2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART I - Public Planning (§§ 1 — 229ccc) › Chapter 1A - Planning Board (§§ 62 — 66c) › Subchapter I - Organic Act (§§ 62 — 63j) › § 62k - Duties and powers of the Chair

The Chair of the Board shall have, among other duties assigned by law, the following duties and powers:
(1) He shall preside over the meetings of the Board in full and of any part in which he sits; he may sit in any of the parts to settle an impasse that may arise while deciding any matter before it; may sit in a part in the decision of any other matter, and shall implement the decisions adopted by the Board or its parts.
(2) He shall be the Executive Director of the organization and, as such, shall conduct and supervise any technical and administrative activity thereof and may appoint an Assistant Executive Director and delegate to him the administrative functions provided in this subsection and assign to him such duties as he may deem advisable or necessary; Provided, That none of the members may be appointed to said office, except the Vice-Chairman.
(3) He shall create the internal organization necessary to perform the functions entrusted to the Board for the purposes of this subchapter.
(4) He may delegate to the personnel under his direction the discharge of such technical, administrative and ministerial functions necessary to carry out, in the most efficient manner possible, the duties assigned to him by this subchapter or other existing laws.
(5) He shall appoint the officers and employees of the Planning Board and said personnel shall be comprised within the Competitive Service pursuant to Act No. 345 of May 12, 1947, as amended, known as the Personnel Act.
He may contract for the services of highly specialized persons, including professional and consulting services, whenever necessary, on the ground that he cannot obtain this personnel under the regular proceedings of the Personnel Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, without competitive bidding.
(6) To obtain services, by contract, of technical, professional or highly specialized personnel, or of any other kind, that may be necessary for the programs of the Board, or of other government bodies, outside their regular workday, without subjection to § 551 of Title 3 and upon authorization of the appointing authority of the government body where said personnel render service regularly.
The Chairman shall take steps with the Personnel Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with the Employment Service of the Government of Puerto Rico and/or any other employment service, leaving written notice of the efforts made to procure the necessary personnel for the programs of the Board and the impossibility of obtaining the personnel outside the government agencies.
(7) He may accept and direct to expend gifts and donations to undertake special surveys pursuant to this subchapter and may use whatever aid may be placed at his disposal by other public and private agencies.
(8) To act, upon designation by the Governor, as the officer who shall be in charge of administering any federal program which, by its nature, purpose and scope, is related to the functions entrusted to the Board by this subchapter. In this capacity he may enter into and process the covenants or agreements necessary to carry out the pertinent programs and take the proper steps within the scope of his functions and of the Commonwealth laws. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to advance to the Board the amount of the reimbursements to be made by the United States Government, in the proportion provided by law, upon presentation of the documents accrediting the approval of each project by the corresponding authorities of said Government.
(9) To enter into agreements with any government body of the Commonwealth or the United States of America Governments, as well as with any natural or juridical person, for the purpose of obtaining or providing professional or other services and securing or providing facilities to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. Among other conditions, the agreements shall specify the services and facilities to be obtained or furnished and the reimbursement or payment for said services or facilities, or if the services shall be rendered free of cost. The reimbursements or payments received on account of the services or facilities furnished shall be covered into a special fund created in subsection (10) of this section in behalf of the Board, and the same may be used by the Board for reinvestment in any service, product, material, equipment or personnel that may be necessary.
(10) To charge the corresponding fees for copies of publications, documents or studies owned by the Board, offered simultaneously in at least (3) three of the following communications media, to wit, paper, CD-ROM, or on-line access, or copies of documents filed in the records of the Board. He/she is also authorized to contract for the publishing, sale and distribution of opinions, studies and documents prepared by the Board and that may be of interest for the citizens; Provided, that such publication, sale, and distribution shall be made simultaneously in at least three (3) communications media, to wit, paper, CD-ROM, or on-line access. Notwithstanding the above, the Board shall not charge the members of the Legislative Assembly, the Office of the Governor, and the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, for said fees. Said publications may be given on consignment, in which case, the commission agreed upon between the Board and the consignee may be added to the cost of publication. If there are any intermediaries in the process of printing, promotion, marketing or distribution of said documents, they may participate in the net profits at the percentage agreed upon by the parties. To such effects, the Board may open any special accounts it deems necessary to classify the income, according to its source and purpose. In the event of consignment, the commission agreed upon by the Board and the consignee for such purposes shall be added to the cost of the publications. When there are intermediaries who participate in the production, promotion, marketing, distribution of the Board’s products, among others, they may participate in the net profits of said sales at the percentage agreed upon by the parties to such effects. The moneys obtained from such sources shall be covered into a special fund in the name of the Planning Board. Said proceeds may be used by the Board to defray, among others, any costs needed for the production, printing, reproduction and distribution of publications, documents or studies owned by the agency. Said proceeds may