Esta ley enmienda la Ley Orgánica de la Compañía de Turismo de Puerto Rico para modificar la composición de la Junta Asesora de la Escuela Hotelera y de Turismo. Se añaden dos miembros adicionales para representar a los guías turísticos y al transporte turístico terrestre, y se define la estructura, términos y reuniones de la Junta. El propósito es mejorar la educación técnico-vocacional en turismo y alinear los currículos con las necesidades de la industria.
(Approved September 15, 2004)
To amend Section 6 of Act No. 10 of June 18, 1970, as amended, known as the Organic Act of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, to add two (2) members to the Hotel School and Tourism Advisory Board, to define its structure and for other purposes.
Vocational and technical level education in the area of tourism is very scarce. For such reason, through several studies conducted by the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, as well as petitions from the various sectors of tourism activity in Puerto Rico, the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico was ordered, through Act No. 63 of January 4, 2003, to re-establish the Hotel School. This school shall be established at a technical-vocational level to satisfy the current training and retraining to fill the needs of human resources for the tourism industry.
Subsequent to that Act, the Legislature studied a bill which required the Department of Education, together with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, to re-establish the Hotel School. For said purposes, an Advisory Board was established in that bill, as well as in Act No. 63, supra. These Advisory Boards serve the purpose of advising the Department of Education and the Tourism Company with respect to the needs of the several tourism activity sectors, which shall benefit the school regarding the preparation of curricula
and training for the teachers who would teach the courses therein. Thus, it is necessary to amend the Organic Act of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico once again to add two more members in the Advisory Board. The inclusion of these two persons shall serve to have representation from the tourist guide and tourism land transportation sectors in the Board. Both sectors constitute an important part of tourism activity, since they are a part of the Hotel School offerings to its graduates.
Likewise, it is necessary to clarify that the Advisory Board established in this Act is the same Advisory Board that the Department of Education shall have.
Section 1.- Subsection 5 of Section 6 of Act No. 10 of June 18, 1970, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 6.- The Company shall be responsible for: (1) ... (5) ... a) Establishing an Advisory Board of a consultive nature that shall make recommendations to the Department of Education on the content of the curricula and programs according to the needs of the tourism industry. This Board shall be composed of nine (9) members: the Executive Director of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, who shall preside it; the Secretary of the Department of Education, who may delegate his/her representation on the Secretary of Vocational Instruction; the Chairman of the Hotels and Tourism Association of Puerto Rico; the Chairman of the Puerto Rico Travel Agents Association;
the Dean of the Department of Hotel and Restaurant Administration of the University of Puerto Rico in Carolina, who may delegate his representation on the Director of the Program; the Administrator of the Future Workers and Entrepreneurs Training Administration; and the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources; a representative of the tourist guides and a representative of land tourist transportation, who shall be appointed by the Director of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico." b) Terms.- The members of the public sector appointed by virtue of this Act shall hold office for the term of their appointments as Secretaries or Directors of the aforementioned agencies. The members of the private sector shall hold office for the term of their appointments as chairpersons of the Association. Representatives of the tourist guide and land tourist transportation sectors shall hold office for two (2) years. c) Organization of the Board.- Within a period which shall not exceed thirty (30) days from the approval of this Act, the Chairman of the Board shall convoke Board members to meet, organize and establish bylaws for its administration, pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act. d) Meetings.- The Board shall meet at least, but without limitation, four (4) times per year, in special meetings convened by the majority of the members, when necessary. All regular and special meetings shall be notified to all
Board members and to any other person, as determined by the Board."
Section 2.- The Board shall submit an annual report to the Legislature of Puerto Rico on the measures it makes pursuant to the provisions of this Act.
Section 3.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 290 (P.B. 4144) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Section 6 of Act No. 10 of June 18, 1970, as amended, known as the Organic Act of the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico, to add two (2) members to the Hotel School and Tourism Advisory Board, to define its structure and for other purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $1^{ ext {st }}$ of November of 2005.
Francisco J. Domenech Director