Esta ley establece la "Ley de la Corporación para la Revitalización de Centros y Áreas Urbanas", creando una corporación pública adscrita al Departamento de la Vivienda. Su propósito principal es planificar, coordinar e implementar la revitalización de centros y áreas urbanas, incluyendo la adquisición de terrenos (incluso por expropiación), el desarrollo de proyectos conjuntos con el sector privado y la asistencia para la financiación de dichos proyectos. La ley detalla la composición y poderes de la Junta de Directores, los procedimientos para la adquisición de propiedades, la expropiación, la elaboración de planes de revitalización, la negociación competitiva y el desarrollo conjunto. También establece exenciones contributivas y de procedimientos de subasta para la Corporación, así como disposiciones sobre su personal, fondos y contabilidad.
(Approved August 11, 2004)
To establish the "Corporation for Urban Centers and Areas Revitalization Act," in order to create the Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas, attached to the Housing Department, establish its purposes, powers and duties; and for other purposes.
Our country is suffering from a significant need for housing, especially middle class affordable housing. It is the responsibility of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to attend to this problem of lack of housing while providing the subsidies and incentives so that the neediest families may be able to acquire a safe and suitable home. The rundown condition of the urban centers in Puerto Rico, due to the exodus of its inhabitants to the suburbs in search of a better quality of life, a phenomenon which has been taking place for decades, is a trend that has been widely known on our Island. Said trend was accompanied by a lack of interest on the part of private capital to invest in our urban centers, thus creating an environment of significant abandonment and depopulation.
The present policy of the government is geared, among other things, towards giving attention to the need for housing throughout the Island, providing subsidies and incentives for the neediest families so the may acquire a safe and suitable home, reducing or subsidizing the high cost of
developing housing by granting economic incentives and/or the intervention of the Government in the development of land lots jointly with the private sector.
To repopulate, rebuild and revitalize urban centers through the development of housing projects, community areas, parks and recreational spaces is also an important public policy of this Government. These efforts have the purpose of rescuing the balance and harmonious reconciliation between functionality and beauty and between the desired development and the necessary conservation, and of fostering vibrant and livable cities and lovingly conserving our green areas. The Government seeks to achieve reasonable harmony between our expectations for progress and the reality of leading responsible lives as a community. In brief, we wish that our urban centers recover the vitality and magic enjoyed in the past, through a new vision of community life in a livable city.
In order to be able to implement and make more effective the public policy described above, it is necessary that the public and private sectors join forces so as to bring about the rehabilitation of structures that are obsolete, dilapidated, abandoned or in ruins within our urban centers. We also have to foster the development or redevelopment of vacant lots in both urban and rural areas, so as to create livable cities and communities with communal, recreational, educational, cultural, artistic, commercial and housing facilities and areas.
The government initiatives that seek to achieve the rehabilitation of urban areas, parcels of land and structures through the process of land acquisition, including the method of expropriation, the issue of applications for and adjudication of development proposals and the joint development of properties by the public and private sectors and the assistance and support
for obtaining the means for the financing needed for this, are mechanisms that have been successfully employed in other jurisdictions and significantly fostered the revitalization of urban centers.
The Department of Housing of Puerto Rico has been given the task of implementing the public policy on housing and the development which complements said housing efforts on the Island as well as the promotion of urban renewal projects. To such effects, the Department of Housing has jointly developed and participated with other government agencies of this Government in initiatives for the promotion of urban renewal projects.
This Legislature believes that the most efficient way in which to channel the efforts for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas is through the creation of a public corporation, attached to the Department of Housing, which would have the necessary powers to help in the development and implementation of the urban renewal and revitalization proposals and projects that have been identified. This Act therefore creates the Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas, attached to the Department of Housing. Said Corporation shall draft, jointly with the Department of Housing, plans for the revitalization and renewal of urban areas, develop the projects in coordination with the private and the public sectors, using the powers conferred by this Act, mainly in regards to those facets that require common action or the development of facilities and activities of a public-private nature as noted above.
The approval of this Act and the subsequent creation of the Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas shall complement the public policy established under Act No. 212 of August 29, 2002, the "Urban Centers Revitalization Act," administered by the Office for Urban Affairs of the Department of Transportation and Public Works and shall serve to
strengthen even further the policy of this government which calls for the revitalization and repopulation of our urban centers.
