2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE ONE - The Commonwealth (§§ 1 — 5289) › Chapter 42 - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Persons with Disabilities Advocacy Office Act (§§ 811 — 851) › Subchapter II - Persons with Disabilities Advocacy Office (§§ 812 — 828) › § 813 - Director’s Council for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities

The Director’s Council for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities is hereby created which shall be responsible for, in conjunction with the Advocate, establishing bylaws and strategic plans relating to the advocacy for the rights of persons with disabilities. Likewise, the Council shall oversee the governance, independence, transparency, and accountability of the Advocacy Office. Moreover, it shall appoint an Advocate and oversee his/her performance and compliance with the public policy on the rights of persons with disabilities, as provided in this chapter.
The Director’s Council shall be composed of nine (9) members who shall be appointed as follows:
(a) Governor’s appointments.—
(1) The Governor shall, without prejudice to his/her constitutional prerogatives, request and receive recommendations from the government sector and from nongovernmental groups concerned with rights of persons with disabilities, prior to making any appointment to the Director’s Council. Subsequently, the Governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, three (3) persons to the Director’s Council, to wit:
(A) One (1) person with developmental disabilities or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative. This person, in turn, shall be a member of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities.
(B) One (1) person with experience working with persons with developmental disabilities. This person shall, in turn, represent the Institute on Developmental Disabilities of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, created by virtue of Public Law 101-496, as amended, known as the “Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act of 2000”.
(C) One (1) person with a physical disability, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative.
(2) For the first designations, one (1) appointment shall be made for a term of three (3) years, one (1) appointment shall be made for a term of two (2) years, and the remaining appointment shall be made for a term of one (1) year, as established by the Governor. Every subsequent appointment shall be made for terms of three (3) years. All appointments may be renewed for one (1) additional term. The members of the Director’s Council shall hold office until their terms expire and their successors are appointed.
(b) Nongovernmental organizations” appointments.—
(1) The Director’s Council shall issue a call for nominations so that nongovernmental organizations concerned with the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities nominate candidates for the following six (6) positions within the Director’s Council:
(A) One (1) person with developmental disabilities or his/her mother, father, relative, tutor, guardian, conservator, or legal representative.
(B) One (1) person with any physical disability, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative.
(C) One (1) person with any cognitive disability, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative.
(D) One (1) person with any sensory disability, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative.
(E) One (1) person with any neurological illness, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative. Any person with a neurological illness elected to the Director’s Council shall be able to discharge his/her duties and responsibilities in said Council, regardless of his/her illness.
(F) One (1) person with a mental illness, or his/her mother, father, relative, guardian, tutor, conservator, or legal representative. Any person with a mental illness elected to the Director’s Council shall be able to discharge his/her duties and responsibilities in said Council, regardless of his/her illness.
The call for nominations shall be issued within at least sixty (60) days before the term of each of the six (6) positions above expires. The call for nominations shall be posted on the webpage of the Advocacy Office and published in one (1) newspaper of general circulation. Every nongovernmental organization may nominate up to three (3) candidates for each of the six (6) positions mentioned in this clause. When nominating candidates, organizations shall provide evidence attesting to the fact that their nominees meet all the requirements of this section.
(2) Nongovernmental organizations that wish to nominate candidates for membership in the Director’s Council shall provide evidence attesting that they are bona fide organizations, as provided in this chapter, with at least three (3) years of recognized and proven experience concerning the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. Alternatively, nongovernmental organizations may provide evidence attesting that they have been incorporated in the Department of State for at least three (3) years and that the main purpose of the organization is the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
(3) Nongovernmental organizations shall submit their nominations to the Director’s Council at least forty (40) days before the expiration of the term of office for which the nominations are made.
(4) Within a term that shall not exceed five (5) days after the forty (40)-day term provided above has elapsed, the Director’s Council shall publish the names of the nominees of nongovernmental organizations on the webpage of the Advocacy Office; any person who wishes to file a complaint or objection regarding the nominees shall have a term that shall not exceed ten (10) days to do so.
(5) Once the term to file complaints or objections elapses, the Director’s Council shall select the persons from among the nominees, within a term that shall not exceed fifteen (15) days and shall refer such appointments for advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico. If such appointments are confirmed, said persons shall hold the positions set aside for nongovernmental organizations within said Council.
(6) Each of the six (6) members representing nongovernmental organizations shall be elected by a simple majority vote of the membership of the Director’s Council. Any person whose term of office has expired shall not participate in the process to select the person who shall fill the vacancy left after his/her term has expired.
(7) After the first staggered appointments expire, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 841-848 fo this title, subsequent appointments to the Director’s Council shall be made for terms of three (3) years. Each member may be nominated and appointed for one (1) additional term. Members of the Director’s Council shall hold office until their terms expire and their successors are appointed.
(c) The eligibility criteria to be selected as a member of the Director’s Council are the following:
(1) Meet all the requirements established in this section. Provided, That when work experience is requested, it shall mean having worked for not less than two (2) years in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
(2) Show commitment to the advocacy for the rights of persons with disabilities and its different populations.
(3) Show availability, time, and commitment to work as a team and to discharge the duties delegated as a member of the Director’s Council.
(4) Persons with disabilities appointed to the Director’s Council shall be persons who receive, are eligible to receive or have received services through the Persons with Disabilities Protection and Advocacy Division.
Membership of Director’s Council shall be geographically representative of all regions of Puerto Rico, including Vieques and Culebra.
(d) Once five (5) out of the nine (9) members are appointed, the Director’s Council shall be deemed to be constituted. Five (5) members of the Director’s Council shall constitute a quorum to hold meetings, and agreements shall be reached by a majority of the members present.
(e) In case of a vacancy, the new person designated by the Governor or the Director’s Council, as the case may be, shall discharge the duties of the office for the remainder of the unexpired term. Said person shall meet the requirements established in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(f) The members of the Director’s Council shall not receive compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to request reimbursement for transportation and other expenses as provided by regulations to be approved for such purposes by the Council; such regulations shall be consistent with the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”.
(g) The Director’s Council shall establish a policy that defines potential conflicts of interests and provides procedures to manage apparent, actual, and potential conflicts.
(h) The Director’s Council shall have exclusive jurisdiction to address the removal of any of the members of the Council, except for the three (3) members appointed by the Governor. The removal process shall be carried out in accordance with this chapter.
(i) No nongovernmental organization that is part of the membership of the Director’s Council shall receive additional federal and state funds administered by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Persons with Disabilities Advocacy Office for the term during which nominated candidates hold office in the Director’s Council.
History —Sept. 24, 2015, No. 158, § 2.02.