reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 252 - Irrigation fund

The proceeds of the sale of the bonds and all moneys accruing by reason of assessments of taxes and sales of water and power within the irrigation district shall, subject to the provisions of § 258 of this title, be deposited in the Treasury of Puerto Rico, in a trust fund to be known as the “Irrigation Fund”, which fund may be subdivided for statistical purposes as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. All expenditures for the construction and maintenance of the irrigation system, and all payments of interest and principal of any debt incurred for the construction of the said system, shall be payable from the said trust fund upon warrant of the Secretary of the Treasury countersigned by the Governor.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 253 - Maintenance and operation; regulations; compromise of claims

Upon the completion of the whole or any part of the Irrigation System, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority shall provide for its maintenance and operation, and shall make and award all necessary contracts and make the necessary bylaws, rules and regulations for patrolling and for the disposition and use of the water in the district; Provided, That the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority be, and it is hereby, authorized and empowered to compromise, whenever in its judgment it should be advisable, any claim not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) that may be made for damages caused to any property or person through the negligence of employees of the Irrigation Service within the district in which the works of the Irrigation Service are situated after an investigation duly made by the Authority and an affirmative opinion rendered by the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico; Provided, That any claim paid in accordance with the authorization granted the Authority shall be paid from irrigation funds.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 10; July 11, 1921, J.R. No. 34, p. 838.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 254 - Sale of surplus water

Should it at any time appear that there is a surplus of water over and above the amount necessary to irrigate all the lands of the Irrigation District, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority shall proceed to sell such surplus water, on public calls for bids upon terms to be approved by the Authority, the proceeds of such sale to be covered into the Irrigation Fund.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 255 - Entry upon and condemnation of property

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, its officers, agents, or employees, shall have the right to enter, after notifying the owner or his representative, upon any lands to make surveys and to locate and establish any of the works contemplated or embraced in said irrigation system, including the lines of any canal, road, tunnel, reservoir site, aqueduct, power station, transmission lines or other requisite, but indemnity shall be paid to the owner for such damages as he may incur in consequence of said works. The Authority shall have power, when necessary, to initiate suits for condemnation in the name of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the acquisition of any land or right embraced within the approved plans of the said irrigation project, and for the purpose of such condemnation proceeding all land and water rights, all rights of way for the transmission of water and electric currents, all sites for reservoirs, canals, roads, tunnels, aqueducts, ditches, power stations, and other things embraced in and contemplated by said irrigation plan so approved, are hereby declared to be works of public utility, and as such are hereby declared subject to the power of eminent domain and open to expropriation proceedings in the manner provided by law. Provided, however, That all said rights and things, together with any existing and outstanding water rights not theretofore surrendered to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may be made subject of condemnation proceedings without compliance with those provisions of law requiring a declaration of public utility by the Governor pursuant to §§ 2902, 2905, 2906, 2911 and 2913 of Title 32, or any other provisions relating to declarations of public utility and; Provided, further, That the Authority shall at all times have authority to acquire for said irrigation system such rights and things wherever possible, by settlement out of court to avoid condemnation proceedings.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 12.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 257 - Water for municipalities and industries

Provision shall be made for the supplying of water to municipalities and manufacturing and industrial enterprises, upon terms and prices to be fixed by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
The amounts realized from the disposition or sale of such water shall be turned into the Irrigation Fund and applied to the decrease of annual assessments.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 22.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 258 - Water power developed in connection with irrigation

Should a potential water power be developed in connection with the construction of the Irrigation System, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is hereby authorized to arrange for the utilization and exploitation thereof as an integral part of the said irrigation system, to the best advantage, either by administration or under franchise to private parties, giving preference in this case to the municipalities and to the property owners comprised in the Irrigation District.
All profits accruing from said power shall be covered into the Irrigation Fund and applied to the decrease of annual assessments until all indebtedness incurred on behalf of the irrigation system has been fully paid, but the right and title to such water power shall remain in the Commonwealth Government, and the income from said work, after all indebtedness has been paid, shall be covered into the Commonwealth Treasury as Commonwealth Revenues until further provision shall have been made by the Legislative Assembly.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 29.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 259 - Use of surplus in irrigation fund

