reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4584 - Testing programs for the detection of controlled substances

The mayors are authorized by regulations, to establish permanent programs for the detection of controlled substances that use reliable tests to allow [for] the identification of officials and employees using drugs, to provide them with treatment and rehabilitation in those cases provided by this chapter so that they may perform their public service functions and duties faithfully and reliably.
The [establishment] of permanent, controlled substances detection programs, authorized in the preceding paragraph, shall be mandatory for all municipalities, with regard to the [administration] of tests for the detection of controlled substances to every municipal official or employee in the Municipal Police Corps, as said term is defined in §§ 1061–1070 of this title; every municipal official or employee who holds a sensitive position or office, as said term is defined in § 4581 of this title, and as a requirement for employment as provided in § 4582 of this title. Nevertheless, each municipality shall determine, by ordinance and pursuant to the fiscal and operating resources available, to include municipal officials or employees of other administrative divisions or units in the permanent programs established for the detection of controlled substances.
The Executive [Branch] shall regulate the adoption of these programs upon consultation with the municipal personnel office, the Office of the Commissioner of Municipal Affairs, the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, and the Institute of Forensic Sciences. Each regulation shall have the prior approval of the municipal legal counsel office, which shall be responsible for evaluating its legality in terms of the specific needs of each municipality. However, no regulation shall become effective until it is approved by the Municipal Legislature through an ordinance.
Those municipalities that have established a testing program for the detection of the use of controlled substances as of the date of approval of this act may keep it in effect; provided, said program meets all the requirements consigned in this statute. To such ends, said programs and their regulations shall be revised in order to conform them to the provisions of this chapter.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.005 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4586 - [Administration] of tests for the detection of controlled substances to officials or employees

No official or employee shall be submitted to a test for the detection of controlled substances unless one of the following circumstances occurs:
(a) A work accident occurs related to his/her functions during working hours, directly attributable to the official or employee. The official or employee cannot be submitted to controlled substances detection tests when he/she is not in full control of his/her mental powers due to the accident, unless a court order directs otherwise. Municipalities shall have discretion to determine other special circumstances in their programs by which the official or employee shall be exempted from submitting to the controlled substances detection tests, after the accident has occurred.
In this case, the tests shall be administered within a term of twenty-four (24) hours from the time the accident occurred.
(b) That there is a reasonable, individualized suspicion of the official or employee by at least two (2) supervisors, one of whom shall be the direct supervisor. In this case, the tests shall be administered no later than twenty-four (24) hours from the last observation or perception of abnormal or erratic conduct that generated the reasonable, individualized suspicion.
One of the two (2) supervisors shall keep a record which shall remain in custody of the liaison officer, or in the office of the mayor, in which all incidents that generate a suspicion that some official or employee is performing his/her functions under the effects of controlled substances, shall be recorded. These records shall be governed by the rules of confidentiality contained in this chapter.
When the official designated by the mayor to direct the [administration] of tests, deems, in consultation with the liaison officer, that it is proper to administer the test to detect controlled substances, he[/she] shall give the order to do so.
The records of officials or employees who have not been submitted to controlled substances detection tests within six (6) months after having recorded the first incident, shall be destroyed.
(c) The official or employee has tested positive to a first test; subsequent follow-up tests are required.
(d) The person decides to submit voluntarily to controlled substances detection tests, without it having been required in any way, as a condition to keep his job or to enjoy the rights and benefits to which he/she is legally entitled.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.007 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4587 - Administration of tests for the detection of controlled substances to law enforcement officials or employees who hold sensitive positions or offices

Every official or employee who holds a position or office in the Municipal Police Corps, as said term is defined in §§ 1061–1079 of this title, including the Chief, Deputy Chief or Director thereof, shall also be subject to periodic tests for the detection of controlled substances.
Those officials or employees who hold sensitive positions or offices, as said term is defined in this chapter, including the liaison officer, shall also be subject to periodic testing.
Every contract signed between the municipality and a private enterprise with the purpose of obtaining security services shall include a clause to the effect that every guard of a private enterprise contracted by the municipality shall be subject to periodic tests for the detection of controlled substances, to be administered and paid for by the company for which he/she works. It shall also provide that every guard of a private enterprise contracted by the municipality whose test for the detection of controlled substances gives a positive result, shall be permanently barred from rendering said services.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.008 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4588 - Controvertible presumption

