Ordinary session opens: energy, permits, and health dominate the legislative messages

The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico opened ordinary-session work with protocol messages from Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz and House Speaker Carlos Méndez Núñez. Both leaders outlined a legislative agenda focused on oversight of essential public services, economic reconstruction, and the protection of citizens' rights.

Among the immediate priorities named by the legislative leadership are an exhaustive investigation of the LUMA Energy and Genera PR operating contracts, the approval of a new Permits Law after the Supreme Court's judicial annulment of the 2020 Joint Regulation, and measures directed at guaranteeing sufficient budget allocations for the University of Puerto Rico and the 78 municipalities.

For their part, the Puerto Rican Independence Party's House minority spokesperson, Denis Márquez Lebrón, and the Popular Democratic Party delegation demanded that the session not be limited to rhetorical debates and that it pass legislation to address the environmental crisis caused by the accumulation of AES coal ash in Guayama and the protection of natural resources in the maritime-terrestrial zone in the face of climate change.

Source: Metro. https://www.metro.pr/noticias/2026/01/14/asamblea-legislativa-inicia-sesion-ordinaria-con-agenda-en-energia-y-permisos/