reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4857 - Complaints or charges against a mayor—Ruling by the Commission

After the charges against a mayor have been heard in depth, and before the procedures provided in this chapter have been carried out, the Commission may:
(a) Issue an admonition when the evidence proves that, while the mayor incurred improper practices or actions, they do not constitute recklessness, gross negligence or conduct injurious to the public interest in the performance of his/her duties.
(b) Exonerate the mayor, and if he/she has been suspended from office without pay, provide for his/her reinstatement and order the payment of his/her salary and fringe benefits retroactive to the date the suspension took effect.
(c) Remove the mayor from office.
A decision to remove the mayor from office shall take effect immediately.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4858 - Charges or complaints against a mayor—Sanctions

The Commission may impose fines or sanctions for the filing of complaints or charges that are frivolous and without grounds, or if they are not accompanied by the evidence needed to weigh the substance of the complaint or charges.
Proceedings before the Commission shall not be used as mechanisms to seek information if they are not based on a filed duly-substantiated complaint.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.008.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4859 - Procedure for a state of friction between the Legislature and the mayor

When a state of friction exists between the Legislature and the mayor to the extent that municipal credit or municipal public affairs are delayed or prejudiced, or run the risk of such a thing happening, the mayor or the Legislature shall submit a report on the situation to the Governor. The Governor shall order all department heads to immediately place at the disposal of the Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints all documents and information they have concerning the public affairs of the municipality involved. The Governor shall refer the aforementioned report to the Commission immediately upon receipt.
Once the investigation is completed and a hearing is held, the Commission shall render a report with its recommendations within a term of not more than fifteen (15) days from the date the hearing was concluded. When none or both of the parties abides by the Commission’s recommendations, and the situation is of such a nature as to cause irreparable damage to the citizenry the Commission shall declare the office of mayor or of any number of municipal legislators vacant. Vacancies in the offices of mayor or municipal legislators shall be filled as provided in this subtitle for vacancies in said offices because of total and permanent disability, death or resignation. The Commission shall not adopt any resolution whatsoever until a hearing has been held at which all of the parties concerned shall be heard, and shall have the right to evidence on the matters involved.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.009.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4860 - Reconsideration, judicial review

Any party adversely affected by a decision issued under the provisions of this chapter may request its reconsideration and judicial review pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”. The Court of First Instance, San Juan Part, shall have jurisdiction to deal with petitions for judicial review.
The court shall give the highest priority on its calendar to consideration of petitions for review in the light of the public interest involved and the need to avoid unnecessary prolongation of a situation where there is an acting mayor in cases where the Commission has decreed the mayor’s removal from office.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4861 - Quorum

In cases of inhibition, absence, temporary disability or vacancy in the office of any commissioner, the remaining two (2) Commissioners shall constitute quorum and may exercise all of the powers and functions of the Commission.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.011.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4862 - Penalties

Any person who engages in improper or disorderly conduct, or displays a lack of discipline or disrespect to the Commission or to any of its Commissioners, or who refuses to give or affirm oath, will incur a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisonment for a term of not more than six (6) months, or both penalties, at the discretion of the court.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.012.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4863 - Duties of the Secretary

The Secretary of the Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints shall be appointed by the President and shall hold office at his/her volition. The Secretary shall be custodian of the files of the Commission and shall keep a complete and accurate record of all its proceedings and maintain an indexed compilation of the final decisions issued by the Commission as of August 30, 1991. The Secretary shall make available for reproduction, at the request of [any] interested person, the final decisions of the Commission, with the prior payment of reasonable reproduction fees. The Secretary shall report the decisions, priorities and resolutions of the Commission, under the direction of the President.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.013; Dec. 22, 2006, No. 280, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 235 - Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints (§§ 4851 — 4864) › § 4864 - Budget

The funds necessary for the operations of the Commission to Hear Municipal Complaints and the administration of the provisions of this chapter shall be appropriated annually in a separate item in the name of the Commission, in the Joint Resolution of the General Budget of Expenses of the Government of Puerto Rico.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 18.014.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4901 - Office—Creation

