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The Senate of Puerto Rico is the Upper House of the Legislative Assembly Of Puerto Rico , smaller than the House Of Representatives . Together, they compose the Legislative Branch of the Government Of Puerto Rico . Two legislative support agencies are part of the Legislative Assembly---the Office of Legislative Services and the Superintendent of the Capitol.

The Senate, its members and staff are housed in the eastern half of the Capitol Building, the Rafael Martinez-Nadal Senate Annex Building, the Luis Muñoz-Marin Office Building, the Antonio R. Barcelo Building, the Luis A. Ferre Building and the Ramon Mellado-Parsons Office Building. The Senate Tourism Office offers tours of the historic facilities in the Capitol.


COMPOSITION


In order to elect the members of the Senate, Puerto Rico is divided into eight Senatorial District s:


For each one of these districts, the people of Puerto Rico elect two Senator s. In addition, the people are allowed to vote for one Senator At-large of their preference. The eleven Senators at-Large with the majority of votes integrate the rest of the Senate.

Article III of the Constitution Of Puerto Rico states that no person can be a member of the Senate unless he or she:

  • is capable of reading and writing in either Spanish or English ;

  • is a citizen of the United States and Puerto Rico ;

  • has resided in Puerto Rico for at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment;

  • is over thirty years of age.


The Senate is currently composed of 17 members elected under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (NPP), nine members elected under the pro-status quo Popular Democratic Party (PDP) and one member elected under the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP). The majority delegation has been split since May 2005 among members committed to the current Senate leadership and those who would replace the Senate president with defeated 2004 NPP gubernatorial candidate Pedro Rosselló. As a result of the split, only seven senators, five loyal to the current leadership, and two supporting Rossello, chair all Senate committees. Current leadership is as follows:

Senator Kenneth D. McClintock-President of the Senate
Senator Orlando Parga-Vice President of the Senate
Senator Jorge De Castro-Font-Chairman, Senate Rules Committee
Senator Margarita Nolasco-Acting Senate Majority Leader
Senator Carlos Pagán-Acting Senate Majority Whip
Senator Jose Luis Dalmau-Senate PDP Minority Leader
Senator Sila Mari González-Senate Minority Whip
Senator Maria de Lourdes Santiago-Senate PIP Minority Leader
Manuel A. Torres-Secretary of the Senate
Carlos Fajardo-Sargeant-At-Arms of the Senate

The Office of Legislative Services (www.oslpr.org) is headed by attorney Francisco Domenech, while engineer Nelida Santiago currently serves as Superintendent of the Capitol.


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