48 U.S.C. § 2193 — Application of regulation to Puerto Rico

Page 375 TITLE 48—TERRITORIES AND INSULAR POSSESSIONS § 2194 (3) to alter, amend, or abrogate any provi- sion of the Covenant To Establish a Common- wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Po- litical Union With the United States of Amer- ica (48 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); or (4) to alter, amend, or abrogate the treaties of cession regarding certain islands of Amer- ican Samoa (48 U.S.C. 1661). (Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 401, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 585.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 114–187, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 549, known as the Puerto Rico Oversight, Manage- ment, and Economic Stability Act and also as PROMESA, which is classified principally to this chap- ter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2101 of this title and Tables. The Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, referred to in par. (3), is con- tained in section 1 of Pub. L. 94–241, set out as a note under section 1801 of this title. § 2192. Right of Puerto Rico to determine its fu- ture political status Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to restrict Puerto Rico’s right to determine its fu- ture political status, including by conducting the plebiscite as authorized by Public Law 113–76. (Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 402, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 586.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 114–187, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 549, known as the Puerto Rico Oversight, Manage- ment, and Economic Stability Act and also as PROMESA, which is classified principally to this chap- ter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2101 of this title and Tables. Public Law 113–76, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 113–76, Jan. 17, 2014, 128 Stat. 5, known as the Consoli- dated Appropriations Act, 2014. Provisions relating to appropriations for a plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s future political status appear at 128 Stat. 61. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. § 2193. Application of regulation to Puerto Rico (a) Special rule The regulations proposed by the Secretary of Labor relating to exemptions regarding the rates of pay for executive, administrative, pro- fessional, outside sales, and computer employ- ees, and published in a notice in the Federal Register on July 6, 2015, and any final regula- tions issued related to such notice, shall have no force or effect in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico until— (1) the Comptroller General of the United States completes the assessment and trans- mits the report required under subsection (b); and (2) the Secretary of Labor, taking into ac- count the assessment and report of the Comp- troller General, provides a written determina- tion to Congress that applying such rule to Puerto Rico would not have a negative impact on the economy of Puerto Rico. (b) Assessment and report Not later than two years after June 30, 2016, the Comptroller General shall examine the eco- nomic conditions in Puerto Rico and shall trans- mit a report to Congress assessing the impact of applying the regulations described in subsection (a) to Puerto Rico, taking into consideration re- gional, metropolitan, and non-metropolitan sal- ary and cost-of-living differences. (c) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Bureau of the Census should conduct a study to determine the feasibility of expand- ing data collection to include Puerto Rico and the other United States territories in the Cur- rent Population Survey, which is jointly ad- ministered by the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and which is the primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United States; and (2) if necessary, the Bureau of the Census should request the funding required to conduct this feasibility study as part of its budget sub- mission to Congress for fiscal year 2018. (Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 404, June 30, 2016, 130 Stat. 586.) § 2194. Automatic stay upon enactment (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Liability The term ‘‘Liability’’ means a bond, loan, letter of credit, other borrowing title, obliga- tion of insurance, or other financial indebted- ness for borrowed money, including rights, en- titlements, or obligations whether such rights, entitlements, or obligations arise from con- tract, statute, or any other source of law re- lated to such a bond, loan, letter of credit, other borrowing title, obligation of insurance, or other financial indebtedness in physical or dematerialized form, of which— (A) the issuer, obligor, or guarantor is the Government of Puerto Rico; and (B) the date of issuance or incurrence pre- cedes June 30, 2016. (2) Liability Claim The term ‘‘Liability Claim’’ means, as it re- lates to a Liability— (A) right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, un- liquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, eq- uitable, secured, or unsecured; or (B) right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judg- ment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured. (b) In general Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the establishment of an Oversight