The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is hereby created. This Office shall have, among other duties provided in this subtitle, the main responsibility of advising and approving regulations for purposes of ensuring the application of the generally accepted accounting principles, compliance with the standards of the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico and the correction of practices that constitute sources of administrative and/or accounting irregularities.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.001; July 24, 1998, No. 169, § 8; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 41.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4903 - Office—Commissioner

The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall be directed by a Commissioner appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico. The Commissioner shall be directly responsible to the Governor of Puerto Rico in the performance of his/her duties. The Commissioner shall be a person of recognized moral probity. He/she cannot be a municipal legislator, nor have held the office of mayor during the eight (8) years prior to his/her appointment; nor during the four (4) years prior to his/her appointment to have sought or campaigned to hold office in the directorate or the organization of a political party or of a committee or body of a political party, be it at central, regional or municipal government level or at an electoral ward or unit, nor to have run for elective public office in general or special elections nor to have been nominated as candidate to elective public office during primary elections. While holding office, he/she may not seek or campaign to hold office in the directorate or the organization of a political party or committee nor run for or be nominated for an elective office.
The Governor of Puerto Rico shall fix the annual salary of the Commissioner in accordance with the standards applied in the central government for offices of the same or similar nature and level of responsibility. The Commissioner may avail him/herself of the benefits of §§ 761 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Retirement System for Employees of the Government of Puerto Rico and its Instrumentalities”, and of §§ 862 et seq. of Title 3, which created the Commonwealth Employees Savings and Loan Fund.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.003; Sept. 28, 2006, No. 216, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4904 - Office—Deputy Commissioner

The Commissioner may appoint a Deputy Commissioner and delegate any of the powers provided in this subtitle, on him/her except the approval of regulations and the appointing of personnel. The Deputy Commissioner shall be a person of known capacity, moral probity and knowledge of matters related to the municipal government.
In the event of illness, disability or temporary absence, or when for any other reason, the office of the Commissioner becomes vacant, the Deputy Commissioner shall assume all the powers, duties and faculties of the office until a successor is appointed and takes office.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.004.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4906 - Personnel system

The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall be an “Individual Administrator”, pursuant to the definition of this term in Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”. The Commissioner shall adopt the rules and regulations provided by law that are necessary for the administration of its personnel system. Office personnel shall be classified as career and confidential. The Office may not approve more than twenty-five (25) confidential positions, among which are included the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner and their personal secretaries and drivers, as well as the executive and administrative assistants who answer directly to the Commissioner. The remaining employees and officials of the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall be included in the career service.
The personnel rules approved by the Commissioner shall guarantee to every person who, prior to serving as confidential employee of the Office, had been a career employee in any other public agency, or a municipality, the right to be reinstated in a position of the same or similar nature and category to that he/she held as a career employee at the moment he/she transferred to the confidential position.
The Commissioner may assign a larger salary than that received by other personnel of equal or similar levels in other public agencies, to the personnel required to have competency and special knowledge of the municipal government and its operation and functioning.
The personnel of the Office of the Commissioner may avail themselves of the benefits of §§ 761 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Employees Retirement System of the Government of Puerto Rico and its Instrumentalities”, and of §§ 862 et seq. of Title 3, which creates the Savings and Loan Fund of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Employees Association.
The officials and employees of the Office shall be governed by the provisions of §§ 1801 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Government Ethics Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”. When the services of an official or employee of this Office are required in a municipality or vice-versa, and this subtitle or the Government Ethics Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico does not allow it, the Governor may grant a dispensation for the application of said act[s].
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.006; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 100; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 60.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4906a - Development of municipal community organizations

