reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 106 - Municipal Day Care Services (§§ 1099 — 1099h) › § 1099e - Priority of use; financial contribution

Those persons unable to access or to pay in order to obtain child day care services from other sources shall have priority in the use of the services provided under this chapter. Users of the child day care service offered by the municipality shall contribute financially for its better operation to the extent permitted by their resources. The municipal administration shall determine the amount to be paid for the use of these services and shall take appropriate measures to make any necessary concessions or adjustments in favor of citizens with financial needs.
History —Oct. 7, 2009, No. 114, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 106 - Municipal Day Care Services (§§ 1099 — 1099h) › § 1099f - Appropriation of funds

The mayor or designated official is hereby authorized to carry out all pertinent actions with the Administration for the Integral Care and Development of Childhood, the government entity which, under Reorganization Plan No. 12 of 1995, manages the funds that the Government of Puerto Rico receives under the “Child Care and Development Block Grant Act” (PL 101-508), in order to comply with this chapter.
History —Oct. 7, 2009, No. 114, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 106 - Municipal Day Care Services (§§ 1099 — 1099h) › § 1099g - Testing for controlled substances

Whenever the municipality directly operates or finances the operation of the centers providing this service, all working staff, whether employees or contractors, shall submit to controlled substances testing and have the obligation to furnish any criminal record involving domestic violence or child abuse to the Municipal Office of Personnel.
History —Oct. 7, 2009, No. 114, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 106 - Municipal Day Care Services (§§ 1099 — 1099h) › § 1099h - Consortia

Within the administrative power of the municipalities, the mayors of neighboring municipalities are hereby empowered to establish consortia in order to pool their resources and establish a child day care center in a strategic location that is reasonably accessible for residents of those neighboring municipalities. The participating mayors may contribute whatever resources they have available to ensure the good operation of the day care program.
History —Oct. 7, 2009, No. 114, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 3 - General Provisions (§§ 621-639 — 1100a) › Chapter 107 - Culebra, Environmental Pioneer: A Ten-year Plan Act (§§ 1100 — 1100a) › § 1100a - Oversight and compliance

The Special Commissioner for the Development of the Island Municipalities of Vieques and Culebra (Commissioner), appointed pursuant to Administrative Bulletin No. OE-2013-033, shall be in charge of overseeing the development of the initiatives proposed in § 1100 of this title. All plans, programs, and proposals regarding any legislation or regulations shall be drafted within a term not to exceed one-hundred eighty (180) days as of the approval of this act. The Commissioner shall be required to adopt evaluation mechanisms to oversee and ensure that the goals set are met. Furthermore, the Commissioner shall be required to file monthly reports with the Governor on the progress of all the initiatives included in the Plan provided herein.
History — Feb. 13, 2014, No. 26, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4002 - Standards for interpretation

The powers and faculties conferred on the municipalities by this subtitle or any other act, except for any provision to the contrary, shall be liberally construed in harmony with sound fiscal and administrative public policy practices, in order to propitiate the development and implementation of the public policy set forth in this subtitle, to guarantee the necessary juridical, fiscal and administrative powers to the municipalities and to effectively address to [sic] the needs and the welfare of the inhabitants thereof.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.004; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 2; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4003 - The municipality

The municipality is the juridical entity of local government, subordinated to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and to its laws, whose purpose is the local common welfare and within it, primarily, the handling of the affairs, problems and collective needs of the inhabitants thereof.
Each municipality has legal capacity, independent and separate from the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with perpetual succession and legislative, administrative and fiscal capacity in all matters of a municipal nature.
The municipalities existing on the effective date of this act, and those that may be created in the future, shall be constituted and governed by the provisions of this subtitle and any other statute that grants powers and obligations to them.
The territory, population and organization are the essential elements of a municipality:
(a) Territorial limits.— The territorial limits of a municipality shall be those that are fixed on the effective date of this act, unless they are modified by virtue of any law to such effects. The law approved to such effects shall be processed at the request of the legislature of the municipality or municipalities whose limits are affected, or in the alternative, it shall have the consent of the municipal legislative body concerned prior to its approval.
(b) Population of the municipality.— The population of a municipality shall be constituted by those persons who have established their residence therein.
(c) Organization.— The municipal government shall be constituted of the Legislative and the Executive Branches.
The power conferred to the municipalities to legislate on municipal issues shall be exercised by a municipal legislature which shall be elected and constituted as established in this subtitle.
The executive power shall be exercised by a mayor, elected in each general election by the direct vote of the electors of the corresponding municipality.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.005; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4005 - The municipality—Creation

