2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 203 - Powers and Faculties of the Municipal Government (§§ 4051 — 4058) › § 4058 - Public law and order codes

(a) The recognition of the discretionary power of the municipalities to implement public law and order codes in their territories is hereby established as public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(b) For the purposes of this section, public order codes shall be the body of municipal ordinances in effect or of new legislation that intend to govern public areas delimiting specific and limited territorial extension areas with problems of disorder or lack of peaceful coexistence, such as the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages in public areas, the sale or dispensing of alcoholic beverages to minors, excessive or unnecessary noise, prostitution, public nuisances that create security problems, debris and junk in public areas and conflicts for the use of the areas designated for vehicular traffic as parking areas for vehicles.
The spaces to be regulated are locations such as urban centers, recreational areas, areas of tourist interest, or residential areas affected by commercial development, among others.
The public order codes entail the imposition of monetary penalties of such a nature that they dissuade unwanted behavior and motivate changes in attitude that achieve peaceful and orderly coexistence in the designated surroundings.
The implementation of a public order code presupposes the participation of the various community sectors and the intervention of the citizenry prior to its approval, which requires the prior consultation of citizens, to wit, merchants, residents, visitors, representatives of civic, religious and cultural organizations, as well as representatives of youth groups.
(c) Power to approve and enforce the codes.— Each municipality shall have the discretionary power to approve and enforce the public law and order codes in its territory. The voluntary adoption of the codes shall depend on the interest of the municipality in contributing to a better quality of life and enhancing the health, safety and peace of mind of residents, businessmen and visitors, as well as preserving the physical environment of the communities and public areas.
The establishment of the public law and order codes shall be based on the participation of municipal governments together with the various groups that constitute the community. They shall identify the affected areas, discuss their particular problems and evaluate the alternatives to solve them.
The adoption and implementation of these codes shall be framed within educational and orientation efforts to promote citizen compliance with civic and order standards established by each municipality pursuant to the criteria and parameters of this section.
The community boards attached to the municipalities shall have the power to file proposals for the implementation of the public law and order codes drafted by the Commonwealth Police for submittal to the Interagency Committee described in subsection (f) of this section, after the municipalities have exercised their discretionary power to adopt said codes.
(d) Scope and objectives.— The public law and order codes shall address those problems that affect particular sectors of each municipality and that have been identified as the sources behind the deterioration of the quality of life. The codes may establish, among others, provisions regarding the control of: the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages; traffic and parking problems; excessive and unnecessary noise; public nuisances; waste disposal and cleaning; stray animals such as cattle, horses, pigs, fowl, dogs and others whose ownership is prohibited by law; debris and metal scraps in public places duly identified in the citizen participation process.
(e) Requirements for adoption.— In drafting and implementing the public law and order codes to be adopted pursuant to the provisions of this section, the following requirements shall be met:
(1) To guarantee the participation of citizens, residents, resident associations, neighborhood councils, businessmen, law enforcement officers and other groups with an interest in the community, through public opinion inquiries or hearings conducted in order to identify those areas and situations that merit the establishment of the codes.
(2) To develop orientation campaigns to inform the citizenry of the approval of the codes, the duties and responsibilities established therein, and the penalties provided.
(3) To coordinate with the Puerto Rico and the municipal Police training sessions, lectures and seminars on the adoption and implementation of public law and order codes.
(4) To establish the mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness and results of the implementation of the codes, for which the broadest participation of the citizenry shall be sought and achieved.
(5) To ascertain that the territorial boundaries of the areas to be governed by the code are clearly and precisely defined.
(6) If the codes adopted pursuant to this section provide for administrative fines for the violation thereof, it shall be necessary to comply with the provisions of § 4053 of this title.
(f) Creation of the Interagency Committee for Public Law and Order Codes.—
(1) The Interagency Committee for the Adoption of Law and Order Codes is hereby created. This Committee shall be constituted by the Secretary of Justice, the Chairperson of the Association of Mayors, the Chairperson of the Federation of Mayors, the Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police, and the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, who shall chair the same and a representative of the public interest designated by the Governor.
The purpose of this Committee is to evaluate and consider the petitions that shall be submitted through proposals by the municipalities interested in using the funds for the adoption of public order codes. The Committee is hereby authorized to draft the regulations that shall govern the procedures for the presentation and consideration of petitions, which shall meet the requirements established in this section.
The Committee, shall meet when summoned by the Chairperson, as needed. A simple majority of the Committee members shall constitute quorum for its deliberations and determinations.
The Committee shall submit an annual written report to the Governor of Puerto Rico and to the Legislature on the process to implement and administrate this chapter and the resources appropriated and used by each municipality.
(2) The Public Law and Order Codes Unit is hereby created, attached to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, whose main objective shall be to promote among the municipalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in accordance with this chapter, the adoption of law and order codes as instruments of citizen public safety.
The Office shall have the following powers, functions, duties and responsibilities:
(A) To advise and assist, when necessary and by petition of the municipalities, on the processes for the participation of citizens in the preparation and implementation of the public order codes.
