2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVENTEEN - Housing (§§ 1 — 1546) › Chapter 35 - Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration (§§ 1001 — 1014) › § 1003 - Governing Board; Administrator

The Administration powers shall be exercised, and its public policy shall be determined by a Governing Board which shall be known as the Public Housing Administration Governing Board, and shall be formed and directed as established by the following:
(a) Composition.— The Board shall consist of the following seven (7) members: the Secretary of Housing, who shall have the position of President of the Board, the Secretary of the Department of the Family, the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources and the Executive Director of the Authority for Housing Financing, who shall serve as ex officio members of the Board; and three (3) representatives of the private sector appointed by the Secretary with the approval of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, two (2) of these selected from among the residents of two (2) different public housing projects, and one (1) private sector representative with training or experience, without being limited to one of the following areas: social work, psychology, mental health, sociology, family planning, accounting, management or public administration, business administration, physical education, law, architecture, engineering and urbanism or planning. The provisions set forth in §§ 1801 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”, shall apply to said representation of the private sector and the filing of reports concerning the nonsalaried nature of his duties shall be required. The Board shall elect a vicepresident among its members annually.
(c) Compensation.— No member of the Board shall receive any compensation for his services. The members of the Board, except for those who are officials of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, shall receive a per diem equivalent to the minimum per diem, established by the Political Code for members of the Legislature, for each Board meeting they attend, which shall be established in the regulations adopted by the Administration.
(d) Quorum and vote.— Five (5) members of the Board shall constitute [a] quorum for the purposes of holding any Board meeting. All actions by the Board shall be approved by the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members, which shall constitute a Board majority; Provided, however, That concerning those matters in which private sector members of the Board cannot vote due to a conflict of interest pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, a minimum of three (3) members of the public sector shall constitute quorum and all the decisions related to such matters must be approved by the affirmative vote of at least three (3) members of the public sector, who shall constitute a Board majority for such matters.
(e) Administrator.— The Administration shall be directed by an Administrator appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall hold office for a term of seven (7) years. The Administrator shall be a person of extensive training and professional experience in the areas of management and public administration, must have shown a genuine interest in the study and application of social sciences, and must be committed to the attainment of the purposes of this chapter.
The Board shall fix the salary or remuneration of the Administrator according to the customary norms in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for positions of an equal or similar level, duties and responsibilities. The Administrator may avail himself of the benefits of §§ 761 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Employees Retirement System of the Government of Puerto Rico and its Instrumentalities Act”, or any other retirement system subsidized by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to which he is subscribed at the moment of his appointment. He may also avail himself of §§ 862 et seq. of Title 3, which establishes the Puerto Rico Commonwealth Employees Savings and Loan Fund.
The Administrator, with the approval of the Board, may appoint a subadministrator who shall substitute [for] him in case of temporary absence, and shall perform those tasks, responsibilities and duties that are assigned or delegated by the Administrator, except for the approval of regulations. The person appointed as subadministrator shall meet all the qualities required in this section for the position of Administrator.
(f) Conflict of interest.— No member of the Board with a personal or economic interest (as such terms are defined later on) may participate in any decision or have access to any information related to the matter or matters where he has such interest and are under the Board’s consideration. For purposes of this subsection, the term “economic interest” shall mean any economic benefit that can be directly received by a Board member or a member of his family unit (as defined later on), as a consequence of a determination that is pending consideration by the Board, related [to] the administration of public housing in the country or direct or indirect ownership, be it legal or in equity, of an individual or a member of his family unit as defined later on, of: (1) at least 10% of the shares issued by a corporation; (2) at least a 10% interest in any other entity, or (3) ownership of enough shares or participations in an entity allowing such person an effective control over such entities’ decisions. The term “personal interest” shall mean any personal or economic interest of a Board member or of people related to him, that are or reasonably may be in conflict with the public interest or if there is the appearance of a personal interest conflict. The term “family unit” shall mean a person’s spouse, his children, dependents and all those people who share his legal residence or whose financial interests are under the legal or factual control of such person. Concerning a Board member who resides in a local public housing project, the fact that he or she resides in a local public housing project shall not be considered a conflict of interest, except when a determination for consideration before the Board exclusively affects the public housing project where the member of the Board resides. The Administration may issue all the rules, regulations or circular letters that it deems necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.
History —Aug. 17, 1989, No. 66, p. 282, § 4; Jan. 10, 2003, No. 71, § 2; Aug. 16, 2012, No. 181, § 1.