House Bill hb9095

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HR 9095

        By Representative Henriquez






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution designating March 20, 2002, as

  3         "Puerto Rico Day" in Florida.

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  5         WHEREAS, Puerto Rico if a self-governing island and

  6  commonwealth of the United States discovered by Christopher

  7  Columbus on November 19, 1493, and colonized by the Spaniards

  8  during the 16th century, and

  9         WHEREAS, Puerto Rico and Florida have a relationship

10  dating back to 1513, when Ponce de Leon, Puerto Rico's first

11  governor, embarked on a voyage to explore the New World and

12  came upon a bountiful land he called "Pascua Florida," and

13         WHEREAS, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States

14  in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War; on March 2,

15  1917, the Jones Act was signed declaring all Puerto Ricans to

16  be citizens of the United States, sharing in the full rights

17  and duties of citizens; and the island was granted

18  commonwealth status in 1952, and

19         WHEREAS, Puerto Ricans have fought in every major war

20  of the United States since World War I and have exhibited

21  outstanding heroic action at a very high cost, for Puerto Rico

22  had the highest per-capita military combat death rate during

23  the Korean War, nearly twice that of the United States as a

24  whole, and many Puerto Ricans have been recognized with

25  Congressional Medals of Honor, and

26         WHEREAS, today trade between the state and the

27  commonwealth amounts to more than $2.5 billion annually, and

28  many Puerto Ricans, eager to explore the opportunities offered

29  by the state's robust economy, continue to come both from

30  abroad and from other states to join the more than 482,000

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                HR 9095

    716-136-02






  1  individuals from Puerto Rico who already make their homes in

  2  Florida, and

  3         WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the ties between

  4  the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the State of Florida be

  5  recognized, taking note of the positive impact made on the

  6  economic and cultural growth of the state, NOW, THEREFORE,

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  8  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

  9  Florida:

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11         That the House of Representatives pauses in its

12  deliberations to acknowledge the enrichment of the state's

13  diverse culture afforded by the presence of its Floridians of

14  Puerto Rican heritage and to wholeheartedly designate March

15  20, 2002, as "Puerto Rico Day" in Florida.

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