(a) In order to promote the collaboration of the government sector with the people, establish an agile mechanism with municipal structure to channel and promptly attend to the needs of the population, as well as to promote self determination of the communities so that they can tend to situations of their respective sectors through public-private initiatives, the Community Organizations Unit is hereby created attached to the Office of the Municipal Affairs Commissioner.
The unit created pursuant to this section shall be responsible for promoting the cooperation and integration of the efforts made by civic entities and community leaders for the active participation of the citizenry in government and private processes that affect their neighborhoods and surrounding regions. This unit shall coordinate, with the Community Affairs Division established in § 4751 of this title and the Office of the General Coordinator for Socioeconomic Financing and Self Determination established in § 962 of this title, the existing efforts of community organizations to prevent the duplication of services and resources for the same projects, activities or purposes. For the purposes of this section, it shall be understood that community organizations are those entities whose purpose is to tend to affairs or work for the improvement of the community such as: community boards, special communities, residents associations, merchants associations, citizens councils or other similar organizations.
The Community Organizations Unit shall orient and offer its support to the entities that have been established to promote citizen participation. The orientation and support measures carried out by this unit shall be geared to advice on the operational, administration and financing aspects of the organizations, workshops on the mechanisms of effective communication with public and private entities, strategies for the appropriation of financial resources and the promotion of initiatives of community self determination, efforts which propitiate the active participation of persons in government and private processes that affect their neighborhoods and surrounding regions.
(b) To comply with its purposes, the unit shall have personnel with broad experience in the planning and development of activities regarding the organization, administration, and implementation of community actions initiatives. An annual sum of $206,000 is appropriated from unencumbered funds in the Commonwealth Treasury for the 2001-2002 year for the creation of the Community Organizations Unit attached to the Office of the Municipal Affairs Commissioner.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 19.007 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4907 - Gifts

The Office of the Commissioner may accept gifts of money or property and receive funds as appropriations, advances, or other similar benefits from non-profit institutions, municipalities, the central government or the federal government and its agencies and instrumentalties. Gifts or funds thus given and accepted by the Commissioner shall be subject, to the extent applicable, to §§ 1101 et seq. of Title 3, and its regulations. These funds shall be deposited in a special account in the name of the Office at the Treasury Department.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.007, renumbered as § 19.008 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4908 - Bonding of officials and employees

The officials and employees of the Office who intervene in any way or have custody of money or any public property shall be covered by a fidelity bond that will guarantee the faithful compliance of their duties and responsibilities. The Commissioner, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury or his authorized representative, shall provide by regulations those officials and employees who shall be bonded and the amount of the bond for each of them.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall represent the Commissioner in all matters relating to obtaining the bond, the risk to be covered and the procedure to handle the claims that could arise under the terms of the policy in the way he/she deems most advantageous to the public interest. To that end, the Commissioner shall submit each year to the Secretary of the Treasury, on the date established by the latter, a list of the names of the officials and employees who shall be bonded pursuant to the applicable regulations.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.008; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 101, renumbered as § 19.009 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4909 - Investigative powers

In the exercise of the powers of the Office as an advisory entity for the municipalities, the Commissioner shall be authorized to:
(a) Indicate and report to the Secretary of Justice and the controller of Puerto Rico, any irregularity discovered, pursuant to the provisions of § 82a of Title 3.
(b) Notify the mayor of any municipal official or employee who incurs violations of any law that applies to the municipalities or any regulation adopted by virtue thereof, or when he has ground to believe that said official or employees has engaged in improper practices in the handling of the municipal affairs entrusted to him, or has induced or aided another to incur such practices.
(c) In the performance of his/her functions the Commissioner shall have the power to summon witnesses or request documents under penalty of contempt.
When a municipal official or employee duly summoned by the Commissioner does not appear to testify, or does not produce the evidence requested, or when he/she refuses to answer any question, produce evidence or appear to testify with regard to an investigation and/or preauditing made by the Commissioner under the provisions of this chapter, he/she may request the assistance of any part of the Court of First Instance to require the appearance and the statement or reproduction of the requested evidence, as the case may be. The Secretary of Justice shall provide the legal assistance needed for such ends to the Commissioner. When deemed necessary, and the fiscal resources permit it, the Commissioner may request a dispensation from the Secretary of Justice to assume his/her own legal representation, or contract lawyers from private practice to file an appeal or request assistance before the Court of First Instance.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.009; July 24, 1998, No. 169, § 10; renumbered as § 19.010 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 43.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4910 - Examining officers

In the exercise of the adjudicative powers conferred on him by this subtitle, the Commissioner may designate Examining Officers to chair the administrative hearings that are held. The Examining Officer thus designated shall submit a report to the Commissioner with his conclusions and recommendations within fifteen (15) days of the date the administrative hearing is concluded. The Commissioner shall issue a ruling on the matter investigated within ten (10) days of the date he receives the report from the Examiner. Any party adversely affected by a resolution or order of the Commissioner may petition the corresponding Court of First Instance for a review of said order or resolution within the terms established by law.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.010, renumbered as § 19.011 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4911 - Regulatory powers

