reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 776 - Partnerships of certified public accountants

A partnership engaged in this Commonwealth in the practice of public accountancy may register with the Board as a partnership of certified public accountants provided it meets the following requirements:
(a) At least one general partner thereof must be a certified public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
(b) Each partner thereof personally engaged within this Commonwealth in the practice of public accountancy as a member thereof must be a certified public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
(c) Each partner thereof must be a certified public accountant of some state in good standing.
(d) Each resident manager in charge of an office of the firm in this Commonwealth must be a certified public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
Application for such registration shall be made upon the affidavit of a general partner of such partnership who is a certified public accountant of this Commonwealth in good standing. The Board shall in each case determine whether the partnership applying is eligible for registration. Every partnership so registered and which holds a license issued under § 779 of this title may use the words “certified public accountants” or the abbreviation “C.P.A.’s” in connection with its partnership name. Notification shall be given the Board, within one month, after the admission to or withdrawal of a partner from any partnership so registered.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 5, eff. 90 days after May 15, 1945.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 778 - Partnerships of certified public accountants

Any firm or person engaged in the practice of public accountancy in Puerto Rico shall register with the Board as a public accountants partnership provided it meets the following requirements:
(1) At least one (1) general partner thereof must be a certified public accountant or a public accountant of this Commonwealth in good standing.
(2) Each partner thereof personally engaged within this Commonwealth in the practice of public accountancy as a member of said partnership must be a certified public accountant or a public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
(3) Each resident manager in charge of an office of the firm in this Commonwealth must be a certified public accountant or a public accountant of Puerto Rico in good standing.
The application for such registration must be made upon the affidavit of a general partner of such partnership who holds a permit to practice in this Commonwealth as a certified public accountant or as a public accountant. Every partnership so registered and which holds a partnership permit issued under this section may use the words “public accountants” in connection with its partnership name. Notification shall be given the Board within one month after the admission to or withdrawal of a partner from any partnership so registered.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 7, renumbered as § 6 and amended on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 779 - License to practice

(a) The Board shall issue a license to engage in the practice of public accountancy in Puerto Rico for a period of three (3) years to any person who holds a certificate as a certified public accountant issued pursuant to § 774 of this title, and to any person or firm registered under §§ 775—779 of this title. A fee of fifty dollars ($50) shall be charged for each original license. Every license shall expire on the first day of the December of the third year following the year in which it was issued, but may be renewed for additional periods of three (3) years by any person who holds the certificate and has registered and is in good standing as such, through the payment of the renewal fee of fifty dollars ($50). [Failure to renew a license before the expiration thereof shall not deprive the registrant of his right to renew the license, but in such cases, a renewal fee of sixty dollars ($60) shall be paid.]
(b) Every certified public accountant’s request for renewal of a license shall be accompanied by the evidence required by the Board in its regulations to comply with the continuing education requirements. The Board shall accept those certificates issued by the Association of Certified Public Accountants supported by proper evidence to the effects that the members have complied with the continuing education requirements established by §§ 771—789 of this title. Failure to present the evidence required by the Board to establish the continuing education requirement shall bar renewal of a permit pursuant to § 780 of this title unless the Board, in its discretion, determines that there was just cause for failing to present this evidence.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 8; July 12, 1986, No. 117, p. 375, § 2; renumbered as § 7 and amended on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 780 - Revocation or suspension of certificate, registration or license

After due notice to the interested party and hearing as provided by § 782 of this title, the Board may revoke or suspend any certificate issued under § 774 of this title, or any registration granted under Section 6 of this act, or may revoke, suspend or refuse to renew any license issued under § 779 of this title, or may censure the license-holder for any of the following causes or combinations thereof:
(a) Fraud or deceit in obtaining a certificate as certified public accountant, or in obtaining registration under §§ 771—789 of this title, or in obtaining a license to practice public accountancy under §§ 771—789 of this title.
(b) Dishonesty, fraud or gross negligence in the practice of public accountancy.
(c) The violation of any of the provisions of § 784 of this title.
(d) A violation of any rule or professional ethics promulgated by the Board by virtue of the authority conferred to it by §§ 771—789 of this title.
(e) Conviction of a felony under the laws of Puerto Rico, of any state, or of the United States.
(f) Conviction of any offense, an essential element of which is dishonesty or fraud, under the laws of Puerto Rico, of any state, or of the United States.
(g) Cancellation, revocation, suspension, or failure to renew, authority to practice as a certified public accountant or a public accountant in Puerto Rico, or in any state or government.
(h) Suspension or revocation of the right to practice before any Commonwealth, state or federal agency.
(i) Failure to become a citizen of the United States within six (6) years by any person not a citizen of the United States when he received a certificate as certified public accountant under §§ 771—789 of this title.
(j) The violation of any one of the continuing education requirements promulgated by the Board by virtue of the authority conferred to it by §§ 771—789 of this title.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 9; July 12, 1986, No. 117, p. 375, § 3; renumbered as § 8 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 781 - Revocation or suspension of partnership registration or permit

