2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 40A - Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics Act (§§ 971 — 985) › § 975 - General powers and duties

The Institute shall also have the following general powers and duties:
(a) Adopt an official seal.
(b) Subsist for life and to sue and be sued as a juridical person.
(c) Approve regulations and norms to govern its internal operations and convene as often as necessary to perform its duties.
(d) Subscribe contracts and formalize any type of documents that are necessary or convenient in the exercise of [its] powers.
(e) Appoint the necessary personnel to perform the duties conferred by this chapter, subject to the provisions set forth in Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, and to fix the corresponding remuneration.
(f) Adopt, promulgate, amend and revoke those rules, orders and regulations, as deemed necessary and appropriate for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties, pursuant to §§ 2101 et seq. of this title, known as the “Uniform Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
(g) Order cease and desist on activities or acts in violation of any provision in this chapter or of its regulations, and order the performance of any act in compliance of its provisions.
(h) Demand or require from any government organism or private entity the information or data that it believes necessary for statistical purposes, reason for which these are under the obligation to furnish the statistical data or information that the Institute requests.
(i) Issue information procurement orders to government organisms and private entities that fail to furnish the information required.
To those ends, the Institute shall prepare the necessary regulations, taking into account the need to issue such orders in those situations in which a government organism does not comply with its obligation to provide statistical information to another government organism, or does not provide information to the Institute, or when the Institute or the government organisms require statistical information or data from private entities and these refuse to furnish it.
The regulations shall have provisions related to the noncompliance of government organisms with the requirement orders, which shall entail the imposition of administrative fines up to a maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation of the provisions of this chapter, its regulations and orders. These administrative fines shall not apply to any official of the Legislative Branch nor of the Judiciary Branch.
Likewise, the regulations shall have provisions related to the noncompliance by private entities with the requirement orders, which shall entail administrative fines of up to a maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation to the provisions of this chapter, its regulations and orders.
(j) Resort to the forums of any corresponding local, federal or international jurisdiction to enforce the purposes of this chapter, as well as its rules, regulations, orders, resolutions and provisions; appear before any private entity or forum of any jurisdiction, local, federal or international, in any hearing, procedure or matter that affects or may affect the purposes of this chapter or the regulations adopted by the Institute.
(k) Conduct public hearings, issue subpoenas under penalty of contempt, which should be signed and notified personally or by certified return mail with receipt requested.
(l) Receive donations and fix and collect reasonable fees for the obtainment of information and the studies originated, analyzed or disclosed by the Institute and the amounts collected shall be covered into a “Puerto Rico Statistics Institute Special Fund”, and may be used solely and exclusively to defray the operations expenses of the Institute.
(m) Render special reports to the Legislature and the Governor, and any person, or government or private entity which so requests, and render an annual report of the result of its undertakings during the previous year no later than September 1 of each year.
(n) Execute collaboration agreements with other government organisms, federal government organisms, and foreign and international organisms.
(o) Carry out all the acts and operations necessary to comply with the purposes of this chapter.
History —Aug. 28, 2003, No. 209, § 6; July 27, 2004, No. 170, § 4.