reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301h - Cockpit categories

(a)
(1) Touristic. — Cockpits classified under this category may hold one match daily, seven (7) days a week. These are hereby authorized to hold matches with no betting limits. In order to qualify for this category, cockpits shall be geared toward tourism, and located in a tourist area so established by the Tourism Company in coordination with the Planning Board.
(2) Special first. — Cockpits classified under this category may hold one match daily, seven (7) days a week. These are hereby authorized to hold matches with no betting limits.
(3) First category. — Cockpits classified under this category may hold four (4) matches a week, on the days requested and approved by the Cockfighting Affairs Office. These are hereby authorized [to] hold matches with no betting limits.
(4) Second category. — Cockpits classified under this category may hold three (3) matches a week, on the days requested and approved by the Cockfighting Affairs Office. These are hereby authorized to hold matches with no betting limits.
(5) Betting days. — Each cockpit may conduct the number of matches a week to which it is entitled according to its category, and during the days of the week requested and approved by the Cockfighting Affairs Office. Cockpits interested in changing their betting days previously approved by the Sports and Recreation Department shall request it in writing to said Office.
(6) Minors. — Entrance to cockpits for minors under the age of fourteen (14) is hereby prohibited, unless they are accompanied by an adult. For security reasons, minors under the age of fourteen (14) are not allowed to sit at a ringside first row.
(7) Sanctions. — Should a cockpit charge higher fees than those fixed by the Sports and Recreation Department according to its category, or should it hold matches on a designated day, it shall be sufficient grounds to impose a sanction, which shall be established by regulations, on its authorized operator, and/or the cockpit upon a previous administrative hearing.
(b) Requirements for building cockpits. — The Sports and Recreation Department shall establish through regulations the requirements for building cockpits in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, §§ 11, 12, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301i - License—Requirements

The requirements to obtain or renew a pit judge or registration judge shall be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department.
If the operator of a cockpit authorizes a person to perform the functions of a pit judge and registration judge in the cockpit he/she operates, who does not hold a license in effect or whose license has been suspended or revoked, the Cockfighting Affairs Office may sanction him/her with a fine to be established by regulations.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 13, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301j - Prohibitions during a fight

The prohibitions during a match shall be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department. Violators shall be imposed a fine to be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department. Said fine shall be collected by the pit judge at once, and after deducting the sum of the money order and postage, he/she shall remit the same to the Sports and Recreation Department payable to the Secretary of Treasury not later than five (5) calendar days as of the date of the imposition of the fine.
The pit judge shall impose a fine which shall be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department on any person who, through a malicious act such as making noise, throwing objects into the pit, hitting the ringside area or trying to change the course or progress of a fight.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 14, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301k - Maintenance technician

The requirements to apply for a maintenance technician license shall be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department.
The Secretary of the Sports and Recreation Department shall establish through rules to the effect a procedure through which any new candidate for a maintenance technician position shall undergo a practice period as a final requirement to obtain his/her license.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 15, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301l - Judges’ resignation

In the case that a pit or registration judge decides to resign to the position he/she is holding in the cockpit, he/she shall so notify it in writing, through certified mail, to the cockpit operator and the Sports and Recreation Department within thirty-days (30) before the day the resignation becomes effective. If the judge abandons his/her position without meeting this requirement, his/her license shall be suspended for six (6) consecutive months and he/she shall be punished with a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).
Pit and registration judges are officials licensed by the Sports and Recreation Department whose recruitment to practice every season falls on a cockpit operator. It is his/her duty to strictly comply with this regulation. The pit and registration judges shall continue to act as such depending on their performance in every cockpit. The operator may replace an official judge through a notice in writing to the judge and the Cockpit Affairs Office of Puerto Rico. In addition, said operator shall notify the name and license number of the judge to be recruited.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 16, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301m - Complaints about actions

If any pit judge, registration judge, maintenance technician, registration judge assistant, operator, owner or administrator of a cockpit fails to perform the functions inherent to his/her office in an efficient manner, the adversely affected person may file, before the Executive Director of the Cockfighting Affairs Office, a compliant [sic] in writing stating the facts and arguments that sustain his/her position. The Executive Director of the Cockfighting Affairs Office may hold preliminary administrative hearings or refer any complaint to the Cockfighting Affairs Commission.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 17, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301n - Objections to decisions of the pit judge

