2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 65A - Puerto Rico Government Ethics Act of 2011 (§§ 1854 — 1860b) › Subchapter I - Title and Definitions (§ 1854) › § 1854 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms or phrases shall have the meaning stated below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) Official action.— Action related to the functions and duties of a public servant or within the scope of the authority delegated to the agency, such as rendering advisory services, conducting investigations, filing charges, auditing, adjudicating, and rule making on specific areas. It also includes any procedure related to orders, authorizations, exemptions, resolutions, contracts, granting of permits, franchises, accreditations, privileges, and licenses.
(b) Political activity.— An event in which one or more persons promote in favor of or against a certain candidacy, political party or matter to be considered by the voters.
(c) Agency.— Instrumentalities of the Executive Branch of the Government, public corporations, municipalities and the legislatures thereof, special corporations for municipal development, municipal consortia, boards, and those entities under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.
(d) Promotion.— Any appointment to an office or position with higher financial compensation or ranking.
(e) Matter.— An issue that involves specific parties in which a public servant participates, personally and substantially, and that requires his/her decision, approval, recommendation or investigation. This term does not include the intervention or participation of a public servant in the promulgation of norms or regulations of general application or of abstract directives and instructions that do not pertain to particular situations or cases.
(f) Audit.— Procedure that initiates with the electronic filing of the financial report, in which a financial solvency analysis is conducted.
(g) Forensic audit.— A specialized audit based upon a financial solvency analysis that encompasses techniques to prevent and detect any conducts that are contrary to public function.
(h) Appointing authority.— The person or persons whose inherent duty is to appoint, promote, compensate or contract.
(i) Benefit.— Any advantage, use, profit or gain, without limiting such term to a monetary or material gain, but denoting any form of reward.
(j) Candidate.— Any person who publicly announces his/her intent to seek an elective public office or who, without being the candidate of a political party, publicly announces his/her intent to seek an office or who appears on the ballot for any election.
(k) Case.— Any action or controversy before the consideration of any Branch of the Government, in order for a decision to be rendered.
(l) CDET.— The Center for the Development of Ethical Thought.
(m) Committee.— The Government Ethics Committee.
(n) Conflict of interests.— A situation in which personal or financial interests are or could be reasonably inconsistent with public interest.
(ñ) Contract.— Any covenant or juridical business, whether to do or not to do a specific act, executed with the consent of the contracting parties, with regard to a certain object and by virtue of the established cause. This term includes, but is not limited to, any good, work or service agreement, and any purchase and service order.
(o) Control.— Authority to manage the assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenditures of a person.
(p) Executive Director.— The Executive Director of the Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico.
(q) Former public servant.— Any person who has worked as a public servant.
(r) Government.— The Government of Puerto Rico.
(s) Confidential document or information.— That which is defined as confidential by law; that which is protected under any of the privileges of Evidence Law; that which, if disclosed, could harm the fundamental rights of third parties or the right to privacy and the private life of public servants; the disclosure of which could constitute a violation of the executive privilege; when the document or information is part of a deliberation process when drafting public policy and, if disclosed, may endanger the life or bodily integrity of a public servant or another person, the security of the Island or may impair any business transactions or official efforts of the State in progress when requesting such information. This term includes reports, memoranda or any written document drafted by a public servant in discharging the duties of his/her office or job for his/her superior or in connection with internal decisions and actions of the department.
(t) Financial report.— Official electronic form adopted and provided by the Office, and in the case of the Judicial Branch, the official form adopted by the Supreme Court, as well as any additional information required by the Office or furnished by the public servant or former public servant. The term includes the annual financial statement, the induction statement, and the termination of tenure statement.
(u) Income.— Everything received from any source, whether lawful or unlawful, exempted or taxable.
(v) Electoral interest.— The platform, agenda, ideal, formulas or tendencies of a political party or candidate.
(w) Appointment.— Official designation of any kind to carry out certain functions.
(x) Office.— The Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico.
(y) Relative.— The grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, siblings, nephews, nieces, first cousins, spouse, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law of a public servant, as well as the children and grandchildren of his/her spouse.
(z) Political party.— A group, entity or organization governed by the Puerto Rico Electoral Law, as amended, or any succeeding law.
(aa) Private person.— A natural or juridical person, without including public entities.
(bb) Executive Branch.— All the agencies of the Government.
(cc) Judicial Branch.— The judges or justices of the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, and any other office or agency attached to this Branch.
(dd) Legislative Branch.— The House of Representatives, the Senate of Puerto Rico, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, the Office of the Ombudsman, and any other office or agency attached to this Branch.
(ee) Gift.— Any money, assets or objects, financial opportunity, gratuities, discounts or benefits.
(ff) Compensation.— Payment or remuneration received for carrying out a job. This shall include the improvement of the financial conditions of the job such as raises, merit-based promotions or salary differentials, among others.
(gg) Public servant.— A person in the Government who may or may not be involved in the drafting and implementation of public policy and carries out his/her duties permanently or temporarily, whether for pay or not. The term also includes freelance contractors whose contract equals a job position or office or whose responsibilities include being directly involved in the drafting and implementation of public policy.
(hh) Family unit.— Those whose financial affairs are under the control of the public servant.
History —Jan. 3, 2012, No. 1, § 1.2.