Ley 71 del 2007

(No. 71)

(Approved July 23, 2007)

AN ACT

To amend subsection

(a) and to add a new subsection

(g) to Section 1 of Act No. 136 of June 7, 2003, better known as the "Annual privatization report; agencies and instrumentalities of the government," in order to include the privatization of assets within the acts to be included in the annual reports to be submitted by the agencies, instrumentalities, entities or municipalities to the Governor, the Legislature and to the Office of the Comptroller.

STATEMENT OF MOTIVES

Act No. 136, supra, directed all agencies, public instrumentalities, entities or municipalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to make an annual report stating in detail the status of all privatizations established under their competence. Said report shall be remitted to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Office of the Comptroller not later than June 30 of each year.

The abovementioned legal provision also requires that said annual reports be available for public scrutiny, through the Internet web page administered by the Office of the Comptroller. Furthermore, the Legislature, through the Office of Legislative Services, shall keep a record of all documents required by virtue of Act No. 136, supra, which must be available to be accessed and examined by the public.

The main objective of Act No. 136, supra, is to promote that those public services contracted with a private entity respond to the needs and

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interests of the citizenry and such private services may be monitored with greater severity.

Although the title of Act No. 136, supra, refers to privatizations, the truth is that the scope of the statute is limited exclusively to the privatization of functions, areas of administration, duties or responsibilities. The abovementioned Act does not cover the privatization of public assets, whether real or movable.

The Comptroller of Puerto Rico presented to the presidents of the three main political parties of Puerto Rico, on December 15, 1999, the document titled: Recomendaciones para Combatir la Corrupción y Fomentar Buenas Prácticas de Administración Pública, in which a series of recommendations were made to fight corruption and to propitiate the correct use of public funds. The vast majority of these suggestions have been enforced through legislation or administrative action to such effect.

The objective of this Act is to extend the scope of Act No. 136, supra, so that at the closing of each fiscal year, the agencies, public instrumentalities, bodies or municipalities of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall submit a report on the privatization of real properties and services conducted during the previous fiscal year to the Governor, to the Legislature and to the Office of the Comptroller. In this manner, the constitutional mandate of monitoring the revenues, accounts and disbursements of the State, of its agencies and bodies and municipalities shall be strengthened, as well as the obligation to determine if these transactions have been conducted in accordance with the Act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:

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Section 1.- Subsection

(a) is hereby amended and a new subsection

(g) is hereby added to Section 1 of Act No. 136 of June 7, 2003, toread as follows: "Section 1.- It is hereby directed that all agencies, public instrumentalities, bodies or municipalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall submit an annual report stating in detail the status of all privatizations established under their jurisdiction or authority, to be remitted to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Office of the Comptroller. The aforementioned report shall be submitted to said officials and bodies by June 30 of each year.

It shall be understood that the aforementioned report shall include the following:

a) The documentation regarding the status of all contracts executed by the agency whose purposes or consequence is the privatization of any real property or function, administration area, duty, or responsibility of the agency or body in question. b) ... c) ... d) ... e) ... f) ... g) A detailed description of the privatized real property, which shall include, without it constituting a limitation, its description according to the Property Registry; its book value, its market value and its price for purposes of the privatization transaction; its condition, fees, liens and use at the time of the privatization; the public services rendered, if any, from the

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real property; improvements made to said property; a report of income and expenses pertaining to the operation and maintenance of the property, as well as to the public services rendered from said property; and a copy of the public deed through which said real property was privatized."

Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.

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CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 71 (H.B. 378) of the $\underline{5}^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $\underline{15}^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:

AN ACT to amend subsection

(a) and to add a new subsection

(g) to Section 1 of Act No. 136 of June 7, 2003, better known as the "Annual privatization report; agencies and instrumentalities of the government," in order to include the privatization of assets within the acts to be included in the annual reports to be submitted by the agencies, instrumentalities, entities or municipalities to the Governor, the Legislature and to the Office of the Comptroller, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $14^{ ext {th }}$ of December of 2007.

Francisco J. Domenech Director