Bipartisan bill filed to guarantee job opportunities for people with functional diversity

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz and Popular Democratic Party Minority Leader Sen. Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz

By The Star Staff

In an effort to promote equity and guarantee job opportunities for people with functional diversity, the island Senate, under the leadership of its president, Thomas Rivera Schatz, filed Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 35 on Sunday.

Promoted by Rivera Schatz, Popular Democratic Party Minority Leader Sen. Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz and his alternate minority leader, Sen. Marially González Huertas, the measure seeks to guarantee greater opportunities for people with functional diversity. The resolution orders the State Labor Development Program Board, which is under the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), to allocate a minimum of 10% of the federal funds received under Title I of the Workforce Innovation Opportunities Act (WIOA) for services and programs aimed exclusively at that population.

“Social justice requires that all people have equitable access to development and employment opportunities,” Rivera Schatz said. “Knowing the reality of the population with functional diversity and the low amount of opportunities and services at their disposal, I decided to urge my fellow legislators to join this great cause.”

SJR 35 responds to the need to expand the services that the Labor Development Program offers to the functional diversity sector, which has historically been treated in a limited way. According to DDEC data, between fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2023-2024, services were provided to only 1,304 adults and 1,516 young people with functional diversity, despite the fact that the program has managed over $408 million in WIOA funds during the period from 2021 to 2024.

With the proposal, it is sought that at least $12 million annually, based on the projected allocation of $120 million by 2024-2025, be dedicated exclusively to that population, significantly increasing their access to work and support opportunities.

Similarly, the measure also orders the DDEC to issue regulations or memoranda necessary to implement the allocation within 60 days after approval, and requires a detailed report on the programs and initiatives aimed at people with functional diversity within the following 90 days. The resolution will be referred to committee after its first reading, scheduled for today’s legislative session.

“I have to thank the president of the Senate, Thomas Rivera Schatz, and the alternate spokeswoman, Marially González Huertas, who presented the piece of legislation along with this public servant, as a sign of the unity of purpose that unites us in the positive causes for Puerto Rico,” Hernández Ortiz said. “In the case of the Senate president, from the first time we raised the idea, he showed interest in being part of the initiative that we present today.”