The unjustified refusal of an official or employee to submit to controlled substances detection tests, when required to do so pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall activate the controvertible presumption that the result could have been positive.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.009 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4590 - Guidance, treatment and rehabilitation

(a) The municipalities shall require the official or employee who does not hold a sensitive position or is in the Municipal Police Corps, whose controlled substances detection test shows a corroborated positive result, to participate in a guidance, treatment and rehabilitation plan, referred by the Liaison Official. The official or employee may choose to submit to said treatment and rehabilitation in any public or private institution certified for said purpose. In the event that the official or employee chooses the latter, he/she shall be liable for the cost of the treatment and rehabilitation, unless it can be defrayed under the terms of the person’s health insurance policy.
(b) Said official or employee may be submitted periodically to additional tests as part of the treatment and rehabilitation plan.
(c) Refusal to participate in the rehabilitation plan or to submit to the tests required as part of the treatment, as well as the presence of controlled substances in the results of the additional tests to which he/she shall be submitted, shall be deemed sufficient cause for corrective measures or disciplinary action against the official or employee, beyond verbal admonishment or a written reprimand, pursuant to the applicable legislation and regulations, and according to the provisions of this chapter.
(d) The municipality shall assure every official or employee that they will continue to work as long as they comply with the treatment and rehabilitation, provided it does not endanger pubic health and safety.
(e) In those cases that retaining the official or employee at work could represent a health or safety hazard for the other employees of the municipality, the same conditions established in subsection (f) of this section would apply.
(f) In those cases that the official or employee requires time off to undergo treatment as provided in subsection (e), the time off shall be charged to his accrued sick leave, in the first instance. When he/she does not have any accrued sick leave, it shall be charged to accrued compensatory leave or vacation leave, and in the last instance, he shall be granted leave without pay for a maximum term of six (6) months.
(g) In the case of an official or employee who relapses, the municipality shall not have to comply with the orientation, treatment, and rehabilitation requirement established in this chapter. In this case, the municipality shall not have to grant the compensatory time, vacation leave, and leave without pay benefits provided in this section, nor absorb the treatment and rehabilitation costs. In this case, the provisions of this section shall prevail.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.011 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4591 - Dismissal or removal from office as an exception; procedural guarantees

(a) Every official or employee who does not hold a sensitive position or office or is in the Municipal Police Corps, whose test for the detection of controlled substances shows a positive result, shall be immediately suspended without depriving them of their salary or remuneration, until a hearing with the minimum procedural guarantees contemplated in subsection (b) of this section, is held.
If after the hearing is held the original determination which is adverse to the official or employee is upheld, the municipality shall proceed according to the provisions of § 4589 of this title.
(b) No official or employee shall be dismissed or removed from the position or office he/she holds due to a corroborated positive result of the initial test for the detection of controlled substances. Nevertheless, as an exception, the official or employee may be dismissed or removed from office:
(1) When because of the nature of the employment, the condition detected is inevitably incompatible with the effective performance of the functions and duties of the position or office.
Any sensitive position or office or in the Municipal Police Corps is hereby declared as inevitably incompatible with the use of controlled substances.
(2) When the official is the person designated by the mayor to order the [administration] of tests, or is the Liaison Officer; Provided, That in such cases, suspension without pay or any other sanction or corrective measure provided by regulations may be chosen.
(3) When the official or employee refuses to participate in the rehabilitation plan adopted by the agency when required to do so; Provided, That in said case suspension without pay, or any other sanction or corrective measure provided by regulations may be chosen.
(4) In the case of an official, or employee who relapses; Provided, That in such a case, suspension without pay or any other sanction or corrective measure provided by regulations, may be an option.
(c) In every case in which it is provided that corrective measures, disciplinary actions, suspensions, removals or dismissals be taken, the minimal procedural guarantees should be complied with, in which the official or employee has the opportunity to be heard, to introduce evidence in his/her behalf, and challenge the evidence presented against him/her, and where he/she can introduce his/her legitimate self defense. Said hearing shall be held no later than twenty (20) days from the notice of the corrective measure, disciplinary action, suspension, removal or dismissal.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.012 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4592 - Confidentiality of the results and records of incidents