The creation of new municipalities shall be executed pursuant to the enabling act which is approved to such effects. In creating new municipalities, the population and territorial limits that the municipality will have, the effect of the new municipality on the normal development of the neighboring municipalities, and whether the resulting municipality and those that are affected by the creation of the new municipality will have sufficient economic capacity to defray the operating expenses of its administration and to render public services of a municipal nature, shall be taken into account.
It is necessary for the creation of a municipality to respond to its possibilities of fiscal and administrative self-sufficiency, based on the number of inhabitants, the expansion and levels of urban, commercial and industrial development, among others; and on the primary sources of income, to wit, property taxes, municipal licenses, the lottery, other local revenues and the contributions and benefits from the federal government.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.007; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4006 - The municipality—Suppression and consolidation

The suppression and consolidation of municipalities shall be performed pursuant to Section I of Article VI of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and by the law approved for such purposes.
In addition to complying with the above stated constitutional requirements, every law to suppress or consolidate municipalities shall take into account the population, geographic, and economic criteria, and whether said measure shall serve to manage the administration and rendering of public services of a municipal nature with greater efficiency.
When two (2) or more municipalities are consolidated into one (1), they shall be dissolved as a matter of law and the organization of the new municipality shall proceed pursuant to its enabling act and to the provisions of this subtitle.
When a municipality is suppressed, its territory and assets shall be annexed to the abutting municipality or municipalities. The municipality or municipalities favored by said annexation shall be reorganized in accordance with the provisions of the act that provides for the suppression of the municipality in question, and in the manner provided by this subtitle.
The annexation of a part of the territory of one municipality to another shall only be conducted as authorized by the law to such effects, and when the social and economic circumstances and the rendering of municipal services advise it.
When part of the territory of one municipality is incorporated to another, all the assets of the municipality thus affected that are located on the portion of the annexed territory shall then belong to the latter, as a matter of law.
Any controversy on territorial limits between the municipalities shall be submitted before the Court of First Instance corresponding to the judicial district where they are located. When different judicial districts are involved, the controversy may be presented in any of said judicial districts. The municipality affected by the decision of the Court of First Instance may resort to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico within thirty (30) days from the date of notice thereof.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.008; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4007 - The municipality—Name

The names of the municipalities existing on the date of approval of this act shall not be changed or modified, except as authorized by this subtitle. When a municipality is suppressed, the name of the municipality to which the territory of the abolished municipality is attached shall prevail.
When a municipality is created, its enabling act shall not change the proper name of the place where the new municipality is constituted, unless there are cultural, historic or traditional circumstances that justify a different name.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.009.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 201 - Preliminary Provisions (§§ 4001 — 4008) › § 4008 - The municipality—Tax exemption

The municipalities shall not have to pay any type of taxes to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and shall be exempted from the payment of fees and costs for the handling of any type of matter before the General Court of Justice and the Property Registry, and for the notarial documents that must be issued which would have to be paid by the municipality. They shall also be entitled to be issued any certificate for official purposes requested by them from any body, agency or official of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, free of charge.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 1.010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4101 - Requirements

