P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 361c
(a) Composition.— The Commission shall be composed of seven (7) Commissioners, one of whom shall be its Chairperson, appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The members of the Commission shall be United States citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Chairman of the Commission shall be its executive officer, and may designate an Associate Commissioner to act as chairman in his/her absence. The presiding Commissioner shall have the discretion to assign areas of work, in the adjudicative as well as the quasi legislative and/or operational areas of the agency, to one or more Commissioners. It shall be composed as follows:
Two (2) of the members shall be licensed harbor pilots, who are actively practicing their profession; one to represent the San Juan Harbor Pilots, and the other, the harbor pilots of the Commonwealth, who are nominated by each harbor pilotage association; two (2) of whom shall be actively involved in their professional or business capacity in the shipping business, who are users of the pilotage services and are nominated by the Puerto Rico Shipowners Association; two (2) who are not or were involved financially interested or related to the pilotage profession, shipping business or maritime industry who shall represent the public interest; and one who represents the Government of Puerto Rico, who shall be a Ports Authority employee. For the purposes of this section, a “user of the pilotage services” is any person who is an agent or representative of any person with a proprietary interest in a business that regularly employs harbor pilots with a Puerto Rico license, with the purpose of providing pilotage services, or any person who is a direct employee thereof.
(b) Term of office.— The first Commissioners appointed by virtue of this section, shall hold office for terms of two (2), three (3) and four (4) years, respectively. These terms shall be fixed by the Governor, but their successors shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years. Any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed solely for the remainder of the term of the Commissioner he/she succeeds. Vacancies that occur in the Commission shall in no way impair the right of the remaining Commissioner[s] to perform all the powers thereof. Upon the expiration of the term of any Commissioner, he/she may continue performing his/her functions until his/her successor has been appointed and has taken office.
The Governor shall have the authority to remove Commissioners for failing to perform the obligations required in this chapter, for incompetence or unprofessional conduct. A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.
History —Aug. 12, 1999, No. 226, § 6, eff. 30 days after Aug. 12, 1999.