Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.
The Foraker Act, Pub.L. 56–191, 31 Stat. 77, enacted April 12, 1900, officially known as the Organic Act of 1900, is a United States federal law that established civilian government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had recently become a possession of the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War. Section VII of the Foraker Act also established Puerto Rican citizenship. President William McKinley signed the act on April 12, 1900 and it became known as the Foraker Act after its sponsor, Ohio Senator Joseph B. Foraker. Its main author has been identified as Secretary of War Elihu Root.
The governor of Puerto Rico is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Senate normally composed of 27 senators, and the lower house, the House of Representatives normally consisting of 51 representatives. Eleven members of each house are elected at-large rather than from a specific legislative district with all members being elected for a four-year term without term limits.
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company is the government-owned corporation in charge of tourism matters and regulations in Puerto Rico. The company was created during Governor Luis A. Ferré's administration (1969-1973) to coordinate the marketing and growth of Puerto Rico's tourism sector. It is governed by a board of directors and an executive director appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico.
The secretary of state of Puerto Rico leads all efforts that promote the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico and foreign countries, and other jurisdictions of the United States. The post was created by Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which merely establishes that the secretary serves as acting governor when the governor is unable to perform his duties—a post similar to that of a lieutenant governor in U.S. politics. In recent times, however, the post has evolved into one similar to that of a foreign minister. Today, the secretary is the officer in charge of Puerto Rico's foreign relations, albeit under the consent of Congress or the U.S. Department of State due to Puerto Rico's political status.
The Office of Management and Budget of Puerto Rico —Spanish: Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto de Puerto Rico (OGP)— is a Cabinet-level office, and the largest office within the Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico. The main job of the office is to help the governor prepare the budget. The office also measures the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures and see if they comply with the governor's policies. Its current director is Jose I. Marrero Rosado.
The Popular Democratic Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the center-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.
Alejandro Javier García Padilla is a Puerto Rican politician and attorney who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this position, García Padilla held various roles in the political landscape of Puerto Rico; first as Secretary of Consumer Affairs, and then as a member of the 24th Senate of Puerto Rico and as president of the Popular Democratic Party. Locally, he is a staunch advocate for maintaining the current political status of Puerto Rico as that of an unincorporated territory of the United States with self-government, while at the national level he is allied with the Democratic Party.
Ricardo Antonio Rosselló Nevares is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2019. He resigned on August 2, 2019, after protests related to the Telegramgate scandal. He is the son of former governor of Puerto Rico and pediatric surgeon Pedro Rosselló.
The Chief of Staff of Puerto Rico is the highest-ranking officer in the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico after the governor and the secretary of state. The Chief of Staff leads the Secretariat of Governance and is charged with managing and overseeing almost all executive agencies while assisting and advising the governor.
The executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico is responsible for executing the laws of Puerto Rico, as well as causing them to be executed. Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico vests the executive power on the Governor—whom by its nature forms the executive branch.
The Office of the Chief of Staff of the Governor of Puerto Rico is the umbrella organization and government agency of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico that manages and oversees all the executive departments of the government of Puerto Rico and almost all executive agencies. The Office is headed by the Puerto Rico Chief of Staff and is composed by the Governor's Advisory Board and all other staff appointed by the chief of staff. The Office of the Chief of Staff is ascribed to the Office of the Governor.
The Budget of the Government of Puerto Rico is the proposal by the Governor of Puerto Rico to the Legislative Assembly which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year, beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year. This proposal is established by Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and is presented in two forms:
The Puerto Rico Commission on Safety and Public Protection is the government agency of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico that coordinates, manages, and oversees all the public safety agencies and related private organizations in Puerto Rico. The Commission is composed by the Adjutant General, the Fire Chief, the Police Superintendent, and the Director of the State Agency for Emergency and Disaster Management, with one of the aforementioned officers presiding it as the Commissioner of Safety and Public Protection.
The Puerto Rico Commissioner of Safety and Public Protection is the Cabinet-level officer of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico that leads the Commission on Safety and Public Protection and, as such, coordinates, manages, and oversees all the public safety agencies and related private organizations in Puerto Rico. The Commissioner is appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent from the Senate and can only be selected from those holding the position of Adjutant General, Fire Chief, Police Superintendent, or Director of the State Agency for Emergency and Disaster Management. The office was abolish with the creation of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety.
The foreign and intergovernmental relations of Puerto Rico are governed by the Commerce and Territorial Clause of the Constitution of the United States. Because of this, they are subject to the plenary powers of Congress. Nonetheless, Puerto Rico has established relations with foreign nations, particularly with Hispanic American countries such as Colombia and Panamá. The establishment of such relations, however, requires permission from the U.S. Department of State or Congress itself. Still, most relations are already set by existent laws or trade agreements established beforehand by the United States that supersede the relation pursued by Puerto Rico.