In the event that there remains in the Irrigation Fund any of the proceeds of the sale of the bonds for the irrigation system over and above the amount required for the completion of the construction thereof, and for such other purposes for which bonds may be issued hereunder or under the prior acts authorizing the issue of bonds on account of the irrigation system, such surplus proceeds shall be used for the payment of the principal falling due upon outstanding irrigation bonds at such time as the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority shall determine, or in the event that all such bonds shall have been retired, then for such other purposes connected with the irrigation system as the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority may determine.
History —Sept. 18, 1908, p. 152, § 31; Apr. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, § 32.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 260d - Appropriation to cover balance

If the sum annually set aside by the Electric Power Authority under the provisions of § 212(b)(1) of this title be not sufficient in any fiscal year to permit the withholding of the amounts of money to which §§ 260 and 260c of this title refer, the Secretary of the Treasury shall cover the balance from any funds available in the Treasury, for which purpose such funds are hereby appropriated.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, added as § 11-D on June 18, 1965, No. 54, p. 97, § 5; renumbered as § 11-B and amended on Dec. 6, 1966, No. 3, p. 10, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 260e - Committee; creation and powers

There is hereby created a committee composed of the Secretary of Agriculture, who shall be its Chairman, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, the Executive Director of the Electric Power Authority, and a bona fide water user of the South Coast Irrigation District to be appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico.
The said Committee shall, when it deems it necessary in view of the prevailing circumstances at any time in the South Coast Irrigation District, report to and advise the Legislature on the following:
(a) The amount of the irrigation tax to be levied in any fiscal year on each acre of land included in the South Coast Irrigation District;
(b) the financial and budgetary conditions of the South Coast Irrigation District;
(c) the capacity of the landowners composing the Irrigation District to pay in whole or only a part of the irrigation tax resulting from the apportionment or assessment roll established in this act;
(d) such factors of an economic and agricultural nature that may lead to a fair and reasonable evaluation of the maximum irrigation tax that should be paid so as not to become a burden that might impair the economic operation of the lands under irrigation, and
(e) the necessary amount of government contribution which as a subsidy or aid should be tendered annually to said landowners by the Commonwealth so as to reduce the irrigation tax resulting from the apportionment or assessment roll established, to balance the annual budget of the South Coast Irrigation Service.
Said Committee shall hold such meetings and public hearings as it may deem necessary and shall gather all such data and information as it may consider useful and necessary to the end of fulfilling adequately the above-mentioned information and advisory functions to the Legislature.
For the purposes that the Legislature be in a position of considering again the subsidies and deductions granted under § 260c of this title, the Committee shall render a report with its recommendations to the Legislature not later than October 31, 1974.
The Legislature, after considering the recommendations and advice of the said Committee, shall take the proper measures to establish the irrigation tax to be collected in any fiscal year on the tracts of land integrating the South Coast Irrigation District, as well as the necessary government contribution which, as a subsidy or aid to the landowners of said District, should be made annually to the Irrigation Fund.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, added as § 11-E on June 18, 1965, No. 54, p. 97, § 6; renumbered as § 11-C and amended on Dec. 26, 1966, No. 3, p. 10, § 3; June 27, 1969, No. 98, p. 270, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 260f - Withholdings

The withholdings authorized by §§ 260 and 260c of this title shall be in addition to and shall enjoy the same order of priority as the withholding of funds authorized by § 1 of Act No. 46 of June 4, 1960, in regard to rural electrification projects and for those purposes previously provided by laws of the Legislature.
History —Dec. 6, 1966, No. 3, p. 10, § 4, eff. July 1, 1967.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 260g - Listing of included lands

The landowners included in the South Coast Irrigation District shall, in order to be entitled to the subsidy established in § 260c of this title, file with the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than January 31, 1967, and on the same date in subsequent years, a report listing their lands included in the Irrigation District and giving the number of each tract or subtract, as it appears from the Official Roster of Tracts of the South Coast Irrigation District, the acreage and the irrigable area in acres. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, after the data mentioned in that report are verified in the herein stated Official Roster, make the corresponding computations and adjustments for the granting of the subsidy provided by § 260c of this title for the purposes of issuing the corresponding tax receipts from and after July 1, 1967.
History —Dec. 6, 1966, No. 3, p. 10, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 261 - Proportionate shares of taxes; subdivision of tracts