The course and decision of cockfights corresponds exclusively to the pit judges. Only the owner of a gamecock may object the judge’s decision before the Cockfighting Affairs Office of the Department. The owner of a gamecock shall inform the pit judge, at the time of the decision, that such decision shall be contested. The pit judge shall retain both bets and shall send them to the Department together with a detailed report specifying the reasons on which his/her decision was based. The owner of a gamecock affected by a decision of the pit judge shall also submit his/her objection in writing which shall contain a relation of the facts indicating his/her version of the contested decision. Said reports shall be submitted within five (5) calendar days to the Sports and Recreation Department. The pit judge shall recognize as the owner of a gamecock that person under whose name the cock is registered in the Cockfights Register. The rules of this section shall also apply to decisions made by the registration judge with respect to objections presented before the Cockfighting Affairs Commission.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 18, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301o - Assault against judges

Any person who is found guilty by a Court of Justice of Puerto Rico for resorting to force or violence against a pit or registration judge to injure him/her while he/she performs official functions in a cockpit, shall be banned from entering any cockpit within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico, for a term of three (3) years as of the date in which the assault was committed. Likewise, any person who is found guilty by a Court of Justice of Puerto Rico for disturbance of the peace, as provided by §§ 4629 et seq. of Title 33, in a cockpit, shall be banned from entering any cockpit within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico for a term of one (1) year as of the date in which the disturbance of peace was committed. The operator of a cockpit who, knowingly, allows the entrance of a person while complying with any of these restrictions, shall be imposed by regulations of the Sports and Recreation Department; since he/she has the obligation of providing the employees and visitors with an adequate and reasonable degree of security.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 19, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301p - Restrictions to judges and assistants

No pit judge, registration judge, maintenance technician or registration judge assistant may match or pit his/her gamecocks or cocks trained by them in a cockpit where they perform functions. Operators or lessees who hold a license to act as pit judge, registration judge or maintenance technician shall be banned from practicing as such in their own cockpits or in those administered by them, unless an emergency event arises, of which the Sports and Recreation Department shall be informed within five (5) calendar days. It shall be understood as “emergency event” that in which they shall work in order to finish a match or up to three (3) consecutive matches. During the course of the matches none of them may drink alcoholic beverages, if they are performing their functions.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 20, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301q - Establishment of the cockfighting season

The season for practicing the sport of cockfighting in authorized cockpits shall open on November 1 of each calendar year and shall close on October 31 of the following year. All licenses issued by the Sports and Recreation Department to cockpits shall expire on October 31 of each year.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 21, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301r - Working hours and play days

Each cockpit shall prepare its own match program. The cockfighting day may begin at 9:00 a.m. and end not later than 12:00 a.m. every day. Within this fifteen-hour frame, according to the cockfights days requested and assigned, it may determine the time in which the roosters shall be pitted. Within this time schedule, a maximum of fifty (50) matches shall be pitted. The registration judge shall ensure that the fights continue uninterruptedly. The schedule of state tournaments sponsored by the Sports and Recreation Department, through the Cockfighting Affairs Office, and that of those sponsored by cockpits and the night matches may be regulated through special norms to the effect issued by the Secretary.
The registration judge who allows equipping a gamecock and/or the pit judge who allows the beginning of a cockfight outside of the schedule stipulated, shall be sanctioned through the regulations of the Sports and Recreation Department by the suspension of their license until the payment of the fine imposed is made, in the Department of the Treasury, upon previous administrative hearing before the Cockfighting Affairs Commission. The operator of the cockpit who requests the authorization of the registration judge to allow equipping the gamecocks so that the pit judge may authorize cockfights out of the schedule stipulated by this chapter shall be sanctioned by a fine which shall be established through regulations and the closing of the cockpit until said fine is paid in the Department of the Treasury, upon previous administrative hearing before the Cockfighting Affairs Commission.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 22, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301s - Regulation

(a) Type, material, and size of spurs. — To be established through regulations of the Sports and Recreation Department.
(b) Authorization for the removal of a gamecock. — To be established through regulations of the Sports and Recreation Department.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, §§ 23, 24, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301t - Import