Every candidate for mayor must meet the following requirements on the date of taking office:
(a) Be twenty-one (21) years of age or older.
(b) Know how to read and write.
(c) Be a citizen of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) Have resided in the municipality for at least one (1) year before the date of his/her election, and be a qualified elector thereof.
(e) Have never been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor that implies moral turpitude.
(f) Have never been removed from office or employment for misconduct in the performance of his/her duties.
(g) Have never been declared mentally unfit by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(h) No person shall hold the office of mayor for more than three terms, whether consecutive or not.
(i) Once he/she is elected or reelected, he/she shall be required to take seminars related to the administration of municipalities, which seminars shall be prepared and offered by the Puerto Rico Mayor’s Federation and the Puerto Rico Mayor’s Association. These seminars may be credited by the Government Ethics Office, the Office of the Comptroller or any other government instrumentality having seminars established as requirements for mayors by their laws. Mayors shall participate in a minimum of two seminars per year, which shall be aimed at strengthening areas such as administration of human resources, finances, ethics, budget, management, and use of federal funds, among others. Participation of the mayors in the seminars provided in this subtitle shall not exempt them from participating and complying with the training requirements and seminars set forth in Act No. 222 of August 6, 1999, for elected officials.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.001; June 29, 1995, No. 70, § 1; Dec. 24, 1999, No. 359, § 1; Feb. 20, 2000, No. 51, § 1; Aug. 10, 2002, No. 160, § 1; Nov. 22, 2009, No. 150, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4102 - Form and term

The mayor shall be elected by the direct vote of the corresponding municipality’s qualified electors in each general election.
The mayor shall hold said office for the term of four (4) years counted from the second Monday in January of the year following the general election in which he/she is elected, and shall hold office until his successor takes office.
When the mayor-elect does not take office on the date provided above in this subtitle, he/she shall be granted an additional term of fifteen (15) days to give oath and assume his/her office.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.002.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4103 - Vacancy—Procedure to fill

When the mayor-elect does not take office on the date provided in this subtitle, and if there is just cause for the delay, he/she shall be granted a term of fifteen (15) days to do so. The Legislature shall request the local governing body of the political party that elected the mayor, to designate a candidate to fill the vacancy. The Legislature shall ratify this request at its first regular session after the above term has elapsed, and the Secretary shall immediately send it, in writing, with acknowledgment of receipt requested. The candidate submitted by said local governing body shall take office immediately after his/her selection, and shall hold office for the term of office of the person who was elected, who did not take office.
When the local governing body does not submit a candidate within fifteen (15) days following the date of receipt of the Legislature’s request, the Secretary thereof shall notify said fact to the President of the political party that elected the mayor, as expeditiously as possible. The President shall proceed to fill the vacancy with the candidate proposed by the central governing body of the party that elected the mayor, whose vacancy is to be filled.
Any person that is selected to fill a vacancy caused by a mayor-elect who does not take office, must meet the eligibility requirements established in § 4101 of this title.
The President of the Municipal Legislature or the President of the political party in question, as the case may be, shall notify the name of the person selected to fill the vacancy of the mayor, to the Commonwealth Election Commission for their information, and for them to issue the corresponding certification.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.003.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4104 - Vacancy—Resignation; method

In case of resignation, the mayor shall submit it to the Municipal Legislature in writing, with acknowledgment of receipt. The Legislature shall take notice thereof and immediately notify the local or state governing body of the political party that elected the resigning mayor. This notice shall be processed by the Secretary of the Legislature, who shall keep a record of the date and manner in which said notification was made, and the acknowledgment receipt thereof.
If the vacancy occurs during a nonelection year, said governing body shall hold, within a term of thirty (30) days, a special election among the members of the party of the resigning mayor whose office became vacant, pursuant to § 4146(4) of Title 16.
If the vacancy occurs during an election year, said local governing body shall submit a candidate to the Legislature to replace the resigning mayor within fifteen (15) days following the date of receipt of the vacancy notice. If the local governing body fails to submit a candidate to the Legislature within the term established above, the Secretary thereof shall notify such fact through the fastest means available to the President of the concerned political party, who shall then proceed to fill the vacancy with the candidate proposed by the central governing body of the political party that elected the resigning mayor.
Every person selected to fill the vacancy of a mayor who resigns his office, shall meet the eligibility requirements established in § 4101 of this title. The person selected shall take office immediately after his selection and shall hold it for the unexpired term of the resigning mayor.
The President of the political party that elects the mayor shall notify the name of the person selected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Mayor to the Commission for the latter to issue the appropriate certification.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.004; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 9; Dec. 22, 2014, No. 239, § 51.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4105 - Vacancy—Other reasons

