Tension between the Puerto Rico Oversight Board and the island's government grew Sunday when the governor rejected the board's claim to prior review of legislation.
"The Oversight Board's request to preliminary review [of] all legislation as a matter of right is not contemplated by the Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act and infringes upon the autonomy of the government of Puerto Rico," wrote Elías Sánchez, Gov. Ricardo Rossell-'s non-voting representative on the board.
His letter was in response to a Feb. 2 letter from Board Chairman José Carri-n III to Rossell- that directed the governor to discuss and "analyz[e] with the board in advance the implications of new legislation."
The letter is a continuation of tensions between Rossell- and the board since the governor was sworn in on Jan. 2, said University of Puerto Rico professor Luis Camara. Rossell- as a candidate was opposed to PROMESA's board because it was unelected whereas the governor and the legislature are elected.
The governor came into office with a detailed action plan. The board has the potential for undermining his status and thus his power, Camara said.
Rossell- is trying to draw a distinction between cooperation with the board, which he supports, and the board's impositions, which he want to avoid, Camara continued.
The board has asked Rossell- to submit a first draft of a fiscal plan on Feb. 21 and a final draft on Feb. 28. How the board responds to this plan will indicate whether the relationship will become one defined more by struggle or more by cooperation, Camara said. "If the board becomes more assertive then the conflict would become more open."
In his letter Sánchez added, "I must emphasize that the [Rossell-] administration has and will continue to work in cooperation with the Oversight Board in all matters within the spirit and intent of PROMESA."
Sánchez argued that the provisions of PROMESA that the board cited in its Feb. 2 letter do not support the board's request and are not relevant to the Rossell- administration's actions so far.
"The administration's intent is not to interfere with the Oversight Board as it carries out its responsibilities under PROMESA, but the request in the letter goes to the heart of the Puerto Rico government's autonomy, which is preserved under PROMESA," he wrote.
Sánchez and Rossell- aren't the only Puerto Rican government officials taking exception to the board's actions or requests. On Feb. 3, Rafael Hernández Montañez Popular Democratic Party Leader in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives ,sent a letter to Carri-n objecting to the board's directive that the government adopt a structurally balanced budget by fiscal year 2019 and the board's proposals to achieve this through fiscal initiatives and structural reform. The board has said there should be cuts and spending increases totaling 44% of the General Fund.
In the board's Jan. 18 letter to Rossell- the board offered a path to a structurally balanced budget that would include a $1 billion per year cut in Puerto Rico government health care spending. To this, Hernández Montañez responded, "I also have to express my strong opposition to reducing health care spending and to your suggestion that health care funding should not be provided for in the budget."
Hernández Montañez said that if the board were to implement some of the PDP's legislation it would aid in addressing Puerto Rico's budget deficit.
