Ley 58 del 2008
Resumen
Esta ley enmienda la Ley del Consejo General de Educación de Puerto Rico de 1999 para crear un Fondo Especial dentro del Consejo. Este fondo se nutrirá de los ingresos provenientes de multas administrativas por infracciones a la ley o reglamentos bajo la jurisdicción del Consejo, así como de las tarifas por el procesamiento de solicitudes de licencias, acreditaciones, modificaciones, cambios sustanciales, certificaciones y reproducciones de documentos. Los fondos se utilizarán para cubrir gastos operacionales, fiscales y administrativos del Consejo, complementando las asignaciones presupuestarias anuales.
Contenido
(No. 58)
(Approved May 9, 2008)
AN ACT
To add Section 15-A to Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico General Education Council Act of 1999," in order to create within the Council a Special Fund into which the monies collected for administrative fines imposed for infractions against the law or regulations shall be covered, under the jurisdiction of the Council, and fees for the processing of license applications, accreditations, modifications and substantial changes, and from the issuing of certifications and document reproductions.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
The General Education Council is a small government agency hardly counting at present with a budget of almost two million dollars, and operating with approximately twenty employees. This agency, however, has one of the most important and transcendental functions in Puerto Rico, since it is the agency that grants licenses for operating private institutions, awarding accreditations to public and private schools that so request.
The Council is specifically responsible for authorizing, through the issuing of licenses valid for periods of not more than four (4) years, the establishment and operation of private schools of preschool, elementary, secondary, vocational, technical and high skill levels, as well as postsecondary schools of non-university nature in Puerto Rico, and of accrediting the schools of the Public Education System and private schools that so request for periods of not more than five (5) years, in order to verify
whether they develop their administrative operations, services and educational services and programs at satisfactory levels of excellence.
These functions, however, are seriously affected due to the fiscal strangulation that this agency has been under in the past few years. In spite of bearing the responsibility to oversee that the schools function with due licenses and accreditations, it has not been able to carry out its main functions fully because of its heavily charged workload and the lack of financial and human resources.
Although it can count on the Licensing and Accreditation Office, which is supposed to continue to operate with qualified personnel, for conducting the technical functions related to the evaluation of schools that request licenses to operate in Puerto Rico, license renewals or that must be accredited, they are occasionally unable to comply within the period established by the Law.
This Legislature of Puerto Rico deems it imperative to provide to the Council the necessary funds to fully comply with its ministerial responsibility. The purpose of this Act is to create a Special Fund within the Council for those monies obtained from the payment of fines for infractions against the aforementioned Act No. 148 and from other administrative fees to be retained by them so that they may be used to improve their fiscal and administrative operations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.-Section 15-A is hereby added to Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 15-A.—Special Fund The monies collected for administrative fines imposed under this Act or the regulations thereunder, as well as the fees for the
processing of license applications, accreditations, modifications and substantial changes, and from the issuing of certifications and document reproductions, shall be covered into a Special Fund under the responsibility of the General Education Council, without being subject to the public policy established in Act No. 230 of 1974, as amended, known as the 'Puerto Rico Government Accounting Act.' In addition to the annual budgetary appropriations that said entity shall continue to receive, the monies covered into the Fund may be used to defray part of the operational, fiscal and administrative expenses of the Council. At the closing of each fiscal year, the Council shall render a comprehensive and detailed report of the use given to the income collected for the imposition of the fines to the Legislature of Puerto Rico."
Section 2.—This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 58 (H.B. 3803) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $15^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to add Section 15-A to Act No. 148 of 1999, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico General Education Council Act of 1999," in order to create within the Council a Special Fund into which the monies collected for administrative fines imposed for infractions against the law or regulations shall be covered, under the jurisdiction of the Council, and fees for the processing of license applications, accreditations, modifications and substantial changes, and from the issuing of certifications and document reproductions, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $13^{ ext {th }}$ of June of 2008.
Francisco J. Domenech Director