(B) To promote and collaborate in the integration of all government efforts to achieve the rescue of public areas through the adoption of public order codes.
(C) To assist the Interagency Committee for the Adoption of Public Order Codes in the evaluation of proposals submitted by the municipalities interested in using the funds for the adoption of said codes.
(D) To develop systems and procedures to expedite the operations of said Interagency Committee.
(E) To develop an educational campaign on the importance of implementing the public order codes.
(F) To follow-up the results of the implementation of the codes to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the program.
(G) To ensure faithful compliance of the law that establishes the use of the funds for the purpose of adopting the codes, the purchase of equipment, or the recruitment and training of police officers.
(H) To ensure that the public order officers are duly trained to ensure compliance of the public order codes.
(I) Submit reports to the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs on the results obtained and on any others that may be required.
(J) Any other function or task assigned by the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs within the framework of the purposes and objectives established in this chapter.
The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, through the Public Law and Order Codes Unit shall work in close collaboration with the Department of Justice, the Puerto Rico Police, the Department of the Family, the Office of Special Communities, the Department of Education, the Housing Department, the Department of Transportation and Public Works and any other Commonwealth or federal agency, as well as with the mayors of the municipalities. The Commonwealth agencies are hereby directed to provide the support needed to achieve the objectives established in this chapter.
The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall ensure that the participation of the citizens constitutes a fundamental element in the process of fostering the adoption of the public law and order codes. The aforementioned Office shall model the configuration and implementation of the public law and order codes so that they are a reflection of the interests and needs of the communities in which they are adopted.
The Office of Management and Budget is hereby directed to appropriate to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs the amount of money needed to cover the operating expenses of the Public Law and Order Codes Unit.
The personnel of the Office for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes who by the date of approval of this act is occupying regular positions with permanent career aervice functions are hereby transferred to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs with the status of regular career employees. The relocation shall be made in consideration of the functions that each employee performed in the Office for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes, subject to the need for personnel and the funds available to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs.
The reinstallation of employees of trust with a right to the same by the date of approval of this act shall be governed pursuant to the provisions of § 1465a of Title 3. The personnel transferred shall retain the same rights and benefits it had at the time of the transfer, as well as the rights and obligations regarding any pension or retirement system or savings and loans funds.
The classification, reclassification and compensation of the positions shall be established according to the classification and compensation schedules that apply to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs. The employees transferred must meet the minimum classification requirements for the positions to which their functions are assigned.
However, the Superintendent of Police may request that any employee of the Office for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes who in his/her opinion is fully knowledgeable on specialized public safety matters or who has the experience needed to occupy said position be transferred to or relocated at the Puerto Rico Police. In such a case, the transfer or relocation shall be conducted according to the conditions established in this section.
Every process that entails the transfer of human resources from the Office for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall be conducted pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.
(g) Creation of the Annual Fund for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes.— The Annual Fund for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes is hereby created to be distributed among the municipalities interested in implementing said codes in consultation with the organizations that represent the municipalities. The Office of Management and Budget shall establish the amount of the unencumbered funds in the Commonwealth Treasury to be granted for distribution among the municipalities interested in implementing said codes. This appropriation shall be registered in separate accounts and identified as the “Fund for the Adoption of Public Law and Order Codes”, attached to the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs. The Office of Management and Budget shall annually consign in the operating expenses budget of the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, the funds needed for achieving the purposes of this chapter. The Fund for the Public Law and Order Codes may be nourished from municipal and federal contributions and from contributions from private entities. All appropriations previously made in favor of the public law and order codes shall be understood to be part of this fund, and to those effects they shall be governed by the criteria provided in this chapter. The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs is hereby directed to establish reasonable criteria for the proper distribution of these funds among the interested municipalities. The Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs shall administer the funds and the Interagency Committee shall distribute the same so as to enable the municipalities to implement the public law and order codes, to educate and provide orientation on the processes for establishing the same, to recruit public law and order agents and to acquire security, transportation, communications and high technology equipment. However, the funds appropriated for the implementation of these codes may not be used to substitute or liberate the items already assigned by the municipalities for these purposes. This Committee is also authorized to evaluate and consider applications from Community Boards attached to the municipalities or to any duly established community-based organization, for the implementation of the public law and order codes by the Commonwealth Police, after the municipality in question has exercised its discretion for adopting said public law and order codes and if for any reason the police of that municipality is unable to capably implement the same.
(h) The municipalities that adopt public law and order codes shall be given priority in the appropriation of Commonwealth or federal funds available to fulfill the purposes or establish programs in harmony with the provisions of this section and subject to the requirements and conditions applicable to the distribution of these funds.
(i) Municipal autonomy.— The adoption of the public law and order codes shall by no means be construed as to impair the powers and faculties conferred by this section to the municipalities, and in any and all cases, be construed in accordance with the public policy established in §§ 4001nt, 4002 and 4004 of this title.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 2.008 on Apr. 11, 2001, No. 19, § 1; Mar. 1, 2004, No. 73, § 1; Dec. 30, 2005, No. 169, § 1.