Any information, form, report, interview or statement related to the results of the drug tests and the records of incidents that generate suspicion that any official or employee is performing his/her functions under the effects of controlled substances, shall be kept apart from the personnel files, shall be deemed to be “Confidential” information, and shall not be disclosed, except to:
(a) The official or employee who has been submitted to the test;
(b) any person designated by him/her, in writing, to receive said information;
(c) officials or employees designated by the agency for said purpose, and
(d) the provider of treatment and rehabilitation plans for users of controlled substances, when the official or employee gives his/her express consent.
The municipality shall use the greatest degree of diligence in taking custody and preserving the confidentiality of the results.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.013 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4593 - Use of results in administrative, civil or criminal procedures

No positive result of controlled substances detection tests administered by a municipality may be used as evidence in an administrative, civil or criminal procedure against the official or employee, except when it is to challenge said result, or the procedure under which it was obtained.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.014 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4594 - Reviews and appeals of the findings of the municipality

The official or employee may review or appeal the findings of the municipality regarding the tests to detect controlled substances contemplated in this chapter, as provided in the applicable legislation.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.015 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4595 - Liability of the municipality

A municipality that discriminates against an official or employee in contravention of the provisions of this chapter, or that fails to comply with the standards of confidentiality established therein, shall be liable for the damages caused to him/her.
The court may direct the mayor to reinstate the official or employee in his/her position in the judgment issued in civil actions filed under the above provisions.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.016 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4596 - Civil liability of the municipality

None of the provisions of this chapter authorizes the filing of suits for damages against the municipality or its officials or employees for any action or determination made pursuant to a certified result of a test for the detection of controlled substances administered by a private entity.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.017 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4597 - Sanctions and penalties

The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall entail the imposition of any of the following administrative sanctions: written admonition, suspension from work and pay, dismissal or removal.
Nevertheless, any person who willfully and voluntarily reveals or makes improper use of information related to, or the results obtained in the process of the administration of tests to detect the use of controlled substances as provided in this chapter, or who violates its provisions or the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall incur a felony and upon conviction, shall be sanctioned with a penalty of imprisonment for a fixed term of one year, or a fine of two thousand dollars ($2,000), or both penalties, at the discretion of the court, for each violation.
Should there be aggravating circumstances, the fixed penalty established herein may be raised to a maximum of two (2) years or up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both penalties, at the discretion of the court.
If there should be extenuating circumstances, it may be reduced to a minimum of six (6) months and one day, or to one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both penalties, at the discretion of the court.
Any person thus convicted shall be ineligible to perform any municipal or state employment or office, subject to the provisions of the Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act, Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, to which it shall be deemed to be complementary.
The felonies established herein shall prescribe after five (5) years.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.018 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4598 - Municipal legislatures

The municipal legislatures are hereby authorized to establish, by resolution, permanent programs for the detection of controlled substances that use reliable tests to allow [for] the identification of the officials and employees who use drugs, to give them treatment and rehabilitate them in those cases provided by this chapter, so that they may perform their public service functions and duties faithfully and reliably. However, any regulations and permanent programs adopted by the municipal legislatures for the abovementioned purposes shall be in agreement with the provisions of this chapter.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.019 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4599 - Discrimination prohibited

No discrimination based on race, color, sex, birth, sexual orientation, gender identity, origin or social status, or for political or religious ideas or beliefs, may be established in the implementation or operation of the provisions of this subtitle.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.020 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4; May 29, 2013, No. 22, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4602 - Ordinance plans, transfer of functions

