Mr. JOHNSTON, from the Committee on Energy and Natural REPORT together with MINORITY VIEWS [To accompany S. 712] The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was referred the bill (S. 712) to provide for a referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendment is as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That (1) the United States of America recognizes the principle of self-determination and other applicable principles of international law with respect to Puerto Rico; and (2) the United States is committed to a process of consultation and negotiation with the people of Puerto Rico leading to a referendum on the issue of political status to be conducted in a fair and equitable manner. SEC. 2. This Act may be cited as the "Puerto Rico Status Referendum Act". SEC. 101. REFERENDUM. TITLE I (a) IN GENERAL.-An islandwide referendum shall be held in Puerto Rico in which qualified voters of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be presented a choice of three status options for Puerto Rico. The options shall appear on the ballot as follows: (1) Statehood as set forth in title II of the Puerto Rico Status Referendum Act; (2) Independence as set forth in title III of the Puerto Rico Status Referendum Act; and (3) Commonwealth as set forth in title IV of the Puerto Rico Status Referendum Act. (b) Date of REFERENDUM.-The first referendum shall occur on June 4, 1991, or on a date during the summer of calendar year 1991 as may be mutually agreed by the three principal political parties of Puerto Rico. (c) RETURNS OF REFERENDUM.-The returns of the referendum held under this Act shall be made to the Governor of Puerto Rico, who shall cause them to be canvassed in the manner provided by law for the canvass of votes cast in general elections for Federal office in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. If there is not a majority in favor of one of the three options, then there shall be, on August 6, 1991, or on a date during the summer of calendar year 1991 as may be mutually agreed by the three principal political parties, a runoff referendum between the two status options which had received the largest number of votes. Such referendum shall also include an option of "None of the Above". The Governor shall certify to the President and to the Congress of the United States that decision of the people of Puerto Rico which received a majority of the votes cast, if a majority is obtained. (d) APPLICABLE ELECTION LAWS.-The election laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for a general election for the election of a Federal officer, and as in effect on July 15, 1989, shall apply to the referendum held under this Act, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, and as necessarily modified to recognize that it is a referendum on status options. The Attorney General of the United States shall provide for adequate monitoring of the referendum by United States marshals. (e) JUDICIAL REVIEW.-Any legal dispute or controversy arising out of this referendum shall be adjudicated in accordance with local laws and procedures, except that: (1)(A) Any aggrieved person (including, without limitation, and political party), within sixty days after the certification by the Governor of the results of the referendum pursuant to title I, section 101(c), may institute an action to challenge the choice certified by the Governor on the basis that (1) an electoral irregularity or irregularities had occurred, and (2) that the irregularity or irregularities were so significant as to affect the outcome of the referendum and call into question the choice certified by the Governor. (B) The three-judge court provided for in paragraph (2) shall have exclusive jurisdiction of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section and shall exercise the same without regard to whether the aggrieved shall have exhausted any administrative or other remedies provided by Federal law or the law of Puerto Rico. (C) In any proceeding instituted pursuant to this paragraph of this subsection, if the court finds that there has been an electoral irregularity or irregularities so significant as to affect the outcome of the referendum and call into question the choice certified by the Governor, the court is empowered to grant appropriate relief, including nullification of the entire referendum, ordering a recount or recounts, or any other relief deemed appropriate to preserve the integrity of the electoral process. (D) The Attorney General of the United States is empowered to intervene at the request of the court in any proceeding brought under this section in order to assist in the gathering and presentation of evidence. Any aggrieved person with a Federal constitutional or Federal statutory claim arising out of the same factual nexus as an action brought under this section may intervene in that action in a manner deemed timely by the court in its discretion. Failure of such an aggrieved person to timely intervene will result in foreclosure of that person's Federal constitutional or statutory claim. (E) The court may give such weight as it deems appropriate to the determination of the Commonwealth Elections Commission, the courts of the Commonwealth and any other local authority or tribunal. The court is not required to provide de novo review of any and all claims of irregularities already determined by a local authority or tribunal, except as it deems necessary. (2)(A) Any claim brought under the United States Constitution or a Federal statute, or any claim brought to challenge the result certified by the Governor, whether brought under this Act or under the law of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall be heard by a three-judge court which shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all such claims. (B) The court shall receive evidence and hear argument, as it deems necessary. The provisions of section 2284(b)(3) of title 28, United States Code, shall apply to proceedings of the three-judge court. It shall be the duty of the Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, with proper authorization by the Chief Justice of the United States under section 291(a) of title 28, United States Code, where necessary, to designate three judges, of whom at least one shall be a circuit judge and the remaining judge or judges shall be district court judges, to hear and determine any such claim. No judge resident in Puerto Rico shall be designated. Hearings of the three-judge court shall be conducted in Puerto Rico. An appeal from a final judgment of the three-judge court will lie to the Supreme Court of the United States by way of certiorari. (f) IMPLEMENTATION.-The procedures for implementing the status option which has been certified by the Governor pursuant to subsection (c), shall go into effect on October 1, 1991, in accordance with the appropriate title of this Act. (g) REFERENDUM INFORMATION OFFICER.-The President shall appoint, from a list provided by the three principal political parties of Puerto Rico, a Referendum Information Officer to be responsible for the translation and distribution of information and educational materials on the referendum. If the President is not satisfied with the qualifications of those persons on the initial list, the political parties shall submit such additional lists as may be necessary until an appointment is made. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purposes of this subsection. SEC. 201. PROCLAMATION. TITLE II-STATEHOOD Should statehood be certified, under section 101 of this Act, as having obtained a majority of the votes cast in the referendum, and upon the certification of the election of the officers required to be elected as provided in section 206 of this Act, the President shall issue his proclamation announcing the results of said election as so ascertained. Upon the issuance of said proclamation, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (hereinafter referred to also as "the State") shall be declared to be a State of the United States of America, and shall be declared admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States. SEC. 202. CONSTITUTION. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall always be republican in form and shall not be repugnant to the Constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution adopted by a vote of the people of Puerto Rico in the election held on June 4, 1951, has been found by Congress to be republican in form and in conformity with the Constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and was accepted, ratified, and confirmed, through Public Law 447 of the Eighty-second Congress, March 3, 1952. The current Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as ratified by the people at the referendum held on June 4, 1951, is hereby accepted as the Constitution of the State. SEC. 203. TERRITORY AND BOUNDARIES. The State shall consist of all of the territory, together with the waters included in the seaward boundary, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. SEC. 204. STATE TITLE TO LANDS AND PROPERTY. (a) The State and its political subdivisions shall have and retain title to all property, real and personal, which it currently holds, including, but not limited to, title to submerged lands heretofore granted to Puerto Rico. (b) Any lands and other properties that, as of the date of admission of Puerto Rico into the Union, are set aside pursuant to law for the use of the United States under any (A) Act of Congress, (B) Executive order, (C) proclamation of the President, or (D) proclamation of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall remain the property of the United States. (c) Not later than five years after the date of admission of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a State of the Union, each Federal agency having control over any land or property that is retained by the United States pursuant to this section shall submit a report to the President and the Congress concerning the continued need for such land or property. If the President determines that any such land or property, or portion thereof, or any interest therein, is no longer needed by the Federal Government, it shall be conveyed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico at no cost. This section does not authorize the transfer of any interest in the Caribbean National Forest or the San Juan Historic Site. (d) All laws of the United States: (1) reserving to the United States the free use or enjoyment of property which vest in or is conveyed to the Commonwealth of Puerto |