It is the intention of the Legislature that the activities of said Corporation promote and implement the revitalization of urban centers in a well planned, organized and efficient manner and consequently propitiate the general wellbeing of their inhabitants.
Section 1.01.- Title of the Act.- This Act shall be known and be cited as the "Corporation for Urban Centers and Areas Revitalization Act."
Section 1.02.- Standards for its Construction.- The provisions of this Act shall be construed liberally for the purpose of promoting the development and implementation of the objectives and duties of the Corporation created by this Act.
Section 1.03.- Definitions.- For the purposes of the present Act, the following words and terms shall have the meaning expressed below, unless another meaning is clearly indicated by the context:
(a) "Agency" - shall mean any agency, department, bureau, commission, committee, board, office, dependency, instrumentality, public corporation, authority and municipality and any subsidiary or entity affiliated to any of these or other government body.
(b) "Urban Area" - includes the land within the perimeter or sphere of urban expansion, as delimited by the Planning Board on the Urban expansion maps of each Municipality or that perimeter or sphere defined as urban land or land capable of being urbanized in the corresponding
Territorial Ordinance Plan, and which falls under Regulation No. 22 of December 30, 1992, "Ordinance of the Infrastructure in the Public Space," of the Planning Board, or a subsequent regulation or under the territory classified as Urban Land or Land Capable of Being Urbanized by the Territorial Plans which are part of the Ordinance Plans of the same Regulation and any adjacent area which merits being classified as an urban area.
(c) "Housing Financing Authority" - shall mean the Puerto Rico Housing Financing Authority, a public corporation subsidiary of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, created pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 103 of August 11, 2001, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Housing Financing Authority Act."
(d) "Urban Center" - shall mean that geographic portion that comprises the heart or core of a town or city which has been defined as such by the municipality in an area plan, or designated as historic zone, or delimited by the Office of Urban Affairs with the advice of the Planning Board and in close coordination with the Mayor of the Municipality subject to renewal.
(e) "Corporation" - shall mean the Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers created pursuant to this Act.
(f) "Department" - shall mean the Department of Housing of Puerto Rico, created pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 97 of June 10, 1972, as amended.
(g) "Developer" - shall mean any person who builds, rebuilds or substantially improves a property or an area within an Urban Center designated under the provisions of this Act and who holds an urban
developer's or city planner's license issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(h) "Board" - shall mean the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
(i) "Planning Board" - shall mean the Puerto Rico Planning Board, created pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 75 of June 24, 1975, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Planning Board Organic Act."
(j) "Person" - shall mean any company, corporation, partnership, firm, business association, special partnership, individual or group of individuals, trust, succession and any other natural or juridical person.
(k) "Puerto Rico" - shall mean the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(l) "Revitalization Of Urban Centers" - shall mean the public policy provided in this Act, directed towards repopulating and revitalizing the Urban Centers and Areas through the restructuring or rehabilitation of structures that are obsolete, dilapidated, abandoned or in ruins and the development of vacant lots and groups of lots, among others, to make the cities and communities livable places with parks and recreational spaces, and communal, recreational, educational, cultural, artistic and commercial areas and housing facilities of all types.
(m) "Secretary of the Treasury" - shall mean the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury or the officer upon whom the latter delegates his/her powers and duties pursuant to the Department of the Treasury Organic Act.
(n) "Secretary of Housing" - shall mean the Secretary of the Department of Housing of Puerto Rico or the officer upon whom the latter delegates his/her powers and duties pursuant to the Department of Housing Organic Act.
Section 1.04.- Creation of the Corporation.- A public corporation and government instrumentality is hereby created, attached to the Department of Housing, with its own juridical personality, to be known as the "Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas."
Section 1.05.- General Purposes of the Corporation.- The main purposes of the Corporation are to draft, design, process, coordinate and implement in an orderly manner, plans and mechanisms for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas and Special Urban Development Areas established in the Land Use Plans of the Planning Board or the municipal Territorial Plans, as the case may be, through the process of land acquisition, including the method of expropriation, the issue of applications for and adjudication of proposals for their development and the joint development of properties by the public and private sectors and the assistance and support for obtaining the means for the financing needed for said projects.