The municipalities are hereby authorized to adopt ordinance plans pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. These ordinance plans shall constitute instruments of the municipal territory. They shall protect the land, promote the balanced, beneficial and efficient use thereof and propitiate the thorough development of each municipality. Regarding the regulations for the use of the land, ordinance plans shall include all matters relative to territorial organization and with those construction projects within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board and the Permit Management Office. The municipality may, pursuant to the provisions of §§ 4651 et seq. of this title, request that the regulations of other public agencies be substituted and amended.
Ordinance plans shall be drafted, adopted and revised pursuant to the provisions of § 4606 of this title and shall be compatible with the laws, public policies and regulations of the central government as provided in § 4609 of this title. There will be three (3) types of ordinance plans which shall handle the various aspects of the municipal space ordinance: The territorial plan, the extension plan and the area plan. The territorial plan shall be the first ordinance plan to be drafted by the municipality and it shall be an indispensable requirement that it be in effect so that the municipality may be able to adopt another ordinance plan.
No municipality shall approve developments which may limit or impede the free access of the public to the seacoast or beaches nor entail their private or exclusive enjoyment to the detriment or in prejudice of the legitimate right of the people of Puerto Rico to the free use and enjoyment thereof.
In order to propitiate the maximum compatibility of the ordinance plans with the regional and general public policies of Puerto Rico, the Central Government shall retain, through the Planning Board, the faculty to initially approve the ordinance plans and review any part thereof. Once an ordinance plan is adopted, an orderly process is hereby authorized to transfer to the municipalities certain territorial ordinance faculties of the Planning Board and the Permit Management Office to issue authorizations and use and construction permits and to incorporate amendments to the ordinance plans. The transfer process shall be carried pursuant to the provisions of § 4610 of this title.
The form and content of the various ordinance plans and the transfer and administration of the territorial ordinance faculties, as well as all matters included in this chapter provided in §§ 4601–4618 of this title, shall be established and provided by the Planning Board through regulations.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.004; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 61.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4604 - Extension plan

The Extension plan shall be based on the extension program. Its objective shall be to establish specific urban guidelines and a detailed statement on the development of the programmed urbanizable land and shall be carried out on the basis of the determinations of the territorial plan. The extension plan shall contain the following basic documents:
(a) Design plans and regulations.—
(1) Extension design plan which shall establish, among others, the road system, the public space and the area to be developed or parceled.
(2) Conceptual design plan of the infrastructure, including the main lines and elements of the infrastructure and their capacity.
(3) Regulations and ordinance plans to provide for the use of the land in the extension design plan. The substantive and procedural provisions which lend legal authority to make feasible the territorial ordinance used in the ordinance plans shall be part of the regulations and the ordinance design plans.
(b) Analysis and implementation program.—
(1) Economic evaluation of the cost to implement the development projects and works of infrastructure that correspond to the municipality and the financing and resources plan to be used for the execution of these works.
(2) Program for the execution of the development projects and the works of infrastructure that correspond to the municipality or to the public agencies.
(3) Investment projects program, certified by the corresponding public agencies.
(4) General sectioning of the land for its development by stages, when the same are deemed necessary. This sectioning by stages shall be identified in a design plan.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.006; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 63.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4605 - Area plan

(1) The Territorial Ordinance Plan shall require an area plan to regulate land use in areas that require special attention, and to program rehabilitation projects in the urban centers.
(2) Every area plan shall require:
(a) A document of the inventory, diagnosis, and recommendations and a statement of the goals and objectives of the Plan.
(b) The program of works to achieve the goals and objectives, including as an obligation in the case of the area plans for urban centers, and as an option with respect to other area plans, an Investment Projects Program certified by the corresponding public agencies.
(c) Drafting of regulations and ordinance plans.— The regulations for the urban center area plans shall provide for the protection of structures, squares, streets and other components of the urban center according to their type and shall attend, among other factors, to use land [sic], the intervening levels of the structure, restoring and restructuring of real properties, new construction, business or professional office construction, open spaces, and vegetation, routing, accessing and parking areas, works and installations in the infrastructure and equipment of the public roads, and the procedures for permits. The substantive and procedural provisions of the new competencies to make the territorial ordinance used in the ordinance plans feasible, shall be part of the Regulations and Ordinance Plans.
(3) In addition to the area plans for the urban centers several types of area plans for the municipality may be developed, among which the following may be found:
(a) Area plan for urban areas of special architectural value.
(b) Area [plan] for the protection of natural areas as well as for areas of agricultural value.
(c) Area plan for internal reform of urban areas.
(d) Area plan to urbanize extensive uncultivated land on urban soil.
(e) Area plan for the ordinance of isolated settlements.
(f) Area plan for settlements located in areas prone to natural disasters such as areas susceptible to floods or landslides.
(4) The regulations of the urban centers area plans approved in this section, exclude the application of Planning Regulation No. 5, “Historic Zones and Sites Regulation”, and shall be negotiated by the corresponding municipal offices.
(5) No area plan may be drafted to convert rustic land into an urban or urbanized land, said action shall require a revision of the Territorial Plan.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.007; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84 § 64; Aug. 29, 2002, No. 212, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4613 - Permits Office—Decisions in special cases

