2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTEEN - Taxation and Finance (§§ 1 — 33423) › Subtitle 1 - Governmental Finances (§§ 1 — 155) › Chapter 3 - Government Bonds (§§ 31-34 — 64) › § 37 - Redemption or purchase of government bonds from available surpluses—Consolidation, conversion, or refinancing of bond issues; reduction of municipal taxes

The Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico is hereby directed, empowered, and authorized to consolidate, convert, or refinance, with the approval of the Governor of Puerto Rico, any or all bond issues or certificates of indebtedness of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or of the municipalities of Puerto Rico, even in those cases where said bonds or certificates are in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico, as provided in §§ 35—43 of this title, issuing in their stead conversion, consolidation, or refinancing bonds, on the terms and conditions that the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico may from time to time determine are most advantageous and convenient for the interests of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and to determine the form, date, and denomination of any new issue which may be made in accordance with §§ 35—43 of this title fixing the rate of interest and the payment thereof, amount of the issues, date of maturity, form and time of amortization, conditions of sale, right to, and conditions of, redemption of the bonds, amount of the premium thereon, if any, and any other provisions, conditions, or requirements that in his judgment he may deem necessary and advisable in order to carry out in the most advantageous manner any consolidation, conversion, or refinancing in accordance with §§ 35—43 of this title. The Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico is hereby likewise directed, authorized, and empowered to pay additional interest or premium and expenses of said bonds from the special fund “Interest on Investments” created by §§ 35—43 of this title or from any available funds in the Commonwealth Treasury not otherwise appropriated. All the preceding provisions relative to the payment of the additional interest or premiums and the expenses of said bonds shall have the nature of continuous appropriations and shall constitute sufficient authority so that the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico may make said payments without its being necessary to make new appropriations for that purpose. Said payments shall be made on warrants issued in accordance with the general provisions of the law relative to public disbursements.
When, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 35—43 of this title, the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico has acquired bonds or certificates of municipal debt and keeps them on deposit as cash on hand, he may enter into negotiations with the municipalities for the purpose of reducing the rate of taxation on the municipal property, levied for the payment of said issues, through the corresponding reduction in the rate of interest to be paid by the municipalities on the debt, whether through the conversion of the debt or otherwise. He may likewise alter the instalments of payment of the principal and interest and the maturity of the debt.
History —Dec. 7, 1942, No. 33, p. 174, § 3, eff. 90 days after Dec. 7, 1942.