The revitalization of the Urban Centers shall be understood to cover and include, without this implying a limitation, the streets, roads, sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, public services, recreational areas, buildings, structures and facilities, as well as all other phases needed to achieve the concept of said Urban Center. The Corporation may coordinate or take charge of the partial or total maintenance of the reconstruction or revitalization projects of the urban centers and their facilities and may also administer the activities of said urban centers and coordinate them with public and private agencies as provided in this Act.
Section 2.01.- Board of Directors.- The powers and duties of the Corporation shall be exercised by a Board of Directors to be known as the Board of Directors of the Corporation for the Revitalization of the Urban Centers and shall be constituted and governed in the manner provided below:
(a) Composition of the Board. The Board shall be constituted by seven (7) members, of which three (3) shall be from the public sector and two (2) from the private sector and two (2) majors, one from the Association and the other from the Federation. The members from the public sector shall be the Secretary of Housing or his/her delegate, the Executive Director of the Housing Financing Authority, or his/her delegate, and a representative of the public sector experienced in the areas of real estate, architecture, planning or urban affairs, appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate. The two (2) members from the private sector must be residents of Puerto Rico experienced in the areas of planning, construction and financing, and shall be appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) Term of Office. The members of the Board from the private sector shall serve terms of four (4) years, as of the date of the confirmation of their appointment. Any vacancy created by the resignation, death, disability or removal of a member of the Board shall be covered by a successor member appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve for the remainder of said term.
(c) Remuneration. No member of the Board shall receive any remuneration whatsoever for his/her services. The members of the Board, with the exception of those officers of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
shall receive per diems for each meeting of the Board they attend, as determined by regulations according to the applicable laws.
(d) Quorum and Voting. Three (3) members of the Board shall constitute quorum for the purpose of conducting any Board meeting. All actions of the Board must be approved by the affirmative vote of at least three (3) members, which shall constitute a majority of the Board. Provided, however, that in case three (3) or more members of the Board have any conflict of interests regarding a particular subject or matter, pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.01
(g) of this Act, the Corporation shall not be authorized to participate in said subject or matter.
(e) Executive Director. The Board shall appoint an Executive Director who shall serve as chief executive officer of the Corporation. The Executive Director shall be in charge of executing the duties and powers conferred by the Board for the general administration of the Corporation. The Executive Director shall furthermore perform the duties and have the responsibilities, faculties, powers and authority delegated by the Board. Likewise, he/she shall exercise supervision over all officers, employees and agents of the Corporation and exercise all those powers and duties the Board may assign.
(f) Liability of Members. The members of the Board shall not be personally liable for any obligation of the Corporation and the rights of the creditors of the Corporation shall only be exercised against the Corporation. In cases of civil actions against members of the Corporation regarding matters related to the exercise of their duties, the members may avail themselves of the benefits established in Act No. 9 of November 26, 1975, as amended.
(g) Conflict of Interests. No member of the Board with any personal or financial interests (as said terms are defined below) may participate in a decision or have access to any information related to the matter or matters on which he/she has said interests. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term "financial interest" shall mean the direct or indirect ownership, be it legal or in equity, by an individual or a member of his/her family unit (as defined below), of (1) at least a $10 %$ interest in the stock issued by a corporation; (2) at least a $10 %$ interest in any other entity; or (3) ownership of enough stock or shares in an entity which grants said person actual control over the decisions of said entity, in every case in which the corporation or entity has a financial interest related to the matter object of the decision. The term "personal interest" shall mean any personal, family or business relation that might be interpreted as affecting the objectivity of a member of the Board. The term "family unit" shall mean the spouse of a person, his/her children, dependants or those persons who share his/her legal residence or whose financial affairs are under de jure or de facto control of said person. The Corporation may issue all rules, regulations or circular letters it may deem necessary to implement the provisions of this subparagraph.
Section 2.02.- General Powers.- The Corporation shall have and may exercise the following powers and rights, besides those conferred in other Sections of this Act:
(a) To have perpetual existence.
(b) To sue, be sued and defend itself before all courts with jurisdiction over the Corporation.
(c) To adopt, use and alter its corporate seal at will.
(d) To acquire through donations, purchase or in any other manner, retain, receive, lease, sublet, administer, manage, maintain, operate, improve and use any license, franchise or real, personal or mixed tangible or intangible property or any interest in these, with the prior approval of the Planning Board unless the latter, by justified petition of the Corporation exempts, through a Resolution, the same from presenting before the Board those transactions that in its judgment are meritorious in benefit of the public interest.