Each tract of land shall be made liable only for its proportionate share of taxes determined as herein provided. In case any tract of land shall become subdivided, each subdivision shall be liable only for the proportionate amount of taxes thereafter assessable on it, considered as a separate tract. In case of any such subdivision of land entitled to credits for water rights, such credits shall be divided among the tracts into which the original tract is subdivided in proportion to the area of each subdivision.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, § 15.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 262 - Standard amount of water

The amount of water which shall be set as a standard for the establishment of both the temporary and permanent irrigation districts shall be four (4) acre feet per acre per annum, the said standard to be applied on the basis of fair average years.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, § 18.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 263 - Hours of labor in irrigation service

Owing to the nature of the work now being performed, or to be performed hereafter, by the Irrigation Service, and in order not to render the work of the said Irrigation Service ineffective or unduly difficult and expensive, it is hereby provided that “An Act to establish the duration of the official working day”, approved March 10, 1904, shall be held not to apply to work performed by the employees of the said Irrigation Service.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, § 30.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 264 - Loans from Treasury or banks

If there shall be in the Irrigation Fund an insufficient amount to pay for principal, interest, or other charges payable out of the said fund, or if the said fund shall at any time become temporarily exhausted, then the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico may, in anticipation of the collection of assessments from either the temporary or the permanent irrigation district, or in anticipation of the sale of bonds provided for herein, pay such charges out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, charging the same to the Irrigation Fund, and reimbursing said fund when there are sufficient funds therefor, together with interest at four percent (4%) per annum.
When the condition of the general funds of the Treasury does not permit these advances, the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico shall be empowered, with the approval of the Governor of Puerto Rico, to obtain loans from the banks for a sum not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), at the lowest rate of interest obtainable, which shall in no case exceed six percent (6%) per annum, such loans, together with interest thereon at the rate at which the loans were secured, to be repaid from the Irrigation Fund of the South Coast, as soon as there may be a sufficient amount available for that purpose in said fund.
History —Aug. 8, 1913, No. 128, p. 54, § 31; Apr. 24, 1929, No. 35, p. 212.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 265 - Additional irrigation district

An additional irrigation district is hereby authorized to be formed comprising those lands adjacent to or near the irrigation district of the South Coast which may be irrigated by means of extensions or accessory installations to the irrigation system which was built and is in operation in accordance with the provisions of the Public Irrigation Law, approved September 18, 1908, and of subsequent laws amendatory thereof, §§ 251—259 of this title.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, § 1, eff. 90 days after May 12, 1934.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 266 - Additional irrigation district—Incorporation in original district

The said additional irrigation district as it begins to function on a trial basis shall be incorporated, and when permanently formed, shall continue incorporated with the irrigation district which was formed and operates under the provisions of the Public Irrigation Law, approved September 18, 1908, and of later laws amendatory thereof, §§ 251—259 of this title, becoming then extensive and applicable to the lands included in the additional irrigation districts all parts of said laws which are applicable to and are not inconsistent with the provisions of §§ 265—270 of this title.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, § 10, eff. 90 days after May 12, 1934.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 267 - Additional irrigation district—Standard amount of water

The amount of water which shall be set as a standard for the establishment of the additional irrigation district, both during its trial period and when it enters into permanent operation, shall be four (4) acre-feet per acre per annum.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, § 15; May 11, 1944, No. 93, p. 202, eff. 90 days after May 11, 1944.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 268 - Additional irrigation district—Right to use of water

Subject to the conditions established in §§ 265—270 of this title, the lands to be included in the additional irrigation district shall enjoy the right to the use of water of the irrigation system which is hereby assigned to said lands, with the same privileges, obligations and limitations established with respect to the lands included in the present irrigation district under the provisions of § 256 of this title, said § 256 of this title being, therefore, applicable to the additional irrigation district insofar as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of §§ 265—270 of this title.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, § 16, eff. 90 days after May 12, 1934.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 270 - Additional irrigation district—Revenues deposited into irrigation fund; payment of expenses

All revenues derived from the operation of the additional irrigation district whether coming from the tax levied on the lands included in the district, or from the sale of surplus water or from any other source, shall be deposited into the said Irrigation Fund. Said Fund shall also be applied to cover all expenses of construction and of operation of the additional irrigation district in the same form that it is applied to cover like expenses of the irrigation district already established and in operation.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, § 19, eff. 90 days after May 12, 1934.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 270a - Tax reduction