The Commissioner shall adopt the rules and regulations needed to implement the provisions of §§ 4901–4914 of this title and for the adequate performance of the powers and duties assigned to the Office by law, no later than one hundred and twenty (120) days after the approval of this act, except when provided otherwise. The regulations of the Office, except those related to its organization and internal operations, shall be approved pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”. The procedures to perform investigations and imposing [sic] administrative fines shall be governed wherever applicable and [where] not provided [for] in this subtitle by regulations adopted to such effects.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.011; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 61; renumbered as § 19.012 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4912 - Administrative fines

The Commissioner may impose and collect an administrative fine which shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), after due notice and hearing, on any municipality, or municipal official or employee who:
(a) Refuses to establish the fiscal organization, uniform computerized accounting system, and procedures for disbursements, revenues and property approved by the Commissioner, or who, after establishing them, does not comply with them in the manner provided by this subtitle and in [sic] the regulations adopted by virtue of said systems.
(b) Incurs violations of the provisions of this subtitle and the rules and regulations adopted by virtue thereof for the accounting of municipal income and disbursements and the custody, control, care and accounting of municipal property.
(c) Fails to comply with the requirements, standards and procedures adopted by the Commissioner for contracting external auditing services which each municipal government must contract to perform the annual audits thereof.
(d) Violates the provisions of law and the regulations governing the administration of the municipality’s general operating budget.
(e) Repeatedly refuses, even after being admonished in writing of the administrative fine he will be subject to, to provide or turn over to the Commissioner any information required by him/her and which may be pertinent to any investigation or audit that he/she must undertake by virtue of this subtitle or that is necessary or pertinent to render any report to the Governor of Puerto Rico or to the Legislature [of Puerto Rico].
(f) Violates any other standards, rules or regulations that apply to the municipality that the Commissioner is called upon to adequately enforce and administer.
The amount of the fine shall be determined according to the gravity of the violation and no amount in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be imposed for each violation, except in the case of repeated violations, fraud or when the commission of a prohibited act or the omission of a required act could seriously compromise the effectiveness of the administration of the provisions of the law, rule or regulations that have been violated.
[(g)] Fails or refuses to take the courses of the Compulsory Training and Continuing Education Program established in this chapter.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.012; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 102; Dec. 31, 1998, No. 343, § 5; renumbered as § 19.013 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4913 - Public agencies obligations to the Office

For the purposes of the provisions of § 4902(q) of this title, all public agencies that offer, provide, administer or have jurisdiction over any applicable procedures, programs, activities, services, funds or appropriations, whether related to these or those in which the municipal government could have or have the right to participate, shall remit to the Commissioner at least five (5) copies of the regulations, standards, executive orders, decisions, opinions, manuals of the procedures or services in effect under applicable local and federal laws. Public agencies shall comply with these provisions within ninety (90) days from the date on which the operations of the Office officially begin. Subsequently, and in any case in which standards, regulations and procedures are approved, amended, modified or repealed, or new requirements are established, or programs, activities, funds or services related or having and effect on, in any way, the municipalities or broadened in scope, eliminated or altered, public agencies shall send copies thereof to the Commissioner within ten (10) days of the date that said decision is made or action is taken.
In addition, and in order to achieve the purposes of this chapter, the Commissioner may request the services, facilities and personnel of any public agency, which they may render or offer. Any official or employee of a public agency who is transferred or temporarily attached to the municipal Affairs Commissioner’s Office by virtue of the provisions of this section, shall retain all rights, benefits, classification and position held in the original public agency.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.013, renumbered as § 19.014 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 237 - Commissioner of Municipal Affairs (§§ 4901 — 4914) › § 4914 - Operating expenses

