2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-EIGHT - Public Lands (§§ 1 — 737) › PART III - Housing Development And Improvements Administration (§§ 521 — 737) › Chapter 61 - Elimination of Civic Unemployment in Puerto Rico (§§ 661 — 668) › § 662 - Powers and duties of Secretary of Agriculture

The Secretary of Agriculture shall, for the carrying out of the ends and purposes of this chapter, have the following powers, faculties, and duties:
(1) To prepare and adopt such regulations as may be necessary for the carrying out of the purposes of this chapter.
(2) To examine, approve, amend, or deny requests for financial aid, or for any other kind of aid, submitted for the carrying out of any improvement project in Puerto Rico; Provided, That in order that a project may be approved, the following points shall be established:
(a) That the project is necessary for the general welfare of Puerto Rico.
(b) That there is a willingness to employ in the work all available resources, such as labor and materiel obtainable, and to supply the place for carrying out the project, as well as the largest possible financial contribution.
(c) That the total value of the factors mentioned in clause (b) of this subsection is not less than forty percent (40%) of the total cost of the completed project; Provided, That in cases in which exceptional circumstances intervene, the Secretary of Agriculture of Puerto Rico may accept a contribution of not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total cost of the project.
(d) That if the aid requested were not approved, the project could not be carried out.
(e) There shall be submitted detailed and practical plans for carrying out the project, and plans, also, for the utilization and maintenance of the same upon its completion.
(f) There shall be furnished a detailed history of the project and its growth and development right from the time it was first conceived of, and such history shall show that the majority of the people want the project.
(3) To acquire by purchase, condemnation, donation, exchange, or any other lawful means, as well as to rent, any kind of property, real or personal, for carrying out the ends and purposes of this chapter; Provided, That the transactions necessary for carrying out the ends and purposes of this chapter shall not be subject to the provisions of Act No. 150 of May 9, 1945. Any properties or property rights which the Secretary of Agriculture deems suitable, useful, or necessary for carrying out the purposes of this chapter are hereby declared to be of public utility.
(4) To grant the aid required for the development and completion of the projects to be carried out in Puerto Rico, which aid may be in the form of materiel, equipment or the use thereof, technical supervision, counsel or management, as well as the services of technical personnel.
(5) To make request for and to use any technical personnel, equipment, or services appertaining to other government agencies, provided such use does not impinge upon the functions assigned by law to the agencies involved.
(6) To sell at cost to the people materiel to be used in projects which are being carried out pursuant to the purposes of this chapter.
(7) To authorize the payment, chargeable to the fund herein created, of the premiums required by the State Insurance Fund for the insurance of such workmen as may work gratis under the provisions of this plan; Provided, That whenever it is so desired and requested it shall be obligatory to keep and maintain up to date the requisite rolls and records of the workmen involved.
(8) To utilize any other powers and faculties necessary for or incidental to the carrying out of the purposes of this chapter.
History —May 9, 1952, No. 218, p. 522, § 2; Apr. 12, 1955, No. 14, p. 52, § 3.