2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TEN - Commerce (§§ 1 — 4196) › Subtitle 1 - Regulation of Business Generally (§§ 1 — 998q) › Chapter 37 - Uniform Securities Act (§§ 851 — 898) › Subchapter IV - General Provisions (§§ 881 — 898) › § 897 - Special fund

(a) A special fund is hereby created, to be known as the “Fund for Investor and Consumer Education in Relation with the Financial System and for the Training of the Personnel of the Office of the Financial Institutions Commissioner”, to provide money to educate the general public on financial issues and train the personnel of the Office of the Commissioner.
(b) The Commissioner shall, in his/her discretion, carry out any efforts that he/she may deem would contribute to better advise and educate consumers in their relation with the finance industry and make use of said funds to, among other things, provide resources to those entities, divisions and/or programs which assist in achieving the purposes set forth for this Fund, and to defray any operating expenses that the administration thereof may entail.
(c) All the moneys received by the Commissioner from administrative fines imposed for violations of the provisions of this chapter, may be deposited in this Fund. Likewise, any fine imposed by the Commissioner for voluntary agreements or administrative orders may be deposited in this Fund.
(d) Temporary provision.— For the purpose of contributing towards defraying the operating expenses of the Cooperative Development Commission (COOPDC) of the Government of Puerto Rico, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCFI) shall allocate two million dollars ($2,000,000) annually during fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 from the funds generated under the provisions of this section, known as the “Fund for Investor and Consumer Education in Relation with the Financial System and for the Training of the Personnel of the Office of the Financial Institutions Commissioner”, of Act No. 24 of June 2, 2009, as amended. Said annual allocation shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury who shall create and keep a special account in favor of the COOPDC to defray its operating expenses during fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. The Secretary of the Treasury shall promptly promulgate regulations to provide the mechanisms for COOPDC to access such funds. Once the aforementioned particular purpose has concluded and been accomplished, the allocation from the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions to said special account shall cease on July 1, 2013. Provided, That for Fiscal Year 2014-2015, the sum of four million, eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($4,850,000) shall be transferred from the “Fund for Investor and Consumer Education in Relation with the Financial System and for the Training of the Personnel of the Office of the Financial Institutions Commissioner”, created in this section to the “Legal Liability Fund”. Likewise, for Fiscal Year 2015-2016, the sum of two million, five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in account number 0750000-238-780-1998, or in any other created for the same purposes in the Department of the Treasury’s accounting system shall be transferred from said Fund to the “Special Education Student’s Therapy and Service Fund”, created by Act No. 73-2014. Provided, further, That for Fiscal Year 2016-2017, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in account number 0750000-238-780-1998 of the Department of the Treasury’s accounting system, shall be transferred from this Fund to the “Special Education Students Service and Therapy Fund”, created by Act No. 73-2014. Provided, further, That for Fiscal Year 2016-2017, the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) shall be transferred from account 0750000-238-780-1998 or any other account created for the same purposes in the Department of the Treasury’s accounting system to the “Elections Support Fund”.
History —June 18, 1963, No. 60, p. 128, added as § 417 on Aug. 11, 1996, No. 114, § 28; June 2, 2009, No. 24, § 1; July 1, 2011, No. 106, § 1; July 1, 2014, No. 78, § 4; July 2, 2015, No. 105, § 12; July 22, 2016, No. 81, § 4.