After due notice and hearing, the Board shall revoke the registration and license to practice of any partnership if it fails to meet all the qualifications prescribed by the section of this act under which it qualified for registration, at any time, as provided in § 782 of this title.
After notifying said partnership and giving it the opportunity to be heard, as provided by § 782 of this title, the Board may revoke or suspend the registration or revoke, suspend or refuse to renew the license to practice of any firm, or admonish the holder of such license for any of the causes listed in § 779 of this title, and for the following additional motives:
(a) The revocation or suspension of the certificate or registration, or the revocation, suspension or non-renewal of the license to practice of any partner.
(b) The cancellation, revocation, suspension or non-renewal of the authorization of the partnership or of any partner thereof to practice public accountancy in any state or government.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 10, renumbered as § 9 and amended on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 783 - Reinstatement

The Board may issue a new certificate to any certified public accountant whose certificate shall have been revoked, or may authorize the reregistration of any person whose registration has been revoked, or may reissue or modify the suspension of any permit to practice public accountancy which has been revoked or suspended.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 12, renumbered as § 11 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 785 - Acts not prohibited

Nothing contained in §§ 771—789 of this title shall be understood as forbidding any person not a certified public accountant or public accountant to serve as an employee of or an assistant to a certified public accountant or public accountant or partnership composed of certified public accountants or public accountants holding a permit to practice under § 779 of this title; Provided, That such employee or assistant shall not issue any accounting or financial statement over his name or signature.
Nothing contained in §§ 771—789 of this title shall be understood to prohibit a certified public accountant or a registered public accountant of another state, or any accountant of a foreign country holding a certificate, degree or license which permits him to practice therein, from temporarily practicing in Puerto Rico on professional business incident to his regular practice.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 14, renumbered as § 13 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 786 - Injunction against unlawful acts

Whenever in the judgment of the Board any person has engaged or is about to engage in any acts or practices which constitute, or will constitute, a violation of § 784 of this title, the Board may make application to the appropriate court for an order enjoining such acts or practices, and upon a showing by the Board that such person has engaged or is about to engage in any such acts or practices an injunction, restraining order or such other order as may be appropriate shall be granted by such court, without bond.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 15, renumbered as § 14 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 787 - Penalties

(a) Any person who violates any provision of §§ 771—789 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or to imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both penalties, at the discretion of the court. The Board of Accountancy, motu proprio or at the request of the College, may by itself or through the Secretary of Justice initiate and execute before competent courts the appropriate procedures and actions against persons practicing this profession illegally.
(b) The Board of Accountancy is hereby empowered to impose administrative fines that shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for every incident or violation of §§ 771—789 of this title or to the regulations promulgated thereunder. The imposition of a fine and its amount shall be closely related to the type and severity of the violation.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 16, renumbered as § 15 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10; May 3, 2004, No. 105, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 788 - Single act as evidence of practice

The display or uttering by a person of a card, sign, advertisement or other printed, engraved or written instrument or device, bearing a person’s name in conjunction with the words “certified public accountant” or any abbreviation thereof, or “public accountant” shall be prima facie evidence in any action brought under § 786 or § 787 of this title that the person whose name is so displayed caused or procured the display or uttering of such card, sign, advertisement or other printed, engraved or written instrument or device, and that such person is holding himself out to be [a] certified public accountant or a public accountant holding a permit to practice under § 779 of this title. In any such action evidence of the commission of a single act prohibited by §§ 771—789 of this title shall be sufficient to justify an injunction or a conviction, without evidence of a general course of conduct.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 17, renumbered as § 16 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 789 - Ownership of accountants’ working papers

