2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FOURTEEN - Private Corporations (§§ 1 — 4084) › Subtitle 5 - General Corporations Act (2009) › Chapter 243 - Public Benefit Corporations (§§ 4071 — 4084) › § 4073 - Definitions

(a) Public benefit corporation.— A public benefit corporation is a for profit corporation that may issue stocks and capital stocks, organized in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, whose mission and purposes are directed toward creating a general public benefit. For these purposes, a public benefit corporation may be administered on the basis of the following four principles:
(1) Primacy of the public benefit, which is attained by means of autonomous and transparent operations, making the people and their work and service contribution to the entity a priority in decision-making;
(2) The application of the results obtained from the economic activity mainly to pursue the public benefit or end sought by the corporation;
(3) The promotion of solidarity within the corporation and with society in order to advance its commitment to local development, equal opportunity, social cohesion, and the integration of marginalized groups; and
(4) Autonomy with respect to public powers, without impairing the rulemaking power of the State.
(b) General public benefit.— Means a material positive impact on society or the environment, measured and assessed against third-party standards, through activities that promote one or more of the following public benefits:
(1) Serving low- or moderate-income individuals or communities, defined as those communities or individuals whose per capita household income is below eighty percent (80%) of the median income in Puerto Rico;
(2) Promoting economic and employment opportunities for low-income individuals or communities defined as those communities or individuals whose per capita household income is below eighty percent (80%) of the median income in Puerto Rico, beyond the creation of jobs in the ordinary course of operations or business of the public benefit corporation;
(3) Promoting activities geared to protecting or preserving the environment or developing alternative energy sources;
(4) Improving the human health ethically and responsibly;
(5) Promoting the arts, sciences, or advancement of knowledge and creativity as sources of economic development;
(6) Increasing the flow of capital to entities with a public benefit purpose for society and the environment;
(7) Historic preservation, revitalization and/or urban beautification;
(8) Activities intended to create, promote, market, distribute, or produce goods or services in accordance with fair trade practices; or
(9) Any other benefit to society or the environment.
(c) Third party standard.— Means a recognized, independent, and transparent standard to define, report, and assess the social or environmental performance of business.
It shall be the prerogative of the corporation, its directors and stockholders to determine the third party standard it shall use, taking into account that such standard shall be consistent with this definition, the provisions of § 4083 of this title, and the public benefit nature of the corporation.
History —Dec. 16, 2009, No. 164, added as § 23.03 on Dec. 22, 2015, No. 233, § 8, eff. 90 days after Dec. 22, 2015.