Gamechicks and/or gamecocks shall be imported for the sole purpose of using them for exhibition and the same may not be exhibited during an organized cockfight or for breeding so as to improve and refine our breed of gamecocks. Any person, who imports one or more gamechicks and/or gamecocks to such ends shall notify the Sports and Recreation Department within forty-eight (48) hours following the arrival of said specimens in Puerto Rico. The import of said birds shall pay no tax whatsoever. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine which shall be established by regulations for each gamechick or gamecock not declared.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 25, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301u - Illegal ointment

Every gamecock’s owner, breeder or particular person who is proven to have applied any kind of ointment or other substance on the head or any other part of the body of a cock, with the intent of deceiving or preventing a legal fight, shall not thereafter be permitted to register any more cocks, or otherwise intervene in duly registered cockpits. Provided, That before the beginning of a fight, every gamecock shall be washed by the registration judge and the pit judge with adequate solutions to be determined by the Sports and Recreation Department.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 26, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301v - Promotion of gamecock breeding in Puerto Rico

It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture to preserve and improve the gamecock breed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. To such purposes, it shall establish registers, issue identification cards, and develop training, incentive and assistance programs for gamecock breeders, raisers, trainers, cockers and owners that enable the optimum development of this activity as part of the livestock and agricultural sector of the Island.
The Department and its Secretary shall certify as “bona fide farmer” to those persons and entities who thus request it and who earn more than fifty percent (50%) of their income from breeding, raising, tending to gamecocks and/or operating a cockpit, either individually or in any combination thereof.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 27, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301w - Cockpit bylaws

Cockpits are hereby authorized to draft their own bylaws, provided, that the same do not contravene this chapter, the norms and regulations issued by the Secretary, and the laws that govern the sport of cockfighting.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 28, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301x - Penalties

These penalties shall be established through regulations by the Sports and Recreation Department.
The fines provided by this chapter shall be remitted to the Department by certified check or by bank or postal money order to the order of the Secretary of the Treasury or by any other means to be authorized by the Secretary. If a term for the payment thereof is not specified, the same shall be sent not later than five (5) calendar days as of the incident.
If any person on which an administrative fine is imposed, whether by the registration judge or the pit judge, the Cockfighting Affairs Office or the Secretary, and the same is not paid within the term established by this chapter, or within fifteen (15) calendar days following the imposition of the fine, if a term is not specified, the sum of the fine may be increased by fifty percent (50%), upon previous notice.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 29, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301y - Complaints

Violations of the provisions of this chapter shall be notified in writing. The Cockfighting Affairs Office may file complaints before its administrative forum for infractions against the laws or regulations administered by it. The complaint shall include the name and mailing address of the defendant, the facts constituting the infraction, the legal or regulatory provisions for which the violation is imposed. In the case of complaints filed by persons unconnected with the Cockfighting Affairs Office, the plaintiffs shall also include the remedy requested and their signatures.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 30, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 301z - Security

The Police of the Government of Puerto Rico shall be in charge of the preservation of peace and order in the public cockpits of Puerto Rico, as provided by this chapter. Any cockpit operator shall send a petition to the police station corresponding to the area in which the cockpit is located and shall include the calendar of the cockfighting season together with a request for a police officer to be assigned to said facility once the same begins its operations or, at least, for the cockpit to be included in the surveillance patrol program of said police station. Patrollers shall enter in the cockpits and sign a register to be provided by the Sports and Recreation Department, which shall be under the custody of the registration judge. Said petition shall be sent with return receipt requested.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 31, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 302 - Sponsorship of Commonwealth cockfighting tournaments

The Sports and Recreation Department shall sponsor the Commonwealth tournaments that it deems pertinent, and shall conduct activities that promote the sport of cockfighting and may receive funds from the private sector to sponsor Commonwealth cockfighting tournaments.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 32, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 302a - Delegation of powers

The Sports and Recreation Department is hereby entrusted with the approval and adoption of regulations that are in agreement with the changes and development of the sport of cockfighting, provided that these are not contrary to this chapter.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 34, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 18 - Cockfighting Act (2004) › § 302b - Length of cockfights

