The president of the Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Presidente del Senado) is the highest-ranking officer and the presiding officer of the

Senate of Puerto Rico The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control th ...

. The president has voting powers as it is elected amongst the own members of the Senate as established by Article III of the

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government a ...

. The Constitution, however, does not establish its functions and since the Senate is the only body authorized by the Constitution to regulate its own internal affairs, the functions of the president vary from session to session—save being called "President" as the Constitution establishes. The president is typically elected during the Senate's inaugural session.R. del S. 21 del 2013
"Reglamento del Senado de Puerto Rico"
(in Spanish)

(January 15, 2013). Retrieved on August 9, 2013. When absent, the president is substituted by the

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

. Its counterpart in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

is the

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. The current president is Jose Luis Dalmau, senator

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

from the Popular Democratic Party

Background

The president traces its history back to more than years ago when the

Jones–Shafroth Act The Jones–Shafroth Act () —also known as the Jones Act of Puerto Rico, Jones Law of Puerto Rico, or as the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917— was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March ...

formally established the post on March 2, 1917. Said act was eventually superseded by another law, and the post was eventually established by the

, specifically Article III, which establishes that, "The Senate shall elect a President ..from among tsmembers." The Constitution, however, does not establish what a "president" is nor what its function should be. Internal rules adopted by the Senate through a simple resolution establish its definition, functions, responsibilities, and legal scope.

Functions

Typically the president is responsible for the observance and compliance of the Senate's internal rules. He also typically: * presides all Senate meetings * resolves and decides all parliamentary situations and rules of order brought in sessions, * names all permanent and special commissions of the Senate, * signs all bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, reorganization plans, and simple resolutions approved by the Senate and the Legislative Assembly, * convenes special sessions of the Senate, * maintains order and decorum in the Senate, a responsibility typically delegated to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, * must vote in all matters presented in the Senate (can not abstain), * represents the Senate in all forums, * is responsible for all administrative matters of the Senate, a responsibility typically delegated to the Secretary of the Senate, * appoints an internal auditor for the Senate, * prepares a registry of all lobbyists that must be freely available to the public, * is responsible of providing free access to the public to all works generated by the Senate, and * offers training and continuing education opportunities to Senate members, advisors, and employees.

Presidents

References

{{Officers of the Senate of Puerto Rico Officers of the Senate of Puerto Rico