Defensoría urges technical fixes, warns of HUD preemption and federal litigation risk

José Antonio Montalvo Vera, representing the Defensoría, told the commission the agency supports removing barriers for people who rely on assistance animals but urged several technical amendments to prevent legal conflicts and confusion.

Montalvo recommended adding the term ‘‘sensorial’’ to the definition of disability to maintain consistency with the island’s legal framework, and he urged the commission to exclude housing-policy language from this bill because the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601–3619) creates a federal enforcement path through HUD. ‘‘La inclusión de las instituciones educativas debe considerar la condición de los menores de edad…’’ he said when discussing scope and jurisdictional limits. He also advised the committee to avoid assigning adjudicative powers to state entities in areas where federal law provides an exclusive enforcement mechanism, warning this could lead to costly federal litigation.

Defensoría and other witnesses suggested a pragmatic route: limit this legislative cycle to clarifying access rules for dogs (and the federal exceptions for miniature horses where applicable) and develop separate measures for other species or for housing-specific enforcement mechanisms.