Florida HB 4031: City of Oviedo, Seminole County

Bill Text

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HM 4031 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

House Memorial 1
A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 2
urging Congress to establish an end date for the 3
Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto 4
Rico. 5
6
WHEREAS, in 2016, the United States Congress enacted the 7
Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act 8
(PROMESA), establishing the Financial Oversight and Management 9
Board for Puerto Rico to oversee the restructuring of Puerto 10
Rico's public debt and manage the island's fiscal plans, and 11
WHEREAS, nearly a decade later, the board continues to 12
exert sweeping authority over the island's fiscal policies, 13
raising serious concerns about the erosion of local democratic 14
governance and self-determination for Puerto Ricans, and 15
WHEREAS, while Puerto Rico has made progress in 16
restructuring its debt, restoring access to capital markets, and 17
implementing fiscal reforms, the continued operation of the 18
board without a defined end date poses a threat to long-term 19
recovery, fiscal autonomy, and democratic accountability, and 20
WHEREAS, residents of Puerto Rico are United States 21
citizens and Puerto Ricans deserve the same rights to self-22
governance as the citizens of any other nation, and 23
WHEREAS, austerity measures imposed under the board's 24
oversight have severely undermined public services, particularly 25

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in education, health care, and municipal infrastructure, with 26
devastating consequences for the most vulnerable populations, 27
and 28
WHEREAS, the University of Puerto Rico, a cornerstone of 29
the island's public education system and a pathway to economic 30
mobility, has suffered funding cuts of over 50 percent, 31
jeopardizing its mission and accessibility, and 32
WHEREAS, deep reductions to the municipal equalization fund 33
have destabilized local governments across the island, impairing 34
their ability to deliver essential services and maintain public 35
infrastructure, and 36
WHEREAS, over 600,000 Puerto Ricans have migrated to the 37
continental United States since the board's creation, a mass 38
exodus fueled by rising costs of living, deteriorating public 39
services, and limited economic opportunities, and 40
WHEREAS, recovery from natural disasters, including 41
Hurricanes María and Fiona, a series of earthquakes, and the 42
COVID-19 pandemic, has been delayed by federal disbursement 43
bottlenecks and onerous approval processes controlled by the 44
board, and 45
WHEREAS, the indefinite existence of the board undermines 46
Puerto Rico's fiscal sovereignty, perpetuates dependency, and 47
erodes public trust in government institutions, and 48
WHEREAS, Florida is home to one of the largest Puerto Rican 49
communities in the United States, with over 1.3 million Puerto 50

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Rican residents who maintain deep familial, cultural, and 51
economic ties to the island and are directly impacted by 52
policies enacted by the board, NOW, THEREFORE, 53
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Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 55
56
That the House of Representatives urges the Congress of the 57
United States 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
68
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be 69
dispatched to the President of the United States, to the 70
President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the 71
United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 72
the Florida delegation to the United States Congress. 73