2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 36A - Our Puerto Rican Music (§§ 871 — 875) › § 874 - Institute of Puerto Rican Culture—Obligations and powers

The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture shall be in charge of the administration or implementation of this chapter and shall prescribe, through regulations, the standards and procedures, dictate the orders and take the measures it may deem necessary for the implementation of the same.
In the discharge of such a task, the Institute shall have the obligation of investigating any complaint filed that claims that the provisions of this chapter have been violated. Accordingly, it shall investigate the allegations in the complaint and take the steps needed to objectively and reliably determine if any of the provisions of this chapter were in fact violated and take the pertinent administrative and legal actions to require compliance with this chapter, including, but not being limited to referring any irregularity detected to the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice. If any violations of the provisions of this chapter or its regulations are found, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture shall impose to the government agency or instrumentality, public corporation or municipality in question, a fine equal to two (2) times the sum of money that was supposed to be used to contract exponents of autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music. The exact amount of the fine herein provided shall be determined by multiplying by two (2) the amount of money that was not covered by the violator for the contracting of exponents of autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music. The moneys collected on account of these fines shall be covered into the funds of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, which shall open an account separate from other revenues, so that these are used solely and exclusively for the music program of the referred institution.
Likewise, the IPRC may impose the following penalties to the promoters or producers who fail to comply with the requirements of this chapter, as follows: for the first violation, the penalty shall be a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000); for the second violation, the penalty shall be a fine of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500); for the third violation, the penalty shall consist of a notice for the Department of the Treasury to suspend their license as producer for a year; and for the fourth violation, the penalty shall consist of a notice to the Department of the Treasury to permanently suspend their producer license.
The income generated by these penalties shall have the same use as those applicable to government entities.
The Institute may require agencies or entities subject to this chapter, to provide records, payrolls, documents or any other pertinent evidence that may serve to show the proportion of the budget or the amount used by the entity for contracting artists or musicians and the participation of the exponents or interpreters of autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music in said budget.
It may likewise receive related information from private persons or entities and may also hold hearings, inspect documents and establish procedures that, in its judgment, are needed to better fulfill its functions.
It is provided that it shall be the obligation of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to establish a register that would include all reports required pursuant to § 873 of this title, so as to enable the implementation of said provision and function as an instrument accessible to the public interested in inquiring into the compliance with the mandate of this chapter. The Institute shall also enter in said register the data and description of those groups or individuals certified as exponents or interpreters of the autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music.
At the same time it is provided that the Institute must establish a speedy and trustworthy procedure to certify the groups or individuals who meet the criteria that define the nature of autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. In so doing, the Institute shall make sure that the groups or individuals so certified rigorously and strictly meet the cultural, musical and artistic criteria established pursuant to this chapter.
The Institute is furthermore directed to provide the heads and personnel of the applicable dependencies or entities with the necessary technical advice and to collaborate with them so they may be able to work under conditions that are favorable for achieving compliance with this chapter. In that regard, the Institute should provide these entities with a clear and intelligible definition of autochthonous traditional Puerto Rican music, a detailed and succinct breakdown of the genres included within said definition, a current register of the groups or individuals certified under the aforementioned definition and any other assistance that would contribute to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
In compliance with this obligation, the Institute is hereby empowered to obtain or contract the necessary technical personnel to faithfully meet the demands of the present provision and to require that the persons or entities with the expertise and knowledge on such matters provide the advice and collaboration needed to faithfully fulfill the requirements of this chapter.
History —Aug. 21, 2004, No. 223, § 5; July 19, 2005, No. 25, § 5; renumbered as § 6 on Aug. 18, 2011, No. 189, § 6.