As of the approval of this act, and for a period of one year, cockfights shall have a maximum length of fourteen (14) minutes. During this one (1)-year period, the Cockfighting Affairs Office of the Sports and Recreation Department shall study and evaluate the efficiency of the reduction of the fight lengths and shall establish through regulations a fixed term therefor, which shall not exceed fifteen (15) minutes.
History —July 31, 2007, No. 98, § 35, eff. 90 days after July 31, 2007.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 24 - Outdoor Recreation (§§ 381 — 385) › § 381 - Public policy

It is hereby declared that the public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico is to foster mountain cycling, kayaking, canoeing and hiking. To that effect the departments, agencies, public corporations and instrumentalities of the Government of Puerto Rico are hereby directed to identify areas under their jurisdiction where paths or trails already exist or may be established or laid out for pedestrians or mountain cyclists. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is hereby directed to establish paths or earth or gravel trails for pedestrians in all Commonwealth forests, natural reservations and other public lands under its administration. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall also establish aquatic, equestrian and mountain cycling paths or trails in those areas where the topographical conditions allow and where there is no significant environmental impact.
It is furthermore hereby declared that the historical highways that were laid out in the last century and the access roads to the beaches and to the maritime-terrestrial zone that exist since time immemorial are of public use and may not be closed except by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources for the preservation of our natural resources. Those highways and roads shall be turned by the Government of Puerto Rico into natural paths to be included in the Register created in § 382 of this title.
History —Sept. 2, 2000, No. 314, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 24 - Outdoor Recreation (§§ 381 — 385) › § 382 - Register—Creation

The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, in coordination with the Technical Committee to be created below, shall prepare a Register that shall include the location of the lands to be administered by that agency in a topographical map of the Federal Geological Service, the official name of the tract of land, access to the path from the public road, the length of the paths, the main natural characteristics of the land, a map identifying the paths or trails, the main uses allowed for said paths allowed, similar uses not directly related to the paths, the name and telephone number of those persons authorized through concessions by said agency to offer the principal and related uses of the paths and any other information believed pertinent. The Register may also include paths or trails in private lands as provided below in § 385 of this title. The Register shall be available at the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and at the Sports and Recreation Department. Copies of any information contained in said Register shall be made available to the citizens subject to the payment of a fee for copying the document. The Register shall also be made available through the Internet.
History —Sept. 2, 2000, No. 314, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 24 - Outdoor Recreation (§§ 381 — 385) › § 383 - Advisory Board

The Advisory Board, created in 1994, shall be directed to coordinate the public policy implemented in this chapter with the municipalities and the private sector. The Board shall include a representative of an association or federation of cross-country vehicles. It shall also appoint a technical committee to be charged with cooperating with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources in the preparation of the register of natural paths.
History —Sept. 2, 2000, No. 314, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 24 - Outdoor Recreation (§§ 381 — 385) › § 384 - Regulations

The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall set the requirements that must be met by the lands where natural trails permitting or prohibiting the use of motor vehicles shall be established. The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources may establish, through regulations, the requirements for holding mountain cycling and cross-country vehicle competitions. The lands containing paths and trails that meet the requirements of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and that comply with the regulations of the Government of Puerto Rico shall be included in the Register created by § 382 of this title.
History —Sept. 2, 2000, No. 314, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 24 - Outdoor Recreation (§§ 381 — 385) › § 385 - Certification

The owners of lands containing natural paths may request that they be included in the Register. That petition may contain a description of the land, including its main natural characteristics and any other pertinent information that may be required by the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. The Secretary may proceed to certify the land as a natural area with natural paths when the owner has agreed in writing to comply with the requirements established in this chapter and the regulations approved pursuant to the same. Furthermore, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources shall promote the use of these lands for the development of auxiliary forests pursuant to the provisions of §§ 191 et seq. of Title 12, known as the “Puerto Rico Forest Act”.
History —Sept. 2, 2000, No. 314, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 501 - Short title

This chapter shall be known as “The Puerto Rico National Parks Company”.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 1; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 502 - Definitions