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 269 of this title, on and after July 1, 1967 and for the fiscal year 1967-68 and subsequent fiscal years, the Secretary of the Treasury, after computing the assessment as stated in the said § 269, shall apply to the amount of the irrigation tax to be paid, deducting therefrom as a subsidy, the amount of money that may be necessary to exempt the lands included in the Additional Irrigation District from the payment of the tax levied to defray the annual cost of the electricity and fuel which may be consumed in the operation of the pumps which may be installed for lifting the waters to the lands of the said additional district, including in said exemption the payment of the additional amount of five (5) cents for each acre of land and for each foot of elevation that the waters shall have to be pumped above the limit of one hundred (100) feet of lift, as provided by § 269 of this title.
The tax receipts issued by the Secretary of the Treasury for all and each one of the tracts included in the additional district shall state the tax reduction that as a subsidy, the Commonwealth Government hereby grants; Provided, That commencing with fiscal year 1967 the Electric Power Authority is hereby empowered to withhold from the five percent (5%) of its gross receipts that the Electric Power Authority annually sets aside according to § 212(b)(1) of this title, such amounts as may be necessary to refund to and cover into the South Coast Irrigation Fund any decrease in the receipts of the Irrigation Service that may result by reason of the reduction of the tax of the additional irrigation district herein granted.
The withholdings herein authorized shall be in addition to, and shall enjoy the same priority as the withholdings of funds authorized by this § 1 of Act No. 46 of June 4, 1960, with regards to the rural electrification projects and for those purposes previously provided through laws of the Legislative Assembly.
If the amount which is annually set aside by the Electric Power Authority by virtue of the provisions of § 212(b)(1) of this title, is not sufficient in any fiscal year to permit that the amounts to which this section refers be withheld, the Secretary of the Treasury shall settle the difference with any funds available in the Treasury for which purposes the said funds are hereby appropriated.
History —May 12, 1934, No. 44, p. 344, added as § 19-A on June 14, 1967, No. 133, p. 422.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 271 - Special tax on other lands supplied with water—Levy

A special tax is hereby levied in addition to other taxes already fixed by law, on all parcels of land which for irrigation purposes are supplied with water from the southern coast public irrigation system constructed and in operation pursuant to the provisions of the Public Irrigation Law and amendments thereto, §§ 251—259 of this title but which under the present Irrigation Law in no way contribute to the payment of expenses for the maintenance of said system.
History —July 8, 1921, No. 49, p. 366, § 1, eff. 90 days after July 8, 1921.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 273 - Sale or lease of filtration water

After said irrigation system shall have been established and in operation, any filtration water in or from the channels of streams within the said irrigation district, may be leased or sold by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or it may divert by channels or by installing and operating pumps, or otherwise, such filtration waters for use in any canal of the irrigation system or for lease for irrigation or other purposes. Any sale or lease of said filtration water shall be made upon terms and conditions to be approved by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
History —Mar. 9, 1911, No. 74, p. 237, § 4; Mar. 17, 1916, No. 3, p. 38.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 274 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Establishment

Any property included in an irrigation district which is receiving water from the irrigation service, except when the water is received in compensation for grants waived for the benefit of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall be subject upon the sale or exchange thereof, to the right of redemption hereby established in favor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to settle the disposal treated of, as to the irrigable portion of said property.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 1, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 275 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Period for redemption

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may exercise this right of redemption within the term of three (3) months from and after the registration of the sale or exchange if the Legislature should be in session. If not in session, within the term of three (3) months from and after the day when the session of the Legislature subsequent to the date of the registration of the sale or exchange begins.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 2, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 276 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Reimbursement of purchaser

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico cannot exercise the right of redemption without reimbursing the purchaser or person making the exchange, for the price of the sale or exchange of the portion sought to be redeemed, for the proportional part of the expenses of the contract, and for any other necessary or useful expenses incurred by the person acquiring the property which is the object of redemption.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 3, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 277 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Funds for redemption

The Rural Housing Administration of the Land Authority is hereby authorized to devote any part of the funds at its disposal for the acquisition by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of property subject to the right of redemption in its favor to be devoted to the purposes of the Homestead Act.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 4, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 278 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Use of redeemed property

Such property as may be acquired by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico using the right of redemption established by §§ 274—279 of this title shall be devoted to the carrying out of the purposes of the Homestead Act.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 5, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 13 - Puerto Rico Irrigation Service, South Coast (§§ 251 — 279) › § 279 - Commonwealth’s right of redemption upon sale of irrigated lands—Actual price as conclusive evidence