The necessary funds for the functioning and operation of the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall be appropriated annually in a separate item under said agency’s name in the Joint Resolution of the Regular General Operating Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 19.014, renumbered as § 19.015 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 18, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4951 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter the following words, phrases and terms shall have the meaning expressed hereinbelow:
(a) Sidewalks.— Shall mean that portion of a public road reserved for pedestrian traffic that lies between the curb line of said road and the line of a piece of property, lot, building or adjacent or contiguous structure.
(b) Periodic rent.— Shall mean the regular fee or payment required by the municipality to grant an authorization to locate and operate an itinerant business in any municipal sidewalk, road or installation.
(c) Owner.— Shall mean the natural or juridical person who is the proprietor or usufructuary of an itinerant business and in whose name the license to operate said business is issued.
(d) Public facility.— Shall mean any tract and parcel of land, plot, lot and residue thereof and any structure, building, establishment, school, field, center, town or neighborhood square, park, stadium, parking area, including all annexes thereto, which are the property of or in use or usufruct by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any municipality.
(e) License.— Shall mean the document issued by a municipality by virtue of the requirements of the law, ordinance and regulations, authorizing its holder to operate an itinerant business within the territorial boundaries of the municipality in question and according to the type of license issued.
(f) Itinerant business.— Shall mean any continuous or temporary commercial operation for the sale of goods and services at retail, lacking a fixed and permanent establishment, and operated in mobile units, on foot or by hand, or at a place which is not attached to any one place or real property, or if so, has neither permanent electric energy or water connections nor sanitary facilities.
(g) Operator.— Shall mean any natural person who not being the owner of an itinerant business operates, administers or has control over the latter.
(h) Route.— Shall mean the public places or roads in which an itinerant business may travel or circulate, being able to stop only to conduct a sale when solicited.
(i) Person.— Shall mean any entity, corporation, partnership, company, enterprise, society, organization, foundation, institution, cooperative or group of persons who conduct a profit-making or non-profit operation.
(j) Itinerant vendor.— Shall mean any natural or juridical person who operates or exploits an itinerant business as proprietor or as employee, agent, leaseholder, concessionaire, usufructuary, or in any other manner.
(k) Sale at retail.— Shall mean any transaction for the purchase and sale of goods and services directly to the consumer.
(l) Public road.— Shall mean any highway, avenue, street, path, walkway, portico, pedestrian pathway, alley, sidewalk and similar others for public use, be they municipal or state, excluding freeways and expressways.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.002 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4952 - Regulations

The municipalities shall regulate the location and operation of itinerant businesses within their respective territorial boundaries according to the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Any ordinance regulating itinerant businesses shall contain sufficient standards to protect the public interest, thus preserving the peace, tranquility and public safety and health as well as vehicular and pedestrian traffic, the safety and beauty of the public roads and places, and likewise to protect the consumer by insuring the compliance with price, health and advertising displays standards.
(a) To that end, the municipalities are hereby authorized to issue, deny, suspend, revoke, amend or modify the licenses required in this chapter for operating any itinerant business.
(b) Likewise, the municipalities may impose and collect fees or charges for issuing or renewing the license or authorization for operating itinerant businesses as required in this chapter, pursuant to the power conferred upon them in subsection (d) of § 4052 of this title. The municipalities may also fix and collect a periodic rent for the location and operation of an itinerant business in municipal roads, sidewalks and public facilities.
(c) Every municipality may also provide, through ordinance, the places in which the location and operation of itinerant businesses may be authorized, subject to the planning, territorial ordinance, traffic, health and public safety laws and regulations and others applicable. However, their location and operation in public roads known as toll roads, freeways, expressways and other roads is prohibited as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works pursuant to the applicable laws of the central and the federal governments.
The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, in coordination with the Department of Commerce, shall advise the municipalities in all matters pertaining to the drafting and adoption of ordinances necessary to regulate the location and operation of itinerant businesses. The Department of Commerce shall provide orientation for those municipal officials and employees upon whom the responsibility of implementing the provisions of this chapter is delegated.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.003 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4953 - License—Conditions