When the Permits Office evaluates a project which, although compatible with the ordinance plans approved, exhibits characteristics that are so special that the application of the regulations and ordinance plans in effect, and the approval of the project, would be undesirable or harmful because of factors such as health, safety, order, public improvements and the more adequate use of the land, or because of the aesthetic, environmental or natural beauty conditions, the Permits Office may deny the authorization of the permit for such a project for the protection of the general welfare and taking into consideration said factors as well as the recommendations of the public agencies concerned. In the exercise of this power, the Permits Office shall take the necessary measures so that it is not used for the purpose of disregarding or dispensing with the regulations and ordinance plans in effect in cases in which truly special circumstances are not present. In these cases the Permits Office shall hold a public hearing before making a decision on the project being evaluated. The Permits Office shall deny said petition while the unfavorable conditions for the project exist, and shall state, in writing, the grounds for denying the authorization for the project.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.015, renumbered as § 13.014 and amended on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 72.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4613a - Permits Office—Remittance of files; notification

The Permits Office shall submit to the Planning Board or the Permit Management Office the complete record of every project filed with the municipality whose evaluation power has not been transferred to the municipality of whose power has been reserved by the public agencies.
During the evaluation process of an urbanization project whose evaluation power has been transferred to a municipality, the Permits Office shall submit to the Planning Board a copy of the complete record filed and shall keep said file up to date through an evaluation and a decision-making process. The file, or its copy, as the case may be, shall be submitted to the agency concerned within a term not to exceed ten (10) days after being filed. Regarding projects other than urbanization projects, the municipality shall submit to the Planning Board the information concerning all decisions on authorizations or permits filed with the Permits Office according to the regulations adopted the Planning Board for such a purpose as provided in § 4602 of this title. Regarding projects other than urbanization projects, but considered by the Planning Board to have regional impact, the Board may request a copy of the file of the project submitted to the municipality for its evaluation.
The notice of the decisions whose evaluation power has been transferred to a municipality shall include a notice of the agreements requiring variations or exceptions and their evaluation by the Permits Office which shall be notified through a resolution of the Permits Office that establishes the reasons for its decision. Ministerial permits shall be notified by means of an official permit. The Permits Office shall remit to every public agency or interested person or official whose address appears in the file, certified copies of all the agreements adopted that are of their concern.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 13.015 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 73.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4614 - Municipal decisions—Referral of file; annulment; reconsiderations, appeals and revisions

Regarding those projects which, through agreement, have been transferred to a municipality upon receipt of a copy of a file on an urbanization project or a project other than the urbanization project for which it has requested a copy of the file due to its possible regional impact, the Planning Board may, during the evaluation process of the project by the municipality and prior to making a decision on the latter, determine that the project has a regional impact that has not been taken into consideration in the plan and may require that the file be referred to the consideration of the Planning Board in plenum. Said requirement shall be made through a resolution in which the Board states the grounds for justifying its determination. Once the municipality has made a decision regarding any authorization or permit whose consideration has been transferred to the municipality, the Planning Board may appeal to the pertinent judicial or administrative forum to request any legal remedy needed to achieve faithful compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
The terms, procedures and conditions for the petitions of reconsideration, appeal or judicial review of the decisions of the municipality shall be:
(a) Those applicable to decisions of the Permit Management Office if the jurisdiction in question was transferred from said agency to the municipality.
(b) Those applicable to decisions of the Planning Board if the jurisdiction was transferred from said agency to the municipality.
The municipality shall not have the power to make any decision or take any action on cases whose evaluation power has remained with the public agencies even though the case has been filed with a municipality. Should the municipality make any decision or take any action in said cases, the Planning Board, through a well-founded resolution, may annul the aforesaid, in which case the municipality may appeal to the Court of First Instance to challenge the same having the burden to prove that the matter lies within its powers pursuant to the agreement and the law.
These actions within the legal framework of the applicable statute shall be carried out according to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.016; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 74.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4615 - Municipal decisions—Powers and legal resources for compliance with the regulations in effect