Any vacancy caused by death, removal, total and permanent disability or any other reason that causes a permanent vacancy in the office of mayor, shall be filled in the manner provided in § 4104 of this title.
In any case, the person selected to fill the vacancy of the office of the mayor shall meet the requirements established in § 4101 of this title. This person shall fill the office of mayor immediately after his/her selection and shall hold it for the unexpired term of the person who caused the vacancy.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4106 - Vacancy—Independent candidate vacancy

When an independent candidate who has been elected mayor does not take office, is totally and permanently disabled, resigns, dies, or for any reason vacates the office of mayor, the Legislature shall advise the Commonwealth Election Commission and the Governor in order to call a special election to fill the vacancy.
This election shall be held pursuant to Section 5.006 of Act. No. 4 of December 20 of 1977, known as the “Puerto Rico Electoral Law”, and any elector affiliated to a political party or any person duly-qualified as an elector who meets the requirements of the office in question, may present himself/herself as a candidate in said election.
When the vacancy in the office of mayor of a candidate elected under an independent candidacy occurs within twelve (12) months prior to the date of the general election, the Municipal Legislature shall fill the vacancy with the affirmative vote of at least three fourths (¾) of its members. When a term of not more than sixty (60) days has elapsed without having achieved this proportion of votes for the selection of a substitute mayor, the Governor shall appoint him/her from among the candidates that the Legislature has considered.
Any person who is selected to fill the vacancy shall meet the eligibility requirements established in § 4101 of this title.
When there is a permanent vacancy in the office of a mayor who ran as an independent candidate, the official provided in the ordinance providing for interim substitution as required in this subtitle, shall be the interim substitute.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.006.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4107 - Vacancy—Provisional succession

The legislature shall establish, by ordinance, the order of interim succession for the office of mayor when the office of mayor is permanently vacated due to death, resignation, removal from office, total and permanent disability, or any other cause, and in those cases in which he/she is suspended from employment while any charges filed against him/her are considered. Neither the official in charge of the finances of the municipality, nor the Internal Auditor may hold the office of mayor in an interim manner. Nor may any person who is a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity and the second degree of affinity of the mayor who causes the vacancy, hold office in an interim manner. The vice-mayor, the administrator of the municipality, or other official or person, designated by the legislature, may substitute for the mayor until the person who will fill in the vacancy, is appointed.
The interim order of succession provided by ordinance shall also apply in any case in which the mayor does not designate the municipal official who will substitute for him/her in case of a temporary or transitional absence, as required in this chapter.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.007; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4108 - Removal

In the performance of their office, mayors shall be subject to complying with the standards of conduct and ethics established in §§ 1801 et seq. of Title 3, known as “Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
The mayor may be removed from office pursuant to the procedure provided in this subtitle, and for the following reasons:
(a) Having been convicted of a felony.
(b) Having been convicted of a misdemeanor implying moral turpitude.
(c) Incurring immoral conduct.
(d) Incurring illegal acts that imply dereliction of duty, inexcusable negligence or conduct which is harmful to the best public interest, in the performance of his/her functions.
The Governor of Puerto Rico, the Director of the Ethics in Government Office, the legislature or any other person, may file charges against the mayor before the Commission to Air Municipal Complaints.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 3.008.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 205 - Executive Power; Mayor (§§ 4101 — 4112) › § 4112 - Salaries

