2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART IX - Economic Development II (§§ 11001 — 11273) › Chapter 258 - Puerto Rico Integrated Transit Authority (§§ 11161 — 11181) › § 11176 - Transfers and transitory measures

(a) Highways and Transportation Authority.—
(1) The Highways and Transportation Authority is hereby authorized to transfer to the Authority, subject to the consent and approval of third parties as may be necessary to make such transfer, all the powers, authorities, obligations, functions, rights, contracts, agreements, programs, properties, accounts, records, appropriations, allocations, funds, and other assets, among other resources, exemptions, and privileges of the Highways and Transportation Authority, exclusively related to public transportation and rail transport facilities,
along with their corresponding funds, assets, allocations, appropriations, rights, records, supplies, equipment, properties, and resources existing after the effective date of this act.
(2) Upon previous consent and approval of third parties, as may be necessary, once the transfers authorized under clause (1) of this subsection are made, any debt, liability, responsibility, obligation, and agreement of the Highways and Transportation Authority exclusively related to public transportation and rail transport facilities shall be deemed to be transferred to and imposed on the Authority. Provided, however, That if it is necessary to obtain the previous consent and approval of third parties to transfer any debt, liability, responsibility, obligation, and agreement of the Highways and Transportation Authority to the Authority, the latter shall be required to pay and satisfy on behalf of the Highways and Transportation Authority such debt, liability, responsibility, obligation, and agreement of the Highways and Transportation Authority exclusively related to public transportation and rail transport facilities while it obtains such consent or approval or in the event it fails to attain the same.
(b) This chapter shall not invalidate any contract duly executed by the Highways Authority, if any, that is in effect as of the date of approval of this act, and said contract shall continue to be in effect until the date of termination agreed thereupon, unless such contract includes clauses providing for the cancellation thereof before the date of the approval of this act, or if the contract in question thus allows. None of the provisions of this chapter shall be understood as to revoke, modify, alter, ratify, or invalidate any agreement or contract in effect and entered into by the officers with authority to execute the same regarding the programs and functions transferred under this act as of the effective date thereof. Any property of the Highways Authority that is transferred to the Authority and which has been mortgaged, encumbered, or that has been pledged as guarantee in favor of any bondholder or other creditor of the Highways Authority shall continue to be subject to said mortgage, encumbrance, or secured interest until said mortgage, encumbrance, or secured interest is cancelled or terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions thereof.
(c) After the transfers authorized under this section are made, any bondholder or other creditor of the Highways Authority exclusively related to public transportation and rail transport facilities, and any person who has filed a claim or has entered into a contract of any type with the Highways Authority exclusively related to public transportation and rail transport facilities shall be entitled to require to the Authority to settle said debts and claims, and honor such contracts in the same manner as the Highways Authority would be required to do so. The remedies available for such bondholders, creditors, and persons entitled to such claims or contracts shall not be limited or otherwise restricted by this chapter.
(d) Upon previous consent or approval of third parties, as may be necessary, the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority are hereby merged into the Authority. The merger of the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority into the Authority shall be effective, respectively, thirty (30) days after the later of: (1) the consent, designation, qualification, permit, or approval of third parties as are necessary to carry out the same are obtained (including but not limited to obtaining consents, grant closeouts, designations, qualifications, permits, or approvals, as may be issued by the Federal Transit Administration for said merger to take effect); or (2) July 1 st, 2014. However, if in the judgment of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico it is necessary or convenient to grant additional time for the merger of the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority into the Authority to take effect, the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico is hereby authorized to extend the effective date of the merger of the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority into the Authority for additional periods of six (6) months or such period of time deemed necessary or convenient by the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
The Executive Director of the Authority, the Secretary, the President of the Metropolitan Bus Authority, and the Executive Director of the Maritime Transport Authority are hereby empowered to adopt any measures and carry out any transactions as are necessary to ensure that the consent or approval of third parties, which is needed for implementing the merger of the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority into the Authority is obtained.
Once the merger of the Metropolitan Bus Authority and the Maritime Transport Authority into the Authority takes effect, as provided for in this chapter:
(1) For all intents and purposes of the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the separate juridical personality of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be), and the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be) shall be merged into the Authority along with all the rights, privileges, authorities, and franchises, both public and private, and subject to all the restrictions, inabilities, and duties of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be).
(2) All the rights, funds, appropriations, privileges, powers, and franchises of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be), and all the real and personal property, and the credits of any kind in favor of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be), including rights or property that may be claimed or owned by the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority (as the case may be), shall be transferred to the Authority.
