(H.B. 946)
(No. 120)
(Approved August 17, 2001)
AN ACT
To
create the Municipal Recreational and Sports Community Facilities
Act and implement the “Cada Parque con su Municipio y cada
Comunidad con su Parque” Program, so as to order the conditional
transfer of ownership of certain real property registered in the name of
the Sports and Recreation Department to the Municipalities of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, located within the territorial and
geographical boundaries of each of these municipalities; establish
concordance between the Property Registry and the extraregistral
juridical reality; establish parameters to regulate the public policy and
the supervisory efforts between the Department and the
municipalities; establish administrative and legal responsibilities;
establish a transition committee and propose and establish the
appropriation of recurrent funds.
STATEMENT OF MOTIVES
The Sports and Recreation Department was created to render direct
recreational and sports services throughout the whole Island. This function,
inherited from the formed Public Parks and Recreation Administration, is,
among other reasons, presently in crisis due to the proliferation of
recreational and sports facilities.
In order to establish the public policy that would return to the Sports
and Recreation Department its original purpose, it is imminent to give back
to the municipalities the real and effective control of the community
recreational facilities located within their territorial boundaries. This is to be
done by transferring to the municipalities the ownership of the land where
these facilities are located.
This transfer has several objectives. In the first place, the Sports and
Recreation Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be
primarily freed from its daily responsibility for cleaning and beautifying
these community parks. In the second place, the Sports and Recreation
Department will be able to properly attend to those non-community facilities
whose size and complexity demand rigorous and costly maintenance.
Finally, the Department will be able to devote its efforts to providing
comprehensive and effective sports programs, an activity which must again
become the main endeavor of this Agency.
Furthermore, the decentralization that shall take place as a
consequence of these transfers shall give the municipalities and the
communities the power over their parks, sport courts and fields and passive
recreational areas they have claimed for so long.
The purpose of the funds to be received by the Department for
improving the facilities that shall be transferred to the municipalities is to
contribute towards improving the maintenance and the beautification of the
facilities. The Department and the municipalities shall use the monies to
enhance the facilities so they become useful and pleasant community areas
with programmed and recurrent maintenance to prevent their neglect.
The Department shall thus exercise its support and supervisory
function to achieve, on the one hand, an effective sports and recreation
program, and on the other hand, the maintenance and beautification of all
community facilities throughout the Island.
This Act creates the mechanisms needed to fulfill the objectives set
forth above, to wit: establish concordance between the Property Registry and
the juridical reality so as to be able to conduct the juridical transaction of
transferring the patrimonial land of the Department and so that the
Municipalities may assume responsibility over any other ulterior juridical
business or transaction corresponding to the Property Register; establish
parameters to regulate the public policy between the Department and the
Municipalities in relation to the authorized and ordered transfer; establish
the administrative and legal responsibility of the government entities
involved in said transfers; establish a Transition Committee to conduct said
transfer in an organized, orderly and effective manner and establish the way
and the criteria to carry out the appropriation of recurrent funds for a specific
time period.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO:
Section 1.-This Act shall be known as the “Municipal Recreational
and Sports Community Facilities Act” to implement the “Cada Parque con
su Municipio y cada Comunidad con su Parque” Program.
Section 2.-Definitions: For the purposes of this Act, the words or
phrases set forth below shall have the meaning herein indicated, unless
another meaning clearly arises from the context:
(a)
Mayor – is the Chief Executive of the municipal government.
(b)
Assembly – is the body with legislative duties concerning
municipal matters, duly constituted and officially known as
“Municipal Assembly”.
(c)
Appropriation – is any sum of money authorized by the
Legislature, the Municipal Assembly or the Federal Government to
carry out a specific activity or achieve certain objectives.
(d)
Certification – is the document proving ownership that
substitutes a public deed by virtue of which the conditional transfer of
title of the patrimonial real estate of the Department to the
municipalities is executed.
