Jones–Shafroth Act

The Jones–Shafroth Act (Pub. L. 64–368, 39 Stat. 951, enacted March 2, 1917), officially called the Organic Act of Puerto Rico or the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1917, is an organic act of the 64th United States Congress that was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The Act expanded the civil administration of the insular government of Puerto Rico, which was established under the federal jurisdiction of the United States as the local governance of an unincorporated territory through the Foraker Act of 1900. It served as the primary organic law for the government of Puerto Rico and its relation with the United States until it was superseded by the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952 as per the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 and its Pub. L. 82–447 joint resolution.

Bearing the names of its sponsors, Representative William Atkinson Jones, (D-Virginia), chairman of the House Committee on Insular Affairs, and Senator John Shafroth, (D-Colorado), chairman of the Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico, the Jones–Shafroth Act, which operated as a de facto constitution, established a bill of rights based on the United States Bill of Rights and granted statutory birthright United States citizenship to anyone born in the archipelago and island on or after April 11, 1899.

The Act expanded the executive and legislative branches of the insular government of Puerto Rico. It created the executive departments of Justice, Education, Finance, Interior, Labor and Agriculture, and Health, with their heads, the first two appointed by the President of the United States, and the rest appointed by the Governor, who was also appointed by the President, forming an executive council to the Governor. It formed a legislative 19-member Senate elected by the residents of Puerto Rico, and increased the membership and term length of the House of Representatives to 39 popularly elected members serving four-year terms. It also increased to four years the term length of the Resident Commissioner, a non-voting member to the United States House of Representatives elected by the residents of Puerto Rico. Additionally, it exempted Puerto Rican bonds from federal, state, and local taxes regardless of where the bondholder resides.

The Jones–Shafroth Act provided an advance in local self-government for Puerto Rico. By creating the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, composed of a popularly elected Senate and House of Representatives, it gave the residents of Puerto Rico control over the legislative branch. However, the President and the United States Congress possessed authorization to veto and annul any law enacted by the Legislative Assembly. While the President retained control of the executive and judicial branches through his authority to appoint the Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Education, and Justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, an opportunity for participation in the formulation of executive policies was provided to the residents of Puerto Rico by authorizing the Governor to appoint four of six heads of executive departments with the advice and consent of the popularly elected Senate.