Esta ley enmienda la "Ley de Personal del Servicio Público de Puerto Rico" para permitir que las personas que solicitan empleo público y que presentaron su declaración de impuestos por correo dentro del plazo, pero que fue recibida por el Departamento de Hacienda hasta dos días después de la fecha límite, no sean penalizadas con la imposibilidad de ser nombradas. La enmienda especifica que esta excepción aplica exclusivamente a las declaraciones enviadas por correo y solo si el retraso fue de no más de dos días laborables en uno de los cuatro años anteriores a la solicitud.
(Approved January 4, 2003)
To amend subsection (3) of Section 4.3 of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act", for the purpose of exempting those people who wish to become public servants and who have complied with sending their tax return by regular mail within the deadline, from the penalty of not being able to be appointed, when said return was received by the Treasury Department within two (2) days after the deadline.
As it is customary in Puerto Rico, thousands of citizens file their tax returns on the deadline. In many cases, citizens file said returns through the mail causing the post office to stamp them one day later. These dates are used by the Treasury Department for purposes of certifying the tax returns.
Last August 31, 2000, Act No. 254 was approved with the purpose of adding one Section to the "Personnel Act" aimed at establishing that no employment applicant or interviewee could begin to work without complying with the requirement of certifying that the tax return had been filed within the terms established by Law. This Act severely penalizes those citizens whose returns show that they were filed after the deadline since it does not allow for their appointment.
This legislative measure would allow the citizen whose tax certification shows that in only one of the four (4) previous years he/she filed after the
deadline, and that said date of filing is not later than two (2) working days, may be appointed for public service.
Section 1.- Paragraph (3) of Section 4.3 of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, is amended as follows: "Section 4.3 - Provisions on Recruitment and Selection The agencies of the personnel system shall give the opportunity to compete to every qualified person interested in participating in the public functions of the country. This participation shall be established in consideration to merit, without discrimination by reason of race, color, sex, birth, age, origin or social condition, physical or mental impairment, nor political or religious ideas.
The general provisions which shall govern the recruitment and selection of the career personnel shall be the following: (1) ... (3) The following general conditions are established for entrance in the public service: to be physically and mentally able to perform the duties of the position; to show, at the time of application for employment, that tax returns for the four (4) years previous to the application have been filed, if there was a duty to make such filing; not to have been guilty of misconduct; not to have been removed from public service; not to have been convicted of a felony or any offense entailing moral turpitude; and not to be addicted to the habitual and excessive use of controlled substances or alcoholic beverages. These last four (4) conditions shall not apply when the applicant has been rehabilitated. For the purposes of appointment only, citizens whose tax returns show that the filing was made late only in one of the four (4) previous years, and that such term was not after two (2) working days from
the deadline may be appointed for public service. This is exclusively applicable to tax returns sent through the mail. (4) ..." Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 55 (H.B. 3285) of the $4^{ ext {th }}$.Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsection (3) of Section 4.3 of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act", for the purpose of exempting those people who wish to become public servants and who have complied with sending their tax return by regular mail within the deadline, from the penalty of not being able to be appointed, but said return was received by the Treasury Department within two (2) days after the deadline, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $26^{ ext {st }}$ of February of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director