Community Driven Recovery for Puerto Rico Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8978 To establish the Office for the Equitable, Transparent, and Accountable Puerto Rico Reconstruction, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 16, 2020 Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Office for the Equitable, Transparent, and Accountable Puerto Rico Reconstruction, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Driven Re- 4 covery for Puerto Rico Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8978 IH (1) Recovery from the devastation caused by 1 natural disasters should be agile, effective, and pro- 2 mote resiliency for future disasters. Other priorities 3 include promoting accountability and transparency 4 in the use of Federal funds that will be spent in 5 these efforts and implementing mechanisms to en- 6 sure those ends. 7 (2) The current systems of the agencies in 8 charge of recovery in Puerto Rico are over-central- 9 ized and do not serve the purpose of agile and effec- 10 tive planning and implementation or of effective 11 monitoring and accounting. 12 (3) The centralized system of Federal recovery 13 spending for Puerto Rico excludes most communities 14 from program design and program implementation 15 prioritization, does not take advantage of the local 16 historical and institutional knowledge on the use of 17 Federal recovery funds, and is not as flexible and re- 18 sponsive as the local implementation network. 19 (4) An Office for Equitable, Transparent, and 20 Accountable Puerto Rico Reconstruction should be 21 established so that diverse civil society leaders in 22 Puerto Rico are in positions to help ensure equi- 23 table, effective, transparent, and accountable recov- 24 ery and development of Puerto Rico. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8978 IH (5) The work of the Office for Equitable, 1 Transparent, and Accountable Puerto Rico Recon- 2 struction should be guided by the following prin- 3 ciples: 4 (A) Equitable and resilient recovery and 5 development that is responsive to under-served 6 populations and vulnerable groups as well as 7 applies innovative and sustainable investments. 8 (B) An empowered civil society in Puerto 9 Rico that does not substitute State or local gov- 10 ernment, but that is protected from abuse and 11 that can participate in the decision making 12 processes through effective participation mecha- 13 nisms, as through their local organizations and 14 government representatives. 15 (C) Effective and agile spending of Federal 16 funds for the recovery and long-term resiliency 17 of families, communities, municipalities, and 18 local Puerto Rican businesses and organiza- 19 tions. 20 (D) Accountability of those executing and 21 implementing plans and programs, and trans- 22 parency before the Federal government and the 23 people from Puerto Rico. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8978 IH (E) Recovery efforts that feed on local 1 knowledge and visions on how to rebuild the is- 2 land. 3 (F) A regional approach to mitigation and 4 adaptation through the coordination of Federal, 5 State, local, and community efforts. 6 SEC. 3. OFFICE FOR EQUITABLE, TRANSPARENT, AND AC- 7 COUNTABLE PUERTO RICO RECONSTRUC- 8 TION. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE FOR EQUI- 10 TABLE, TRANSPARENT, AND ACCOUNTABLE PUERTO 11 RICO RECONSTRUCTION.—There is established the Office 12 for Equitable, Transparent, and Accountable Puerto Rico 13 Reconstruction which shall be headed by the Puerto Rico 14 Civil Society Task Force with the lead of its Chairperson. 15 (b) CIVIL SOCIETY TASK FORCE.— 16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby estab- 17 lished the Puerto Rico Civil Society Task Force as 18 an independent Federal entity established to ensure 19 accountability of and local oversight over reconstruc- 20 tion efforts in Puerto Rico. 21 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be 22 composed of 13 members, who shall be selected not 23 more than 60 days after the date of the enactment 24 of this Act as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8978 IH (A) Two members to represent the munici- 1 palities of Puerto Rico, selected by the 78 May- 2 ors of Puerto Rico in an election held during a 3 general assembly of Mayors. Each Mayor shall 4 nominate a resident of their municipality to 5 participate as a candidate for representative to 6 the civil society task force. Candidates should 7 be of legal age and should not be employed by 8 the government. 9 (B) Four members to represent the orga- 10 nized low-moderate income communities, se- 11 lected in an election held during a general as- 12 sembly of eligible community leaders. Eligible 13 community leaders shall have been the elected 14 representatives of their official community 15 Board as shown by certification from that 16 Board. 17 (C) Two members to represent community 18 based non-profit organizations, selected in an 19 election held during a general assembly of eligi- 20 ble non-profit organizations. Eligible non-profit 21 organizations must be registered as such in the 22 Puerto Rico State Department, be exempt from 23 local or federal taxes, and provide socio- 24 economic services directly to communities, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8978 IH cluding social services, education, health, eco- 1 nomic development, housing, environment, cul- 2 ture and arts. Educational institutions, such as 3 private schools, universities or other post-sec- 4 ondary education organizations, or hospitals 5 that are not small community health providers 6 are not eligible to participate in the general as- 7 sembly of non-profit organizations. 8 (D) One member to represent the founda- 9 tion and philanthropic sector, selected in an 10 election held during a general assembly of eligi- 11 ble non-profit philanthropic foundations. Eligi- 12 ble philanthropic foundations must be reg- 13 istered as such in the Puerto Rico State De- 14 partment, and concentrate their efforts in offer- 15 ing grants, donations and financial support to 16 other service providers. 17 (E) One member to represent the business 18 sector, selected in an election held during a gen- 19 eral assembly convened by the principal busi- 20 ness organizations of Puerto Rico, including the 21 Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, Coopera- 22 tive Executives Association (Asociacio´n de 23 Ejecutivos de Cooperativas), Centro Unido de 24 Detallistas, Entrepreneurs for Puerto Rico 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8978 IH (Empresarios por Puerto Rico), the Public Ac- 1 countant Bar (Colegio de Contadores Pu´blicos 2 Autorizados) and the Economist Association of 3 Puerto Rico (Asociacio´n de Economistas de 4 Puerto Rico). 