2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 85 - Island of Culebra (§§ 881-888 — 890l) › § 890c - Authority—Creation, attachment; Board of Directors; Executive Director

(a) There is hereby created a corporate and political body which shall constitute a public corporation or government instrumentality with its own juridical personality which shall be known as the Culebra Conservation and Development Authority.
(b) The Authority shall be attached to the Municipality of Culebra and shall be in charge of the drafting, adoption, and administration of plans and programs for the conservation, use, and development of Culebra, pursuant to the public policy established in §§ 890–890 l of this title, the norms and regulations of the Environmental Quality Board and the Master Plan and the Zoning Map adopted by the Puerto Rico Planning Board for the Island of Culebra, including its adjacent islets and keys, as it may be amended, pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 213 of May 12, 1942, as amended.
The plans that may be adopted and administered by the Authority shall take the programs of the Municipal Government of Culebra into consideration. The Authority shall have its seat and main office in the municipality of Culebra, where the meetings of the Board as well as the public and administrative hearings that the Board may call shall be regularly held.
(c) The Authority shall be governed by a Governing Board composed of the Mayor, or Deputy Mayor by designation of the Mayor of the Municipality of Culebra, as an ex officio member, and by four (4) associate members. The associate members shall be appointed by the Mayor of the Municipality of Culebra and confirmed by the Municipal Legislature of said municipality.
All members of the Board shall be residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Two (2) of its four (4) associate members shall be bona fide residents of the Municipality of Culebra and represent the business, commercial, or cultural sectors thereof; alternatively, one (1) of the members may be a professional with an academic degree in sociology, education, or public health; one (1) shall be a professional with an academic degree in geography, environmental science, planning, or any other discipline related to the environment, natural resources, or the use and management of the physical-spatial territory; and one (1) shall be a professional with an academic degree in economics or, alternatively, a person with accredited experience in areas related to economics, finance, or areas related to the subject of economic development.
All associate members shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years or until their successors take office. Board vacancies due to resignation, dismissal, physical or mental disability, or death shall be filled for the remainder of the term of the original appointment.
Except for the Mayor, no person may be a member of the Board if he: (i) is an elected official of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; (ii) is an official or employee of any political party or has been a member of the central or local governing body of a political party registered in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico during the year prior to the date of his appointment; (iii) has not provided the tax return filing certification for the previous five (5) taxable years, the certificate of paid taxes issued by the Department of the Treasury, the certificate of good conduct from the Puerto Rico Police, as well as the certification from ASUME and CRIM stating he has no outstanding debts in such agencies.
The Mayor of the Municipality of Culebra shall be the Chairperson of the Board. The members of the Board may designate a Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary through a majority vote if they deem it necessary. Three (3) out of five (5) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for a plenary session of the whole Board. All actions taken by the Chairperson or by any of its associate members shall be subject to review by the whole Board. The Board shall make decisions according to the majority of its members.
(d) The powers of the Authority and its public policy shall be exercised and determined by the Board.
(e) No member of the Board shall receive compensation for their services. However, the Board is empowered to provide, through regulations, the reimbursement of extraordinary and necessary expenses that the associate members of the Board have incurred in the discharge of their official duties. All members of the Board shall be subject to the provisions of the Puerto Rico Government Ethics Act of 2011, §§ 1854 et seq. of Title 3.
(f) The Authority shall have an Executive Director appointed by the Board, whose compensation shall be fixed by the Governing Board.
(g) The Board is authorized to delegate to the Executive Director the powers it considers necessary for the latter to exercise his functions properly. The functions of establishing the public policy of the Authority and the power to alienate property may not be delegated. The Executive Director shall perform such duties and shall have such responsibilities as the Board may assign to him and he shall help the latter in implementing the act.
History —June 22, 1975, No. 66, p. 153, § 4; June 7, 1977, No. 52, p. 114; July 2, 1985, No. 41, p. 147; June 6, 2002, No. 76, § 1; July 15, 2013, No. 59, § 2.