(e) To sell, transfer, lease, sublet, assign, grant rights of fee simple ownership and surface rights or of any other type or to otherwise dispose of or transfer any of its real, personal or mixed tangible or intangible property or any interest or rights in the latter, in the form, manner and to the degree that the Corporation may determine, including but not limited to procedures for soliciting qualifications or soliciting proposals or competitive negotiations, subject to the restrictions provided in this Act.
(f) To enter into and grant contracts, agreements and other instruments with public or private entities, including but not limited to sales contracts, leases, joint enterprises and partnerships, to achieve the purposes of this Act or that are necessary and convenient in the exercise of any of its powers.
(g) To draft, adopt, amend and repeal rules and regulations to govern its activities, as well as its internal operations, and to exercise and discharge the powers and duties it has been granted and imposed by law.
(h) To take and grant loans, as well as to guarantee, through bond or letter of credit, loans and other obligations incurred by public or private entities, for the purpose of financing or subsidizing the cost of urban
renewal, reconstruction or revitalization projects and any of its corporate purposes and to fulfill said purposes.
(i) To pledge, mortgage and in any other manner encumber or cede any of its real, personal or mixed tangible or intangible property and its present or future revenues or receipts, including but not limited to any right the Corporation may have under any contract or shares in a partnership or stock in a corporation.
(j) To procure insurance with such covers, including, but not limited to insurance policies that cover the prompt payment in full of the principal and the interest on the obligations of the Corporation, in those amounts and with those insurance companies which the Corporation may determine to be necessary or desirable for its purposes.
(k) To invest its monies according to the regulations promulgated by the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico for government entities, pursuant to Act No. 113 of August 3, 1995, as amended, or any subsequent law. (1) To acquire, own and dispose of stock and certifications entitled to acquire stock, shares (preferred or not) in corporations, partnerships, societies and joint enterprises and any other securities issued by any corporate entity organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or authorized to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or partnerships, societies or joint enterprises organized in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the United States devoted to projects related to the revitalization of urban centers in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and to exercise all and every power and right related to the same, all this pursuant to the purposes of this Act.
(m) To appoint and employ all officers, agents, employees or managers required for the performance of its duties and fix and determine their qualifications, duties and remuneration and retain and employ other agents or consultants, including but not limited to architects, city planners, economists, auditors, engineers, attorneys and private consultants, through contracts or in any other manner, so that they may render or provide professional or technical advise.
(n) To appoint and employ an Executive Director, who shall be the chief executive officer of the Corporation, and who shall receive the remuneration determined by the Board and serve pursuant to the will and discretion of the Board.
(o) To acquire through purchase, option to purchase, public bidding, purchase in installments, cession, donation, exchange or in any other manner, under the terms and in the manner the Corporation may consider suitable, or by exercising the right of expropriation, with the prior approval of the Planning Board, unless the latter, by justified petition of the Corporation or the Department exempts the same from presenting before the Board those transactions that in its judgment are meritorious in benefit of the public interest regarding those parcels of land or rights over lands, public or private, easements and other rights as deemed necessary or suitable for achieving its purposes. Any real or personal property and all rights the Corporation may deem necessary to acquire to achieve its purposes, shall be hereby declared to be of public benefit and the same may be expropriated by the Corporation, pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.03 of this Act, without the previous need for issuing a public benefit statement, as provided by Section 2 of the General Expropriation Act of March 12, 1903, as amended, or any subsequent law.
(p) To accept and receive donations or subsidies from any agency to help the Corporation achieve its purposes. To accept and receive assistance or contributions from any monetary source or as property, services, labor, or other valuables that shall be retained, used and applied only for the specific purposes for which said concessions and contributions are made.
(q) To fix, charge, alter and collect, rent, fees, prices and other charges that any tenant, lessee, concessionaire, user, exhibitor, franchise holder or seller must pay to the Corporation for the use of any of its properties and/or goods and services to be provided by the Corporation with relation to said uses.
(r) To impose conditions and restrictions on transfers of and encumbrances on properties or any right over the same, or define the qualifications of persons entitled to acquire the properties or any right to the same by any means. The properties or rights on the same, whose ownership has been in this manner transferred, shall be encumbered by those restrictions imposed by the Corporation, as the Corporation may deem necessary.