5 (F) One member to represent labor unions, 6 selected through an election held during a gen- 7 eral assembly of eligible unions in Puerto Rico. 8 An eligible union must be recognized as such by 9 the Department of Labor. 10 (G) Two members to represent higher aca- 11 demic institutions, colleges and universities in 12 Puerto Rico, one selected by the University of 13 Puerto Rico, and another selected in an election 14 held during a general assembly of eligible pri- 15 vate higher education institutions. Eligible pri- 16 vate higher education institution must be recog- 17 nized as such by the Puerto Rico State Depart- 18 ment Board of Postsecondary Institutions. 19 (3) ELECTION COORDINATION AND CONSULTA- 20 TION.—A working group composed of the Puerto 21 Rico Commission of Civil Liberties, the Association 22 of Professionals of Social Work and the Puerto Rico 23 Bar Association will establish uniform standards for 24 the elections and general assemblies outlined above. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8978 IH The working group will develop standards outlining 1 the following: 2 (A) Timely and effective notification of 3 participants in each general assembly. 4 (B) Verification of participant eligibility in 5 each general assembly. 6 (C) Procedures for holding elections to de- 7 termine each group’s representative to the Civil 8 Society Task Force. 9 (D) Uniform standards for quorum and 10 necessary parliamentary mechanisms to guar- 11 antee a fair general assembly and election proc- 12 ess for all eligible participants. 13 (E) Best practices for encouraging gender 14 parity in the selection process. 15 (4) TERM; REMOVAL.—The term of a member 16 of the Task Force shall be for the duration of the 17 Task Force, unless the member is removed in ac- 18 cordance with a process established by— 19 (A) the Mayors of Puerto Rico, in the case 20 of members described in paragraph (2)(A); and 21 (B) the assembly of the sector that se- 22 lected the member, in the case of members de- 23 scribed in subparagraphs (B) through (G) of 24 paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8978 IH (5) DISSOLUTION; REACTIVATION.— 1 (A) DISSOLUTION.—The Task Force shall 2 continue until 180 days consecutive days have 3 elapsed during which— 4 (i) all recovery projects undertaken 5 with Federal funds have been implemented; 6 and 7 (ii) no active emergency or disaster 8 declaration has been in force or been peti- 9 tioned by the Governor of Puerto Rico. 10 (B) REACTIVATION.—If, after the Task 11 Force has dissolved, an emergency or disaster 12 declaration is petitioned by the Governor of 13 Puerto Rico, the Task Force shall be reac- 14 tivated. 15 (c) CIVIL SOCIETY TASK FORCE REPRESENTATIVES 16 TO THE AGENCIES.— 17 (1) APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 18 (A) NOMINATION.—Not later than 90 days 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 20 Task Force shall submit to each agency the 21 name of two individuals with the qualifications 22 listed in paragraph (3), as nominees to rep- 23 resent the Task Force at that agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8978 IH (B) APPOINTMENT.—Each agency shall 1 appoint one of the individuals nominated under 2 subparagraph (A) as the Civil Society Task 3 Force Representative at that agency. 4 (C) EXPANSION.—The Civil Society Task 5 Force may call for the creation of additional 6 Civil Society Task Force Representatives if this 7 is required for proper oversight of Federal 8 funds for recovery. 9 (2) TERM.—The term of each Civil Society 10 Task Force Representative shall be— 11 (A) one year; and 12 (B) subsequent one year terms, if the Civil 13 Society Task Force Representative is renomi- 14 nated by unanimous vote of the Task Force. 15 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be nominated under 16 paragraph (1), an individual shall— 17 (A) have substantial knowledge and exper- 18 tise in post-disaster planning, including estab- 19 lishing credible and transparent governance 20 structures; 21 (B) be fluent in both English and Spanish 22 languages; 23 (C) have demonstrated expertise and expe- 24 rience in Federal and local disaster recovery 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8978 IH policy, resilience planning, socio-economic devel- 1 opment, environmental justice, rights-based 2 policies to address poverty and inequality, or a 3 combination of those fields; 4 (D) not currently provide goods or services 5 to the government of the Commonwealth of 6 Puerto Rico in the preceding calendar year; 7 (E) not be the spouse, parent, child, or sib- 8 ling of a person who provides or has provided 9 goods and services to the government of the 10 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the preceding 11 calendar year; and 12 (F) not be an officer, employee of, or 13 former officer or employee of the government of 14 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the pre- 15 ceding 3 calendar years. 16 (d) DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES, POWERS, AUTHOR- 17 ITY, AND REPORTS.— 18 (1) DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE.—To ensure 19 participation, optimization, accountability, and 20 transparency of the disaster recovery process in 21 Puerto Rico, the duties of the Task Force shall be 22 the following: 23 (A) Promote collaboration between Federal 24 agencies, the central Government of Puerto 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8978 IH Rico, local municipal governments, nonprofit or- 1 ganizations, local businesses, and other civil so- 2 ciety groups involved in the recovery process 3 and to ensure that people with disabilities and 4 elderly populations are prioritized and able to 5 participate in the planning and implementation 6 process. 7 (B) Through the Civil Society Task Force 8 Representatives, initiate regional, collaborative 9 actions for mitigation, adaptation and disaster 10 risk recovery and oversee agencies and institu- 11 tions to ensure that they undertake proper 12 stakeholder analysis for effective public partici- 13 pation. 14 (C) With the assistance of the Civil Society 15 Task Force Representatives, review, assess, and 16 oversee the operation of the programs funded 17 with Federal funds to ensure that policies and 18 recovery and development project prioritization 19 and implementation— 20 (i) ach [Text truncated for display. 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