Puerto Rico Gov. Rossell- Asks for Extensions on Lawsuit Stay and Plan Deadline

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossell- asked the Oversight Board to extend the stay on debt-litigation and the deadline for completing the commonwealth's fiscal plan.

Rossell-'s nonvoting representative on the board, Elías Sánchez Sifonte, Sánchez Sifonte asked the board to extend the stay to May 1 from its current end on Feb. 15. In a letter, dated Wednesday and released Thursday, he also asked the board to extend the deadline to certify the fiscal plan by at least 45 days from the current Jan. 31.

The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act specifies that the board can extend the stay by 75 days to complete debt negotiations under Title VI of the act.

The act also specifies that the board can set the schedule for the plan. Puerto Rico cannot have an approved budget before the plan is board certified, but the island government generally doesn't approve its budget until the end of June.

PROMESA directs the board to work with the governor to create a minimum five-year fiscal plan that would, among other things, provide the commonwealth with a balanced budget, renewed access to the capital markets, funding for essential public services and pensions, and a sustainable debt burden.

Sánchez Sifonte said that the stay needs to be extended to allow more time for debt negotiations. He said the deadline for the fiscal plan needs to be extended because the governor was just sworn in on Tuesday and needs more time to come up with a good plan.

"The new administration is in the process of establishing 'a high-level task force' with the support of an external strategic financial and legal advisory team to work on a fiscal plan during this first week of the new administration," Sánchez Sifonte told the board.

 

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