The transfer of the powers of the Planning Board and the Permit Management Office to a municipality, pursuant to what is established in § 4610 of this title, shall entail the transfer of all legal powers that said agencies have to promote the compliance and implementation of the regulations in effect on land use. The municipality is authorized to use the pertinent legal resources, represented by the mayor or any official designated by him/her to handle, denounce, process and resolve the complaints for use and construction violations related to the powers or jurisdictions transferred.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.017; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 75.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4616 - Ordinance plan—Approvals, authorizations, and permits

Once a municipality has an ordinance plan in effect but has not had any territorial ordinance powers transferred to it, according to the provisions of § 4610 of this title, any approval, authorization or use or construction permit petition, and any petition for amendments to the ordinance plans that is presented before the Planning Board and the Permit Management Office, shall be notified to the corresponding municipality through a copy of the document in question, so that it will have the opportunity to evaluate it and present its position in that respect. Said notice shall be made within the term of ten (10) days after the petition has been filed. The municipality shall submit its comments, through certified letter, to the Planning Board or to the Permit Management Office, as the case may be, within a term not to exceed fifteen (15) days after the date in which it obtains knowledge of the filing of the petition.
The Planning Board and the Permit Management Office, at a public hearing held concerning territorial ordinance matters in a municipality having an ordinance plan, shall provide for the participation of a representative of the municipality so that the latter may have the opportunity to question those participating in said hearing.
The Planning Board shall establish through regulations, any additional mechanisms or procedures that will promote the effective participation of the municipalities in all matters that affect their physical development or entail determinations that substantially commit the resources of the municipalities. Both agencies shall take whatever measures are needed so that the administrative proceedings under their jurisdiction are not unnecessarily delayed.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.018; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 76.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4617 - Territorial plans in development

Any territorial plan which is being developed on the effective date of this act and which significantly meets the requirements established in this chapter, may be approved by the Municipal Legislature, adopted by the Planning Board and approved by the Governor.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.019; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 77.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4618 - Regulations in effect

The regulations of the Planning Board or the Permit Management Office shall continue in effect and shall apply to the municipalities. Those regulations of these agencies, or parts thereof, that the municipality considers substituting according to what is established in this chapter, shall apply until the new regulations and ordinance plans take effect.
The new regulations shall establish the criteria for extending or terminating the effectiveness of the location consultations, the use, construction or billboard or notice installation authorizations or permits authorized prior to the date of effectiveness of the plan.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.020; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 78.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4619 - New jurisdictions to make territorial ordinance viable; judicial revison of the new jurisdictions

