Esta ley enmienda la Ley de Ética Gubernamental de Puerto Rico para permitir que la firma de un servidor público en su declaración financiera sea equivalente a un juramento, establecer la presunción de que el nombre del firmante es prueba prima facie de la firma, y autorizar el envío de declaraciones financieras por correo electrónico.
(Approved September 14, 2004)
To amend Sections 4.6 and 4.7 and add a new Section 4.6-A to Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, as amended, known as the "Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico," in order to provide that the signature of a public servant in his/her financial statement is the equivalent of an oath; establish the presumption that the name of the public servant which appears as signatory in a financial statement or any other document shall be prima facie evidence that said person signed the statement or document; and to authorize sending financial statements by electronic mail.
The Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, as amended, requires that the public servants who hold certain positions or perform certain functions must file financial statements. Said financial statements are of preventive and supervisory nature so as to prevent illegal conduct and real or apparent conflicts of interest, among other actions that attempt against the integrity of the public institutions. They are furthermore useful when applied to investigative processes conducted by the Government to ensure that the basic principles of ethical excellence are not violated.
The Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico (OEG, Spanish acronym) each year receives close to 10,900 financial statements rendered
by public servants of the three Government Branches. Said Office receives yearly statements when public servants take possession of an office or cease to hold office. A substantial number of financial statements is received during the months of March and April, since the closing date for submitting the annual statements is May 1 of each year. It is during that time that thousands of public servants from all over the Island visit the OEG facilities or additional offices designated by the latter, to fill out, swear in and deliver their financial statements.
Section 4.6 of the Ethics in Government Act requires that the financial statements be submitted under oath. Said oath is essential for guaranteeing the veracity and correctness of the information provided, under penalty of the sanctions established by the Ethics in Government Act, its Regulations and the Penal Code, among others. However, said Section does not authorize public servants to be sworn in without the intervention of a Notary or other official legally authorize to take oaths. At present, the public servants have to go before an official authorized to take oaths and thus meet the legal obligation of submitting the financial statements under oath. Said situation is different from that of the income tax returns which are sworn to by the taxpayers themselves without the intervention of a Notary or an authorized official, as authorized by the Internal Revenue Code of 1994.
On the other hand, Section 4.7 of the Ethics in Government Act provides as sole options for the public servants to comply with the obligation of submitting their financial statements to the Office of Government Ethics, that these be submitted by personal delivery or by certified mail. Said situation is also in contrast with the case of income tax returns which may be filed by email, pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 110 of June 27, 2000. The use of email and its complement, the digital signature, for filing
financial statements, shall allow those who have said obligation to be able to file said statements from their homes or work places. At the same time this shall entail a reduction in the time the public servants devote to fulfilling this obligation.
In harmony with the intention of easing the task of fulfilling the obligation of rendering financial statements, the present Act shall allow the public servants of the three Government Branches to swear to their statements without the intervention of a notary or authorized official. Thus shall the veracity of the information provided to the Office of Government Ethics continue being guaranteed under oath and the process of rendering a financial statement made easier. A presumption similar to that established in the Internal Revenue Code of 1994 is also created, to the effect that the name of the public servant that appears as signatory on a financial statement or other document is prima facie evidence that said person did sign the statement or document. Lastly, the delivery of statements by email is hereby authorized and their digital signature made feasible.
The objectives set forth are also consonant with the provisions of Administrative Bulletin No. OE-2003-45 of June 30, 2003, approved to make feasible the Computerized Government Project in our jurisdiction.
Section 1.- The first paragraph of Section 4.6 of Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 4.6- Oath, Audit The financial statements required by this Act shall be sworn to by the public official whose status it describes, through a written statement rendered under penalty of perjury.
Section 2.-A new Section 4.6-A is hereby added to Act No. 12 of July 24,1985 , to read as follows: "Section 4.6-A - Signature of the Financial Statement The fact that the name of a public servant appears as signed on a financial statement or other related document be it printed or by digital medium, shall be prima facie evidence, for all legal purposes, that said public servant in fact signed the financial statement or other document."
Section 3.- Section 4.7 of Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 4.7- Delivery of Statements The statements required by this Act shall be submitted to the Office of Government Ethics or to its delegated official, by personal delivery, certified mail or email, according to the regulations adopted by the Office."
Section 4.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval, except for what relates to the preceding Section 3, which shall take effect for the financial statements filed after January 1, 2006.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 274 (H.B. 4636) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Sections 4.6 and 4.7 and add a new Section 4.6-A to Act No. 12 of July 24, 1985, as amended, known as the "Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico," in order to provide that the signature of a public servant in his/her financial statement is the equivalent of an oath; establish the presumption that the name of the public servant which appears as signatory in a financial statement or any other document shall be prima facie evidence that said person signed the statement or document; etc., has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $25^{ ext {th }}$ of October of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director