also be used to defray other nonrecurring expenses inherent to the duties of the Board, but not for payment of the agency’s payroll. Prior to using the resources deposited in the special fund, the Chairperson shall submit annually, for approval by the Office of Management and Budget, a budget of expenses chargeable to said funds. Any remaining funds that, as of June 30 of each fiscal year, have not been used and obligated for the purposes of this subchapter, shall be retained in the Board to be used in subsequent fiscal years. The Chairperson of the Board shall not use the resources in this special fund in substitution for the appropriations from the General Fund of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The resources covered into this special fund shall be accounted for in the books of the Secretary of the Treasury and kept separate from any other funds received by the Board from other sources, regardless of any specific financial year, in order to facilitate its identification and use. However, the Chairperson may distribute copies of said publications, documents, or studies, free of charge or at a reduced cost, to government organizations, universities, and public and private schools, upon request, as well as to any person, if in the judgment of the Board such distribution is necessary to foster the development of its programs; promote public understanding of the Integral Development Plan, the other important programs, plans, or studies, and of the planning problems in Puerto Rico, or to promote the other objectives of this subchapter. The Board shall establish, in the regulations adopted thereunder, the guidelines, and conditions that shall govern the free or low-cost distribution of such publications, documents, and studies. Special consideration shall be given to those petitions for publications filed with the Board by professors, students, and other persons devoted to education and/or research. Provided, That of the funds covered into the special fund herein created, from the income collected pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter, for Fiscal Year 2014-2015, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be transferred to the Legal Liability Fund.
(11) To charge applicants the corresponding fees for transactions, equipment and materials used for evaluation, consideration of questions on location, petitions for amendments to the Zoning Maps, petitions for amendments to Flood-Prone Zone Maps, and others, and for due notice of agreements with respect to the same. The Board shall adopt by regulations to such effects, the guidelines and conditions that shall rule the collection of said fees. The Board shall [not] charge the corresponding fees in the case of resolutions approved by the Planning Board and for which their consideration has been requested to the Board. The nature of the action requested, its complexity and whether hearings are required, shall be considered, among other factors, to determine the fees to be charged. The Board may, totally or partially, dispense with the fees authorized to be collected under this subsection and shall establish in the regulations, the guidelines and conditions that shall govern such dispensing, pursuant to the procedure provided in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3; Provided, That in the case of private citizens or nonprofit organizations that allegedly do not have the financial resources for the payment of the abovementioned services, the Board shall establish in its regulations the evidence that shall be presented to obtain exemption from any payment. The proceeds obtained from said activities shall be covered into the special fund created in subsection (10) of this section, and shall be used by the Board to defray, among other items, the contracting of professional services, purchase of equipment and materials, and everything else that has the purpose of improving and expediting the procedures followed for the evaluation, consideration and notice of the matters brought before the Board.
(12) To charge any government body, or private person or entity for services rendered through the use of the Board’s Information System, with the exception of members of the Legislature, the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. The Board shall establish the rates and/or fees to be charged, taking into consideration, among other factors, the number of users, the medium that was used, the scope of the service rendered and the nature, specification, level of complexity and importance of the information. The Board may dispense with the total or partial payment of the fees authorized to be charged under this subsection. Said fees shall be adjusted from time to time in order to keep up with the changes that may alter the cost of integrating the information to the Information System and for its adoption and amendments, as well as for the rules that shall govern such dispensing, according to the procedure established in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3. The revenues from said activities shall be covered into the special fund designated for such purpose, as established in subsection (10) of this section, so that the same may be reinvested in the preparation of the base map, for rendering other related services, replacement and acquisition of machinery and equipment, equipment maintenance, contracting of professional and consulting services, and other matters inherent to the implementation of the Information System.
The Planning Board may also charge for any other service rendered. In order to establish the rates and fees to be charged, the same criteria [should be] used to charge for the services related to the Information System. In the first instance, the proceeds shall be used for issues related to the implementation of the service in question; Provided, That if not needed by the unit generating the proceeds, it may be used by another unit in need of funds. The use and disposition of said funds shall be done as established in subsection (10) of this section with respect to the special fund created therein.
(13) Subject to the development and implementation of the pertinent regulations and procedures, the Chair shall establish the procurement, supply, and ancillary service processes within sound fiscal administration standards. Provided, That the Board and its operational components shall continue operating under the laws and regulations in effect until the necessary regulations to implement these processes take effect.
History —June 24, 1975, No. 75, p. 183, § 12; July 13, 1978, No. 49, p. 517, § 1; Aug. 17, 1990, No. 36, p. 140; Aug. 9, 1995, No. 123, § 3; Dec. 1, 2010, No. 181, § 4; July 1, 2014, No. 78, § 12.