(3) All the property, rights, privileges, powers, and franchises, and, without exceptions, any other interest shall consequently be part of the assets of the Authority to the same extent as when they were assets of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority, respectively.
(4) The title of any real property acquired by the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority shall not be reverted nor shall they be impaired in any way under this chapter.
(5) Any rights of creditors as well as any lien on any properties of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority, as the case may be, shall subsist without any impairment whatsoever.
(6) Any debt, obligation, and duty of the Metropolitan Bus Authority or the Maritime Transport Authority shall become hereinafter the debts, obligations, and duties of the Authority and may be claimed as if such debts, obligations, and duties were incurred by the Authority.
(7) The Authority and all of its components shall be required to close their fiscal year with a balanced budget. For such purpose, any necessary fiscal adjustments may be made in accordance with the sound public administration principles. Any obligation incurred or negotiation conducted shall be consistent with the fiscal reality of each component. Moreover, the labor unions and bona fide associations of the components covered under this chapter shall be recognized.
(e) The Executive Director of the Authority, the Secretary and the Executive Director of the Highways and Transportation Authority are hereby empowered to adopt any measures and take any actions as are necessary to ensure the effective transfer of powers, authorities, obligations, properties, and other resources transferred by virtue of this chapter, so that the programs carried out and the services rendered until now by the Highways and Transportation Authority are not affected or interrupted. The Executive Director of the Authority, the Secretary and the Executive Director of the Highways and Transportation Authority are hereby empowered to solicit, transact, negotiate, and obtain any authorization, consent, or approval of third parties as are necessary to transfer the powers, authorities, obligations, employees, agreements, properties and other resources transferred hereunder.
(f) The Executive Director of the Authority, the Secretary and the Executive Director of the Highways and Transportation Authority are hereby empowered to prepare the legal instruments needed to make the transfer of property to the Authority official and file them with the Property Registry.
(g) The Authority, the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Highways and Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Bus Authority, and the Maritime Transport Authority (these last two, before the merger into the Authority takes effect) are hereby empowered to enter into contracts and agreements whereby the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Highways and Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Bus Authority, and the Maritime Transport Authority, as the case may be, agree to commit to provide to the Authority any administrative, technical and/or operating services that are needed for the administration and operation of the Authority. However, these agreements and contracts shall not establish an employer-employee relation between the Authority and the employees or officials of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Highways and Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Bus Authority, and the Maritime Transport Authority, as the case may be, rendering the corresponding service.
(h) Any pending administrative procedure, case, complaint, or charge for violations of the laws, or part thereof, or regulations amended, repealed or affected by this chapter that have occurred prior to the effective date of this act shall continue to be processed by the Authority under the applicable legal provisions in effect at the time the violation was committed. If the pending administrative procedure is dropped it cannot be initiated anew, notwithstanding the legislation or regulations under which it was originally filed thus allow. No civil action initiated with respect to the restructuring of any laws, or part thereof, amended, repealed, or affected by this chapter, and pending before the effective date of this act or any applicable law shall be affected by any repeal or modification provided for in this chapter.
(i) The Secretary and the Board shall be empowered to take the necessary transitory measures for the implementation of this chapter without interrupting the regular operations of public transportation, maritime transport, and rail transport facilities affected thereby. Likewise, the Secretary and the Board may carry out such additional internal reorganizations as are necessary for the proper operation of the Authority.
(j) None of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to require the Authority to pay on behalf of the Highways and Transportation Authority any bonds issued by the Highways and Transportation Authority unless the Authority has agreed thereupon previously.
(k) The Special Puerto Rico Public Transportation Restructuring Fund is hereby created under the custody of the Office of Management and Budget for the purpose of promoting the optimum development of integrated public transportation, including during the transition period the operating expenses of the Maritime Transport Authority and the Metropolitan Bus Authority. The first thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) collected on account of the amnesty provided under Act No. 73-2013 shall be deposited in the Special Fund. Furthermore, the Director of the Office of Management of Budget is hereby authorized to transfer the balances of special funds that are replenished with the amounts collected on account of traffic tickets, including, but not limited to the fines established under §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 9, known as the “Puerto Rico Vehicle and Traffic Act”, which are destined to the Office of the Director of Driver’s Services attached to the Department of Transportation and Public Works up to a cumulative total of five million dollars ($5,000,000) to replenish the Special Puerto Rico Public Transportation Restructuring Fund.
History —Aug. 3, 2014, No. 123, § 17.