The municipalities shall observe the standards indicated below for applying and implementing the provisions of this chapter:
(a) Any license for operating an itinerant business shall be granted only when the municipality determines that granting the aforesaid is convenient and necessary or proper for the public convenience, advantage and interest, and in any case with the prior endorsement or written approval of the corresponding public agencies.
(b) The municipality shall deny the license for an itinerant business when its owner or operator has been convicted of any crime related to the distribution, traffic, sale or possession of controlled substances or narcotics.
(c) Every license shall be issued for the term of one year. The license may be renewed not later than thirty (30) days prior to its expiration date, as long as the business complies with the corresponding legal and regulatory requirements.
(d) In the case of the death of the itinerant business license owner, his/her heirs or successors, according to the statement of determination of the heirs, shall substitute the decedent as holders of said license during the period remaining for its expiration. Said heirs shall have the benefit of renewing the itinerant business license if the documents previously filed for granting the original license are applicable to them and if in compliance with the requirements of the corresponding ordinance.
(e) When the itinerant business is to be operated within the property occupied by a public road or facility, the itinerant business owner must have a contract, permit or authorization signed by the chief executive official of the public agency which owns, leases or controls and administers the public road or facility in question.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.004 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4954 - License—Requirements

Any itinerant business must have a license authorizing its operation at the place or places indicated in said license, which must be duly issued by the municipality or municipalities within whose territorial boundaries it operates.
(a) There must be a license for every itinerant business unit being operated.
(b) The license shall be issued in the name of the owner of the itinerant business in question and it must state whether the itinerant business is to be operated by the owner or by an operator. Likewise, it must indicate the merchandise, products and goods to be sold or the services to be rendered by the itinerant business and the specific place or places in which it is authorized to operate.
(c) Every municipality shall establish, through ordinance, the term of effectiveness of the itinerant business licenses, the procedures for applying for and granting said licenses, as well as the fees to be paid for their issue and renewal, those that shall be separate from any other charges that may be imposed by the municipality to cover investigation expenses and from any rent that the aforesaid may or must collect when the itinerant business is located on a municipal public sidewalk, road or facility.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.005 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4955 - Duties of itinerant business owners

Every owner and operator of an itinerant business must comply with the provisions of this chapter, the ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant to the same, as well as with any other applicable law, regulation, order or standard. Without it being construed as a limitation, he/she must:
(a) Be up to date in the payment of the license, income and property tax and any other fee or tax levied by the Central or the Municipal Governments. The municipality shall establish the procedures needed to insure compliance with the aforesaid and in the case of taxes and fees imposed by the Central Government, it shall establish the necessary coordination to achieve those ends.
(b) Devote the itinerant business only to the retail sale of the goods and services indicated in the corresponding license and operate the latter in the place or places and hours specifically authorized.
(c) Be diligent in renewing the itinerant business license.
(d) Be up to date in the payment of the periodic rent inapplicable cases.
(e) Refrain from conveying or transferring his/her license of [sic] from leasing or subleasing the itinerant business to another person, except with an authorization in writing from the corresponding municipality. Any change, transfer, conveyance, sale, donation, lease or any other transaction that affects or alters the authorization for a license granted previously by the municipality shall be null and void.
(f) Obtain and maintain the license, permit or authorization required by law in effect in the case of retail sales of goods and services regulated by law.
(g) Observe strict compliance with the price schedules and any other applicable regulations of the Department of Consumer Affairs, as well as the schedules and regulations of other public agencies that may be applicable.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.006 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4956 - Operation without a license

The municipality may intervene with any person who operates an itinerant business without the license required in §§ 4001 et seq. of this title, with a prior written notice in which the person is granted a reasonable amount of time to cease operations of the itinerant business in question. When the operation of an itinerant business is creating irreparable or continuous harm which affects the public welfare and order, the municipality may issue a written cease and desist order requiring the immediate discontinuation of the business operations. Said order shall caution the owner as to the penalties to which he/she may be subject should he/she persist in the operation of the business and of his/her right to request that said order be reconsidered.
Likewise, the municipalities may intervene with any itinerant business that does not comply with the provisions of this chapter and with the ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant to the latter, and impose the penalties or administrative fines that may be established through ordinance for such noncompliance or infractions. In the case of violation or infractions of the laws and regulations under the jurisdiction of other public agencies, a notice must be immediately sent to the latter requesting that the corresponding action be taken.
It shall be the responsibility of the Municipal Guard to maintain due vigilance and intervene in the violations of the provisions of this chapter and its ordinances and regulations within the framework of §§ 1061 et seq. of this title, known as the “Municipal Guard Act”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.007 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4957 - Contents of municipal ordinances