All statements, records, schedules, working papers and memoranda made by a certified public accountant or public accountant incident to or in the course of professional service to clients by such certified public accountant or public accountant, except reports submitted by a certified public accountant or public accountant to a client, shall be and remain the property of such certified public accountant or public accountant in the absence of an express agreement to the contrary between the certified public accountant or public accountant and the client.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 18, renumbered as § 17 on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 791 - Certified public accountants—Definition

Any citizen who holds a license to engage in the practice of public accountancy in Puerto Rico, issued by the Board pursuant to the provisions of § 779 of this title, shall be entitled to call himself and to be known as a certified public accountant, and to use the short title “C.P.A.”.
History —May 14, 1949, No. 367, p. 1120, § 1, eff. 90 days after May 14, 1949.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 792 - Certified public accountants—Certificate

The Board shall issue a certificate as certified public accountant to any person who holds a license to engage in the practice of public accountancy in Puerto Rico, issued by the Board as provided by § 779 of this title.
Any person who on the date of approval of this act holds a certificate as certified public accountant as heretofore issued under the laws of Puerto Rico, shall not be required to obtain an additional certificate hereunder, and such certificates heretofore issued shall, for all purposes, be considered, as certificates issued under §§ 791 and 792 of this title.
History —May 14, 1949, No. 367, p. 1120, § 2, eff. 90 days after May 14, 1949.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 793 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Creation

The persons entitled to practice the profession of certified public accountant in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are hereby constituted into an artificial entity or quasi-public corporation under the name of College of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico and with its domicile in the Capital City.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 794 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Powers

The College of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico shall have power:
(a) To subsist in perpetuity under that name.
(b) To sue and be sued as an artificial person.
(c) To possess and to use a seal which it may alter at will.
(d) To acquire rights and property, both real and personal, by donation, legacy, assessments of its own members, purchase or otherwise, and to possess them, mortgage them, lease them and dispose thereof in any form.
(e) To borrow money and give security for the payment thereof.
(f) To adopt its bylaws which shall be binding on all its members and to amend the same in the form and under the requirements established hereinbelow.
(g) To see that the canons of professional ethics heretofore or hereafter adopted by the Board of Accountancy of Puerto Rico to govern the conduct of certified public accountants be complied with.
(h) To receive and investigate the complaints that may be made in regard to the practice and/or conduct of the members in the exercise of the profession; to hold hearings in which an opportunity shall be given to the member affected or to his representative to submit working papers or other pertinent evidence; to bring complaints to the Board of Accountancy for proper action. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to restrict or alter the power of the Board of Accountancy of Puerto Rico.
(i) To protect its members in the practice of the profession and promote their professional development, and likewise to provide the creation of insurance systems and special funds and other means of voluntary protection.
(j) To exercise such incidental powers as may be necessary or advisable for the purposes of its creation and operation and which are not in conflict with §§ 793—805 of this title.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 795 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Membership required, notification

One hundred twenty (120) days after the holding of the initial assembly of the College no person who is not a member thereof may practice the profession of certified public accountant in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. During this period of time, edicts shall be published prominently in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in Puerto Rico for not less than six (6) times on different dates in each newspaper. Provided, That once that term has expired the Board of Accountancy shall not issue or renew any license to practice the profession of certified public accountant to any person who is not a member of the College. Provided, That the College must accept as member any person to whom the Board of Accountancy has issued the certified public accountant certificate. Nothing of the foregoing shall be construed as preventing partnerships of certified public accountants that meet the requirements of §§ 771—789 of this title from practicing the profession, provided the totality of the partners who personally practice public accountancy within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as members of the partnership comply with the obligation of joining the College.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 796 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Members

All persons to whom the Board of Accountancy of Puerto Rico has issued or issues hereafter a certified public accountant certificate in accordance with the provisions of §§ 771—789 of this title shall be members of the College.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 797 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Organization

The supreme organization shall be the General Assembly, which shall elect a Governing Board to govern the College.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 798 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Governing Board

