2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 13 - Department of Treasury (§§ 221 — 286) › § 283a - Declaration of policy

The policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in relation to the control and accounting of the public funds and property is declared to be:
(a) That the function to design and revise the accounting systems and the payment and revenue proceedings and to produce financial reports of the operations of the dependencies and corporate entities of the government, as this term is defined in § 283b of this title, be vested in the executive branch in a central body so as to establish an integral system that will permit the grouping and presentation of all the information in connection with the result of the financial operations of the government;
(b) that the accounting of the Government of Puerto Rico clearly reflect the results of its financial operations, provide the financial information necessary for the administration of the governmental operations and for the preparation and execution of the budget, and constitute an effective control on the revenues, disbursements, funds, property and other assets of the government;
(c) that in establishing the accounting systems there should be taken into consideration specially the needs and responsibilities of the Judicial, Legislative and Executive Branches, so that they may provide the financial information necessary for the preparation, approval, and execution of the budget;
(d) that emphasis be given to improvements in an orderly manner resulting in accounting systems, financial statements and payment and revenue proceedings and simple and effective preaudits;
(e) that there be previous control of all government operations; that said control be developed within each dependency, corporate entity or legislative body, so that it may serve as an effective weapon for the head of the dependency, corporate entity or legislative body, in the development of the program or programs the direction of which has been entrusted to him/her. Such internal control shall operate independently from the general previous control established for all operations of every government branch;
(f) that regardless of the general previous control established for all operations of every government branch, the heads of dependencies, corporate entities or legislative bodies be in the first instance those responsible for the legality, correctness, exactitude, necessity and propriety of the fiscal operations needed to conduct their respective programs;
(g) that the expenditure of the government be made within a range of utility and austerity;
(h) that the appropriations of funds for the different government programs be restricted to the needs of a single fiscal year;
(i) that no special funds be established to carry out government programs; government programs must be financed by means of annual budgetary appropriations;
(j) that all the revenues of the government be covered into the General Fund of the Commonwealth Treasury in order to use such funds for the government programs to the limit and extent that the Legislative Assembly may deem necessary.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 230, Part 2, p. 183, § 2; June 11, 2004, No. 140, § 1.