The municipal legislature shall approve, with the vote of two-thirds of its members, the regulations that shall govern the procedures for the evaluation, determination and adjudication of the mayor’s salary.
When considering salary increases for the mayor, the legislature shall take into consideration the following criteria, among others that the legislature deems necessary:
(1) The municipal budget and the fiscal situation of the income and expenses reflected in the single audits.
(2) Population and the increase in community services.
(3) Compliance with fiscal and administrative controls established by OCAM, the Office of the Comptroller, and the federal government.
(4) The complexity of functions and responsibilities of the chief executive.
(5) The cost of living, which information shall be provided by the planning board upon request of the municipal legislature.
(6) The ability to attract capital and economic development to the municipality.
(7) Take into account the salaries received by the members of the Legislature and the secretaries of the constitutional cabinet.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 3.012 on Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4151 - Composition

The legislative powers conferred hereby to the municipalities shall be exercised by a municipal legislature.
The municipal legislature of each one of the municipalities shall be composed of the total number of the members indicated below, taking the last decennial census as a basis:
POPULATION NUMBER OF MEMBERS (a) 40,000 or more inhabitants 16 members (b) Over 20,000 inhabitants but less than 40,000 14 members (c) Less than 20,000 inhabitants 12 members
The municipal legislature of the capital city of San Juan shall be composed of seventeen (17) members, and that of the municipality of Culebra, of five (5) members.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.001; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4152 - Requirements of the legislature members

Every candidate to be an legislature member shall meet the following requirements on the date he/she takes office:
(a) Know how to read and write.
(b) Be domiciled in, and be a qualified elector of the corresponding municipality.
(c) Be a citizen of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) Have not been convicted of a felony nor a misdemeanor that implies moral turpitude.
(e) Have not been removed from office or employment for improper conduct in the performance of his/her duties.
(f) Have not been found mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(g) Be eighteen (18) years of age or over.
(h) No person shall hold office as a municipal legislature member for more than three terms, whether consecutive or not.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.002; June 29, 1995, No. 70, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4155 - Vacancy—Failure to take office

When a candidate elected as an municipal legislator does not take office on the date fixed by this subtitle, he/she shall be granted a term of fifteen (15) additional days counted from the stated date, to give oath and assume his/her office, or to otherwise state the reasons that prevented him/her from appearing to take office. If the candidate-elect does not appear in the above stated term to take office, nor does he/she state the reasons that prevent him/her from assuming the same, the Legislature shall notify the same, in writing and with acknowledgment of receipt, to the local governing body of the political party that elected him/her. Together with the notice, it shall request said party to submit a candidate in substitution of the elected municipal legislator in question, within thirty (30) days following the receipt thereof.
If the local governing body takes no action on the Legislature’s petition within the above stated term, the Secretary of the Legislature shall notify the President of the political party that elected the municipal legislator who did not take office, of said fact within five (5) days following the expiration of the term. The President shall fill the vacancy with the candidate proposed by the central governing body of the corresponding political party.
Any person who is selected to fill the vacancy caused by an municipal legislator-elect who does not take office, shall meet the eligibility requirements for the office established in this subtitle. He/she shall take office as municipal legislator immediately after his/her selection, and shall hold it for the term for which the person whom he is substituting for, was elected.
The President of the Municipal Legislature or the President of the corresponding political party, as the case may be, shall notify the name of the person selected to fill the vacancy of the municipal legislator, to the Commonwealth Election Commission, for said agency to issue the corresponding certificate of election.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4157 - Vacancy—Death or permanent disability

As soon as the Secretary of the Legislature knows that one of the Legislature members has died or has become totally and permanently disabled, he/she shall attest to such fact and shall inform the President of the Legislature by the speediest means possible. He/she shall likewise inform it in writing and with acknowledgment of receipt to the local governing body of the political party that elected the Legislature member in question, not (sic) within the five (5) days following the date he/she had knowledge of the death or total and permanent disability of the Legislature member in question.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4158 - Vacancy—Mass resignation and refusal