The Governing Board shall be composed of not less than fifteen (15) members and shall be elected annually in a regular general assembly. The bylaws shall provide for the composition of the Governing Board and the manner to fill vacancies. Provided, That the College may be organized in chapters when so provided by the bylaws.
The members shall have the option of exercising their right to vote to elect the officers of the Governing Board at their convenience, in person or by mail, following the procedure provided by the College through its bylaws. The college may also provide in its bylaws, the additional option for its members to exercise their vote through other means determined to ensure privacy, reliability, confidentiality and validity of said suffrage. The canvassing of the votes cast by mail or other means shall be carried out at the General Assembly that is convoked for these purposes.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 6; July 10, 1998, No. 112, § 1, eff. 60 days after July 10, 1998.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 799 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Bylaws

The bylaws shall provide for whatever has not been provided in §§ 793—805 of this title and is necessary for the faithful compliance with the purposes for which the College is established, including, among other things, everything relative to the procedure for admission; functions; duties and proceedings of all its organizations and officers; calls, dates, quorum, form and requirements of the General Assemblies and meetings of the Governing Board; elections of directors and officers, standing committees; term of all offices, creation of vacancies and manner of filling them; budgets, investment of funds and disposal of property of the College.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 800 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Dues

The College is hereby authorized to fix the annual dues to be paid by its members, which shall be approved by a majority of the quorum prescribed by the bylaws for a General Assembly.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 801 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Failure to pay dues, suspension, reinstatement

Any member who fails to pay his dues may be suspended as such and the Board of Accountancy shall be notified so that it complies with the requisites of § 795 of this title, but said member may be reinstated through payment of the dues owed. Provided, That the College may not suspend a member without authorization of the Board of Accountancy in accordance with the hearing proceeding administered by it.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 802 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Numbered stamp

The College shall adopt and issue a numbered accrediting stamp for a value of not more than five dollars ($5). No certified public accountant or partnership of certified public accountants may issue an opinion or a certificate without having adhered to the original one of these stamps and attesting on all additional copies that such stamp was adhered on the original, stating its number.
Provided, That no government department, court of justice or quasi-public entity of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall accept documents with opinions or certifications not having a stamp adhered.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 803 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Sale of seals

The College of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico is hereby authorized to sell through its offices its official seals and any other special seals adopted and issued by the College of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico, pursuant to law.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 11; May 15, 1978, No. 17, p. 43, § 1, eff. 90 days after May 15, 1978.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 803a - College of Certified Public Account—Log Book Index

The certified public accountants or certified public accountants partnerships shall remit to the College of Certified Public Accountants the Log Book Index informing the opinions or certifications issued as of the date of filing. The Log Book Index shall be filed in conjunction with the payment of fees provided in § 800 of this title, although the College of Public Accountants may require periodic filings. If they have not issued certificates or opinions during the year, the certified public accountants or certified public accountants partnership shall mail a negative report for said year to the College.
The Log Book Index shall include the following information:
(a) The number of the stamp corresponding to the report;
(b) whether the report was issued to a natural or juridical person and, in the latter case, the type of juridical person, and
(c) the date and description of the report.
The College is hereby authorized to set an additional fee to defray the expenses related to the maintenance and supervision of the Log Book Indexes. Said fee shall be set in proportion to the annotations in the Log Book Index and shall take effect only upon prior approval by the majority of the mandatory quorum for a General or Special Assembly.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, added as § 11-A on Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 804 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Penalties

Any person who violates any of the provisions of §§ 793—805 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, punished by a fine of not less than one hundred [dollars] ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment in jail for a minimum term of three (3) months or a maximum term of one (1) year, or by both penalties, [at] the discretion of the court.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 12.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 805 - College of Certified Public Accountants—Duties

The College of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico shall have the following duties:
(a) To contribute toward the advancement and development of public accountancy.
(b) To raise and maintain the dignity of the profession and of its members.
(c) To defend the rights and immunities of certified public accountants.
(d) To establish relations or affiliation with analogous associations of the United States or other countries, within specific rules of solidarity and courtesy.
(e) To determine measures of mutual protection and to tighten the bonds of friendship and companionship among the members of the College.
(f) To cooperate with the federal, Commonwealth and municipal governments and their agencies and instrumentalities in all that is of mutual interest and beneficial to the general welfare.
(g) To promote and maintain a high and strict professional morale among its members.
(h) To file before any competent court the corresponding civil action in order to enforce the provisions of §§ 771 et seq. of this title, or those of §§ 793 et seq. of this title.
History —May 31, 1973, No. 75, p. 333, § 13; May 3, 2004, No. 105, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 821 - Creation