(e)
Registry Certification – is the certification issued by the
Property Registrar as to the outcome of the contents of the Register
(fees and charges on the real property or registered right, the existence
of any document introduced and pending evaluation and any other
matter included by the Registrar).
(f)
Department – is the Sports and Recreation Department created
by virtue of Section 3 of Act No. 126 of June 13, 1980, as amended,
known as the “Sports and Recreation Department Organic Act”.
(g)
Recreational or Sports Facility – is any space or physical area,
with or without a structure, that because of its size and daily use
mainly serves neighboring communities and is used for recreational
purposes or for practicing some sport. This definition includes the
expression “Patrimonial Real Estate” as defined in Section 2,
subsection (m) of this Act. This definition also includes the
definition for “facility” established in subsection (o) of Section 1.003
of Act No. 81 of August 30, 1991, as amended, known as the
“Autonomous Municipalities Act”; provided that because of its
nature, design or use is used for recreational or sports purposes.
(h)
Regional Facilities – are those real properties that because of
their size, complexity and daily use serve for conducting activities
that attract persons from around the whole Island.
(i)
Municipality – is the geographical boundary to include all its
barrios, with a specific name, that is governed by a local government
constituted by a Legislative Power and an Executive Power. This
furthermore includes the meaning of juridical entity of the local
government, subordinate to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico and to its laws.
(j)
Municipalization – is the organized, orderly and effective
transfer of ownership of the community sports and recreational
facilities of the Department to the municipalities, according to their
geographical boundaries.
(k)
Ordinance – is any legislation duly approved under the
municipal jurisdiction of a general or specific nature whose
effectiveness is indefinite. This includes the affirmative expression of
the Municipal Assembly accepting the transfer ordered and provided
by this Act.
(l)
Municipal or Public Property – is any recreational or sports
facility for community use that the municipality acquires by virtue of
the transfer of ownership by the Department, as authorized and
ordered by this Act.
(m)
Patrimonial Community Property – any facility owned by the
Department such as parks, courts, and centers or areas and premises
whose nature or use is devoted to recreational or sports activities that
are located in the communities and that because of their size or daily
use mostly serve the residents of neighboring communities. This
definition excludes stadiums, sports complexes or any facility that
because of its nature or size is mostly used for regional or national
activities.
(n)
Secretary – is the Secretary of the Sports and Recreation
Department created by virtue of Section 4 of Act No. 126 of June 13,
1980, as amended.
Section 3.-The Secretary shall have the power to freely transfer to the
municipalities the ownership title of the patrimonial community property of
the Department. This transfer shall be executed according to the procedures
and conditions established in this Act and subject to acceptance by the
municipalities through an ordinance.
Section 4.-The conditional transfer of the patrimonial property of the
Department to the Municipalities shall be executed by means of a
Certification, with its effect as a public deed, according to the procedures
and requirements established below:
(a)
The Department shall identify the patrimonial property to be
transferred according to:
(1)
the expression of the common name by which the
facility is known
(2)
it being qualified and classified as “community”
property
(3)
the description of the property according to the
Property Register. The actual existence of a
building that is not ascertained in the Register may
be verified as part of the description of the
property
(4)
the registration entry of the real property including
volume and lot number and folio and an indication
in the Section of the Register where the same
appears as registered.
(b)
Once the patrimonial community property has been identified,
the Department shall request that the corresponding Property
Register issue a Registration Certification thereof. Said application
shall include the information contained in subsection (a) of this
Section.
