Rep. Roberto López Román By THE STAR STAFF New Progressive Party Rep. Roberto López Román has filed House Bill 1115, which proposes eliminating the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission, but the labor sector representative on the panel, economist Iyari Ríos González, cautioned against the risks of the measure. Ríos noted that the bill aims to dissolve the wage-evaluation committee at a time when it is actively investigating potential minimum wage increases for agricultural, tax-

Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard By THE STAR STAFF In a pivotal move that could reshape Puerto Rico’s economic landscape, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its acronym in Spanish) has thrown its full support behind House Bill 1213, the measure that would overhaul the island’s notoriously cumbersome permitting and planning system.  The DDEC, along with its Office of Permit Management (OGPe), presented a comprehens

La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández By THE STAR STAFF La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández denied claims by General Services Administration (GSA) head Karla Mercado Rivera regarding the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning fiscal tool. Mercado Rivera had labeled as “defamatory and completely false” one of the responses Domenech submitted to the Senate as part of the extensive request for information on several topics. “I

Natural and Environmental Resources Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez By THE STAR STAFF In a new report that adds to other recent findings regarding the management of public resources in various entities, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico identified significant deficiencies in the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), the watchdog entity announced Thursday. Audit Report OC-26-21, which covers the period from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025, issued