P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 11177
(a) In order to enable the Authority to fulfill the functions, and exercise the powers and authorities set forth in this chapter, an eight (8)-year transition period as of the effective date of this act is hereby expressly established for the Authority to cease to rely on appropriations from the General Fund. During this period, the Authority shall proceed as follows:
(1) Every fiscal year, during the eight (8)-year transition period, the Office of Management and Budget shall include an item of up to thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in the General Budget of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(2) For fiscal years following the eight (8)-year transition period, if the recurring sources of income of the Authority are not sufficient to defray the cost of maintaining the Authority’s operation and services, the Authority shall annually submit a petition to the Office of Management and Budget, which shall make recommendations so that the Legislative Assembly, exercising its discretion, shall authorize an allocation to maintain the operations and services of the Authority. Regarding any allocation of the Legislative Assembly, the Authority shall submit to the Office of Management and Budget or the Department of the Treasury any report required by them with respect to the use of the funds allocated under this chapter or any other funds received from legislative appropriations.
(b) The “Special Integrated Mass Transportation Development Fund” is hereby created in the name and for the benefit of the Authority to be used by the Authority for its corporate purposes. This Special Fund shall be replenished with the total of funds collected on account of administrative fines imposed in accordance with the provisions of §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 9, known as the “Puerto Rico Vehicle and Traffic Act”, issued by the Puerto Rico Police officers. Exempt from the foregoing are the funds collected on account of administrative fines imposed in accordance with the provisions of § 5686 of Title 9, known as the “Puerto Rico Vehicle and Traffic Act”; funds collected on account of fines imposed for violations of municipal ordinances covering infractions described in §§ 5169-5173 of Title 9; funds collected on account of fines imposed under §§ 5026, 5035, and 5685 of Title 9, and which shall be covered into the Special Fund of the Office of the Director of Driver’s Services created by virtue of said Act; the twenty percent (20%) of the amount of maximization achieved, for Fiscal Years 2014-2015 and thereafter, of the collections on account of traffic tickets paid, including the maximization achieved through the mechanization of the systems used to process fines imposed by the Department of Transportation and Public Works and/or the Puerto Rico Police; and/or through legislation to fund initiatives or replenish special funds aimed at attaining the technological, professional, and labor development of the Puerto Rico Police, as well as any other funds collected on account of fines imposed under §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 9, which shall be allocated to the Office of the Director of Driver’s Services, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 9. Provided, That only during Fiscal Year 2014-2015, the Secretary of the Treasury may deposit, in the event of any gap in the General Fund’s revenues, whether in whole or in part, the funds that were covered into the “Special Integrated Mass Transportation Development Fund” in the General Fund. The Secretary of the Treasury shall have full discretion to make such a determination. Said determination shall remain in effect for the remainder of the corresponding Fiscal Year or until the revenue gap is closed, whichever comes first.
(c) Insofar as the transfer of the Urban Train to the Authority has not been completed, the funds covered into the “Special Integrated Mass Transportation Development Fund” under subsection (b) of this section, or transferred by the Infrastructure Financing Authority to the Authority as provided in § 1923(b) of Title 3, shall be transferred to an account in the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico for the benefit of the Highway and Transportation Authority, and the funds deposited in said account shall be used to defray operating costs related to mass transportation systems operated by the Authority and any debt or obligation related to said mass transportation systems, as approved by the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico in carrying out its duty as fiscal agent; provided that, on or before September 30 th, 2015, the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico shall have full discretion to repeal the requirement established in this subsection (c) to make a deposit in an account for the benefit of the Highway and Transportation Authority. Once the transfer of the Urban Train to the Authority is completed, the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico and the Highway and Transportation Authority shall transfer the account created in this subsection (c) to the Authority to be used by the latter for any of its lawful purposes.
(d) The Authority is hereby authorized to pledge or encumber the proceeds of the collection of fines under subsection (b) of this section for the payment of the principal of and interest on bonds and other obligations of the Authority.
(e) The Secretary is hereby directed to conduct a study to identify potential sources of income that can be destined and allotted to the payment of the Authority’s services and operation. The Secretary shall submit the results of such study and the recommendations thereof to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and of the Senate within six (6) months counted from the date of the approval of this act.
(f) The Authority and all of its components shall be required to close their fiscal year with a balanced budget. For such purposes, any necessary fiscal adjustments shall be made in accordance with the principles of sound administration. Any obligation incurred shall be consistent with the fiscal reality of each component.
History —Aug. 3, 2014, No. 123, § 18; Jan. 15, 2015, No. 1, § 2.09.