(c)
Once the Registration Certification has been issued, the
Secretary shall have the power to execute the conditional transfer of
the patrimonial property to the corresponding municipality subject to
the following directives. The Secretary and the Mayor of the
concerned municipality, or their authorized representatives, shall issue
a subscribed Certification including the following information:
(1)
the appearance of the Secretary or the official authorized
by the latter in representation of the Department,
containing his/her personal circumstances
(2)
the power of the Secretary to execute the conditional
transfer of the patrimonial property pursuant to this Act
(3)
the appearance of the Mayor or official authorized by the
latter in representation of the municipality in question,
containing his/her personal circumstances
(4)
the power of the Mayor of the municipality in question to
accept the conditional transfer in representation of and of
behalf of the municipality
(5)
the following information about the property to be
transferred:
(i)
common name by which the facility is known
(ii)
registry description of the property
(iii)
lot and volume number and folio where it appears
registered
(iv)
section of the Property Register where it appears
registered
(v)
application for transfer of ownership of the
property to the corresponding municipality
(vi)
(6)
the value of the property being transferred
mention of the municipal ordinance endorsing the
acquisition of the conditional transfer of the patrimonial
property, including its date of approval
(7)
conditions for the transfer executed, according to what is
established in Sections 6 and 7 of this Act
(8)
date on which the Certification is subscribed
(9)
signatures of the Secretary and the Mayor of the
municipality
in
question
or
their
authorized
representatives
(10) the seal of the Department.
(d)
Once the Certification has been subscribed according to the
directives indicated in subsection (d) of this Section, the same shall be
filed by the Mayor with the corresponding Property Register, free
from the payment of fees.
Section 5.-Upon presentation, the Certification in the Property
Register must be accompanied by the following documents:
(a) a certified copy of the Municipal Ordinance authorizing the
Mayor or his/her representative to accept the acquisition of the
patrimonial property described in the Certification
(b) the original and a copy of the Presentation Minutes required
by Section 31.4 to 31.10 of the General Regulations for Executing the
Mortgage and Property Register Act.
Section 6.-The conditional transfer of the title of the patrimonial
property shall be subject to the charges and the lien arising from the Register
at the time the property is registered.
Section 7.-The transfer of the title of the patrimonial property shall be
subject to the following restrictive conditions for the municipalities:
(a) The municipality is hereby bound to maintain the use of the
sports and recreation facilities as previously designated for each
facility.
(b) The municipality is hereby bound to notify by certified mail
to the Department, as interested party, all
matters
or
procedures
related to changes in the use and the constitution of lien or alienation
of any patrimonial property to be transferred by virtue of this Act.
This notice must be given prior to any transaction leading to
changes as to the use, encumbrance or alienation of the property.
(c) The consideration of the Department shall be deemed as
having the force of law regarding the final resolution about the
changes as to the use, encumbrance or alienation of the transferred
property.
(d) Should the Department fail to agree to the change in the use
and the constitution of lien or alienation of the property, the
municipality shall use and maintain the patrimonial property acquired
by virtue of this Act for the same purpose for which it was acquired.
Should the Sports and Recreation Department agree to the change in
use it shall be necessary to obtain the approval of the Legislature
by means of a Joint Resolution.
(e) Should the municipality fail to comply with the maintenance
and beautification efforts, or make any changes as to the use and
the constitution of lien or alienation of the property without first
consulting or obtaining the consent of the Department and in
detriment to the purpose of the sports or recreation activities, the
ownership and administration of the patrimonial property transferred
by virtue of this Act, shall revert to the Department through a decision
of the General Court of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(f) The legal liability for damages caused by noncompliance
with any of the conditions imposed in this Section, should there be
any for a third party or for the Department, shall be settled by the
municipality except when otherwise determined by the General Court
of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Section 8.-The Secretary is hereby empowered to transfer to the
municipalities, free of charge and simultaneously with the transfer of the
land, the structures contained therein, provided they are the property of the
Department.
Section 9.-The acquiring municipalities shall be responsible for taking
the following actions according to the laws in effect:
(a) grant Building Certificates for those structures that do not
appear in the Register and file them with the Property Register to be
registered as municipal properties.
(b) group together or segregate the tracts of land, if necessary.
(c) determine the value of the structures through assessments
conducted by the Municipal Revenues Collection Center.
