Governor says she will nominate new secretaries before session ends

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón

By The Star Staff

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón gave assurances over the weekend that she will nominate the secretaries of Justice, State, and Labor before the end of the current Legislative Session.

Her remarks were made after Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz expressed concern that those agencies currently have interim heads and warned that if formal nominations are not submitted by June 30, when the legislative session concludes, the upper chamber may take action.

Besides saying she will nominate the aforementioned three secretaries before the end of the session, the governor also stated that it was incorrect to claim that the interim secretaries are unconstitutionally occupying their positions.

Rivera Schatz noted that, although the current occupants -- Narel Waleska Colón Torres at the Department of State, María del Pilar Vélez Casanova at the Department of Labor, and Héctor L. Siaca Flores at the Department of Justice -- have not been officially appointed by the governor, the Senate “took note” of their roles and reserves the right to act on their appointments before June 30.

“The Puerto Rico Senate has officially recognized that there are three individuals holding these positions and reserves the right to act on those appointments by June 30,” Rivera Schatz stated late last week. “Everyone has been warned and cautioned.”

He cited Section 47.3 of the Senate Rules to support his stance and emphasized that nominees must meet the established requirements to be considered.

Puerto Rican Independence Party Sen. María de Lourdes Santiago has said the Senate does not have the constitutional authority to accept or reject agency officials that the governor has not nominated for the positions and are merely serving on an interim or temporary basis. The Senate can only give them the green light to do so, she said.