P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 932
The administrator shall have the following powers in addition to any others conferred under this chapter or other laws:
(a) To adopt an official seal of the Administration of which judicial cognizance shall be taken.
(b) To establish the internal organization of the Administration.
(c) To plan, direct and supervise its operation.
(d) To coordinate the services and programs of the corporations attached, or which later may be attached, to the Administration.
(e) To undertake studies that will reveal the dysfunctional elements of the entities composing the Administration.
(f) In conjunction with the other government agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to create the conditions necessary to obtain the greatest number of opportunities for cooperative efforts and the integral coordination of the service programs of the Administration.
(g) To appoint, transfer and remove, pursuant to the applicable laws and regulations, the personnel of the Administration.
(h) To appoint the commissions, committees, boards and other dependencies which may lead to the most efficient implementation of the Administration programs; to regulate its operation; to appropriate the necessary funds and personnel for the operation of these dependencies pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(i) To delegate to subordinate officers and authorize them to subdelegate to other officers any function or power which may be conferred on him, except the power of appointment of regular personnel and of adopting regulations.
The power to appoint irregular personnel in accordance with §§ 711—711g of this title shall be delegated to the Personnel Officer of the Administration, to the Auxiliary Administrators, and to the Directors of all the Regional Offices of the Administration, subject to the norms and regulations which govern such appointments.
(j) To approve, amend, repeal regulations to implement this chapter, which shall have force of law.
(k) To prepare and administer the budget.
(l) To execute contracts as well as other documents required to exercise his powers.
(m) To represent the Administration in such acts and activities as may be necessary.
(n) To advise the Governor and other government officers and the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico on the public policy which the Administration is commissioned to implement.
(o) To evaluate periodically the programs and standards for the development of proceedings and methods which permit the reorientation of the activities of the Administration in conformance with the ever changing necessities in the area of the services and activities entrusted to him by law.
(p) Subject to the laws or regulations, to acquire, lease, sell, purchase, receive gifts, donate or dispose of, in any way, the personal or real property that may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(q) To establish the norms and control necessary for the use and maintenance of the public property in his custody, pursuant to the provisions of the applicable law or regulations.
(r) To prescribe the policy and method that will provide the maximum use of surplus property of the government dependencies pursuant to the provisions of the applicable law or regulations.
(s) To perform all the acts that may be convenient or necessary to achieve effectively the objectives underlying the public policy stated in this chapter.
(t) To remit annually to the Governor a report on the activities of the Administration, in conformance with the standards established for that purpose.
(u) The Administrator shall take possession of all personal property that has been abandoned or has not been claimed in the premises of the buildings under the jurisdiction of the Administration and shall use, transfer or in any way dispose of said property in accordance with the regulations he issues which shall be consistent with the applicable legislation and regulation.
(v) Shall have the responsibility to prepare, administer and manage an Exclusive Register of Bidders for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which shall be compulsory for all bidders who wish to participate in the acquisition and purchase processes of the executive agencies and corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Register shall be available in an Internet website and its data shall be open and available for use by the executive agencies and corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Administration shall have the obligation to publish notices, at least twice (2) a year, in the written press, radio and the Internet, to convoke for registration, once every two (2) years in the Administration’s Exclusive Register of Bidders, those natural or juridical persons who wish to enter the market for the acquisition of goods and service of the executive agencies and the corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
All executive agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico, except for the Office of Government Ethics of Puerto Rico, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the University of Puerto Rico, the Planning Board, and the State Elections Commission are required to use said Register as a prior step in the acquisition of goods and services, with the exception of the special or exceptional circumstances set forth in subsection (w) of this section, to supply information on the contractors or bidders in the Register to the Administration, as well as about any matter in reference to potential noncompliance by such contractors or bidders. The Administration is required to supply to all executive agencies or public corporations of the Government of Puerto Rico with information on the contractual history of any contractor bidder when required to do so by the Office of Acquisitions of the Administration.
The Administrator shall have the responsibility to:
(1) Evaluate, under objective criteria to be determined by regulation, all bidders who intend to bind themselves contractually with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by means of the Register, to ensure that the executive agencies and public corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico exclusively contract natural or juridical persons of proven moral and economic solvency, who have not incurred in acts of corruption against the State. This regulation shall be prepared by the General Services Administration, and shall be filed in the agencies required by law no later than thirty (30) days after this act takes effect.