(d) request from the Municipal Revenues Collection Center the
official property record number corresponding to each facility.
Section 10.-Conditions for the transfer of community facilities
(a) The Department reserves the right to fulfill its obligation to
supervise the municipalities so they, in turn, fulfill their obligation to
provide administrative, maintenance, sanitation and beautification
services.
(b) The Department shall pay for the water and electric power
consumed by the transferred facilities during their first year after
being transferred; the second year it shall pay fifty (50) percent of
such invoices; the third year the municipality shall assume full
responsibility. For such a purpose the year shall begin once the
Certification has been granted, as defined in this Act.
(c)
The
Department
reserves
the
right
to
establish
recreational and sports programs in all community facilities without
being charged for the right of use in the transferred properties. The
Department may not apply this reserved right in those facilities where
the municipality is conducting recurrent, programmed and well
attended activities.
(d) The Department shall have the subsidiary obligation of
ensuring and providing maintenance in those community facilities that
are unattended by the municipalities. The maintenance to be provided
by the municipalities must never be less than that provided by the
Department
before
said
facilities
were
transferred
to
the
municipalities. Should the Department need to provide said
maintenance, the same shall be chargeable to the pertinent
municipality.
(e) The Department reserves the right to fine the municipality
that fails to fulfill the obligations established in this Section, under the
criteria established in Act No. 126 of June 13, 1980.
Section 11.-Should there be an agreement to delegate competence by
which the municipality is to be in charge of administering the patrimonial
property of the Department, the municipality shall retain administrative and
legal responsibility according to the provisions of the agreement until the
latter expires or until the municipality obtains ownership of the property.
Section 12.-Any lease or usufruct contract or agreement to delegate
competence or administration agreement executed between the Department
and a Municipality which at the time in which the patrimonial property is
transferred is in effect, shall immediately loose its effectiveness and be
resolved by confusion of rights. Likewise, those contract or agreements that
had been executed between the Department, the municipalities and
recreational, sports and resident associations and resident councils shall
remain in effect until the regulations provided in Section 22 of this Act are
implemented. The contracts executed between the Department and natural or
juridical persons shall continue in effect until their expiration date.
Section 13.-Any entry and development option contract as well as any
entry and development permit granted by the Department and the
municipality which at the time of the transfer of ownership of the
patrimonial property is in effect, shall remain in effect under the same
clauses and conditions established at the time it was granted. In relation to
these contracts, it is hereby provided that the municipality is substituted in
place of the Department with the same rights and obligations corresponding
to the latter from the date they were granted.
Section 14.-The Department retains its legal liability in relation to any
matter regarding the property transferred until the moment the Certification
transferring ownership of the same to the municipality is signed.
Section 15.-After the Certification transferring ownership of the
property to the municipality has been signed, the latter assumes legal
liability with regard to any matter concerning said property henceforth.
Section 16.-The transfer of ownership of the patrimonial property of
the Department to the municipalities in no way means that the Executive
Branch of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the
Department are excluded from the implementation of the public policy of the
government in the area of sports and recreation. Neither does it mean that
Act No. 126 of June 13, 1980, as amended, should loose its effectiveness.
The Department is hereby directed to regulate its responsibilities towards the
municipalities and the community organizations within a term of one
hundred and twenty (120) days pursuant to the provisions of Act No. 126 of
June 13, 1980, as amended, the Sports and Recreation Department Organic
Act, so as to reconcile the position of the municipality as new owner of the
patrimonial property, as provided by virtue of this Act, with the public
policy of the government and to the provisions of Section 6 and 7 of this
Act.
Section 17.-The transfer of ownership of the Patrimonial Property of
the Department ordered and provided by this Act extends to that property
that up to now presents the following problems:
(a) discrepancy between the juridical and extra-registrar reality
(b) defective registration
(c) difficulty to identify the property and qualify and classify
the same as community property as to whether the land in question is
inherited or acquired from the following government agencies: the
Public Parks and Recreation Administration, presently the Sports and
Recreation Department; the Land Administration; the Department of
Housing; the Department of Education; the Department of
Transportation and Public Works; and the Planning Board and
Urbanization Projects Developers.
