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Constitution Of Puerto Rico
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine articles. It was ratified by the electorate of the archipelago and island in a referendum on March 3, 1952 and proclaimed into effect by Governor Luis Muñoz Marín on July 25, 1952, celebrated as Constitution Day. As the constitution of a territory of the United States, it is bound by the Constitution of the United States. Under the constitution, the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign country nor a state of the United States. Puerto Rico is subject to the territorial sovereignty and federal government of the United States, which is responsible for the monetary policy, foreign relations, defense, among enumerated powers. The local government of Puerto Rico is responsible for education, law enforcem ...
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Capitol Of Puerto Rico
The Capitol of Puerto Rico (), also known as the ''Casa de las Leyes'' (House of Laws), and most commonly referred to as the ''El Capitolio'' (The Capitol), is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate of Puerto Rico, Senate and a House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, House of Representatives responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico, government in the Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island. Located in San Juan Islet immediately outside the Walls of Old San Juan, city walls of the Old San Juan historic quarter in the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the Atlantic Ocean, ocean and San Juan Bay, bayfront, Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style, entirely white marble-cladded edifice was built by architect Rafael Carmoega between 1921 a ...
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Federal Government Of The United States
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: United States Congress, legislative, President of the United States, executive, and Federal judiciary of the United States, judicial. Powers of these three branches are defined and vested by the Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution, which has been in continuous effect since May 4, 1789. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by Act of Congress, Acts of Congress, including the creation of United States federal executive departments, executive departments and courts subordinate to the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court. In the Federalism in the United States, federal division of power, the federal government shares sovereignty with each of the 50 states in their respective t ...
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Political Status Of Puerto Rico
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state. The U.S. Constitution does not apply directly or uniformly in U.S. territories in the same way it does in the U.S. states. As a territory, Puerto Rico enjoys various "fundamental rights" of U.S. citizenship, but lacks certain others. For instance, in contrast to U.S. states, Puerto Rico residents cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections, nor can they elect their own senators and representatives to the U.S. Congress. On the other hand, and in contrast to U.S. states, only some residents of Puerto Rico are subject to federal income taxes. The political status of the island thus illustrates how different Puerto Rico is, politically, from sovereign nations and from U.S. states. The status of the island is the result of various political activities within both the United States and Puerto ...
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Economy Of Puerto Rico
The economy of Puerto Rico is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank and as the most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum. The main drivers of Puerto Rico's economy are manufacturing, which primarily includes pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals, and electronics; followed by the service industry, notably finance, insurance, real estate, and tourism. The geography of Puerto Rico and its political status are both determining factors on its economic prosperity, primarily due to its relatively small size as an island; its lack of natural resources used to produce raw materials, and, consequently, its dependence on imports; as well as its relationship with the United States federal government, which controls its foreign policies while exerting trading restrictions, particularly in its shipping industry. At the macroeconomic level, Puerto Rico has been experiencing an economic depression for consecutive years, starting in 2006 after ...
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Taxation In Puerto Rico
Taxation in Puerto Rico consists of taxes paid to the United States federal government and taxes paid to the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Payment of taxes to the federal government, both personal and corporate, is done through the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS), while payment of taxes to the Commonwealth government is done through the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (). Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens; however, Puerto Rico is not a U.S. state, but a U.S. insular area. Consequently, while all Puerto Rico residents pay federal taxes, many residents are not required to pay federal income taxes. Aside from income tax, U.S. federal taxes include customs taxes, federal commodity taxes, and federal payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment taxes). Not all Puerto Rican employees and corporations pay federal income taxes. Federal law requires payment of federal inco ...
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Concurrent Powers
Concurrent powers are powers of a federal state that are shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit, such as a state or province. These powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory, in relation to the same body of citizens, and regarding the same subject-matter.Scardino, Frank. The Complete Idiot's Guide to U.S. Government and Politics', p. 31 (Penguin 2009). Concurrent powers are contrasted with reserved powers (not possessed by the federal government) and with exclusive federal powers (forbidden to be possessed by the states, or requiring federal permission). In many federations, enumerated federal powers are supreme and so, they may pre-empt a state or provincial law in case of conflict. Concurrent powers can therefore be divided into two kinds: those not generally subject to federal pre-emption, such as the power to tax private citizens, and other concurrent powers. In the United States, examples of the concurrent powe ...
