Florida SB 746: Florida Fire Prevention Code

Bill Text

746 
Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico 
2025-12-03T11:37:01Z 
Urging Congress to establish an end date for the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
SM 
Memorial 
__ 

 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.