In these cases the transfer of the Patrimonial Property shall be
executed in the same manner provided in this Act, but according to the
degree to which each particular situation is being resolved.
Section 18.-Such property that at the time of its approval has lost all
public usefulness and that for this reason has been released or is in the
process of being sold is hereby excluded from the classification of
patrimonial community property and from the provisions of this Act. Those
entities responsible for determining the loss of public usefulness of any
property shall submit a report to the Legislature within the term of one
hundred and eighty (180) days finally indicating what these properties are
and where they are located.
Section 19.-In order to make this Act feasible it is hereby ordered that
a Transition Committee be designated. Said Transition Committee must
include representatives from the Department, the Secretary, the Mayor and
the Municipal Assembly of the corresponding municipality. The
representation of the Secretary and the Mayor must cover areas such as
public policy, legal counseling, real estate, budget and physical
infrastructure. The representation of the Municipal Assembly must include
the presidency and the commission in charge of real estate, public works and
property acquisition.
Section 20.-The Transition Committee shall be in charge of the
following tasks:
(a) Department
(1) Identify the Patrimonial Community Property
(2) Request the Registration Certification from the
Property Register
(3) List by number the Patrimonial Property and describe
the same according to the provisions of subsection (a)
and (d) of Section 6 of this Act
(4) Identify funds
(5) Coordinate the transfer of ownership of the
Patrimonial Property of the Department to the
Municipality with the Mayor, the President of the
Municipal Assembly and the Chairpersons of the
corresponding committees
(b) Municipality
(1) The Mayor and the Municipal Assembly shall
coordinate the application for and approval of the
ordinance for accepting the transfer of the Patrimonial
Property of the Department.
The Mayor or his/her designated representative shall file
the Certification for registering the transfer of the
Patrimonial Property ceded to the municipality with the
corresponding Property Register. The Mayor or his/her
designated representative must conduct the identification,
numbering and description of all structures attached to
the real estate of the patrimonial property acquired
according to the provisions of Section 9 of this Act.
Section 21.-The appropriation of recurrent funds in the Sports and
Recreation Department is hereby proposed and established for a term of ten
(10) years for the implementation of this Act. This fund shall be used to
improve and maintain the facilities that shall be transferred to the
municipalities. The appropriation of funds to each municipality must take
into consideration the size of the Patrimonial Property to be transferred, its
condition at the time of the transfer and the population of the Municipality.
The monies to be appropriated to fulfill the purposes of this Act shall
be exclusively used to make minor improvements and provide maintenance
and beautification. They may not be used for making luxury remodeling or
for constructions that because of their cost defeat the purpose of enhancing
all community facilities and allowing for their daily maintenance.
Section
22.-The
Sports
and
Recreation
Department
of
the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall approve regulations for the proper
implementation of this Act.
Section 23.-All laws, rules and regulations in conflict with the
provisions of this Act must be lawfully in harmony with the spirit and
purpose of this Act so that the public policy herein set forth may be
minimally infringed on.
Section 24.-The provisions of this Act are separable. Should any of
the provisions of this Act be declared unconstitutional, it shall neither affect
nor impinge upon the remaining provisions.
Section 25.-This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 120 (H.B. 946) of the
2nd Session of the 14th Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to create the Municipal Recreational and Sports Community Facilities Act and
implement the “Cada Parque con su Municipio y cada Comunidad con su
Parque” Program, so as to order the conditional transfer of ownership of
certain real property registered in the name of the Sports and Recreation
Department to the Municipalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
located within the territorial and geographical boundaries of each of these
municipalities; establish concordance between the Property Registry and the
extraregistral juridical reality; etc.,
has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 15th of December of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes
Director