such sums as are necessary" to conduct education and the plebiscites.