When all elected municipal legislators refuse to take their respective offices, or when they resign after taking office, the mayor shall notify this fact immediately and simultaneously to the Governor of Puerto Rico, to the Commonwealth Elections Commission and to the Presidents of the local and central governing bodies of the political parties that elected them. This notice shall be made in writing, return receipt requested, not later than the five (5) days following the date in which the mayor obtained knowledge of the refusal of the elected municipal legislators to take office. Within thirty (30) days from the date the mayor’s notice is received, as evidenced by the notice of receipt of the aforesaid, the local and central governing bodies of the political parties that elected them shall submit the names of the substitute municipal legislators to the Commonwealth Elections Commission, with a copy to the mayor. The Commonwealth Elections Commission shall fill the vacancies with the persons proposed by the local and central governing bodies of the political party that elected the municipal legislators that resigned or refused to take office. When discrepancies about the persons proposed arise between the local and central governing bodies of the political party which must fill the vacancies, the recommendation of the central governing body shall prevail.
The persons selected to fill the vacancies referred to in this section shall meet the eligibility requirements for the position established in this subtitle.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.008; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 14.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4159 - Vacancy—Removal from office

The legislature, with the approval of two-thirds of the total number of the members, and through a resolution to such effects, may declare a vacancy and remove any of its members from office, for the following reasons:
(a) The municipal legislator changes his/her domicile to another municipality.
(b) He/she is absent for five (5) meetings, consecutive or not, equivalent to one regular session, without justification and, after having been duly summoned to it.
(c) He/she is declared mentally disabled by a court of competent jurisdiction or suffers from an illness which prevents him/her from exercising the functions as a member of the legislature.
Any decision of an legislature to declare the position vacant and remove one of its members from office, shall be notified to the legislature member concerned in writing, by certified mail with acknowledgment of receipt, no later than two (2) days following the date that the legislature makes such a decision. Said notice shall advise the legislature member of his/her right to be heard in public hearing by the legislature. He/she shall likewise be informed that the decision shall be final and binding within a term of ten (10) days, counting from the date said notice is received, unless he/she can show cause in that same term why the legislature’s decision should be rendered ineffective.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.009; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 13.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4160 - Vacancy—Impeachment

Members of the Legislature may only be removed from office once they have taken office, by an impeachment procedure filed by one third (⅓) of the total number of its members and for the following reasons:
(a) Have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor implying moral turpitude.
(b) Have incurred immoral conduct.
(c) Have incurred illegal acts that imply dereliction of duty, inexcusable neglect, or conduct which is injurious to the best public interest in the performance of his/her functions.
Once the impeachment process is initiated, the President of the Legislature shall call a special session to judge and issue a decision on the charges filed against the municipal legislator concerned. The municipal legislatores who signed the charges may participate in the process, but not in the deliberations nor in the decision rendered on the charges.
A conviction shall only be produced in an impeachment process with the concurrent vote of a majority of the members of the Legislature that did not sign the charges. The decision thus issued shall be final and binding as of the date of its official notification to the impeached municipal legislator, as stated in the receipt acknowledgment of the same.
A conviction shall cause the definite removal of the person as member of the Municipal Legislature. Furthermore, the person shall be liable and subject to any civil, penal and administrative procedure.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.010.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4161 - Vacancy—Procedure to fill

Individual vacancies that arise among the members of the Legislature because of resignation, death, total and permanent disability, removal from office or impeachment, shall be filled according to the procedure established in this subtitle.
Any person who is selected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation, death, total or permanent disability, removal from office or impeachment of a municipal legislator, shall meet the eligibility requirements for the office as established in this subtitle. Said person shall take office immediately after being selected, and shall hold it for the remainder of the term of the elected assembly member who was substituted.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.011; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 15.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4163 - Vacancy—Elected under an independent candidacy

