Puerto Rico government challenges fiscal board's authority in US Supreme Court
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced has recently challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court the scope of the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board’s (FOMB) authority over the island’s fiscal decisions.
The brief filed May 15 seeks to overturn lower court rulings that upheld the oversight board’s prohibition of the “reprogramming” of funds in the 2019-2020 fiscal plan and budget.
The case deals with the interpretation of certain statutes in the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), and the ability of the government to make fiscal decisions.
“Because of Puerto Rico’s territorial status, Congress was able to enact a law that altered Puerto Rico’s framework of self-government. Yet in doing so, Congress was not seeking to eliminate Puerto Rico’s self-governing structure,” the government’s filing said in the case Wanda Vazquez Garced vs FOMB. “Congress carefully calibrated PROMESA to balance the oversight board’s considerable fiscal powers against the political powers of the island’s elected government.”
Read more: http://www.sanjuanweeklypr.com/pdf/May-22-20/local.pdf
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