(No. 457) (Approved December 28, 2000) AN ACT

Transcription

1 (H.B. 3583) (No. 457) (Approved December 28, 2000) AN ACT To amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 20 and 22 of Act No. 423 or October 27, 2000, in order to clarify several of its provisions and harmonize these with the Directive of President William Jefferson Clinton of January 31, 2000 and Public Law of October 30, 2000, known as the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year STATEMENT OF MOTIVES On October 27, 2000, this Legislature approved Act Number 423 for the purpose of providing the Government with a mechanism that would allow it to gauge the feelings of the people of Vieques concerning the military exercises conducted by the United States Navy on the islandmunicipality of Vieques. To those effects, the aforementioned statute provided all things pertaining to the holding of a referendum through which all lawful voters of Vieques would be able to choose between the alternatives endorsed by the President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in his Directive of January 31, Subsequently, Public Law was approved on October 30, 2000, to set forth the ways and means through which the consultation to the people of Vieques regarding the military exercises undertaken by the United States Navy was to be conducted. A review of the terms of the aforementioned statute, and of its predecessor, the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000, make manifest to this Legislature the need to act

2 legislatively so as to harmonize the aforementioned Act No. 423 of October 27, 2000, approved by this Legislature, with the Presidential Directive and with Public Law of October 30, It is imperative that this Legislature bring to bear the constitutional power with which it has been vested to statutorily establish at the local level the terms under which the Congress and the President of the United States have planned the consultation to be conducted to settle this issue which is so essential for the public interest. In this manner we furthermore establish the safeguards needed to maintain intact an agreement product of the untiring efforts of our Government to reach a definitive solution to the issue herein set forth. Only by guaranteeing the respect for the negotiated terms and conditions shall such a desired solution to an issue of the greatest interest for all Puerto Ricans be made feasible. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO: Section 1.-Section 1 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 1.-Public Policy Statement The Legislature, as the legitimate and constitutional representative of the People of Puerto Rico, has the power and responsibility to enable a free, impartial and democratic electoral process in the nature of a referendum in the Municipality of Vieques to allow its electors to choose between the options provided in the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000, issued by President William Jefferson Clinton, and in Public Law of October 30, 2000, known as the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, henceforth Public Law , with regard to the future of the military exercises of the Navy of the United States of

3 America in Vieques. This referendum shall be conducted pursuant to said Directive and to Public Law In accordance with the above, this Act is hereby adopted exclusively so that the registered electors of the Municipality of Vieques may choose between the two options provided in the Presidential Directive of January and in Public Law These options are: (1) The ceasing of the Navy training not later than May 1, (2) The continuation of the training, including training using live ammunition, under the terms proposed by the Navy. Pursuant to the Presidential Directive and Public Law , these two alternatives, summarized in the preceding subsections, shall be the only two (2) options, between which the electors, citizens of Vieques, shall choose. The registered electors, citizens of the Municipality of Vieques, shall choose between these two (2) options with the understanding that in the event that the citizens of Vieques choose that the activities of the Navy in said territory cease: (a) The Secretary of the United States Navy shall transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the provisions of Public Law of October 30, 2000, the Live Impact Area in the Island of Vieques, all real property of the Department of Defense located on the eastern portion of the Island that have been identified as conservation zones and all other real property of the Department of Defense located on the eastern portion of Vieques. It is hereby set forth that the Secretary of the Interior may not dispose of the land that was transferred, pursuant to what is herein provided, as long as the Congress has not

4 approved any law establishing all matters pertinent to the disposition of these properties. (b) It is likewise herein provided that the Secretary of the Interior, through a law validly approved by the Congress, might transfer to the People of Puerto Rico all or part of the land of the Island of Vieques under its administrative jurisdiction. (c) Under no circumstances shall the land mentioned herein shall be transferred to the Department of Defense nor used for military training. Likewise, the citizens of Vieques understand that should they choose the second alternative, that is to say, that should the citizens of Vieques decide to accept the training plan submitted by the Navy, they shall receive economic aid for the people and their communities in the amount of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) that have been authorized to be assigned to the President for such purposes, plus an amount of forty million dollars ($40,000,000) as authorized by Public Law of October 30, Section 2.-Section 2 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 2.-Holding of the referendum It is hereby provided that a referendum shall be held on the date, and in the form and manner to be established according to the provisions of the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and Public Law , whereby the eligible electors of the Municipality of Vieques shall freely, impartially and democratically express their preference between the two (2) options substantially provided in the directive indicated above and mentioned in Section 4 of this Act.