(2) Ensure that the same requirements are made to all persons in order to appear in the Exclusive Register of Bidders.
(3) Oversee that all bidders truly and effectively meet the necessary requirements to validate their contracts with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to ensure that a bidder is not required to comply with the same requirements by several government bodies on several occasions during the same term. If as part of the registry procedure a bidder is required to produce documents issued by Government agencies, such as certificates of incorporation or tax debt, the bidder shall have the option to obtain and produce such documents or authorize the Administration to obtain them, paying by check those fees or costs which the different agencies shall require for the issuing of said documents. Such authorization shall be the equivalent of having filed said documents on time. The Administration shall deem all documents issued by government agencies, as condition to register in the Exclusive Register of Bidders to be valid for one (1) year. The certificate of debt issued by the Child Support Administration shall be valid for ninety (90) days from its date of issue and is hereby excluded from the scope of this provision.
(4) Maintain the information in the Exclusive Register updated.
(5) Make public all the general and specific requirements for bidders in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, based on their particular needs, to be satisfied by those interested in appearing in the Exclusive Register of Bidders, as set forth by the executive agencies and public corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(6) Supervise the contractual transactions of bidders with the Government to ensure that they comply with the legally demandable formalities, requirements and obligations.
(7) Lessen the costs of the public bids process opting for the use of convocation by invitation to bid and, simultaneously, by means of the Internet in substitution of the convocation to bid by newspaper notice.
(8) Issue eligibility certificates to any bidder or any executive agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to prove the eligibility of a bidder to participate in the acquisition and purchase processes of an executive agency or public corporation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(9) Approve, amend or repeal regulations to organize the Exclusive Register of Bidders.
(10) Impose, collect and fix fees, dues, rents and other charges that are fair and reasonable for the annual registration in the Exclusive Register of Bidders and for the issuing of the certificate of eligibility, which shall at least defray the expenses incurred by the Administration.
(w) Shall exempt, pursuant to special or exceptional circumstances detailed in this subsection and through regulations adopted for such purposes, the executive agencies and public corporations from depending upon whether the supplier involved is registered in the Exclusive Register of Bidders for the acquisition of goods and services. The following circumstances shall be deemed special:
(1) Acquisitions by the offices of the agencies and departments of the Commonwealth located abroad and performed within the jurisdiction in which the same are located.
(2) Acquisitions of medical, scientific or technological equipment, or any other materials that are highly specialized for which there is no authorized supplier or representative in Puerto Rico.
(3) Acquisitions that do not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) per year per agency, and are carried out in geographical locations in which there are no registered bidders for the necessary purpose or service.
(4) Acquisition of services in the communications media, as long as costs do not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per year per agency.
(5) Emergency purchases.— It shall be understood as an emergency when an exceptional situation causes unexpected and unforeseen public needs which require immediate action by the Government because the life, health or safety of the people are at risk due to the suspension of the public service, or if the property of the Government is at risk, or if the term to use the funds is about to end and all opportunities for acquiring the goods, works or services desired may be lost, adversely affecting the public interest. If the funds are about to be lost, it shall be stated that the agency diligently carried out the transactions to comply with the established procedures, but due to exceptional conditions not attributable to negligent acts by the public entity, a delay was caused in the acquisition of the goods, works or services.
(6) Subscriptions and renewals to magazines, professional or educational publications.— This exception does not include the purchase of school textbooks.
Those situations set forth in writing and duly justified by the agency or department chiefs shall be considered as exceptional circumstances, and shall be evaluated on a case by case basis, requiring the approval of the Administrator. Such exceptional circumstances shall be evaluated from a restrictive perspective and their approval shall be justified upon the existence of a situation of such an extraordinary nature that not excluding them from the registry process may hinder the operations of the agency or the services said entity is bound to render.
The Administration shall adopt through regulations, the provision regarding the special or exceptional circumstances set forth in this subsection.
History —July 23, 1974, No. 164, Part 1, p. 752, § 14; June 22, 1975, No. 71, p. 174, § 1; June 18, 2002, No. 85, § 2; Jan. 4, 2003, No. 54, § 1; June 9, 2003, No. 137, § 1; Aug. 28, 2003, No. 219, §§ 1, 2; May 16, 2006, No. 99, § 1; Dec. 12, 2007, No. 187, § 2; Dec. 1, 2010, No. 181, § 2; Aug. 5, 2011, No. 168, § 1.