The professionals entitled to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico are hereby constituted into a juridical entity or quasi-public corporation under the name of “College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico”, hereinafter, the “College”, insofar as the majority so resolve in a referendum that shall be held for such purposes as hereinafter provided. Said college shall have its domicile in such place as the first assembly prescribed under § 21 herein may determine.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 1; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 822 - Powers

The College shall have the power to:
(a) To subsist in perpetuity under that name, to sue and be sued as a juridical person.
(b) To possess and to use a seal, which it may alter at will.
(c) To acquire rights and property, both real and personal, by donation, legacy, assessments on its own members, purchase or otherwise; and to possess them, mortgage them, lease them and dispose thereof in any form.
(d) To appoint its directors and officers or officials.
(e) To adopt its bylaws, which shall be binding on all its members, as the assembly provided for in § 21 of this Act may prescribe, and to amend the same in the form, and under the requirements, established therein.
(f) To protect its members in the exercise of their profession.
(g) To exercise such incidental powers as may be necessary or advisable for the purposes for which it is created, and which are not in conflict with this chapter.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 2; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 823 - Membership required for practice

After the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the College is held, no person who is not a member of the College can practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico, and if any person should so practice he shall be subject to the penalties provided in § 850 of this title.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 824 - Qualifications

All persons admitted to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and who discharge the duties that the same prescribes for them shall be members of the College.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 4; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 825 - Organization

The College shall be governed, in the first place, by its general assembly and, in the second place, by its Board of Directors.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 13; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 826 - Board of Directors; composition; exercise of right to vote

The Board of Directors shall be composed as determined by the General Assembly and shall be designated by the same.
The College shall have the option of exercising the right to vote to elect the officers of the Governing Board, personally or by mail, at their convenience, following the procedure that the College shall prescribe through regulations. Furthermore, the College may prescribe through regulations the additional option to exercise the vote through other means that is determined will ensure the privacy, reliability, secrecy, and validity thereof. Votes by mail or other media shall be counted at a General Assembly called for said purpose.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 14; Dec. 5, 1998, No. 292, § 1; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 827 - Bylaws

The bylaws of the College shall provide for everything which has not been provided for in this chapter, including everything concerning the functions, duties and proceedings of all its bodies and officials, calls, meetings of the board of directors, election of directors and officials, standing committees, budgeting or expenditure of funds and disposal of the property of the College, the term of all offices, and declaration of vacancies and the method of filling them.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 15.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 828 - Membership fees

The College is hereby authorized to fix the annual membership fees to be paid by its members, which fees must be approved by a majority of such members present in a general assembly of the institution called to discuss matters that include this.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 16; June 18, 1965, No. 50, p. 92; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter I - College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 829) › § 829 - Suspension for failure to pay quota

Any member who does not pay the annual membership fee but in other regards is classified as an associate shall be suspended as such member, but may rejoin by means of payment of the fees owed. In addition, any member who does not comply with the requirement of continuing education set forth herein shall be suspended as such member at the time of renewal of the membership, but may rejoin by complying with the minimum continuing education hours required by this chapter for the renewal of his/her college membership.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 17; Dec. 28, 2003, No. 314, § 3; Aug. 4, 2004, No. 193, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 841 - Creation

A Board of Examiners of Social Work Professionals, hereinafter, the Board of Examiners, is hereby created. Such Board of Examiners shall be composed of seven (7) members, to be appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate for a period of four (4) years and until their successors are appointed and take office. The Board of Examiners shall have the power to adopt the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the functions entrusted to it by this chapter.
Each member of the Board of Examiners, including public employees and officials, shall be entitled to a per diem of fifty dollars ($50) for each day or portion thereof in which they render services to such Board, in addition to a mileage allowance from their domicile to the headquarters of the Board of Examiners and back, as prescribed by the regulations of the Department of the Treasury to such effect. As of January 1, 1999, the members of the Board of Examiners shall receive per diems equal to the minimum per diems established for members of the Legislative Assembly, up to a maximum of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per year, except for the Chair of the Board of Examiners, who shall receive per diems equal to one hundred and thirty-three percent (133%) of the per diems received by all other members of the Board of Examiners.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 5; May 24, 1967, No. 65, p. 258; Aug. 2, 1995, No. 98, § 1; Jan. 4, 2000, No. 7, § 7; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 843 - License required to practice