5 The exact date of the referendum shall be established by petition of the Secretary of the Navy to the Government of Puerto Rico, through the Governor; said request shall be made according to the terms provided in the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and Public Law , which provides that the aforementioned request shall be notified to the Governor by the Secretary of the Navy at least ninety (90) days before the date requested for the referendum. Section 3.-The first paragraph of Section 3 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 3.-Applicable law The substantive laws applicable to the referendum herein established shall be those provided in the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and Public Law , or those derived from both. However, the provisions of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Electoral Law, and the regulations adopted by virtue thereof, shall be considered supplementary to the present Act and shall be applicable to all procedures related to the holding of the referendum herein provided, in all that is necessary, pertinent and compatible with the purposes of this Act, and for which different regulations have not been provided.. Section 4.-Section 4 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 4.-Design and printing of the ballots

6 The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall design and print the ballot to be used, which shall be of uniform size, printed in the Spanish and English languages, in black ink and on thick paper so that what is printed on it cannot be seen from the back. The ballot shall be designed in accordance with the following: Across the ballot on the upper part thereof, the following shall be printed: REFERÉNDUM SOBRE EL FUTURO DE LOS EJERCICIOS DE LA MARINA DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EN VIEQUES / FUTURE OF NAVY TRAINING IN VIEQUES REFERENDUM. The ballot shall have a column for each one of the options contained in the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and the aforementioned Public Law (a) In the upper part of the left column, there shall be printed Cese de los entrenamientos de la Marina en Vieques / Navy will cease all training in Vieques; and in a separate paragraph, and in the English and Spanish languages, the following: The ceasing of all military practices by the Navy on or before May 1, The land of the United States Navy located in the eastern zone of Vieques shall be transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, who shall retain and administer said land until the approval of a law establishing all that is pertinent to the disposal of said properties. The Federal Government shall have the obligation of mitigating the environmental damages according to the terms of the Presidential Directive. In no way whatsoever shall this property be devoted in the future to be used by the Department of the Defense for any military use.

7 (b) In the upper part of the right column, there shall be printed Continuación de los Entrenamientos de la Marina en Vieques / Continued Navy Training in Vieques ; and in a separate paragraph, in the Spanish and English languages, the following: The United States Navy shall continue to conduct training in Vieques using live ammunition. The citizens of Vieques shall receive economic aid for themselves and their communities in the amount of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) that have been authorized to be assigned to the President for such purposes, plus an amount of forty million dollars ($40,000,000) as authorized by Public Law of October 30, (c) Immediately underneath the text that shall appear in each of the two (2) columns, there shall be a space where the elector shall make his/her mark, using his/her own hand exclusively, except in those special cases in which the Electoral Law allows a second party to assist the elector at the time of exercising his/her right to vote. (d) The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall adopt the necessary measures to guarantee that those electors who cannot read nor write may be informed of the options for which they will vote. In addition, the ballot shall bear certain geometric shapes that would allow them to identify the option of their preference. Section 5.-The first sentence of Section 8 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 8.-Information and Orientation Campaign.- The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall implement an information and orientation campaign for the electors of Vieques in the Spanish and English languages on the holding of the referendum, urging the

8 electors to register and participate in the same, the manner in which the elector shall mark the ballot in order to cast his/her vote and the language of the definitions for each of the options set forth in the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and in Public Law , as they shall appear on the ballot. Section 6.-Section 12 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 12.-Voting Rules.- The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall adopt the rules for the referendum not later than forty-five (45) days before the date of the holding thereof, provided these do not contravene the provisions of the Presidential Directive of January 31, 2000 and Public Law , or any other directive or order issued regarding the referendum herein provided. The voting rules for this referendum shall be as plain and simple as possible. Since there shall be a single ballot and the electors may only vote for one of the two (2) options, the public hearings for the adoption of voting rules under Section of the Electoral Law of Puerto Rico shall not apply. Section 7.-Section 20 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 20.-Certification of Referendum Returns.- Promptly after the referendum is conducted, the Chairperson shall determine, and issue a proclamation, declaring the results of the referendum. The determination of the Chairperson shall be final. The Chairperson of the Commonwealth Elections Commission shall remit a certification of the referendum returns to the Governor of Puerto

9 Rico and the Secretary of State not later than forty-eight (48) hours after the completion of the general canvassing, in both the Spanish and English languages. Section 8.-Section 22 of Act Number 423 of October 27, 2000, is Section 22.-Interpretation.- The provisions of this Act shall be considered jointly in relation to the others and shall not be construed severally, but as a whole. In exercising its constitutional powers under Article III of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, the Legislature intends that the options to be voted on are to be solely and exclusively the options provided in the Directive issued by President William Jefferson Clinton on January 31, 2000 and in Public Law Any change, alteration, modification or substitution of the options or the contents thereof, or if any part of this Act were found to be null and void on the grounds of unconstitutionality, this Act shall be rendered ineffective immediately and in its entirety, and the body of laws shall revert to its previous state existing before the approval of this Act. It shall be construed that the intent of this Legislature is for such a nullity ruling to affect this Act in its entirety. The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall have the power, without the need for consulting the Legislature for doing so, of harmonizing the language of the ballot to be used, to the changes, if any, that might be made by the Congress of the United States of America to Public Law Cessation of the effectiveness of this Act shall not affect the lawfulness of efforts made hereunder before being ruled null and void on the grounds of unconstitutionality, but its effects shall cease to exist when this Act is rendered ineffective.

10 Section 9.-Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediate after its approval.

11 CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No.457 (H.B. 3583) of the 6 th Special Session of the 13 th Legislature of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 20 and 22 of Act No. 423 or October 27, 2000, in order to clarify several of its provisions and harmonize these with the Directive of President William Jefferson Clinton of January 31, 2000 and Public Law of October 30, 2000, known as the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 8 th of March of Luis Fusté-Lacourt Director