The following terms wherever they are used or referred to in this chapter shall have the meaning stated hereinbelow, except when the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) Company. — The Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company, successor of the [Recreational Development] Company of Puerto Rico, created by §§ 501 et seq. of this title.
(b) Park. — Any space, facility, building, beach, public beach, marine reserve, forest, historical or natural monument that may be used to carry out recreational activities or outdoor sports.
(c) National park. — Any space, facility, building, beach, public beach, forest, historical or natural monument that due to its importance for all Puerto Ricans is declared as such by an executive order or by the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) Board. — The Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico National Parks Company.
(e) Trust. — The Trust for the Development, Operation and Conservation of the National Parks of the Island of Puerto Rico, legal entity created by public deed number 3 of December 23, 1988.
(f) Agencies of the Government. — The agencies, departments, offices, dependencies, municipalities and corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 2; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 503 - Purposes

The Company created by this chapter shall have the following primary purposes and objectives:
(1) To operate a system that integrates all the natural, recreational or historic parks that are declared national parks. It shall also promote the protection, conservation and recreational use of parks, beaches, forests, historical and natural monuments of Puerto Rico so that the same are preserved and maintained in optimum conditions for the enjoyment of the present and future generations of Puerto Ricans and visitors from abroad.
(2) To plan, design, build, operate, maintain and conserve recreational and sports installations and facilities.
(3) To sell, bill and charge for the services rendered to other agencies, municipalities and quasi-public and private government bodies; including services rendered to sports and recreational committees, federations and associations.
(4) To devote its resources to the development of any activity or enterprise which directly or indirectly promotes the means for the recreation and relaxation of the people.
(5) It may rent all the recreational and sports facilities for a reasonable rental fee. Provided, That the Company may cede its facilities, free of charge, to the different churches and nonprofit organizations to hold their activities. The President and General Manager shall establish which facilities will be available for this free cession, through regulations; how many times it shall be ceded to any of the religious groups and nonprofit organizations, and will determine the minimum fee to be charged for essential utilities such as electric power, water and maintenance.
(6) Be the trustee of the Trust.
(7) Protect the integrity of the Puerto Rico National Parks System, established by §§ 841—852 of this title, exercising exclusive jurisdiction over the administration, management and development of the existing National Parks and of those to be designated in the future. The title and ownership of all resources declared as a National Park shall correspond to the National Park Company, for their protection in perpetuity.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 3; June 13, 1980, No. 127, p. 482, § 1; July 23, 1985, No. 9, p. 651, § 1; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 1; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 3; Jan. 8, 2004, No. 36, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 504 - Creation

(a) A public corporation under the name of the Puerto Rico National Parks Company is hereby created as a government instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which shall act under authority of the latter.
(b) The Company herein created is a public corporation and government instrumentality attached to the Sports and Recreation Department, with legal personality and existence separate and apart from that of the Government and any official thereof. The debts, obligations, contracts, bonds, notes, receipts, expenses, accounts, funds, enterprises and properties of the Company, its officials, agents or employees shall be understood to be part of said Company and not of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its offices, bureaus, departments, commissions, dependencies, municipalities, branches, agents, officials or employees thereof.
(c) The Executive Director and the Board of the Company shall hold the offices of executive director and trustees of the Trust.
All administrative measures and the maintenance of the Trust shall be executed by the Company and its officers in accordance with the purposes of the constitution of the Trust.
(d) The Company and the Trust shall be administered, and its corporate powers shall be exercised by a board of directors composed of nine (9) members. The Secretary of Sports and Recreation shall be the President of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, three (3) of the members shall be the Secretary of the Department of Education, the Executive Director of the Tourism Company and the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, or any other official designated by their respective agencies.
The remaining five (5) members shall be persons of recognized interest and experience in the development and preservation of parks in the private sector and shall be appointed by the Governor with the recommendation of the Secretary of Sports and Recreation.
The Governor may substitute these five (5) members when deemed pertinent and necessary to achieve the purposes of this chapter.
In the case of a vacancy, it shall be covered within the following sixty (60) days.
The members of the Board who are not public officers or employees shall receive the per diem to be determined by the Board for their services.
All decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the total number of the members that compose the same.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 4; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 2; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 506 - Executive powers

