Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 34 de 13 de julio de 1978, conocida como la "Ley del Consejo Asesor de Asuntos de la Juventud", para definir los términos "Persona Joven", "Juventud" y "Jóvenes" como aquellos entre 13 y 29 años de edad. También ajusta las disposiciones de la ley original para armonizar con esta nueva definición y establece el 30 de abril de cada año como la fecha límite para que el Consejo Asesor de Asuntos de la Juventud presente su informe anual al Gobernador y a la Legislatura. La ley busca garantizar la continuidad de los servicios y la financiación federal para este grupo poblacional, así como evitar controversias legales.
(S. B. 1796) (Conference) (No. 40) (Approved on January 8, 2004)
To add a Section 1 A to Act No. 34 of July 13, 1978, as amended, known as the "Youth Affairs Advisory Council Act," for the purpose of defining "Young Person" "Youth" and "Young Persons;" amend the second paragraph of Section 2, paragraph (7) of Section 4 and paragraphs (1) and (15) of Section 7, all in Act No. 34, supra, for the purpose of harmonizing said provisions to the definition of "Young Person" included in the present Act, as well as to establish the $30^{ ext {th }}$ of April of each year as the deadline for the Youth Affairs Advisory Council to render the annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature.
In our juridical system there is a series of laws that recognize the rights, benefits, privileges and safeguards for young Puerto Ricans. For instance, Act No. 34 of July 13, 1978, as amended, created the Youth Affairs Advisory Council, as well as The Office for Youth Affairs, as the primary government bodies in the Commonwealth, with duties, among others, of developing the public policy on Puerto Rican youth and human services programs addressed to such purposes, as well as coordinating the services to be offered to this sector of the population, with the different government agencies concerned.
A study of Act No. 34, supra, shows that there is no clear definition of the terms "Young Person", "Youth" and "Young People", which are used throughout the text of said Act. Furthermore, every organic act of a
government agency must establish its jurisdiction, to wit, the area or frame of operation or coverage. This is done by defining the population to be served, to wit, defining population whose "matters" will be attended to, or defining what is comprised, or who are included in the terms "Young Person," "Youth" and "Young People."
For example, in Puerto Rico, an under-age person commonly known as a "minor," is any person who has not yet attained majority. According to our Civil Code, "majority" commences upon attaining the age of twenty-one years" (See Section 247). Even Act No. 289 of September 1, 2000, known as "Declaration of Rights and Duties of Children, Their Parents, or Guardians and the State", recently amended by Act No. 59 of July 18, 2001, states that the age of majority is attained at twenty-one (21) years. Therefore, in Puerto Rico, a "minor" is any person under twenty-one (21) years of age, to wit, one who has not attained the age of twenty-one (21) years.
As an example of the defined jurisdiction of an agency in its own organic act with regard to the term "minor", is the case of the Child Support Administration (ASUME), whose jurisdiction is based on child support cases, except in exceptional circumstances provided by law or applicable jurisprudence.
On the other hand, there is another sector of the population in Puerto Rico that has been duly identified and defined. It consist of elderly persons who, legally speaking, are sixty years of age or older, (See Act No. 121 of July 12, 1986, as amended, known as "Bill of Rights of Elderly Persons"). For example, Act No. 68 of July 11, 1988, as amended, known as "Office for the Affairs of the Elderly Act", establishes the legal definition of an elderly
person, thus establishing the jurisdiction of this Agency specifically for this sector of the population.
Thus, if a minor is someone who has not attained twenty-one (21) years of age and an elderly person is one who has attained sixty (60) years or more, it must be concluded, in the absence of a legal provision to such effects, that a "youth is every person who is between twenty-one (21) and fifty-nine (59) years of age. However, this is not entirely correct.
A legal evaluation of the human services programs addressed to the needs of this sector of the population, to wit of the youth, at the federal as well as the State level, shows that the population to be considered is that between the age of thirteen (13) and twenty-nine (29) years. For instance, under the "Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention Program", created by Act No. 75 of July 8, 1986, which receives Federal funding, the population to be served is between thirteen and twenty-nine years. Thus, Federal funds destined to such ends and for this population in particular are not placed at risk. At the Federal as well as the international level, it has been interpreted that a person between the ages of thirteen (13) and twenty-nine (29) is a young person.
A reading of the news bulletin "We Are - Services" prepared by the Office of Youth Affairs, declares the mission of the agency to insure the implementation of the public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, taking into account the aspirations and goals of young people, between the ages of thirteen (13) to twenty-nine (29) years, through the coordination of direct services in an immediate, accessible and efficient manner, with the cooperation of public agencies, private entities, the citizenry, and the active participation of young people to propitiate the full development of youth." As we have seen, it has been through the determination of the agency itself
that its jurisdiction has been established, obviously using Federal programs help as a frame of reference. However, it is indispensable that such jurisdiction be formally established as part of the juridical body that governs said agency, in such a way that effective juridical consequences are furnished for those persons who are included under the definitions provided by this Act and require some type of juridical recourse when they feel that they have not been guaranteed certain rights. It is important to establish the jurisdiction of the agency by law, as well as the population to be served, in such way that it is permanently guaranteed, unless a subsequent amendment following all legislative procedures takes place, that persons who are between the ages thirteen (13) and twenty-nine (29) years will be offered services and they will not be affected by an arbitrary change of view and/or of priorities by the agency, which could very well happen when there are changes of public administrations every four years, or misuse of public funds, especially Federal ones, as the case may be.
It is extremely important that Act 34 of July 13, 1978, as amended, known as "Youth Affairs Advisory Counsel Act", includes the definition of "Young Person" "Youth" and "Young People," since these will be definitions and not administrative assumption that shall expressly establish, the jurisdiction of the Office for Youth Affairs, obviously establishing the "target population", to wit, the population to be served, as well as to guarantee the continuity of Federal funding as well as avoiding possible legal controversies due to mistaken interpretations regarding the jurisdiction of this agency.
On the other hand, it is necessary to temper the present provisions of Act No. 34, supra, with the definitions included in this legislation. For example, with regard to the age requirement of the five (5) additional
members who shall form the "Youth Affairs Advisory Counsel Act." The same applies with regard to the efforts made by the Office, to support the young people seeking jobs, including incentives for the employers. It is important to mention that the age requirement established in paragraphs (1) and (15) of Section 7 of Act No. 34, supra, must be broadened from 24 to 29 years in order to adjust to our social reality. There is no doubt that when the twenty-four (24) years limit was established, the popularity for graduate studies or for careers requiring many years of study (medicine, law, among others) was not as developed. At that time it was supposed that at the age of twenty-four, a person should have acquired a vocation or profession or university degree, obviously at the bachelor's level. But it is not less true that with the competition for work, many young people have opted to obtain a better educational background to face the new labor market needs. And nothing can tell us that after these people, many of whom lack work experience have concluded their studies, shall find themselves in a privileged position or have an advantage over those who are younger, or have less academic preparation. On the contrary, they may be overqualified and lacking the minimal or work experience required.
In another matter, Act No. 34, supra, specifically in paragraph (7) of Section 4, establishes the responsibility of the Youth Affairs Advisory Council Act to render an annual report to the attention of the Governor and the Legislature, indicating its progress and achievements. However, the term to render said report is not specifically determined and it remains at the discretion of this Council, on an uncertain date in each year, which could even be December 31 of each year.
The obligation of seeking solutions to the problems confronting Puerto Rican society rests on the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
through a statutory mechanism. Therefore, it is imperative for it to have all the necessary information on the diverse problems confronted by our Puerto Rico, in order to be in an adequate position to perform its legislative functions responsibly. However, it is important for such information to be received within a specific period of time, since the success of legislative activity is directly related to the knowledge of the program in question. To such purpose we suggest the date of April 30 of each year, as the deadline for the Commission to submit the annual progress and achievement report. The report may be remitted on, or before April 30 of each year, which provides the opportunity to make the pertinent adjustments on the budget petition before the beginning of the next fiscal year, which commences on July 1 of each year.
In view of the above, this Legislature deems it is proper for present legislation to be in effect so that there is no doubt about the population sector to be taken care of, in order to guarantee the rights to which they are entitled more effectively and efficiently.
Section 1.- A Section 1A is added to Act No. 34, of July 13, 1978, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 1A.- Definitions For the purposes of this Act, the following terms and phrases shall have the meaning stated below: (1) "Young person" - means any person who is between thirteen (13) and twenty-nine (29) years of age. (2) "Youth" - refers to the total population group between the age of thirteen (13) and twenty-nine (29) years.
(3) "Young people" - shall have the same meaning as the term "Youth".
Section 2.- The second paragraph of Section 2 of Act No. 34, of July 13, 1978, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 2.- Creation and Composition of the Youth Affairs Advisory Council Act.
This body shall be composed of the Secretary of the Family, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health, the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, the Secretary of Sports and Recreation, the Administrator of the Right to Work Administration as ex-officio members, and five (5) additional members between 16 and 29 years of age. The first appointments made by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, two (2) shall be for a term of two (2) years and three (3) for a term of four (4) years. The following appointments shall be for terms of four (4) years.
Section 3.- Clause (7) of Section 4 of Act No. 34, of July 13, 1978, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 4.- Functions and powers of the Council. To achieve the purposes of this Act, the Council shall have the following functions: (1) ... (2) ... (3) ... (4) ... (5) ... (6) ...
(7) Shall render, on or before the $30^{ ext {th }}$ of April of each year, an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature on the progress and participation of young person in all phases of life of the Puerto Rican people."
Section 4.- Paragraphs (1) and (15) of Section (7) of Act No. 34 of July 13, 1978, as amended, are hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 7.- Functions and duties of the Office The Office shall have the following functions and duties: (1) It shall prepare, with priority and in coordination with the government agencies concerned, organizations and the private sector, an effective program to provide work and other opportunities for development to unemployed youths between sixteen (16) and twenty-nine (29) years of age. (15) To promote the offering of incentives to employers who hire young students between the ages of sixteen (16) and twentynine (29) years.
Section 5.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 40 (S.B. 1796) (Conference) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to add a Section 1 A to Act No. 34 of July 13, 1978, as amended, known as the "Youth Affairs Advisory Council Act," for the purpose of defining "Young Person" "Youth" and "Young Persons;" amend the second paragraph of Section 2, paragraph (7) of Section 4 and paragraphs (1) and (15) of Section 7, all in Act No. 34, supra, for the purpose of harmonizing said provisions to the definition of "Young Person" included in the present Act, as well as to establish the $30^{ ext {th }}$ of April of each year as the deadline for the Youth Affairs Advisory Council to render the annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature, 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