When an independent candidate who has been elected [as a] municipal legislator does not take office on the date provided in this subtitle, or resigns, is totally and permanently disabled, is removed from office or impeached, the Secretary of the Legislature shall advise the Governor and the Commonwealth Election Commission of the fact, in writing and with acknowledgment of receipt, in order to call a special election to fill the vacancy of the municipal legislator, within thirty (30) days following the date of the receipt thereof.
When all the municipal legislators elected under an independent candidacy refuse to take office or resign at any time after having taken office, the mayor shall immediately notify the Governor and the Commonwealth Election Commission of the fact, so that a special election can be called within the above-stated term of thirty (30) days.
Every special election held to fill vacancies of municipal legislators elected under an independent candidacy, shall be held pursuant to Section 5.006 of Act No. 4 of December 20 of 1977, known as “Puerto Rico Electoral Law”.
Any person who is selected to fill the vacancy of an municipal legislator elected under an independent candidacy, shall meet the eligibility requirements for the office provided in this subtitle.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.013, renumbered as § 4.012 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 17.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4165 - Leave

Those municipal legislators who are employees of any public entity shall be entitled to a special leave with pay, for just cause. This leave shall not exceed a maximum of five (5) working days a year, nonaccruable. They shall also be entitled to leave without pay that shall not exceed five (5) working days a year, nonaccruable, regardless of any other leave they might be entitled to. Both leaves shall be used to attend sessions of the legislature and its meetings and hearings, in order to perform municipal legislative activities. The legislature shall remit in writing, in any of the two special leaves, to the municipal legislator, the summons to the corresponding meeting, at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance [of] it. The municipal legislator, the summons to the corresponding meeting, at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance [of] it. The municipal legislator shall be responsible for presenting said summons to the pertinent public entity, for the adjudication of the special leave that applies to such effect.
Those municipal legislators who are employees of a private entity shall be entitled to a special leave without pay, or to a special leave for just cause, at the discretion of the employer, regardless of any other leave. Up to a maximum of ten (10) nonaccruable working days a year, to attend the sessions of the legislature and comply with the other responsibilities mentioned in the above paragraph.
The employers of the municipal legislators, whether public or private, shall not discriminate against said employees for using the leave established herein. The Municipal Affairs Commissioner shall be responsible for the drafting and promulgating the regulations establishing uniform standards that shall govern the provisions of this section, no later than six (6) months after this act is approved.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.015, renumbered as § 4.014 on Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 17; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 15.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 207 - Municipal Legislative Power (§§ 4151 — 4166) › § 4166 - Transition Committee in general elections years

The municipal legislatures shall constitute a transition committee whenever it is required to turn over the administration of the legislature to the new successors of the members of the majority, or when at least half of the departing members, are replaced. The committee shall be constituted no later than the 30th of November of the year that general elections are held. It shall be composed of at least five (5) representatives of the outgoing legislature, and an equal number of representatives of the incoming legislature. The Secretary, the President and the Vice-President of the outgoing legislature shall be a part of said committee.
The members of the Transition Committee of the outgoing legislature are bound to meet with the members of the incoming legislature in order to inform them of the status of the resources and finances of the legislature, provide them with the reports of the Director of Municipal Finances regarding the accounts and balance of the legislature’s budget, the legislature’s property register, the regulations, resolutions and ordinances, approved and in effect, and any other documents or information that can expedite the orderly transfer of the municipal legislative body.
The members of the transition committee of the outgoing legislature shall render a written report to the body of the newly-elected legislature on the general state of the legislature’s present finances, property, resolutions, and ordinances, with the observations and recommendations that they deem are necessary or convenient. A copy of this report shall be remitted to the mayor, the members of the constituted legislature, and the Office of the Municipal Affairs Commissioner. The committee shall establish the transition mechanism for the orderly transfer of the administration of the legislature and the municipal government, without affecting its services and operations.
When the President of the outgoing legislature refuses to appoint the representatives on the transition committee, or when the representatives of said committee do not comply with the responsibility imposed on them by this section, the newly-elected legislature may file a special writ of mandamus before the Court of First Instance of the judicial district where the municipality is located, in order to bind the outgoing legislature to comply with this section, or to be authorized to appoint the representatives of both parties, or to order the representatives of the President before said committee to fulfill their duties.
Furthermore, in electoral fiscal years, it is required to include in the municipal budgets an item with all the resources needed to meet the costs of accrued vacation leave, as well as any other concept the outgoing confidential employees might be entitled to.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 4.016 on Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 16.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 209 - Municipal Legislative Process (§§ 4201 — 4214) › § 4201 - Inaugural session, election of officers, regulations and quorum