The powers of the Company shall be exercised by a Board of Directors; however, they may delegate on the Executive Director all those powers it deems advisable for the proper operation of the Company. The main functions of the [Board] shall be, without it being understood as a limitation:
(a) Establish the general policy, consistent and coordinated with the public policy implemented by the Secretary of Sports and Recreation, to comply with the mission of the Company and the governmental objectives and efforts in the area of recreation and sports.
(b) Authorize the working plan and the annual budget of the Company.
(c) Establish and delegate on the Executive Director, the duties, powers and faculties in harmony with the provisions of this chapter.
(d) Maintain the need coordination with the Sports and Recreation Department and promote any administrative changes that are needed to avoid duplication of efforts and achieve the ends pursued.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 6; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 508 - Officers and employees

(a) Appointments, removals, promotions, transfers, cessations, reinstatements, suspensions, leaves and changes in grade, compensation or title of the officers and employees of the Company shall be made by the Executive Director in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors. Said rules and regulations, insofar as the Company deems they are compatible with its interests and the public interest, shall follow the rules according to the employer’s statement issued by the Labor Relations Board under §§ 62 et seq. of Title 29, as amended, complying with the areas essential to the Principle of Merit. The officials and employees of the Company shall be entitled to reimbursement of the necessary travel expenses and the corresponding per diems as authorized or approved pursuant to the Company’s regulations.
All officers and employees of the Trust shall be employees of the Company.
The officers and employees who hold equal or similar positions to the positions that constitute the pertinent bargaining unit recognized in the collective bargaining agreement in effect of the Company shall be included in said unit, with all the rights and duties that this entails. If possible, the Classification and Compensation Plan in effect in the Recreational Development Company shall be adopted.
(b) No person shall hold an executive office in the Company who has a substantial direct or indirect financial interest in any privately owned enterprise which is financed by the Company, or with which the Company has business relations, or which is in competition with a business engaged in or financed by the Company.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 8; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 6; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 509 - Bylaws

The Company’s bylaws shall provide for the operation of its internal affairs and the duties and responsibilities of its officers. The regulations shall be approved and shall be subject to amendment by the Board of Directors; Provided, That no regulation or any amendment thereto shall be effective until it has been duly entered in the official minute book of the Company, after approved in writing by the Board of Directors. The promulgation of regulations shall conform to §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, as amended, at all times. No bylaw shall be in conflict with the provisions of this chapter.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 9; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 510 - Monies and accounts

All monies of the Company shall be deposited in qualified depositiries for funds of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but shall be kept in a separate account in the name of the Company. Disbursements shall be made by it pursuant to the bylaws and budget approved by the Company’s Board of Directors.
The Secretary of the Treasury, upon consultation with the Company, shall establish the accounting system required for the proper statistical control and record of all expenses and income belonging to or managed or controlled by the Company. Said Secretary shall require that the accounts of the Company be kept in such manner as to appropriately segregate the accounts, insofar as it is advisable, with regard to the different types of activities of the Company. The Controller of Puerto Rico or his/her representative, from time to time, but not less than once a year, shall examine the Company’s accounts and books, including its loans, receipts, revenues, disbursements, contracts, leases, sinking funds, investments and any other matters that may be related with its financial condition, and shall report them to the Governor, the Company’s Board of Directors, and the Legislature of Puerto Rico.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 10; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 512 - Bonds—Liability of Commonwealth and its subdivisions

The bonds and other obligations issued by the Company shall not be a debt of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its municipalities or other political subdivisions, and neither the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico nor any such municipalities or other political subdivisions shall be liable thereon, nor shall such bonds or other obligations be payable out of any funds other than those of the Company.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 12, eff. July 1, 1961.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 513 - Bonds—Legal investment

The bonds of the Company shall be lawful investment, and may be accepted as security, for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, the investment or deposit of which shall be under the authority or control of the Government of Puerto Rico or any officer or officers thereof.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 13, eff. July 1, 1961.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 514 - Tax exemption