Every municipal ordinance regulating the location and operation of itinerant businesses shall establish the requirements and procedures for granting, denying, modifying, altering, suspending, revoking and canceling the license and must include, without it being construed as a limitation:
(a) The public and private areas and places in which the location and operation of an itinerant business is prohibited and the standards for its operation.
(b) The various types of licenses to be issued according to the location, operation, manner of goods and services, type of itinerant business and period of time in which it shall operate and any other so deemed.
(c) The amount to be paid for processing and conducting an administrative investigation of the license petitions, and their renewal, if any, and the fees to be paid for issuing and renewing said licenses.
(d) The term of effectiveness of every type of license may not exceed one year and the restrictions and limitations to which it may be subject.
(e) The requirements that every petitioner of a license and every owner and operator of an itinerant business must meet and the standards and procedures for supervising said requirements.
(f) The procedure for filing complaints against itinerant businesses by any person who considers himself/herself harmed by the location or operation of the aforesaid or who has knowledge that an operation is being conducted in violation of the provisions of this chapter or the applicable ordinances and regulations.
(g) The terms and procedures for the judicial reconsideration and revision of the decisions, resolutions, determinations and orders issued by the municipality under this chapter.
(h) The administrative fines and penal sanctions that shall be imposed for violations of the provisions of the ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(i) The administrative unit of the municipality to be delegated with the implementation of this chapter.
Prior to the approval of any ordinance or resolution to regulate the operation and location of itinerant businesses, the Municipal Legislature shall hold public hearings that shall be announced at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearings in a newspaper of general or regional circulation distributed within the territorial boundaries of the municipality in question.
The municipality shall adopt a uniform procedure for adjudicating all matters pertaining to itinerant businesses that shall contain the guarantees granted by due process of law and be similar to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.008 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 239 - Regulation of Mobile Sales Businesses (§§ 4951 — 4958) › § 4958 - Public agencies; obligations

(a) The Department of Transportation and Public Works shall issue regulations specifying the state public roads in which the location and operation of itinerant business may not be authorized. Said regulations and all subsequent amendments to the aforesaid must be remitted to every municipality, with a copy of the aforementioned to the Municipal Legislature, not later than the five (5) days following the date of their approval.
(b) Likewise, every public agency with jurisdiction over government areas and installations susceptible to the location and operation of itinerant businesses must issue rules indicating the requirements, conditions and others under which authorization may be granted for the location of itinerant businesses within their premises. These rules shall be notified to the municipalities in the manner and under the terms provided above.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 20.009 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 103.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 7 - Municipal Property Tax (§§ 5001 — 6756) › PART I (§§ 5001 — 5252) › Chapter 241 - Tax Rate on Real and Personal Property (§§ 5001 — 5011) › § 5003 - Exemptions for new construction

The owners of newly built properties who operate the aforesaid under the provisions of Section 8 of the National Housing Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 659) are hereby exempt from the tax imposed by §§ 5001 and 5002 of this title, corresponding to the taxable years following the approval of this act, as long as they continue to operate under said provisions in order to provide subsidized rental housing to low- or moderate-income families when it is so certified by the Department of Housing of Puerto Rico.
Property owners who have acquired affordable housing projects from the Department of Housing to partially rehabilitate them and use them to provide subsidized rental housing to low- or moderate-income families under the Rental Assistance Program provided by Section 8 of the National Housing Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 659) are also exempt from the tax imposed by §§ 5001 and 5002 of this title, as long as they continue to operate under said provisions and it is so certified by the Department of Housing. This exemption shall apply to all acquisitions of affordable housing projects after fiscal year 1992-93.
In both instances, in addition to complying with the provisions of Section 8 of the National Housing Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 659) it shall be an essential requirement for the owners of these properties to comply with the governing principles established in § 1471 of Title 17.
The Secretary of the Department of Housing shall issue a Certificate of Compliance which shall validate that the owners of the properties comply with the provisions of this section, as well as with the governing principles set forth in §§ 1471-1475 of Title 17 and, therefore, qualify for the exemption provided herein. The filing of the Certificate of Compliance shall be an essential requirement to process the exemption provided herein.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 83, § 2.03; Aug. 9, 1995, No. 130, § 1; Nov. 17, 2015, No. 187, § 44.