The actual price of the purchase and sale or exchange of properties subject to the right of redemption is conclusive evidence against the purchaser, for all purposes, including taxation on the real value of the property referred to.
History —May 1, 1928, No. 63, p. 482, § 6, eff. 90 days after May 1, 1928.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 301 - Location; appropriation

The sum of two hundred thousand ($200,000) dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the purpose of carrying to completion the preparation of plans and specifications for the construction of an irrigation system for the district situated approximately between the Guajataca river on the east and the town of Aguadilla on the west, including the irrigable lands in the municipalities of Isabela, Moca and Aguadilla, and for the commencement and prosecution of the work of construction thereof, and expenses connected therewith, until such time as sufficient funds shall be available in the Treasury from the sale of the bonds provided for such purpose by legislative enactment.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 1, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 302 - Isabela Irrigation Fund

The proceeds of the sale of the bonds and all moneys accruing by reason of assessments of taxes and sale of water and power within the temporary and permanent irrigation districts hereinafter provided for, shall, subject to the provisions of § 309 of this title, be deposited in the Treasury of Puerto Rico, in a trust fund to be known as the “Isabela Irrigation Fund”, which fund may be subdivided for statistical purposes as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe.
All expenditures for the construction and maintenance of the irrigation system, and all payments of interest and principal of any debt incurred for the construction of the said system, shall be payable from the said trust fund, and such payments and disbursements shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with law.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 3, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 303 - Irrigation engineer and assistants

The Secretary of Transportation and Public Works is hereby authorized to employ a competent irrigation engineer, and such assistants as may be necessary.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 5, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 304 - Entry upon and condemnation of property

The Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, his officers, agents or employees shall have the right to enter, after notifying the owner or his representative, upon any lands to make surveys and to locate and establish any of the works contemplated or embraced in said irrigation system, including the lines of any canal, road, tunnel, reservoir site, aqueduct, power station, transmission lines or other requisite; but indemnity shall be paid to the owner for such damages as he may incur in consequence of such works. The Secretary of Transportation and Public Works shall have the power, when necessary, to initiate condemnation proceedings in the name of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for the acquisition of any land or right embraced within the approved plans of the said irrigation project, and for the purpose of such condemnation proceeding all land, all rights-of-way for the transmission of water and electric currents, all sites for reservoirs, canals, roads, tunnels, aqueducts, ditches, power stations, and other things embraced in and contemplated by said irrigation plan so approved, are hereby declared to be works of public utility and, as such, subject to the power of eminent domain and open to expropriation proceedings in the manner provided by law; Provided, however, That all said rights and things may be made subject of condemnation proceedings without compliance with those provisions of law requiring a declaration of public utility by the Governor pursuant to §§ 2902, 2905, 2906, 2911, and 2913 of Title 32, or any other provisions of law relating to declarations of public utility; and Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works shall at all times have authority to acquire for said irrigation system such rights and things wherever possible, by settlement out of court to avoid condemnation proceedings; and, Provided, further, That the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works is hereby authorized and empowered to exchange, with the approval of the Council of Secretaries, watering troughs for cattle for any land that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may need to acquire for the construction, maintenance or operation of the main canal and of the high laterals of the said irrigation system.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 10, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 305 - Maintenance and operation; regulations; compromise of claims

Upon the completion of the whole or any part of the irrigation system, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works shall provide for its maintenance and administration and shall make and award all necessary contracts and make the necessary bylaws, rules and regulations for the patrolling of, and for the distribution and use of the water in, the temporary and permanent irrigation districts; Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works is hereby authorized and empowered to compromise, when, in his judgment, it is advisable to do so, any claim not exceeding one thousand ($1,000) dollars, filed for damages to property or to any person, caused by the negligence of the employees of the Isabela Irrigation Service within the district where the works of the irrigation service are located, after an investigation has been duly made by the Chief Engineer of the Isabela Irrigation Service, and after a favorable opinion thereon has been rendered by the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico; Provided, That every claim allowed in accordance with the authority vested in the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works shall be paid out of the funds of the Isabela Irrigation Service.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 11; May 11, 1937, J.R. No. 38, p. 606; May 6, 1938, No. 130, p. 271, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 307 - Proportionate shares of taxes; subdivision of tracts

