Ley 117 del 2001
Resumen
Esta ley crea el Programa de Préstamos y Garantías Agrícolas en el Departamento de Agricultura y el Fondo de Préstamos y Garantías Agrícolas en el Banco de Desarrollo Económico para Puerto Rico. Su objetivo es fomentar la producción y el desarrollo agrícola, generar empleos y fortalecer la solvencia crediticia de los agricultores.
Contenido
(No. 117)
(Approved August 17, 2001)
AN ACT
To create the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Act, in order to establish the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program in the Department of Agriculture, and the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Fund in the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico; to empower the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, so that they may establish in coordination the purposes, mechanisms, scope, and norms; and to provide for the promulgation of the regulations needed to implement this Act.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
It is the programmatic commitment of this Administration to rescue our agriculture from the neglect, backward state, and historic stagnation in which it has been immersed. The farmers of our Island have been clamoring for our agriculture to be rescued. It is with newly found strength and a positive vision of a new Puerto Rico that we undertake the economic development of the agriculture of our Island.
Our agriculture and our farmers are the key elements of our agricultural commitment. The rescue of our agriculture entails the introduction of strategies for its rebirth. The development of the agricultural economy needs real diversification, where attention to the diverse productive sectors is an essential element of the agenda for our agricultural future.
The purpose of this Act is to establish an Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program for farmers. Offering these warranties and loans will
create incentives for small and medium agricultural enterprises and agricultural centers. The objectives of the Program are to promote agricultural production and development, generate jobs, strengthen the credit worthiness of the farmers for purposes of private banking institutions, and generally develop the economy of the agricultural sector of Puerto Rico.
The Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, in close collaboration, shall develop the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program. The Department of Agriculture shall establish the principles and purposes of the Program, appoint personnel to undertake its promotional activities, obtain information from the farmers interested in obtaining warranties and loans, and be responsible for certifying that the moneys shall be used for agricultural purposes. The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico shall administer the Agricultural Loan Warranties it will offer to private banking and cooperatives, as well as the Agricultural Loans it approves. The mechanism to be used for granting the warranties and the loans shall be expeditious, simple, easy and efficient.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.—Title.— This Act shall be known as the "Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Act."
Section 2.—Public Policy.— It is hereby established that the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be to provide incentives for the development of small and medium agricultural enterprises and agricultural production centers through the creation of the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program in the Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Fund in the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico. The Department
of Agriculture and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, in close collaboration, shall establish mechanisms for granting warranties and loans that are expeditious, simple, easy and efficient.
Section 3.—Definitions.—
(a) "Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico".—The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico created by Act No. 22 of July 24, 1985, as amended.
(b) "Agricultural Eligibility Certificate".—The written concession granted pursuant to the provisions of this Act whereby the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall notify his/her approval of eligibility to the petitioner for an Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty application.
(c) "Department of Agriculture".—The Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, created by Article IX, Section VIII [sic] of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(d) "Fund".—The Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Fund Program created by this Act.
(e) "Petitioner".—The farmer who submits an application for an Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty pursuant to this Act.
(f) "Program".—The Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program created by this Act.
(g) "Secretary of Agriculture".—The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture or the official on whom he/she delegates his/her powers and prerogatives under the Department of Agriculture Organic Act.
Section 4.—Administration.—
(a) The Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, in close collaboration, shall develop the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program as follows:
(i) The Department of Agriculture shall: a. Establish the principles, requirements and purposes of the program. b. Appoint personnel for its promotional activities. c. Gather information from farmers interested in obtaining Agricultural Loans and Loan Warranties. d. Establish operational mechanisms corresponding to the agricultural phase of the Program. e. Issue an Agricultural Eligibility Certificate establishing the agricultural use of the Loan Warranty or Direct Loan applied for by the petitioner. (ii) The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico shall: a. Require the petitioner to submit the Agricultural Eligibility Certificate issued by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. b. Evaluate the information submitted by the Department of Agriculture with regard to the petitioner and extend the Agricultural Loan Warranty or Direct Agricultural Loan, according to the standards established for the program, as set forth by common accord between the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico and the Department of Agriculture. c. Administer the Agricultural Loan Warranty and Direct Agricultural Loan portfolios according to the standards
established for the program, as set forth by common accord between the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico and the Department of Agriculture.
Section 5.-Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Fund.- A fund is hereby created of up to a total of one hundred million (100,000,000) dollars to be distributed within a term of four (4) years. This Fund shall be administered by the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
Section 6.-Approval of Application.-
(a) Criteria.-The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture shall evaluate each application for an Agricultural Loan Warranty and Agricultural Loan pursuant to the regulations adopted under this Act. If the application is approved, the Secretary shall issue an Agricultural Eligibility Certificate to the petitioner.
(b) Evaluation.-The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico shall evaluate the application for financing in all its items and require the submittal of the Agricultural Eligibility Certificate issued by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
Section 7.-Appropriation of Funds.- The Land Authority shall initially appropriate the funds needed for the creation of the Agricultural Loan Warranty and Agricultural Loan Fund in the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico. The funds thus appropriated shall be solely for the use of the Fund and the Program created by this Act. Subsequently, the Office of Budget and Management [sic] shall consign the necessary funds in the General Expenses Budget for the continuation and development of the Fund and the Program, taking into account the provisions of Section 5 of this Act for said appropriation.
Section 8.-Regulations.- The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, shall establish the norms and procedures and promulgate such regulations that are needed to ensure compliance with and implement the provisions and purposes of this Act.
Section 9.—Effectiveness.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
7
August 5, 2002
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes, Esq., Director of the Office of Legislative Services of the Legislature of Puerto Rico, hereby certifies to the Secretary of State that she has duly compared the English and Spanish texts of $\underline{ ext { Act No. } 117}$ (H.B. 937) of the $1^{ ext {st }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico, entitled:
AN ACT to create the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Act, in order to establish the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Program in the Department of Agriculture, and the Agricultural Loan and Loan Warranty Fund in the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico; to empower the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, so that they may establish in coordination the purposes, mechanisms, scope, and norms; etc., and finds the same are complete, true and correct versions of each other.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes