Esta ley enmienda la Ley de la Compañía de Parques Nacionales y la Ley del Sistema de Parques Nacionales de Puerto Rico para fortalecer la protección y administración de los parques nacionales. Establece que la Compañía de Parques Nacionales tendrá jurisdicción exclusiva sobre los parques, prohíbe la transferencia de su título y propiedad a entidades privadas o públicas (incluyendo municipios), y exime estas propiedades de impuestos. También modifica los requisitos para el puesto de Director Ejecutivo de la Compañía, exigiendo experiencia en recreación, conservación ambiental o recursos naturales, y permite a la Compañía retener el impuesto de ocupación de sus centros vacacionales para mejorar sus instalaciones.
(Approved January 8, 2004)
To add paragraph (7) to Section 3, to amend subsection
(k) of Section 5, subsection
(b) of Section 7, subsection
(a) of Section 11, subsections
(a) and
(b) of Section 14 of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, better known as the National Parks Company Act, and to add a Section 20 to it; furthermore, to amend Section 12 of Act No. 9, of April 8, 2001, better known as the "National Parks System Act".
Acts No. 9 and 10, approved April 8, 2001, known as the "Puerto Rico National Parks System Act" and the "National Parks Company Act", promulgated the public policy of conserving natural, historic, scenic, recreational, cultural, scientific, and archaeological resources, to propitiate their enjoyment by this and future generations. They also established a procedure for the designation of the National Parks of Puerto Rico, which requires the approval of statutes that guarantee the protection, in perpetuity, of these resources.
Pursuant to the public policy established in Acts No. 9 and 10, the National Parks Company of Puerto Rico has the mission of conserving, protecting and developing the National Parks System. These Acts established express prohibitions to the alienation and transfer of resources designated as National Parks, thus declaring the interest of the State to establish an integrated National Parks System, thus guaranteeing their permanence in the public heritage. It was likewise established that every National Park, present and future, shall be
exclusively administered by the National Parks Company, and pursuant to the provisions of these Acts.
The alienation or transfer of a National Park, or part thereof, beyond the National Park System and the jurisdiction of the National Parks Company, is incompatible with the objectives of the program and the mission of the State to conserve those incalculably valuable resources for the People of Puerto Rico. It is necessary therefore, to reaffirm the programmatic commitment of the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to conserve, and develop a National Park System which is integrated under the jurisdiction and administration of the National Parks Company, through amendments, that clearly and unequivocally eliminate the possibility of modifying the purpose for which a National Park receives its designation and preventing the transfer of the non-delegable duty of the National Parks Company as custodian and administrator of the System.
Likewise, the National Parks Company is the only public entity in Puerto Rico that operates recreational facilities with vacation centers to lodge their clients. These vacation centers provide an important tourist, economic and social function. They promote the general welfare of these sectors of the population whose opportunities for recreation and rest are limited and for whom private enterprises offer few options.
In turn, the revenues of the vacation centers are the main source of income of the Company and allow the operation of other installations where their activities are free of charge to the public. The following data reveals the role of the vacation centers in offering recreation for this socioeconomic sector:
Presently, the Company is bound to collect a room occupancy tax from its clients. Formerly, the Company received a distribution from said tax for operating expenses. As a matter of fact, one of the motives for the occupation tax was to generate funds from private tourist activity, to add the same, to the promotion, development, and maintenance of the public recreational facilities. However, in order to finance the development of the Convention Center and as of the approval of Act No. 299 of September 1, 2000, the Recreational Development Company, now the National Parks Company, lost this source of income. As a result from that time on these revenues have been defrayed from the budget of the General Fund.
Income from public recreational activity should revert directly to it in order to continue providing these services to a major sector of the population that lacks the resources to obtain similar services in the private sector. The collections of the vacation centers should be totally invested in maintaining and improving the structures and operation of the installations of the National Park Company. Therefore, an amendment is included to allow the Company to keep the occupation tax collected from its clients, with the purpose of using it for the improvement of said vacation facilities.
On the other hand, given the development and transformation in the recreation and conservation needs, which are seen through all the world and which provoked the creation of the National Parks Company, the position of Executive Director requires, at present, better knowledge and familiarity with recreational and
conservation disciplines. Therefore, an amendment is included requiring that the Executive Director be professionally trained in the areas of recreation, environmental conservation, national resources or related areas or recognized experience and performance thereof.
Finally, an amendment is included to correct and change the denomination of the Recreational Development Company to that of National Parks Company in Section 11 of Act No. 114 of June 23, 1961, as amended.