Each tract of land shall be made liable only for its proportionate share of taxes determined as herein provided. In case any tract of land shall become subdivided, each subdivision shall be liable only for the proportionate amount of taxes thereafter assessable thereon, considered as a separate tract; Provided, That when any tract of land included in the Isabela Permanent Irrigation District is divided due to a partition of a succession, sale or other right among two or more owners, those located uppermost are under the obligation to yield passage to the waters as an aqueduct easement for the irrigation of those landowners located at a lower level, without right to compensation, unless an agreement has otherwise been made.
Any landowner of a tract included in the Isabela Permanent Irrigation District shall be bound, before segregating or dividing same, to notify his intention to such respect to the Electric Power Authority for the purpose that the segregated tract or tracts may receive irrigation water and also to allow the latter to advise them on the best use of the allotment waters that would correspond to each segregated tract, as well as on the manner in which same shall pay taxes under §§ 301-315 of this title and on the cost of the works to be performed, if any, for the delivery and distribution of water.
If on account of the division of a tract of land it is necessary to incur additional expenses for the delivery and distribution of water to the different segregated tracts or to the remaining part of the tract, such expenses shall be paid by the respective landowners affected.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 32; Apr. 20, 1970, No. 12, p. 28, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 308 - Standard amount of water

The amount of water which shall be set as a standard for the establishment of both the temporary and permanent irrigation districts shall be four (4) acre-feet per acre per annum, the said standard to be applied on the basis of fair average years; Provided, however, That should it appear at any time after the establishment of the district that the supply of water is insufficient to furnish to each acre in the said districts the full standard amount of four (4) acre-feet, then each acre in the said district shall receive its proportionate share of the amount available.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 33, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 310 - Sale or lease of filtration waters

After said irrigation system shall have been established and in operation, any filtration water in or from the channels of streams within the said irrigation district, may be leased or sold by the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, or he may divert by channels or by installing and operating pumps, or otherwise, such filtration waters for use in any canal of the irrigation system or for lease for irrigation or other purposes. Any sale or lease of said filtration water shall be made upon terms and conditions to be approved by the Council of Secretaries.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 35, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 311 - Water for municipalities, industries, and livestock

Provision shall be made for the supplying of water to municipalities and manufacturing and industrial enterprises and for the watering of livestock, upon terms to be fixed by the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works subject to the approval of the Council of Secretaries.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 36, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 312 - Water power developed in connection with irrigation

Should a potential water power be developed in connection with the construction of the irrigation system, the Commissioner of the Interior is hereby authorized to arrange for the utilization and exploitation thereof as an integral part of the said irrigation system by administration; Provided, however, That the rates for the sale of such power shall be approved by the Public Service Commission of Puerto Rico.
All profits accruing from said power shall be covered into the Isabela Irrigation Fund and applied subject to the provisions hereinbefore provided (§§ 24 and 29), to the decrease of annual assessments until all indebtedness incurred on behalf of the irrigation system has been fully paid; but the right and title of ownership to such water power shall remain in the Insular Government, and the income from said work, after all indebtedness has been paid, shall be covered into the Insular Treasury as Insular revenues, until otherwise provided by the Legislative Assembly.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 37, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 313 - Hours of labor of employees

Owing to the nature of the work to be performed hereafter, by the employees engaged in the construction, operation or maintenance of the Isabela Irrigation System, and in order not to render the work on the said irrigation system ineffective or unduly difficult and expensive, it is hereby provided that “An act to establish the duration of the official working day”, approved March 10, 1904, shall be held not to apply to work performed by the employees engaged on the work of the said irrigation system.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 38, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 314 - Loans in anticipation of assessments and bonds