The Municipal Legislature shall hold its inaugural session on the second Monday of the month of January of the year following each general election. Said session shall be called under the acting presidency of the outgoing Secretary, or in his absence, by the eldest Legislative member-elect with most seniority as a municipal legislator. At this inaugural session, the Legislature shall elect a President and a Vice President from among its members.
The legislature shall adopt regulations to govern its internal proceedings, which it may begin to consider in its inaugural session. Until the new regulations are approved, those of the former legislature shall rule and apply. The legislature’s regulations shall cover the statutory provisions of this act and of any other act that will allow it to discharge its functions effectively, as well as the administrative provisions issued through memoranda sent by the Commissioner.
The majority of the total number of the legislature’s members shall constitute its quorum.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 5.001; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 17.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 209 - Municipal Legislative Process (§§ 4201 — 4214) › § 4202 - President

The following shall be the duties and responsibilites of the President of the Legislature in addition to any others provided in this subtitle:
(a) Represent and appear in behalf of the Legislature in all official and juridical acts required by law, ordinance, resolution or regulations.
(b) Convoke the regular sessions of the Legislature and the special sessions in those instances that are provided in this subtitle.
(c) Prepare the agenda of the matters to be dealt with or considered in each session.
(d) Direct the work of the regular and special sessions of the Legislature, acquaint it of [with] the various matters it must resolve, and lead the debates and deliberations of the same.
(e) Appoint the members of the standing committees and the special committees that are constituted to such effects and designate their chairpersons.
(f) Sign the minutes of the sessions of the Legislature and every ordinance or resolution that is duly approved, as well as all official documents on which his/her signature is necessary or convenient due to their nature.
(g) Authorize vacation, sick and other types of leave for the Secretary and the Legislature’s employees.
(h) Administrate the Legislature’s budget appropriation subject to the provisions of this subtitle and the applicable ordinances and regulations.
(i) Appear at the execution of the professional services and consultant’s contracts that are needed in the exercise of the Legislature’s faculties.
(j) Exercise the functions that are appropriate to the administrative head of the Legislature, and as such, direct and supervise the Legislature and the Secretariat’s transactions and activities.
In case of the temporary absence of the President of the Legislature, the Vice President shall assume his/her duties for the duration of his/her absence. The President of the Legislature may delegate the duties provided in subsection (h) of this section on the Secretary or any other executive employee of the Legislature.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 5.002.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 209 - Municipal Legislative Process (§§ 4201 — 4214) › § 4204 - Constitutional limitations

All limitations imposed by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and by the Federal Relations Act in Puerto Rico, preceding Title 1, on the Legislature and its members, shall apply to the fullest extent to the Municipal Legislature and its members.
The municipal legislators shall have the duties and attributes indicated in this subtitle. The municipal legislators shall have parliamentary immunity for their votes and statements in the regular or special sessions thereof, or any duly held meeting of its committees. The municipal legislators shall make use of the privilege of parliamentary immunity conferred in this section, prudently, and within the broadest frame of propriety, respect and ethics.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 5.004; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 19.