2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-TWO - Public Works (§§ 1 — 1104) › Chapter 21 - Public Buildings Authority (§§ 901 — 937) › Subchapter I - Creation and Functions (§§ 901 — 917) › § 906 - Powers

(a) The powers of the Authority shall be:
(1) To have perpetual existence as a corporation.
(2) To adopt, alter and use a corporate seal which shall be judicially noticed.
(3) To have complete control and supervision over each and every one of its properties and activities, and the investment of its funds, including, among others:
(A) To invest its monies according to the regulations promulgated by the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico for government entities, pursuant to §§ 1261—1263 of Title 7, or any provision of any subsequent law;
(B) the power to determine the nature and need of each of its expenses;
(C) the manner in which the same shall be incurred, authorized and paid, and
(D) to formulate, adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations to govern its business norms in general, and to exercise and execute the powers and duties granted to and imposed upon it by §§ 901—917 of this title, or to render, sell or exchange the services or facilities that are under the control of the Authority.
(4) To sue and be sued, complain and defend itself in all courts of justice and administrative bodies, as well as to participate in procedures for alternative methods of dispute resolution.
(5) To execute contracts, agreements and other instruments to carry out the purposes of §§ 901—917 of this title or of any other provision of law, and to formalize all documents necessary and convenient for the exercise of any of its powers.
(6) To acquire any kind of property and rights thereon in any lawful manner, including, without being limited to, the acquisition by purchase, either by agreement or through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, lease, bequest, legacy or gift, and to possess, keep, lease, pledge, mortgage or otherwise encumber, assign, and exploit any venture or part thereof. To such effects, the following is hereby established:
(A) All real or personal property and all rights or interest thereon that the Authority considers necessary to acquire in order to fulfill its aims and purposes are declared to be of public usefulness so that they may be expropriated at request and for the use and benefit of the Authority without being subject to the requirement of prior declaration of public usefulness provided by the Special Proceedings Act of March 12, 1903, as amended;
(B) when the Governor deems it necessary and convenient that the title of the property and rights so acquired, or to be acquired, be registered directly in favor of the Authority, he/she may thus petition the court at any time within the procedure of eminent domain, and the court shall so order it, and
(C) the Authority shall advance the needed funds which have been estimated as the value of the properties or rights to be acquired. Any additional sum which the Expropriation Part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico fixes by ruling as the fair compensation to be paid for the property taken or damaged in benefit of the Authority shall be paid by the Authority, or in defect thereof, by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, but the Authority is bound to reimburse such a difference. Once the total reimbursement is made, the property title or rights in question will be transferred to the Authority by order of the court with evidence to that effect.
(7) To prepare or cause to be prepared, plans, projects and budgets for the construction, reconstruction, extension, improvements, expansion or repair of any property or enterprise, or any part or parts thereof, and from time to time, to modify such plans, projects and budgets.
(8) To acquire, possess and use at any time and in the manner indicated in clause (6) of this subsection, any real or personal or mixed property, whether corporeal or incorporeal or any interest thereon, deemed necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the Authority, and to assign or lease the same in whole or in part, as lessor, or to exchange any property thus acquired or any interest thereon.
(9) To appoint such officers, agents and employees and grant them such powers, impose such duties and fix, change and pay such compensation for their services, as the Authority may determine; but what is herein provided does not authorize the granting of salaries beyond the norms established or to be established by the Legislature as to maximum salary level for services rendered to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(10) To borrow money, make and issue bonds of the Authority for any of its corporate purposes, and to guarantee the payment of its bonds and of any and all of its other obligations by pledge, mortgage, assignment or trust indenture of properties of the Authority and on all or any of its revenues, income, fees, receipts and interest in contracts, leases (traditional, financial or of any other type) or subleases. The Authority is also authorized to obtain any facility that increases its capacity to borrow money or to issue debts or which increases its liquidity with respect to any bonds in the manner in which the Authority deems advantageous. The exercise of these duties shall be subject or that the Public Buildings Authority obtains in writing the advice and consent of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
(11) To make and issue bonds for the purpose of consolidating, reimbursing, purchasing, paying or redeeming any bonds or obligations, issued or subrogated by the Authority, which are in circulation; or any bonds or obligations whose principal and interest are payable in whole or in part from its revenues. The exercise of these duties shall be subject to the Public Buildings Authority obtaining in writing the advice and consent of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
(12) To accept or obtain contributions, loans, donations, mortgage insurances or of another kind, guarantees, contracts, leases or other transactions of any nature to fulfill any of the duties specified under § 903 of this title, with the United States of America or with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or with any department, agency, instrumentality, authority, public corporation or political subdivision thereof and comply with the requirements incidental to said aid or agreements and to fulfill the obligations and duties the same may impose. In relation with the [acquisition] of any of said aids from the United States of America, with respect to any project of the Authority, the latter is hereby authorized to act for, and in representation of, the Commonwealth as required under any law or federal regulation on the matter.