(s) To enter into and execute contracts with third parties in relation to the fulfillment and implementation of any of its powers, rights and responsibilities.
(t) To exercise full ownership and intervention over all its properties and activities, including the power to determine the use and investment of its funds according to the applicable legislation, the nature and need for all expenses and the manner in which these are to be incurred, authorized and paid through the establishment of an expeditious regulatory
procedure for these purposes that would guarantee the legitimate use of the public funds.
(u) To take any action and do everything necessary or convenient to promote the purposes and the general welfare of the Corporation, and to implement the powers and rights granted to the same and the duties imposed by this Act or any other Act.
Section 2.03.- Acquisition of Real and Personal Property.- In order to carry out the functions and achieve the purposes of this Act, the Corporation shall be entitled to acquire real and personal property through purchase, option to purchase, public bidding, purchase in installments, cession, donation, exchange, expropriation procedure or through any other legal means available.
Section 2.04.- Procedure for Expropriation.- The procedure for expropriation, whose right is granted by this Act to the Corporation, shall be exercised by the Department in the name of and for the benefit of the Corporation for the acquisition, use, usufruct, and lease of any right on the real or personal property object of the expropriation.
Section 2.05.- Public Benefit Statement.- Any real or personal property whose expropriation is authorized under this Act is also declared to be of public benefit.
Section 2.06.- Applicability of Procedure for Expropriation.- The provisions of the General Expropriation Act of March 12, 1903, as amended, or any subsequent law, are hereby extended and made available to the Corporation, provided said provisions are not incompatible with any other provision of this Act, and shall be applicable to the procedures for expropriation and the powers granted to the Corporation under this Act. In cases whereby the judicial controversy is circumscribed to the price or value
of the property object of the expropriation and the requirements of Section 5(a) of the General Expropriation Act of March 12, 1903, as amended, or any subsequent law, regarding the statement of acquisition and physical delivery of the property, the Corporation shall meet the requirements of obtaining a bond or making a deposit that, in the opinion of the court, would be sufficient to cover the difference between the amount estimated by the Corporation and the amount required by the owner of the property object of the expropriation as fair compensation, as well as to cover any interest to which the owner of the property object of the expropriation is entitled.
Section 3.01.- Plans for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Other Urban Areas.-
The Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing may adopt, draft, design, transact and implement those plans or programs for the revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas and Special Urban Development Areas established in the Land Use Plans of the Planning Board and/or the municipal Territorial Plans, as the case may be, identifying those properties located in Urban Areas that merit intervention pursuant to the purposes of this Act.
When an Urban Area to be the object of a revitalization or development plan or program is identified, the Corporation shall previously consult with the Planning Board, the Land Administration Board and the Department of Housing.
Section 3.02.- Competitive Negotiation; Application for Qualifications and Application for Proposals.-
The Corporation may initiate and participate in competitive or direct negotiation procedures it may deem convenient with private entities, issue applications for qualifications or for proposals or any combination of these it may deem convenient in order to cause the reconstruction or revitalization of properties located within the Urban Centers or to foster the revitalization of the Urban Centers pursuant to the ends and purposes established in this Act.
Section 3.03.- Joint Development.- The Corporation may enter into the agreements it may deem convenient with public or private entities, including but not limited to, sales, lease, joint enterprise and partnership or society contracts to achieve the purposes of this Act or that may be necessary or convenient for the exercise of any of its powers. The projects in which the Corporation participates with third parties must be in consonance with the purposes of this Act.
Section 3.04.- Requirements for Application for Proposals or Bids.- Those private entities interested in bidding or submitting proposals under the procedures for application for qualifications or application for proposals to be issued by the Corporation must meet the requirements established in the application for qualifications or application for proposals issued by the Corporation, which must meet the provisions of this Act and the regulations adopted by the Corporation for such purposes.