(a) It is hereby resolved and declared that the purposes for which the National Parks Company was created, its subsidiary companies organized by it and the activities that said Company and its different subsidiaries develop, shall be in benefit of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico, through the revealing and development to the greatest degree possible of the recreational resources and National Parks of Puerto Rico, as part of the spiritual development plan that the Commonwealth has resolved to put into practice through said Company and its subsidiaries. Therefore, the Puerto Rico National Parks Company or any subsidiary organized by it pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall not be required to pay commonwealth or municipal contributions or taxes, on any of the properties acquired by it, or on any of them under its jurisdiction, ownership or possession, or on its activities in the development or conservation of any of its enterprises and activities. Likewise, the Company shall retain in its treasury any occupancy tax collected in its vacation centers.
(b) A subsidiary for the foregoing effects shall be deemed to be every corporate entity or commercial organization whose total paid-in capital, if a corporation, or whose assets, if it is a non-corporate entity, is wholly-owned by the Puerto Rico National Parks Company.
(c) The bonds or any other debentures issued by the Company, as well as the interest or income deriving therefrom, shall be at all times equally exempt from commonwealth and municipal taxes and imposts.
(d) Likewise, any document executed by the Company and its subsidiaries for their own benefit as well as the registration thereof in the Property Registry shall be exempt from all taxes, imposts or fees.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 14; Jan. 8, 2004, No. 36, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 515 - Agreement of Commonwealth Government

The Commonwealth Government does hereby pledge and agree with any person, firm corporation, or federal or Commonwealth agency, that subscribes to or acquires bonds or other obligations of the Company, not to limit nor alter the rights or powers that are hereby conferred on the Company; until said bonds, regardless of their date, and the interest thereon, are fully settled and called in.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 15; Nov. 17, 1993, No. 90, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 516 - Promotion of recreational facilities

The Company is hereby authorized and empowered to promote and persuade private capital to establish and maintain in operation any project or activity tending to the promotion of the means for providing recreational facilities and spiritual expansion to the people. Whenever it be deemed fitting and proper by the Company, it may participate in any of such activities or projects in cooperation with private or government entities, or through participation in any adequate manner or through the investment of Company funds in enterprises owned by others or the investment of funds belonging to others in enterprises owned by the Company, in whatever manners currently used for the investment of funds in such operations. For these purposes, the Company may provide the facilities, financing and services which in its judgment are justified in each such case.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 16, eff. July 1, 1961.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 517 - Transfer of assets; donations

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies and political subdivisions, including the municipalities, are hereby authorized to cede and transfer to the Company any property or interest thereon (including property already devoted to public use) by petition of the latter and under reasonable terms and conditions, without the need to hold public bids and observe formalities of law other than the execution of the corresponding deed that the Company deems necessary and convenient to attain its purposes. In accordance to the preceding provisions, the property deed of any property of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including the property deed of any property to be considered in the future, may be transferred to the Company by the officer in charge of the property or who has it under his jurisdiction.
The government agencies may transfer to the Company, free of cost, the land that in the judgment of the Governor of Puerto Rico or the Legislature is needed to carry out its ends and purposes.
These provisions shall not be construed in the sense of authorizing the cession or transfer of property destined for other purposes by legislative provision.
The Company shall annually submit a list of the properties ceded or transferred by government agencies to the Company by virtue of the authorization contained herein and the estimated value of each property.
The Company is likewise empowered to accept donations and transfers of public property owned by the United States of America, as well as the transfer and donation of private property.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 17; Apr. 8, 2001, No. 10, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 518 - Annual statements

The Company shall submit to the Legislature and to the Governor of Puerto Rico, as soon as practicable after the close of each fiscal year of the Commonwealth Government:
(a) A cash statement containing the receipts and expenditures of the Company during the fiscal year covered, a balance sheet of the Company at the close of said fiscal year, and a complete report on the operations of the Company during the preceding fiscal year, and
(b) a complete report on the status and progress of all its undertakings and activities since the creation of the Company or since the date of its last such report. The Company shall also submit to the Legislature and to the Governor of Puerto Rico, at such other times as may be required, official reports of its activities and businesses under the provisions of this chapter.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 18, eff. July 1, 1961.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIFTEEN - Sports and Parks (§§ 1 — 2020) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 915) › Chapter 25 - Puerto Rico National Parks Recreational Development Company (§§ 501 — 520) › § 519 - Injunctions

No injunction shall be issued to prevent the application of this chapter or any part thereof.
History —June 23, 1961, No. 114, p. 234, § 19, eff. July 1, 1961.