(13) To sell, transfer, lease, sublease, assign, pledge, mortgage, encumber, grant concessions or guarantee contracts, or in any other manner dispose of or transfer any real or personal or mixed property, whether tangible or intangible or any interest thereon, including the surface rights or otherwise dispose of any real or personal or mixed property, or any interest thereon, according to the terms and conditions that the Authority determines, with the prior approval of the Board of Directors.
(14) To enter any land, bodies of water or properties of any other nature, after notifying the owners or holders thereof, or their representatives, for the purpose of making surveys, sounding and studies.
(15) To contract with any department, agency, instrumentality, authority, public corporation or government officer or any private person or entity with regard to the administration of any properties or facilities of the Authority, and in accordance with the terms and conditions it may deem convenient.
(16) To execute all acts or covenants, agreements, contracts or transactions necessary or convenient to make effective the powers granted to it by §§ 901—917 of this title, or by any other law of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, or of the Congress of the United States; Provided, however, and subject to the provisions of § 907(b) of this title, That the Authority shall have no power whatsoever at any time or in any manner to pledge the credit or the power to impose taxes of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any of its political subdivisions; neither shall the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, nor any of its political subdivisions be liable for the payment of the principal of or interest on any bonds issued by the Authority.
(17) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 901—917 of this title, in the case of the sale or alienation of government health installations or facilities [owned by] the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, said sale or alienation shall be governed by the provisions of §§ 3326—3326s of Title 24, known as the “Health Facilities, Prohibition of Sales, Assignments, Exchanges and Alienation”.
(18) To enter into contracts and agreements with third parties, including, but not limited to, sales contracts, leases, joint ventures and partnerships, as the Authority deems necessary, to induce third parties to develop, improve, operate and manage the Authority’s secondary facilities, in accordance with any master plan, design criteria and conditions and restrictions adopted and imposed by the Authority.
(19) To execute finance contracts in accordance with §§ 8161—8166 of Title 3, known as the “Act for Regulating Certain Government Financing and Personal Property Leasing Contracts”.
(20) To grant qualified interest rate exchange agreements and similar financial instruments, in compliance with §§ 81—85 of Title 13.
(21) To create, in Puerto Rico or abroad, subsidiary companies, partnerships or corporations, affiliated or associated, to carry out the purposes of the Authority, and acquire, hold and dispose of securities and shares, contracts, bonds or other interests in other companies, entities or corporations, and exercise each and every power and right granted over such interest, provided that, in the judgment of the Board, such a transaction is necessary, appropriate or convenient to reach the purposes of the Authority or to exercise its powers and sell, lease, assign or otherwise transfer any property of the Authority or delegate or transfer any of its rights, powers, functions or duties to any of such companies, entities or corporations that are subject to its total or partial dominion, except for the right to initiate eminent domain procedures and without prejudice to the acquired rights of the employees of the Authority nor the functions that are currently held by other public corporations and/or government agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(22) To exercise all corporate powers that are not incompatible with those stated herein, conferred by the laws of Puerto Rico to the corporations and to exercise all those powers within Puerto Rico and abroad, to the same extent that a natural person would or may do so.
(23) To carry out all those acts necessary or convenient to exercise the powers conferred by §§ 901—917 of this title.
(b) All juridical business that the Authority is interested in conducting with government or private entities on real property whose rent is committed to guarantee the service of the debt in any bond issue shall require the advice and consent of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
(c) None of the provisions in §§ 901—917 of this title shall be interpreted as a limitation to the faculties granted by the Constitution and the laws of the Commonwealth [of] Puerto Rico to the Comptroller of Puerto Rico and to the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, in their capacity as fiscal agent.
History —June 19, 1958, No. 56, p. 120, § 5; June 13, 1961, No. 51, p. 87, § 2; July 14, 1973, No. 6, p. 831, § 4; Apr. 7, 1978, No. 6, p. 24; July 6, 1997, No. 31, § 22; May 16, 2006, No. 97, § 6.