NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

Puerto Rico statehood: questions and answers

Twelve short, sourced answers on citizenship, voting, taxes, federal programs, admission and representation, in English and Spanish, each with a link to the full article.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

When the Resident Commissioner could vote: the Committee of the Whole rule

Since 1993, the House has granted and removed the Resident Commissioner’s vote in the Committee of the Whole five times. Why no rule can provide a final vote.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

The Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2010: what the House passed

The House approved H.R. 2499 by 223 to 169 on April 29, 2010. What the bill proposed, how the vote divided, and why the Senate never acted.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

Before Vaello Madero: Califano v. Torres and Harris v. Rosario

Two unsigned decisions from 1978 and 1980 set the rule that Congress may treat Puerto Rico differently in federal benefits if it has a rational basis.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

The 2022 plan of adjustment: what was cut and what remains

The Commonwealth’s funded debt fell from about $34.3 billion to $7.4 billion. What the plan did for bonds and pensions, and why the Oversight Board remains.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

The Insular Cases under criticism from all three branches

A Supreme Court justice, a House resolution and the Justice Department have rejected the reasoning of the Insular Cases. Why overruling them would still not end territorial status.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

PRRADA: the disclosure law Puerto Rico’s restructuring needed

Since January 2022, professionals paid in Puerto Rico’s debt cases must disclose their connections to creditors. Why PROMESA lacked the rule, and what it shows about representation.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

The $2.5 million for a federal plebiscite that was never spent

In 2014 Congress funded a status vote if the Attorney General approved the ballot. Why the Justice Department declined in 2017, and what it means for the next step.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

Torres v. Puerto Rico: constitutional rights on the island

In 1979 the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment applies in Puerto Rico. What the decision protects, and what it does not change.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

Five territories, five sets of rules

Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa each live under their own federal law. What they share, and how citizenship differs.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/30/26

Why Washington, D.C., votes for President and Puerto Rico does not

The District of Columbia has cast three electoral votes since 1964 because of the Twenty-third Amendment. Puerto Rico, with four times the population, has none.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

The Northwest Ordinance and the promise of equal footing

In 1787 the United States set out three stages from territory to statehood and promised new states equal footing. Puerto Rico has met every stage but the last.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

Puerto Rico’s earned income credit and the federal match since 2021

Since 2021, federal law matches Puerto Rico’s earned income credit up to three times a base amount. How the formula works, and why it differs from the rule in the states.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

Section 936: the federal tax break that ended in 2006

Enacted in 1976 and repealed in 1996 with a ten-year phase-out, Section 936 shaped Puerto Rico’s industrial base. What the record shows about its end.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

Sánchez Valle and the source of Puerto Rico’s authority

In 2016 the Supreme Court held that Puerto Rico and the United States cannot both prosecute the same conduct, because Puerto Rico’s power ultimately comes from Congress.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

The Aurelius case: why the Oversight Board was appointed without Senate confirmation

The First Circuit found the appointments unconstitutional; the Supreme Court reversed in 2020. What the ruling settled about the Board, and what it left to Congress.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

Puerto Rico v. Franklin: why Puerto Rico could not restructure its own debts

In 2016 the Supreme Court struck down Puerto Rico’s debt recovery law, and Congress enacted PROMESA seventeen days later. How a 1984 definition decided the island’s options.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

Four seats and six electoral votes: the 2020 Census and a 51st state

NAPREC applied the House apportionment formula to the official 2020 Census figures. Puerto Rico would have had four representatives and six electoral votes.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

The Tennessee Plan: when territories elected senators before admission

From Tennessee in 1796 to Alaska in 1956, territories elected delegations and sent them to Washington to ask for statehood. What the plan can and cannot do.

NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26 NAPREC Editorial Team 10/29/26

The Foraker Act of 1900: civil government without citizenship or a vote

The 1900 law created Puerto Rico’s first civil government under U.S. sovereignty and the office of Resident Commissioner. What it established, and the two features that remain today.