Section 1.- Paragraph (7) is hereby added to Section 3, of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 3.- The Company created by this Act shall have the following primary purposes and objectives: (1) ... (7) Protect the integrity of the Puerto Rico National Parks System, established by Act No. 9, of April 8, 2001, exercising exclusive jurisdiction over the administration, management and development of the existing National Parks and of those to be designated in the future. The title and ownership of all resources declared as a National Park shall correspond to the National Park Company, for their protection in perpetuity."
Section 2.- Subsection
(k) of Section 5, of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 5.- The Company shall have and may exercise the following general powers in addition to those conferred in other places by this Chapter:
(a) ...
(k) Lease, sell and dispose of any of its properties, that has not been designated as a National Park, as prescribed by the Company
itself. Provided, that the real property of the Company that is a part of a National Park shall not be leased or alienated for a purpose that is other than public."
Section 3.- Subsection
(b) of Section 7, of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 7.- Officers. a. b. The Executive Director shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, who shall, in turn, be the Executive Director of the National Parks Trust. This official shall not receive additional compensation to that of the position of Executive Director of the Company. He/She shall be appointed by the Governor, by recommendation of the Secretary of Sports and Recreation. Furthermore, in order to hold the position of Executive Director, he/she shall be required to have formal education in the disciplines of recreation, environmental conservation, natural resources or related areas, or recognized experience and background in these areas. He/She shall represent the Company in all activities and in those contracts whose granting is necessary for the performance of his/her functions; shall perform the duties and shall have the responsibilities, powers and authority delegated to him by the Board; he/she shall be responsible for the interaction of the Board with the officials of the Company; he/she shall draft and present the annual working plan and budget of the Company to the Board; he/she shall have the authority to recruit and hire any officers and employees and shall be responsible for authorizing and supervising every
contract that is needed for the operation of the Company. The Board of Directors shall fix the salary of the Executive Director. The Board may delegate on the Executive Director any of its powers, except that of adopting rules and regulations and approving the budget of the Company."
Section 4.- Subsection
(a) of Section 11 of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 11.- Bonds.
(a) By authority of the Government of Puerto Rico, which is hereby granted, the Puerto Rico National Parks Company may issue and sell its own bonds from time to time and keep them in circulation.
Section 5.- Subsections
(a) and
(b) of Section 14 of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 14.- Tax Exemption.
(a) It is hereby resolved and declared that the purposes for which the National Parks Company was created, its subsidiary companies organized by it and the activities that said Company and its different subsidiaries develop, shall be in benefit of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico, through the revealing and development to the greatest degree possible of the recreational resources and National Parks of Puerto Rico, as part of the spiritual development plan that the Commonwealth has resolved to put into practice through said Company and its subsidiaries. Therefore, the Puerto Rico National Parks Company or any subsidiary organized by it pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall not be required to pay commonwealth or municipal
contributions or taxes, on any of the properties acquired by it, or on any of them under its jurisdiction, ownership or possession, or on its activities in the development or conservation of any of its enterprises and activities. Likewise, the Company shall retain in its treasury any occupancy tax collected in its vacation centers.
(b) A subsidiary for the foregoing effects shall be deemed to be every corporate entity or commercial organization whose total paid-in capital, if a corporation, or whose assets, if it is a noncorporate entity, is wholly-owned by the Puerto Rico National Parks Company."
Section 6.- Section 20 is hereby added to of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 20.- Non-transferability of the title of National Parks. The title and jurisdiction of any asset designated as a National Park, pursuant to the provisions of the "Puerto Rico National Parks System Act", Act No. 9 of April 8, 2001, shall be exclusive of the National Parks Company.
The management nor ownership of any National Park cannot be transferred to private, natural or juridical persons, nor to another agency or public corporation, nor to municipalities."
Section 7.- Section 12 of Act No. 9, of April 8, 2001, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 12.- Property title. The property title of the areas of national value designated as National Parks shall belong to the Company. Said title shall be held solely by the Company, which shall not be able to transfer it to any person or entity, public or private, nor to any municipality. These properties shall be exempted from property taxes."
Section 8.- Effectiveness. This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 36 (H.B. 4210) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to add paragraph (7) to Section 3, to amend subsection
(k) of Section 5, subsection
(b) of Section 7, subsection
(a) of Section 11, subsections
(a) and
(b) of Section 14 of Act No. 114, of June 23, 1961, as amended, better known as the National Parks Company Act, and to add a Section 20 to it; furthermore, to amend Section 12 of Act No. 9, of April 8, 2001, better known as the "National Parks System Act", has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $4^{ ext {th }}$ of May of 2005.
Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director