---
type: "Bill"
title: "Establishes 35 member New Jersey Puerto Rico Commission in Department of State."
description: "Establishes 35 member New Jersey Puerto Rico Commission in Department of State."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "218"
identifier: "S 2656"
citation: "New Jersey S 2656 (218)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["COMMISSIONS", "MINORITY"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Chaparro, Annette", "Cruz-Perez, Nilsa", "Lopez, Yvonne", "Mejia, Pedro", "Pou, Nellie", "Ruiz, M. Teresa"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 8
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2018-06-04T04:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2020-01-09T05:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f4d6a556-2df5-4680-85aa-99054a6a6b35"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "d38bcdc632173d0ad9f67a4d82daa197e5a8dd01800739cb774d1234d8d2cba3"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey S 2656 (218) — Establishes 35 member New Jersey Puerto Rico Commission in Department of State.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/S3000/2656_I1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported favorably out of committee — **5–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported favorably out of committee — **5–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **71–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Chaparro, Annette — primary (person)
- Cruz-Perez, Nilsa — primary (person)
- Lopez, Yvonne — primary (person)
- Mejia, Pedro — primary (person)
- Pou, Nellie — primary (person)
- Ruiz, M. Teresa — primary (person)
- Greenstein, Linda R. — cosponsor (person)
- Quijano, Annette — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-06-04T04:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2018-09-27T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2018-12-17T05:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (40-0) `passage`
- **2019-01-15T05:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee `referral-committee`
- **2019-11-18T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2019-11-25T05:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A4188
- **2019-11-25T05:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (71-1-0) `passage`
- **2020-01-09T05:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2019, c.284. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f4d6a556-2df5-4680-85aa-99054a6a6b35`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).