2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 10 - Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (§§ 151 — 163) › § 158 - Penalties; administrative hearings

(a) Any violation of this chapter or of the regulations promulgated hereunder shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction the accused shall be punished with a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisonment for a term of not less than five (5) days nor more than ninety (90) days, or both penalties, at the discretion of the court.
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is hereby empowered to impose administrative fines for damages caused to wildlife, animal and plant species, or for violations of any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations and measures adopted by the Secretary thereunder, after an administrative hearing has been held. The Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall fix, through regulations to such effect, the amounts that shall be paid as administrative fines for each illegal act committed in violation of the provisions of this section. The administrative fines shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each illegal act committed. Each violation of this chapter or its regulations shall be considered as a separate violation and shall be subject to an administrative fine of up to the previously established maximum, as well as to the additional penalty of taking courses or workshops on the use and conservation of the natural resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that have been approved by the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources.
(c) In the event of subsequent violations to this section, the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources, in the exercise of his discretion, may impose an additional administrative fine, up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(d) The Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources shall determine the date, time and place that the administrative hearing, referred to in subsection (b) of this section, shall be held; and shall notify the interested party thereof by certified mail, with return receipt requested, to his last known address. The interested party may appear at said hearing motu proprio or represented by a lawyer. To the effects of the administrative hearing authorized herein, the Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources may order the appearance and testimony of witnesses, the introduction of all evidence that he considers pertinent, and the administering of oaths and the admission of testimony. When a summons of the Secretary is disobeyed, he may go before the court for a judicial order requiring compliance with the summons to be issued. Any disobedience of the court order may be punished as contempt by the court. The Secretary shall issue a resolution within thirty (30) days following the holding of the hearing, and notice to the interested party to his last known address. The Secretary shall include in his resolution a description of the illegal act, or acts, for the commission of which an administrative fine is imposed. The party affected by the Secretary’s decision may request, in writing, a reconsideration of the same within ten (10) days following the date of notice of the decision. This request for reconsideration shall be resolved by the Secretary within fifteen (15) days following the date of notice thereof. The party affected by a reconsidered decision may file an appeal for review before the Court of First Instance, within ten (10) days after date of notice of such decision. Once the appeal is filed the petitioner must notify the Secretary thereof within a term of five (5) days counting from its filing.
The Secretary shall take to court, within the term fixed by it, a certified copy of the complete record of the administrative procedure. The request for reconsideration or the intervention of an appeal referred to in this subsection will not stay the effects of the Secretary’s order or resolution.
History —June 20, 1972, No. 23, p. 415, § 8; Sept. 29, 1983, No. 31, p. 438, § 2; July 13, 2007, No. 68, § 1, eff. 6 months after July 13, 2007.