Ley 54 del 2006
Resumen
Esta ley enmienda la Ley Núm. 131 de 15 de septiembre de 2001 para designar a la Administración de Fomento Cooperativo como la agencia responsable de organizar las actividades del Día Cooperativo Juvenil, que se celebra el tercer miércoles de octubre de cada año. También asigna fondos para este propósito y dirige al Departamento de Educación a armonizar sus reglamentos estudiantiles con esta ley.
Contenido
(No. 54)
(Approved January 31, 2006)
AN ACT
To amend Section 3, add a new Section 4 and renumber the present Section 4 as Section 5 of Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001, which declares the third Wednesday of the month of October of each year as the Youth Cooperative Day, in order to specify that the Cooperative Development Administration shall be the agency in charge of the holding of the activities to be conducted by virtue of this Act; to appropriate funds; and for other related purposes.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001 was promulgated in order to declare the third Wednesday of the month of October of each year as the Youth Cooperative Day. As stated in its Statement of Motives "our children and teenagers claim for legislative actions that turn their cooperative aspirations into reality within their classrooms or schools. The cooperative movement is much more than a modality of offering and obtaining services in benefit of one group; it is a necessity. Our society uses the cooperative movement to foster its goals and to generate jobs. The educational system is the ideal scenario to lay the groundwork for the development of the cooperative movement within our children. Children should be given the opportunity to know the conceptual beauty that lies within cooperativism, so that they may regard the cooperative movement as a tool for development to work together as a team and to achieve a common benefit."
The importance for our children and teenagers to have their juvenile cooperative day arises from the aforesaid. However, to attain the same it only provides that "the agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico, especially the Department of Education, shall lend their cooperation and support in the promotion and holding of the activities conducted by virtue of this Act." It does not arise from the contained therein that a specific agency is obligated to hold activities or celebrations that propitiate the acknowledgment of such an important day, thus adversely affecting its purpose.
The present Legislature deems that it is imperative to entrust the responsibility of this task to the Cooperative Development Administration. The latter operates as an administrative body for the promotion and development of the cooperative movement in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, its Administrator is entrusted with the adoption of all those measures and the development of all those programs that are necessary and convenient to assure the continuing success of the Cooperative Movement in all its phases, including, but without being limited to the granting of financial aid as an incentive to promote the development of cooperative enterprises. In our understanding of the inherent functions of the Cooperative Development Administration, it is evident that it is the most suitable agency to be entrusted with all the activities proper to the juvenile cooperative day without incurring in exorbitant amounts of money to do so.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.- Section 3 of Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 3.- The agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico, especially the Department of Education, shall lend their cooperation and support in the
promotion and holding of the activities conducted by the Cooperative Development Administration by virtue of this Act. Furthermore, the Secretary of the Department of Education is hereby directed to promulgate all rules and norms on the participation of students in extracurricular programs and activities pursuant to the Students Regulations of 2004 in order to harmonize them to this Act, in a term not to exceed sixty (60) days after the approval thereof.
Section 2.- A new Section 4 is hereby added to Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001, to read as follows: "Section 4.- In order to comply with the purposes of this Act, the sum of five thousand (5,000) dollars shall be consigned in the budget of operating expenses of the Cooperative Development Administration as of fiscal year 2006-2007. In subsequent years the sum shall be consigned in the expense budget of the Cooperative Development Administration. The money herein appropriated may be matched with commonwealth, municipal, federal and/or private funds."
Section 3.- The present Section 4 of Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001, is hereby renumbered as Section 5.
Section 4.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 54 (H.B. 1838) of the $3^{ ext {rd }}$ Session of the $15^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Section 3, add a new Section 4 and renumber the present Section 4 as Section 5 of Act No. 131 of September 15, 2001, which declares the third Wednesday of the month of October of each year as the Youth Cooperative Day, in order to specify that the Cooperative Development Administration shall be the agency in charge of the holding of the activities to be conducted by virtue of this Act; to appropriate funds; and for other related purposes, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $2^{ ext {nd }}$ of November of 2006.
Francisco J. Domenech Director