Puerto Rico Cabinet

The Cabinet of Puerto Rico is the cabinet of the government of Puerto Rico and is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico, who are generally the heads of the executive departments —known as the Council of Secretaries— and other officers at the same bureaucratic level—known as the Cabinet-level officers.

17th Cabinet of Puerto Rico
SecretaryNameTerm
AgricultureCarlos Alberto Flores Ortega2017–present
Consumer AffairsVacant
Corrections and RehabilitationErik Rolón2017–present
Economic Development and CommerceManuel Laboy2017–present
EducationEligio Hernández Pérez2017–present
FamilyGlorimar Andújar2017–present
Chief of StaffZoé Laboy2019–present
HealthRafael Rodriguez Mercado2017–present
HousingFernando Gil2017–present
JusticeDennise Longo Quiñones2019–present
Labor and Human ResourcesBriseida Torres Reyes2019–present
Natural and Environmental ResourcesTania Vázquez2017–present
Sports and RecreationAdriana Sanchez2018–present
StateVacant
Transportation and Public WorksCarlos Contreras2017–present
TreasuryFrancisco Pares Alicea2019–present
Public SafetyElmer Román González2019–present
Part of a series on the
Executive branch of the
government of Puerto Rico

The Cabinet is composed by the Constitutional Cabinet, composed by the Secretaries established by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, and the Operational Cabinet, composed by the Secretaries and Cabinet-level officers established by extraconstitutional Puerto Rican law or appointed by the Governor. These Cabinets do not exist as agencies, but are referred as such in transcripts, records, official documents, and conversations for brevity and easiness.

Members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the Governor, who may dismiss them or reappoint them (to other posts) at will.

Overview

Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico establishes that the Governor shall be assisted by Secretaries whom shall collectively constitute the Governor's advisory council and be designated as the Council of Secretaries.[1] These Secretaries and other officers which hold positions at the same bureaucratic level compose the Cabinet. On rare occasions, the Cabinet is called upon to ratify a gubernatorial decision, such as the appointment of a member of the board of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank, in lieu of the Senate's advice and consent.

All Cabinet members are nominated by the Governor and then presented to the Senate for advice and consent by a simple majority—except for the Secretary of State who requires the advice and consent of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. If the Cabinet members are confirmed they are sworn in and begin their duties immediately afterwards. However, Cabinet members appointed during a legislative recess may begin serving immediately under a recess appointment until the end of the following regular session of the Legislative Assembly, or rejected by the Senate, whichever occurs first, should they not be confirmed. All members leading executive departments receive the title of Secretary.

Secretaries
Main article: Puerto Rico Council of Secretaries

The Council of Secretaries is the group composed by the heads of the executive departments of the government of Puerto Rico. The Council is charged with leading the different sectors of public administration within the government and is comprised by:

Cabinet-level officers
Main article: List of Puerto Rico Cabinet-level officers

The Cabinet-level officers of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico are the heads of the executive agencies that report directly to the Governor of Puerto Rico or to the Chief of Staff who also happen to not be Secretaries of an executive department nor members of an executive office—except for the Directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Planning Board who are considered Cabinet-level officers. All the Cabinet-level officers are at the same bureaucratic level as of the Secretaries[2] and together with the Council of Secretaries compose the Cabinet of Puerto Rico.

See also

Notes
  1. The President of the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank (GDB) is considered a Cabinet-level officer since the GDB serves as the government's fiscal agent and financial advisor even though the GDB is a government-owned corporation.

References
  1. Article IV, Section 5 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico (July 25, 1952)
  2. "Organigrama del Gobierno de Puerto Rico" (PDF) (in Spanish). Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget. April 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
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