2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 32 - Act for the Improvement of Family Assistance and for the Support of the Elderly (§§ 711 — 748) › § 713 - Support for the Elderly Program—Creation

The [Support for the Elderly Program] is hereby created, attached to the Administration as a separate operational and programmatic component, under the coordination, supervision, evaluation and inspection of the Administrator.
The Program shall be governed by the personnel systems, regulations, norms and procedures that govern the Child Support Administration.
The Program shall establish and administer its accounting systems, accounts management, purchases and supplies, administration of files and records, and any other administrative and operational support system, pursuant to the regulations, norms and procedures approved by the Secretary. In addition, it shall establish a system for the handling, reproduction, conservation, and disposal of documents subject to the provisions of §§ 1001 et seq. of Title 3.
The Program, in the performance of the duties conferred by this chapter, shall be exempted from the payment of all classes of fees, duties, taxes, license fees and excise taxes, whether state or municipal, as well as income taxes.
The Program shall be empowered to have the checks, files, registers, and documents copied, photocopied, digitalized, microfilmed or kept as facsimiles or digital or similar characters, in full or reduced size. The originals may be disposed of. Copies stamped or certified by an authorized official of the Program shall be equally valid as evidence as the originals. The copies shall constitute proof of authenticity thereof for any legal purpose in administrative and judicial proceedings and in private transactions.
The Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary, shall establish the systems that may be needed for their proper functioning and operation. By delegation of the Secretary, he/she shall appoint whatever personnel is deemed necessary and shall perform the administrative and managerial actions needed for the best compliance of the purposes of this chapter, as well as of any other local and federal statutes, and also of the regulations promulgated by the Secretary and adopted by virtue of this chapter, taking into consideration that said regulations must be promulgated pursuant to the Handbooks of Norms and Procedures of Conflict Mediation Centers of the Judicial Branch, duly approved by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and in agreement with §§ 532–532e of Title 4, and the Regulations of Alternative Methods for the Solution of Conflicts duly approved by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. The Administrator is hereby authorized, in the performance of his/her functions, to delegate the powers and functions imposed on him/her by this chapter, except the power to regulate and appoint personnel.
The Program, in its initial phase, shall commence its functions at central level, taking into consideration the budget appropriation of the Program and given the fact that already existing resources in the Child Support Administration cannot be used. Depending on the execution and demand of the Program, it may be extended to other local and regional offices of the Administration.
History —Aug. 12, 2000, No. 168, § 5; Aug. 17, 2002, No. 193, § 5.