Only those persons who hold a license issued by the Board of Examiners shall be entitled to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico and use the corresponding title; Provided, That any person who, at the time of the approval of this act, holds a permanent license to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico may continue to practice the same pursuant to the provisions of § 845 of this title.
The College shall have the responsibility to inform the Board of Examiners of the names of those social workers who have failed to meet the continuing education requirement set forth in this chapter and the regulations adopted thereunder by the College, in consultation with and with the approval of the Board of Examiners.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 7; Dec. 28, 2003, No. 314, § 2; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 844 - Qualifications for licenses

Every person who, besides being of recognized morality, has at least one of the following requirements shall be entitled to a permanent license to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico:
(1) To hold a [bachelor’s degree] from any recognized university or college and to have in addition two (2) years of postgraduate studies in social work, or its equivalent in credits, and a social work certificate or diploma.
(2) To hold a [bachelor’s degree] from a recognized university or college, and to have at least one (1) year of postgraduate studies in social work, or its equivalent in credits, and to have, in addition, two (2) years of satisfactory experience as [a] social worker in a recognized social work agency.
(3) To hold a [bachelor’s degree] from a recognized university or college, with a major in social work, provided the minimum of credits in social work is thirty (30), and to have in addition three (3) or more years of satisfactory experience as a social worker in a recognized social work agency.
(4) All those persons who, at the time this act takes effect, hold a provisional license for the practice of the profession of social work in Puerto Rico shall be entitled to a permanent license upon the completion of thirty (30) credits in social work; Provided, That such persons as are working as social workers shall continue to hold their positions and shall have a period of two (2) years to complete the credits necessary to obtain their licenses, whether permanent or provisional.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 845 - License for life; cancellation

The permanent license shall be for life unless it is cancelled by the Board of Examiners after charges have been pressed and an opportunity for defense has been given to the person whose conduct is in question.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 9; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 846 - Requirements for provisional license

Every person who, besides being of recognized morality, has at least one of the following requirements shall be entitled to a provisional license to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico:
(1) To hold a [bachelor’s degree] from a recognized university or college, and to have, in addition, eighteen (18) or more credits in postgraduate studies in social work.
(2) To hold a [bachelor’s degree] from a recognized university or college, with a major in social work.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 847 - Exemptions, extension of provisional licenses

All persons who, at the time this act takes effect, hold a provisional license to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico may continue to practice the same for a period of four (4) years from the date of the approval of this act; Provided, That this right shall be extended to persons whose provisional licenses have expired at the time this chapter takes effect. In each year following the said four (4) years, the provisional license shall be renewable for one (1) year, [at] the discretion of the Board, provided the holder thereof presents evidence of professional progress in his work and of additional studies in social work.
Every person who, when this act takes effect, is working in any department of the Government or in a public institution as assistant to a social worker shall continue to hold his position without being in the least affected by the provisions of this chapter and shall be subject to the regulations of the department or institution in which he may be rendering his services. Every person who may have commenced to study social work under the provisions of the former law may continue his studies until their completion in accordance with Act No. 41, approved May 12, 1934.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 848 - Social worker defined

For the purposes of this chapter “social worker” shall be any person who, after meeting the academic and professional requirements set forth herein, is engaged in employing the social resources at his disposal for the benefit of a person, family, or community having specific needs, in order to assist in solving its problems of health, education, poverty, delinquency, neglect, want of protection, mental defects or diseases, physical disability, and social or environmental deficiencies.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 12.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 849 - License fees

The fees to be paid to the Board of Examiners in order to obtain a license shall be those provided in §§ 10 et seq. of this title.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 18; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 249, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 41 - Board of Examiners and College of Social Workers (§§ 821 — 850) › Subchapter II - Board of Examiners of Social Workers (§§ 841 — 850) › § 850 - Violations, penalties

Any person who, without being duly admitted and licensed to practice the profession of social work in Puerto Rico as provided by this chapter, or who, during the suspension of his license practices as a person with legal capacity to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) or shall be imprisoned for not less than two (2) months, or shall suffer both penalties.
History —May 11, 1940, No. 171, p. 984, § 19.