2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 215 - Municipal Finances (§§ 4351 — 4367) › § 4359 - Special provision for election years

During the period comprised between July 1 of each year that general elections are held and the date the new officials-elect take office, the municipality shall not incur obligations or expenditures that exceed fifty percent (50%) of the budget approved for the fiscal year. To such purposes, the official in charge of finances shall abstain from registering or certifying any order that exceeds the limits established in this section.
This limitation shall not apply to the following:
(1) Interest, amortization and settlement of the municipal public debt;
(2) other statutory expenditures and obligations;
(3) the payment of sentences of the courts of justice;
(4) amount needed to cover any deficit from the previous fiscal year;
(5) expenditures that legally bind the municipality for contracts already executed;
(6) capital improvements;
(7) the purchase and repair of equipment;
(8) the celebration of patron saint feast days or holidays when a separate account has been set aside for the celebration in the general expenses budget resolution, and
(9) withholding made by the center for the collection of statutory or contractual debts contracted with the Central Government.
The legislature shall not authorize the municipality to incur expenses and obligations in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the budget appropriation, during the term indicated above. The legislature may authorize transfers between on [sic] committed credit accounts from July 1st to December 31st of the year that general elections are held. The accounts used to attend basic needs and services to the community, such as prescription drugs and medications, payment of prescriptions and laboratory tests, solid waste disposal, and other similar basic services offered to the community, may be increased, but not reduced to be transferred to other accounts. In the case of accounts to pay employee salaries, the legislature shall only authorize the use of fifty percent (50%) of the available funds or credits for regular or confidential employees not covered during the period of July 1st through December 31st of the year that general elections are held. This will allow the availability of funds that correspond to the vacancies for new appointments.
During this same period of time the municipality shall not commit itself in leasing or service contracts except in those cases or situations in which the essential services to the community could be threatened with interruption, or are interrupted.
Not later than October 15 of each general election year, the mayor shall provide to the Local Elections Commission of the precinct in which City Hall is located, a detailed listing of all the accounting registers as of September 30 of said election year corresponding to its budget accounts, assets, liabilities, income and expenses by funds. Said listing shall include the balances in any books or subsystems which are deemed to be necessary to ensure the integrity of the data on said date.
The Local Elections Commission shall return this information to the legislature within two (2) days following the date the elected mayor takes office.
The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall establish through regulations the procedure and norms to ensure the custody of said information.
Whenever the Commonwealth Election Commission issues a preliminary certification in which it is determined that an incumbent mayor has been reelected, the provisions in this section shall be rendered ineffective as of the date on which said preliminary certification is issued. However, if the preliminary certification shows a difference of one hundred (100) votes or less or of one-half of one percent of the total votes, deposited in the ballot box, between the two candidates to the office of mayor, thus giving rise to the possibility of issuing a petition for recount, or if a challenge of the election of an incumbent is pending, it shall be necessary to wait for the Commonwealth Election Commission to issue an official certification of election (or on the date in which the elected official is sworn to office, whichever occurs first) to be able to render ineffective the provisions of this section.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 8.009; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 37; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 30; Aug. 10, 1997, No. 68, § 1.