When the Fiscal Control Board (FCB) approved the budget submitted by Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares on June 30, they amended the document to conditionally reduce workdays for public employees and eliminate the Christmas bonus, if the projected incomes and savings are not attained.

Since then, FCB Chairman José Carrión III has reiterated to the Rosselló Nevares administration that these measures are still in place, since their projections seem to suggest that the government will not meet the goals established in the budget and the fiscal plan by September. The governor, meanwhile, stated this week that it would not be necessary to reduce the workdays and cause further damage to the middle class and the government.

However, the government’s opposition to these unpopular measures has been limited to the public discourse, devoid of any supporting legal actions to challenge the FCB’s amendments to these effects. In that sense, Puerto Rico’sChief of Staff William Villafañe told NotiCel that Fortaleza will not take any legal actions to prevent the implementation of these measures—which were included through an amendment to the certified budget—until the Board issues an order to execute them.

‘So far, the Fiscal Oversight Board has not instructed the government to reduce the workdays. For any case to go to court, it should be ready. In this case, there needs to be a resolution or order of implementation from the Board, and that hasn’t happened so far,’ the official said.

As for the possibility of requesting a declaratory judgment asking the courts to clarify if the Board can force the government to implement these measures, Villafañe insisted that, ‘In that sense, there would need to be a directive. When we get a directive, it will give us a reason to go to court.’

The official disclosed that the governor and his legal team have evaluated the legal framework in PROMESA, and they claim that Section 205 states that the government may reject any of the FCB’s recommendations and that the entity cannot enforce measures unilaterally. ‘We believe this statement proves us to be in the right. So any decision the Board makes to the contrary will find its day in court,’ Villafañe expressed.

Nonetheless, Section 205 also states that if the government rejects a recommendation from the Board, the governor and the Legislature will have to explain the reasons for this rejection and send their statements to Congress and the president of the US. The government’s statements regarding their endorsement or rejection of the FCB’s recommendations need to be submitted no later than 90 days after the order is issued.