P.R. Laws tit. 20, § 545b
The College of Optometrists of Puerto Rico shall be authorized:
(a) To exist perpetually under that name, sue and be sued as a juridical person and be the voice and the representative instrument, in all legitimate ways and regarding any matter about which it wishes to freely manifest itself, including appearances before the courts and agencies as amicus curiae, of the group which constitutes the profession of optometry in Puerto Rico.
(b) To acquire rights and assets, whether personal or real, through gift, legacy, contributions from among its own members, purchase, or otherwise, and purchase, possess, lease, mortgage, sell, transfer and dispose of them in any legal manner and form.
(c) To elect the members of its Board of Directors and appoint its officers and officials.
(d) To appoint the office personnel who will administer the operations of the College and contract the services of a legal advisor.
(e) To draft and adopt bylaws that shall be binding for all members, as adopted and implemented by the Assembly to be constituted for its approval, or in absence thereof, as drafted and implemented by the Board of Directors established hereinbelow; as well as to amend said bylaws in the manner and according to the requirements prescribed therein.
(f) The College is authorized to use a corporate seal in order to clearly establish the nature of the entity herein constituted.
(g) To provide security for its members through the creation or adoption of a mutual protection plan, pension funds, pension or retirement plans, and otherwise provide for those needy members, or those who have had to retire because of physical disability or old age, the widowed spouse and dependents of those who die; with evidence to the satisfaction of the College that said survivors have been left truly destitute.
(h) To protect the public interest and the members of the College by receiving or investigating on its own initiative, any complaints or matters regarding problems pertinent to the profession, improper conduct regarding the violation of professional ethics, disagreements arising between optometrists and patients, or between optometrists among themselves, or between optometrists and others in matters pertaining to the profession of optometry in Puerto Rico.
The College shall refer those complaints brought before it, with its recommendations, to the Board of Examiners, so that it may provide according to law.
(i) To submit a Code of Professional Ethics to be adopted by the Board of Examiners, which shall govern the conduct of optometrists.
(j) To exercise those incidental powers which may be necessary or convenient for the purposes of its creation and its subsequent maintenance and operation.
History —Dec. 17, 1993, No. 129, § 3.