If the amount in the Isabela Irrigation Fund be insufficient to pay the principal, interest or other charges payable out of the said fund, or if this fund shall at any time become temporarily exhausted, and in case the Legislature has not provided means for remedying such condition, then the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico may, in anticipation of the collection of assessments from either the temporary or the permanent irrigation district, or in anticipation of the sale of bonds which shall have been previously authorized by legislative enactment on account of the irrigation system provided herein, pay such charges out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, charging the same to the Isabela Irrigation Fund, or by borrowing from the banks for such time as may be necessary and at the most advantageous rate of interest obtainable, which in no case shall exceed six percent (6%) a year and repaying the same out of said fund when there is a sufficient amount therefor, together with interest at three percent (3%) per annum, as regards advances made by the Commonwealth Treasury, and at such rate of interest as may have been agreed upon in cases of bank loans; Provided, however, That interest shall not be charged on advances made by the Treasury, as before provided, until such time as the Legislature may so determine.
The amounts appropriated by the Legislature from year to year, as provided in § 306 of this title, for the purpose of making provision for the amortization of the principal of the bonds maturing in any fiscal year, the payment of the interest, the operation and maintenance, and the deficit, of the preceding year, shall be in the form of loans; and for the purpose of reimbursing to the Commonwealth Government, wholly or partly, the said amounts plus interest thereon as hereinafter provided, the Legislature shall extend, whenever it deems it advisable, the period during which the maximum assessment of fifteen ($15) dollars an acre a year, as provided in § 306 of this title, is to continue in force, or shall make provision therefor in such other manner or form as it may consider justified for such purpose.
The aforesaid loans shall bear interest at the rate of three percent (3%) a year, which interest shall begin to run on such date as the Legislature may determine in the future.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 39; Apr. 21, 1928, No. 29, p. 178, § 2; May 15, 1931, No. 96, p. 578, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 315 - Disposition of surplus in irrigation fund

In the event that there remain in the Isabela Irrigation Fund any of the proceeds of the sale of the bonds for the irrigation system over and above the amount required for the completion of the construction thereof, and for such other purposes, for which bonds may be issued hereunder or under the act or acts authorizing the issue of bonds on account of the irrigation system, such surplus proceeds shall be used for the payment of the principal falling due upon outstanding irrigation bonds at such time as the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico, with the approval of the Governor, shall determine, or in the event that all such bonds shall have been retired, then for such other purposes connected with the irrigation system as the Governor may determine.
History —June 19, 1919, No. 63, p. 348, § 40, eff. 90 days after June 19, 1919.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 316 - Government investment in cooperative associations in Isabela irrigation district—Authorization

The Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico is hereby authorized to purchase stock or bonds, up to the sum of fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars, of such cooperative associations as are, or as may be, established in the public irrigation district of Isabela, to the end of facilitating credit to the agriculturists above-mentioned in order to grant them crop loans on the different crops which they cultivate.
History —May 15, 1938, No. 303, p. 537, § 1; Aug. 25, 1950, No. 9, p. 24, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 317 - Government investment in cooperative associations in Isabela irrigation district—Regulations

The Governor is hereby authorized to approve all such rules and regulations as may be necessary to put §§ 316—318 of this title into effect.
History —May 15, 1938, No. 303, p. 537, § 2; Aug. 25, 1950, No. 9, p. 24, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 15 - Isabela Irrigation System (§§ 301 — 318) › § 318 - Government investment in cooperative associations in Isabela irrigation district—Appropriations

Said sum of fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary to put §§ 316-318 of this title into effect, shall be appropriated out of any available funds in the Commonwealth Treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
History —May 15, 1938, No. 303, p. 537, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 17 - Southwestern Puerto Rico Project or Lajas Valley Project (§§ 341 — 389) › Subchapter I - Construction of Irrigation System (§§ 341 — 347) › § 341 - Duties of Authority

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, hereinafter named the Authority, is hereby empowered and directed to take such steps and make such surveys as may be necessary, in the name and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, for the construction, whether by force account or by contract, of the Irrigation System proper of the Southwestern Puerto Rico Project (known also as the Lajas Valley Project), which includes the additional works that, independently of those of that part of the project common to the hydroelectric and irrigation purposes of same, are necessary for the regulation, conduction, and distribution of the water for irrigation and other purposes.
History —Aug. 27, 1952, No. 23, p. 250, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 17 - Southwestern Puerto Rico Project or Lajas Valley Project (§§ 341 — 389) › Subchapter I - Construction of Irrigation System (§§ 341 — 347) › § 342 - Entry upon property

For the carrying out of the purposes of §§ 341—347 of this title and for the performance of the duties and functions which the same imposes on the Authority, the latter is hereby empowered, after notifying the owner or his representative, to enter any tract of land or property which the Authority deems it necessary or advisable to enter in order to make surveys, measurements, appraisals and investigations of whatever kind or nature.
History —Aug. 27, 1952, No. 23, p. 250, § 2.