Puerto Rico governor signs bill that critics say will restrict access to public information

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González signed a polemic bill on Sunday that critics say is a blow to democracy and will make it more difficult to access public information in a U.S. territory long known for its lack of government transparency.

González said the bill amends an existing law to provide more defined rules, avoid confusion and reduce what she said was a “considerable number of lawsuits.” She said it also sets penalties for non-compliance

More than a dozen journalism organizations and civil rights groups have rejected the bill, noting that only one day of public hearings was held on short notice.

“It is inconceivable that Puerto Rico’s leaders would go out of their way to harm their constituents’ access to information and degrade the quality of press freedom on the island,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director for Reporters Without Borders in North America.

With the new law, government agencies now have 20 business days instead of 10 to hand over documents with fewer than 300 pages or that were created less than three years ago.

Agencies also now have up to one month to release documents longer than 300 pages or more than three years old, with a 20-day extension upheld.

“By signing this measure into law, despite widespread opposition, the governor makes it clear that her interest is not in government transparency,” the ACLU of Puerto Rico said. “(The law) is not in anyone’s best interest, except for any public official who seeks to hinder or prevent the public from receiving the information they have a right to see.”

Earlier this month, a coalition of journalism organizations and civil society groups sent a letter to the governor asking that she veto the bill, calling it a “dangerous infringement on the public’s right to know.”

The letter noted the bill not only doubles the length of time government agencies have to release requested information, it would also “allow the government to classify information as confidential without judicial review and eliminate personal privacy protections for those requesting information.”

The bill also removes “the government’s previous obligation under the 2019 law to provide information in the requested format, making data analysis more difficult …(and) would also allow the government to deny valid requests because the information is spread across several documents or agencies,” according to the letter.

Obtaining public information in Puerto Rico has long been difficult, often forcing local media organizations that could afford it to go to court despite the government approving a law in 2019 to allow access to public information held by state agencies.

The 2019 law noted that in Puerto Rico, “citizens and the press are subject to discretionary court processes that are costly and can take months when they request public information. Although the right to access information is enshrined in the Constitution, the lack of a procedural mechanism to enforce it leads to frequent violations.”

The 2019 law also stated that “many governments have promised transparency but have never committed to it. This is one of the factors that has contributed to the erosion of public trust in the government, which has become a complex, bureaucratic, and opaque structure in its decision-making.”

Several years ago, one local newspaper made it a habit to publish its requests for public information and how much time had passed without receiving a response from state agencies.

Puerto Rico’s Senate approved the bill in mid-October with 18 votes in favor and nine against, with no public hearings held. The House passed it in November after only one day of hearings, with 29 votes in favor and 24 against.