Esta ley enmienda la Ley General de Asociaciones Cooperativas para permitir que los reclusos que participan en programas de rehabilitación y muestran signos de mejora puedan ser miembros de las juntas directivas y comités de supervisión de las cooperativas de reclusos, excluyéndolos del requisito de no haber sido condenados por delitos.
(Approved December 20, 2002)
To amend Section 14.0 of Act No. 50 of August 4, 1994, as amended, known as the "General Cooperative Associations Act."
Through the years, cooperativism has contributed to the integral welfare of our people. Due to the ideals of solidarity and teamwork, which characterizes it cooperativism has become a real alternative for inmates' rehabilitation process. The philosophy of the cooperativism acknowledges the importance of each individual in the society, understanding it as a process that arises from said individual's initiative and is projected to others. This philosophy imposes strict behavioral rules. In addition, it is based on the reciprocity of rights and duties among all those who work for a common purpose.
The Governor of Puerto Rico issued Executive Order No. EO-2001-21 on May 10, 2001, which stated that "every administrator, director or president of all public agencies, instrumentalities or corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall support cooperativism in Puerto Rico to develop its potential to the maximum and contribute to the socio-economic development of the Island."
At present, there is a group of inmates that stands out because it is the first group of inmates to obtain the certification as Puerto Rican Artisans.
This group of inmates is calls itself ARIGOS. Its name is a combination of the names of indigenous tribes, Arcaicos, Igneris and Ostiones. The ARIGOS, like these tribes who stood out because of their attributes, is interested in taking its project to all inmates' institutions throughout the Island. However, in order for this to be feasible and for the philosophy of the cooperativism to become a rehabilitation alternative, it is necessary to amend Section 14.0(a) of Act No. 50 of August 4, 1994, as amended, known as the "General Cooperative Associations Act." Section 14.0 of said Act establishes the requirements to be met by members of the Cooperatives Boards and Supervision Committees, among which is that no person who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor may be considered for any position. The amendment proposed through this bill has the intention of excluding the members of the Inmates' Cooperatives compliance with this requirement.
Through this amendment our government is enabled to apply the cooperativism philosophy in the different penal institutions on the Island.
Section 1.- Section 14.0
(a) of Act No. 50 of August 4, 1994, as amended, known as the "General Cooperative Associations Act," is hereby amended to read as follows:" "Section 14.0.- Requirements
(a) ..., the members of the Inmates' Cooperatives, are excluded from the application of this subsection provided an officer duly authorized by the Corrections Administration certifies that the prisoner is participating in a program at the institution and shows clear signs of rehabilitation, for which he/she may assume the position."
Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 285 (H.B. 2064) of the $4^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Section 14.0 of Act No. 50 of August 4, 1994, as amended, known as the "General Cooperative Associations Act.", has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $20^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director