Ley 129 del 2001
Resumen
Esta ley enmienda la Ley Orgánica de la Junta de Planificación para autorizar a la Junta a delegar en la Administración de Reglamentos y Permisos (ARPE) la resolución de casos y la toma de decisiones en asuntos relacionados con áreas no zonificadas, siempre y cuando la Junta no se haya reservado jurisdicción exclusiva y se cumplan ciertas condiciones.
Contenido
(Substitute for H. B. 1212) (No. 129) (Approved September 12, 2001)
AN ACT
To amend Act No. 75 of June 24, 1975, as amended, known as the "Planning Board Organic Act," to add a clause 5 to subsection 19(a) of Section 11, in order to authorize the Planning Board to delegate onto the Regulations and Permits Administration the resolution of cases and the power to make determinations on matters for which the Board has not reserved exclusive jurisdiction and which are related to unzoned areas.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
Since the year 1975, the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico concluded that the burdensome number of functions of an operational nature that fell upon the Planning Board prevented it from fulfilling its main role of orienting and coordinating the integrated development of Puerto Rico.
This being the situation and through Act No. 76 of June 24, 1975, the Regulations and Permits Administration was created, which assumed precisely said operational functions.
By March 19, 1999, the Honorable Supreme Court of Puerto Rico issued a sentence in the case Comité de Vecinos Pro-Mejoramiento vs. Junta de Planificación, 99 JTS 32 (1999), on which the majority opinion determined that "it is inferred that the lawmaker did not intend to authorize
the Board to delegate onto the R.P.A. the decision-making process regarding unzoned areas." [Our translation].
Act No. 75 of June 24, 1975, which is the Organic Act of the Board, in numbering the instances in which one agency delegates onto another, omits reference to the delegation of functions concerning unzoned areas.
Pursuant to the above and in order to continue strengthening trhe integrated planning process of Puerto Rico, an amendment should be made to said Act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.—Act No. 75 of June 24, 1975, as amended, known as the "Planning Board Organic Act," is hereby amended to add a clause 5 to subsection 19(a) of Section 11, to read as follows: "Section 11.—General Functions and Powers of the Board.— The Board shall have the following functions and powers: (1) ...
(19) To delegate to the Regulations and Permits Administration such duties and responsibilities as by law or pursuant to the Planning Regulations are reserved for the Board, in the following cases:
(a) Cases or determinations involving any of the following conditions: (1) that require action in the 'operational phase,' as defined herein; (2) that the structuring or decision to be adopted does not require the establishing of a general policy or a definition of public policy because these have already been established or adopted by the Board; (3) that the Board determines, in light of the function of said Administration, that the cases may be decided or the determination may be
adopted with greater speed or efficiency by the Administration; (4) that the delegation of said cases to the Administration does not cause undue hindrance to said agency in performing the functions imposed by law; and (5) that the Board has not reserved exclusive jurisdiction to manage said cases and the same are related to unzoned areas. In these cases, the decisions that may be made by the Administration shall not establish a general policy or define the public policy, which responsibility lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Board.
Section 2.-The Planning Board shall prepare within a term of ninety (90) days and adopt, under the pertinent provisions of Act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, the regulations necessary to define with precision the scope, responsibilities, limitations and conditions of the delegation conferred through this Act. The powers and responsibilities delegated herein shall take effect upon the approval of the regulations described in this Section by the Secretary of State.
Section 3.-This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 129 (Substitute for H.B. 1212) of the $1^{ ext {st }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Act No. 75 of June 24, 1975, as amended, known as the "Planning Board Organic Act," to add a clause 5 to subsection 19(a) of Section 11, in order to authorize the Planning Board to delegate onto the Regulations and Permits Administration the resolution of cases and the power to make determinations on matters for which the Board has not reserved exclusive jurisdiction and which are related to unzoned areas, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $23^{ ext {rd }}$ of November of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director