Section 4.01.- Tax Exemption of the Corporation.- It is hereby determined and declared that the purposes for which the Corporation is created and for which the Corporation shall exercise its powers are public and for the general welfare of the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico and that the exercise of the powers and rights conferred under this Act constitute the performance of essential government functions. Thus, the Corporation shall be exempted from the payment of all taxes, permits, excise taxes, tariffs, costs and fees imposed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or its municipalities on the properties of the Corporation or those leased to the latter and on the revenues derived from any activity or enterprise of the Corporation, including, but not limited to, municipal license taxes imposed pursuant to Act No. 113 of July 10, 1974, as amended, known as the "Municipal License Tax Act," the municipal taxes on construction imposed pursuant to Act No. 81 of August 30, 1991, as amended, known as the "Autonomous Municipalities Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of 1991." The Corporation shall also be exempted from the payment of any type of fees, internal revenue stamps and vouchers, costs or taxes required by law for conducting judicial processes, the issue of certifications in all offices and dependencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the granting of public documents and their presentation and registration in any public registry of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Section 4.02.- Exemption from the Requirements for Public Bidding Procedures.-
The Corporation shall be exempted from complying with any requirement related to the bidding or auction procedures for the adjudication of construction, services and procurement contracts and any other type of contract when necessary and convenient for the achievement of its purposes and when authorized by the Board, in every case through a resolution to that effect. Every one of such resolutions shall establish the circumstances that justify the Corporation's exemption from the requirements for public bidding. However, it shall be required to have at least three (3) quotations
from different entities. The Corporation shall establish through regulations all the norms and procedures needed for the proper use of its funds and resources, which must comply with sound administration parameters.
The Corporation may use the construction methodology known as construction management or any of its variations, for contracting any of its construction projects. The Corporation may issue any regulations, rules, administrative determinations or circular letters it may deem necessary to implement said method for contracting and its use.
Section 4.03.- Officers and Employees.- The Corporation shall be exempted from the application of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act." The officers and employees of the Corporation shall be entitled to be reimbursed for the necessary travel expenses, or in lieu thereof, for the corresponding per diems authorized by regulations approved by the Board. The officers and employees of any board, committee, agency, instrumentality, public corporation or department of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, appointed by the Corporation, who at the time of their appointment were beneficiaries of any retirement system or savings and loan plan shall, after said appointment, continue having the rights, privileges, obligations and status regarding these, as prescribed by the law which covers the officers and employees who hold similar positions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Section 4.04.- Funds and Accounts; Accounting Systems.- It is hereby provided that the Department shall allocate from its budget, those funds, benefits and resources it may deem convenient for the operations of the administration of the Corporation created pursuant to the present Act.
The monies of the Corporation shall be deposited with acceptable depositories according to law. The disbursements shall be made by the Corporation according to the applicable legal provisions.
The Corporation, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall establish the accounting system required to ensure the proper control and registration of all expenses and revenues belonging to or administered or controlled by the Corporation. The accounts of the Corporation shall be maintained so that they may be properly segregated and kept separate, as far as may be advisable, taking into consideration the various types of operations, projects, enterprises and activities of the Corporation.
Section 4.05- Transfer of Funds and Properties between the Corporation and other Government and Municipal Bodies.-
Any legal provision or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, the agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are hereby authorized to cede, donate and/or otherwise transfer to the Corporation, at its request and under terms and conditions deemed reasonable, any real or personal property, or any rights on the same (including but not limited to goods already devoted for public benefit), that the Corporation may deem necessary or convenient to achieve any of its corporate goals.
In addition to what is provided in the above paragraph, any procedure, transaction, agreement or contract, including but not understood as a limitation, the expropriation, acquisition, sale, mortgage, lease, usufruct, surface right, constitution of any right of way, or any other transfer, encumbrance or cession of any real or personal property or any rights over these, to which the Corporation is a party, shall not be subject to the applicable provisions of:
(a) Act No. 12 of December 10, 1975, as amended, or any law succeeding the latter.
Section 4.06.- Power of the Board to Regulate.- The Board may issue all regulations, rules, administrative determinations or circular letters it may deem necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act, including rules and regulations for promoting public security for maintaining public order, subject to the provisions of act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, known as the "Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico."
Section 4.07.- Severability Clause.- Should any provision of this Act be declared unconstitutional, illegal or null by a competent court with jurisdiction, said determination shall neither affect nor invalidate the remaining provisions of this Act, and the effect of such a declaration shall be only limited to the article, section, paragraph, subsection, clause or sub-clause declared unconstitutional, illegal or null.
Section 4.08.- Effectiveness of the Act.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 209 (H.B. 4917) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to establish the "Corporation for Urban Centers and Areas Revitalization Act," in order to create the Corporation for the Revitalization of Urban Centers and Areas, attached to the Housing Department, establish its purposes, powers and duties; and for other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $12^{ ext {th }}$ of August of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director