2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART III - Other Financial Institutions (§§ 551 — 1390) › Chapter 69A - Puerto Rico Housing Financing Authority Act (§§ 924 — 928) › § 926 - Transfer

(a) All the assets, functions, contracts, agreements, exemptions and privileges of the Housing Bank are hereby transferred to the Authority, as well as all its existing rights records and resources as of the effective date of this act.
(b) All debts, liabilities, obligations, agreements and the collective bargaining agreement of the Housing Bank are hereby transferred to the Authority as of the effective date of this act. Any surplus in assets of the Housing Bank transferred to the Corporation that exceeds the obligations assumed by the new Authority as of the effective date of the merger shall be transferred to the Budgetary Fund of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Any property of the Housing Bank that has been mortgaged, encumbered or serves as a pledge in favor of any bondholder or other creditor of the Housing Bank, shall continue to be subject to said mortgage, lien or secured interest, until the mortgage, lien or guaranteed interest has been cancelled or terminated pursuant to its terms and conditions. All bondholders or other creditors of the Housing Bank and those persons who have any sort of claims or contracts with the Housing Bank, shall be entitled to claim from the Authority compliance of said debts, claims and contracts in the same way they would have been able to make a claim against the Housing Bank. The remedies available to said bondholders, creditors and persons entitled to said claims or contracts shall in no way be limited or restricted by this chapter.
(c) All employees of the Housing Bank and of the Corporation shall become employees of the Authority, which shall be the successor employer as of the effective date of this act, recognizing the seniority of the workers of the Housing Bank, as established in the collective bargaining agreement that was in effect between the Union and the Housing Bank, as of the [effective] date of this act.
(d) None of the provisions of this chapter shall affect the constitutional right to collective bargaining enjoyed by the employees of the Housing Bank, nor the vested rights, benefits and privileges, by virtue of the collective bargaining agreements negotiated §§ 61—64 and 65—76 of Title 29, known as the “Puerto Rico Labor Relations Act”.
(e) As of the effective date of this act, the Authority, as successor employer of the employees, shall recognize the union that represents the unionized workers of Housing Bank, and shall assume the agreement in effect on said date.
(f) If any conflict should arise between the rights, benefits and privileges guaranteed to the workers of the Housing Bank and of the Corporation in the collective bargaining agreements and/or the regulations applicable to them, the collective bargaining agreement and/or regulations that most benefit the employees shall be applied.
(g) All employees affected by the transfer provided in this chapter shall be guaranteed their rights, privileges, obligations, civil service status, if any, acquired under the laws, collective bargaining agreements and personnel regulations in effect on the effective date of this act, as well as any existing pension, retirement or savings and loan system to which they may be affiliated or belong to, on the effective date of this act. Provided, That non-union employees of the previous Corporation shall preserve their respective public service seniority rights in the Authority, which shall not be altered, nor shall the Authority reduce the salaries and fringe benefits acquired by non-union employees, the rights under their respective individual employment contracts, personnel regulations or resolution of the Board of Directors. The Authority shall establish a plan for compliance of these provisions that shall guarantee the classification of their positions, salaries and fringe benefits of the managerial employees of the previous Corporation. Furthermore, the managerial employees of the previous Corporation shall retain their status as non-union employees until the Puerto Rico Labor Relations Board determines otherwise.
(h) The Registrars of the Property Registry are hereby directed to acknowledge all the property of the Housing Bank as transferred to the Authority, from the effective date of this act.
(i) All regulations, orders, resolutions, circular letters and other administrative documents of the Housing Bank shall be kept in effect as the regulations, orders, resolutions and circular letters of the Authority, until the same are amended, supplemented, repealed or rendered ineffective by the Authority pursuant to this chapter.
(j) The Secretary of the Department of Housing and the Executive Director of the Authority are hereby directed to adopt all those measures and take all steps deemed necessary to ensure the effective and adequate transfer of powers, faculties, obligations, agreements, collective bargaining agreements, properties and other resources transferred through this chapter, including, but without being limited to, the administration programs and services provided by the Housing Bank, so that they will not be affected or interrupted.
(k) Any reference to the Housing Bank or to the Housing Financing Corporation in any other act or regulations shall be construed to refer and apply to the Authority.
History —Aug. 11, 2001, No. 103, § 4, renumbered as § 3 and amended on July 31, 2002, No. 107, § 3.