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Reserved Powers
Reserved powers, residual powers, or residuary powers are the powers that are neither prohibited to be exercised by an organ of government, nor given by law to any other organ of government. Such powers, as well as a general power of competence, nevertheless may exist because it is impractical to detail in legislation every act allowed to be carried out by the state. By country Common law countries The United Kingdom and countries whose legal system is based on common law, such as Canada, India, Israel, and Ireland, have similar legal frameworks of reserved powers. Australia In Australia, despite the centralized nature of the constitution, the High Court adopted the " reserved powers doctrine" which was used until 1920 to preserve as much autonomy for the states as can be interpreted from the constitution. This practice changed with the Engineers' Case which led reserved powers to be given to the Commonwealth. (2008) 32 Melbourne University Law Review 1. Canada In Ca ...
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Elections In Puerto Rico
Elections in Puerto Rico are guaranteed by Article Six of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and the Electoral Code of Puerto Rico for the 21st Century Act. All processes are overseen and managed in whole by the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission; an autonomous agency of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico. Types of elections Three types of electoral processes can take place in Puerto Rico: general elections, referendum (aka, plebiscites), and special elections. General elections are held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, on the same day as the U.S. presidential election on Election Day. During these elections the people of Puerto Rico elect both local and central government candidates. These include the governor, resident commissioner, members of the legislative assembly, including senators and representatives, mayors, and municipal assembly representatives. Referendums can occur after a law has been enacted call ...
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Law Enforcement In Puerto Rico
Law enforcement in Puerto Rico is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of Puerto Rico, along with courts and corrections. Although there exists an inherent interrelatedness between the different groups that make up the criminal justice system based on their crime deterrence purpose, each component operates independently from one another. However, the judiciary is vested with the power to make legal determinations regarding the conduct of the other two components. Apart from maintaining order and service functions, the purpose of policing is the investigation of suspected criminal activity and the referral of the results of investigations and of suspected criminals to the courts. Law enforcement, to varying degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, is also commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and of preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress; the service and enforcement of warran ...
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Education In Puerto Rico
Education in Puerto Rico is overseen by the Department of Education of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Education Council. The Department oversees all elementary education, elementary and secondary education, secondary public education while the Council oversees all academic standards and issues licenses to educational institutions wishing to operate or establish themselves in Puerto Rico. Instruction in Puerto Rico is compulsory between the ages of five and 18, which comprises the Elementary schools in the United States, elementary and Secondary education in the United States, high school grades. Students may attend either Public school (government funded), public or private schools. As of 2013, the island had 1,460 public schools and 764 private schools; there were 606,515 K–12 students, 64,335 Vocational education, vocational students, and 250,011 university students. In 2021, the average public school size was 355 students. Because of damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 20 ...
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Government Of Puerto Rico
The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since 1952, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. Under a system of separation of powers, the government is divided among three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. As a territory of the United States, the government of Puerto Rico is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government of the United States, which established a civilian government in the archipelago and island with the enactment of the Foraker Act in 1900 and granted American citizenship to its residents with the passing of the Jones–Shafroth Act in 1917. Article I of the Constitution of Puerto Rico defines the government of Puerto Rico as a republican form of government seated in San Juan with executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the archipelago and island of Puerto Rico. Article IV defines the executive branch ...
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Enumerated Powers (United States)
The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to the individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the Constitution expresses various other limitations on Congress, such as the one expressed by the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Historically, Congress and the Supreme Court have broadly interpreted the enumerated powers, especially by deriving many implied powers from them. The enumerated powers listed in Article One include both exclusive federal powers, as well as concurrent powers that are shared ...
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