Esta ley enmienda la Ley de la Administración de Servicios Generales para permitir la venta preferencial de propiedad pública declarada excedente a transportistas públicos autorizados por la Comisión de Servicio Público, siempre que dicha propiedad beneficie el transporte público de pasajeros. La venta se realizará por el valor justo de mercado determinado por tasación, dando preferencia a estos transportistas sobre otros postores. La ley establece procedimientos para que los transportistas certifiquen su estatus y se registren para ser notificados de la disponibilidad de propiedad excedente. También extiende esta preferencia a agricultores, acuicultores, avicultores, artesanos y pescadores para propiedad que beneficie sus actividades. Se permite la consideración de descuentos en el precio de adquisición para aquellos con medios financieros limitados. La ley insta a los municipios y corporaciones públicas a adoptar estándares similares.
(Approved November 16, 2002)
To amend Clause 19 of Subsection (A) of Section 16 of the General Services Administration Act, Act No. 164 of July 23, 1974, as amended, in order to provide that public property declared as surplus and that may benefit passenger public transportation, may be sold by preference and for its fair market value, to be determined by the corresponding evaluation appraisal, to any public carrier authorized by the Public Service Commission and that may certify his/her status as such.
The Legislature of Puerto Rico has, among its duties, to serve as spokesperson for its constituents to express their concerns and desires. Public carriers have been requesting their legislators to aid them in searching for relief and incentives that would allow them to practice their profession with honor and, at the same time, provide the daily support to their families without having to resort to other means.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico invests annually millions of dollars in acquiring hundreds of motor vehicles for official use of the different government agencies and instrumentalities. At the same time, hundreds of used official vehicles are sold in public auctions for prices that are generally very attractive to bidders. Public carriers may acquire these vehicles to use them for work, but it is quite possible that bidders with higher economic
means are the ones who acquire ownership of the vehicles because they are able to make higher bids.
In order to make feasible for public carriers to acquire these vehicles, this legislation is approved to allow them to have preference in the acquisition of motor vehicles owned by agencies and instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that otherwise would be auctioned to the best bidder. Allowing public bidders to acquire vehicles by preference, before they are auctioned, and for the appraisal value given to each vehicle and preference over the rest of the bidders, justice is made to this large group of public transportation workers who are in much need of incentives and aid that would ease their work.
These preferences are not new or strange in our legal system. Act No. 198 of September 6, 1996, amended the General Services Administration Organic Act with the specific purpose of broadening the existing mechanism in the case of bona fide farmers to ensure that interested artisans and fishermen may acquire public property declared as surplus, for the fair market price, to be determined by the corresponding evaluation appraisal, for agricultural use or to be used for the exercise of industrial arts and crafts, or that may benefit fishing activities.
Section 1.- Clause 19 of Subsection (A) of Section 16 of the General Services Administration Act, Act No. 164 of July 23, 1974, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 16.- Purchasing, service and supplies program; advisory board
(a) Powers -
The Administration shall provide to the agencies, departments and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch the means of acquiring supplies
and nonprofessional services, as well as the means of acquiring and disposing of surplus public property, with the exception of the legal powers to purchase without intervention of those that, through their respective organic laws, were exempted from the provisions of Act No. 96 of June 29, 1954, as amended. The Administration may extend any of these services offered by the Purchasing, Service and Supplies Program to that municipality, public corporation, agency, department, instrumentality or any other government body that may request it, even if it is not legally bound to make its purchases through the intervention of the Administration. Should any of said bodies request any services from the Purchasing, Service and Supplies Program, it shall do so in accordance with the regulation to be approved by the Administrator for the implementation and development of all its powers within said Program. Such powers shall include the following: (1) ... (19) To dispose of public property declared as surplus for agricultural use or to be used for the exercise of the industrial arts and crafts, or that may be of benefit for fishing activities or for passenger public transportation, for its fair market value, to be determined through the corresponding evaluation appraisal procedure, to every farmer, aquaculturist, aviculturist, artisan, fisherman and public carrier authorized by the Public Service Commission, respectively, that may certify their status as such, as established herein. (A) Every farmer, aquaculturist, aviculturist, artisan, fisherman and public carrier interested in acquiring surplus property for agricultural, industrial, arts and crafts, fishing or passenger public transportation purposes, respectively, shall so attest to it before the General Services Administrator through a sworn statement stating that either agriculture, the arts and crafts, the fishing trade, or the passenger public transportation,
respectively, is the sole or main income source, which should be at least fifty percent (50%) of its annual gross income. Said statement shall be accompanied by a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture of Puerto Rico, in the case of farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, and fishermen, from the Economic Development Administration in the case of artisans, and exclusively the Public Service Commission in the case of passenger public carriers, or a certification of any association or cooperative constituted by farmers, aquaculturists, artisans or fishermen, and which is duly registered with the Department of State. The General Services Administrator shall maintain the names of the farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen and passenger public carriers who have registered before him to certify themselves as farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen or passenger public carriers. It shall be the responsibility of the Administrator to notify them whenever any surplus property becomes available for their use.
The Administrator shall adopt in its regulations on surplus property any standards and procedures for the implementation of this clause. (B) After every agency of the Executive Branch or municipality has rejected the government property declared as surplus by the General Services Administration and which may be used for agricultural purposes or for the exercise of the industrial arts and crafts, or that may be of benefit for fishing activities or for passenger public transportation, the Administrator may consider petitions from farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen and passenger public carriers who have informed on their interest on said property. The General Services Administrator may sell the surplus property to any farmer, aquaculturist, aviculturist, artisan, fisherman and passenger public carrier who have requested the same pursuant the
announcement published in a newspaper of general circulation of Puerto Rico. Whenever there is more than one petition for a property declared as surplus, the Administrator shall award the same through a drawing among the interested parties. The petitions shall be processed in the order received, provided that equipment units shall be sold to farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen and passenger public carriers individually, one at a time. The farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen and passenger public carriers shall make the payment based on the price fixed by the concerned agency or corporation as established in the first paragraph of this clause. (C) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Autonomous Municipalities Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Act No. 81 of August 30, 1991, as amended, regarding the acquisition, disposition and public auction of real and personal property, competent authorities in the municipal governments shall adopt similar standards to those established herein in order to grant preference to farmers, aquaculturists, aviculturists, artisans, fishermen and passenger public carriers of their corresponding municipalities, whenever there is municipal surplus property available for agricultural use or for the exercise of the industrial arts and artisanship, or that could be useful for fishing activities or for passenger public transportation. (D) Whenever proof is presented that the farmer, aqua culturist, aviculturist, artisan, fisherman and passenger public carrier does not have the sufficient financial means to acquire the property for its fair market value, authorization may be granted to offer discounts from the acquisition price taking into consideration income and family unit composition. (E) Public corporations shall adopt similar standards to those established herein if their respective organic laws so do allow.
(20) ... (21) ... (22) ... (23) ..."
Section 2.- Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval. However, in relation to the operation and implementation of its provisions, a planning period of thirty (30) days from its approval date is hereby provided so that the General Services Administration may establish the requisites and procedures to be complied with by any person that would benefit from this Act.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 262 (S.B. 699) of the $4^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Clause 19 of Subsection (A) of Section 16 of the General Services Administration Act, Act No. 164 of July 23, 1974, as amended, in order to provide that public property declared as surplus and that may benefit passenger public transportation, may be sold by preference and for its fair market value, to be determined by the corresponding evaluation appraisal, to any public carrier authorized by the Public Service Commission and that may certify his/her status as such, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $30^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director