Once a territorial plan is in effect, the municipalities and the public agencies indicated in this chapter are empowered to use six (6) jurisdictions to make the territorial ordinance viable. These jurisdictions may be used according to the provisions of this chapter and within the regulations adopted by the Planning Board to that effect as provided by § 4626 of this title. The use of the jurisdictions shall not be linked to the transfer of powers regarding authorizations or permits as provided by § 4610 of this title. The new jurisdictions may be exercised individually or all at once, as needed. The new jurisdictions are the following:
(a) Designation of land for communal use.
(b) Exaction by impact.
(c) Transfer of development rights.
(d) Linkages.
(e) Requirement of communal facilities.
(f) Reparceling.
These new jurisdictions are granted to propitiate the effective implementation of the ordinance plans or the land use plans and guarantee that the public benefits that are derived from them for the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens are distributed among the citizens of the municipalities efficiently, fairly and equitably, while at the same time insuring the best use of the vital although limited land resources and optimizing municipal investments through planning that will allow the limited resources of the municipality or of the state available to attend to the needs of its inhabitants to be used in the most advantageous way for the public good. The purpose of these jurisdictions is furthermore, to provide various mechanisms that can handle particular or sectorial situations and offer reasonable remedies and options to the citizens to distribute the costs and encumbrances of the works required for the benefit of the entire population.
In case there is an ordinance plan or a land use plan that applies to more than one municipality, the jurisdictions may be exercised throughout the various municipal boundaries included in such a plan.
Appeals or petitions for judicial review concerning the requirements or the administration of the various jurisdictions shall be made directly to the Court of First Instance once the process for the petition of the review has been finalized at the public agency or instrumentality concerned.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.021; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 79.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4620 - Designation of land for communal uses

The Planning Board, the Permit Management Office or the municipalities are each hereby empowered, as may be pertinent according to their jurisdictional scope, to provide, administer or require the designation of land in fee simple for communal use of the community, municipality or region under the following conditions:
(a) In those programmed urbanizable lands identified in an extension plan;
(b) in those non-urbanizable lands, in urban lands, identified in an area plan, or
(c) in urbanization projects to urbanize open areas identified in a land use plan.
This requirement shall be made at the time in which said plans become effective and according to the regulations adopted by the Planning Board for such a purpose. The designated land may be transferred to another public agency or instrumentality responsible for the communal use to be provided.
The designation of lands shall not exceed in value or area, ten percent (10%) of the total land usable for development as indicated in the ordinance plan or the land use plan, and the exact extension of the land to be designated, its location and use shall be established in said plans. The computation of the extension of land to be used for development that shall be designated for communal uses shall exclude the land needed for infrastructure systems identified in the plan, including the system of roads as well as areas excluded for development by the plan for economic or security reasons.
The Planning Board shall establish the procedures to determine in which cases may the substitution of the required land for a cash contribution be allowed or demanded and the substantive and procedural elements of this transaction.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.022; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 80.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 225 - Territorial Ordinance (§§ 4601 — 4627) › § 4621 - Exaction by impact

The municipalities, the Planning Board, the Permit Management Office and the public agencies concerned are hereby empowered, as may be pertinent to each according to its jurisdictional scope, and pursuant to the provisions of an ordinance plan or a land use plan, to provide, administer or require the collection of a fee for the new development projects to defray expenses for the provision of public communal uses including infrastructure such as roads, mass transportation, aqueducts, sanitary sewers, electric energy, telephones and ports and airports, within or outside the boundaries of the project, as a direct result of said project. This power shall be exercised according to the regulations adopted by the Planning Board for such a purpose. A development project shall be liable to exaction by impact when it has an impact on the provision of communal uses, including the infrastructure.
Exactions by impact shall meet the following requirements:
(a) They shall be determined systematically and with due justifications which show the criteria used to establish the exaction; the service levels may be specified for various types of areas.
(b) They shall be determined with regard to the demands of the infrastructure of the project and of other communal uses, according to the cost of satisfying said demand.
(c) They shall not exceed a fee proportional to the cost incurred or to be incurred to provide the infrastructure or other communal uses required to meet the new demands.
(d) They shall avoid duplication, taking into consideration other payments, if any, that are made to provide infrastructure or other communal uses.
(e) They shall have a relationship between the fees collected and the benefits received and shall be proportional to their impact.
(f) They shall pay for the direct costs of the new development and not arise from the needs of the existing established communities or from the recurrent expenses of the municipality.
(g) The calculation of the exactions and their application shall be documented and justified in an ordinance plan or a land use plan.
The collection of the exactions shall be covered into a special fund for the provision of the infrastructure or other communal facilities related to the impact of the project and may and shall not be used to defray recurrent expenses of the municipality or the infrastructure agencies. The regulations adopted for this purpose by the Planning Board will provide the procedures for collecting fees, including their relationship with the powers transferred and provide the terms and conditions for the use of the funds collected.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 13.023; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 81.