P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 1976g
The Office, without it being construed as a limitation, shall be administered and operate as follows:
(a) The Advocate shall determine the internal organization of the Office and establish the systems necessary for its proper operation. For these purposes, he/she shall have the responsibility of planning, organizing and directing all matters and operations related to human resources, contracting of services, budgetary apportionment, acquisition, use and control of equipment, materials and property, reproduction of documents and other materials and all other matters, transactions and decisions relative to the internal management and government of the Office.
(b) He/she shall address claims and complaints brought by elderly persons when they allege inaction by the agencies, private entities and persons in the compliance of the public policy established in this chapter to protect the rights that have been recognized for the elderly through the Constitution of the United States of America, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the federal and commonwealth laws and regulations in effect.
(c) The Advocate shall appoint personnel as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter pursuant to Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the “Public Service Personnel Act”, and he/she may contract the services of experts and advisors to fully comply with the functions imposed by this chapter.
(d) The Advocate shall adopt the bylaws of the Office and the regulations that shall govern the operation of the programs and services it establishes pursuant to the provided in this chapter, subject to §§ 2101 et seq. of this title, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
(e) To receive information and data for the studies and research of a general nature on the subject of the elderly that the Office shall conduct, the aforementioned regulations shall provide for the necessary measures for the compliance of the following procedural requirements:
(1) The holding of public or executive hearings, for which he/she may delegate onto one or more of its officials or employees the function of hearing testimonies or receiving any other evidence for the Office.
(2) Notice of public hearings shall be published ten (10) days in advance on at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, or regional newspapers that circulate in the specific region or area comprised under the study or investigation. In addition, they may be announced through other communications media when necessary and reasonable for a more efficient diffusion. They shall include detailed descriptions of the purposes of the hearings and the matters to be considered therein.
(3) All oral statements shall be heard in public sessions. However, in the cases in which the Office deems that the evidence or testimony to be presented in a public hearing could lead to the defamation, degradation or incrimination of any person or to the undermining of his/her privacy, in order to protect his/her identity, or in those cases where circumstances exist that so justify, it may make an exception and opt to receive said testimony in an executive session.
(4) Each deponent may, if he/she deems it convenient, be advised by legal counsel. He/she shall also have the right not to be photographed without his/her consent, to be examined by his/her attorney within the norms of the hearing and their application by the Advocate, to review the accuracy of the transcript of his/her testimony, to copy said transcript and to submit brief statements in writing and under oath to be included in the hearing’s record.
(5) The Office shall determine all other rules of procedure for public or executive hearings, including those referring to the admissibility of evidence and the exclusion of persons who violate the norms that should prevail in a hearing.
(f) The Advocate, whether by his/her own action or through collaboration agreements, may establish and put into effect a plan for the establishment of regional, district or municipal offices to facilitate and promote access for the elderly to the Office, in order to meet the purposes of this chapter.
(g) The Advocate shall promote the execution of collaboration agreements at the government and private levels, including without it being construed as a limitation, agreements with the municipal governments, entities and corporations and with non-government entities and organizations identified with the rights of the elderly, when these agreements facilitate the exercise of its responsibilities without undermining its autonomy.
(h) The Office may request available services and facilities to carry out the purposes of this chapter from private persons or entities, as well as from government agencies, per se or through the Governor.
(i) The Office may contract or appoint any official or employee of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or its agencies, with the consent of the appointing authority of the government body where the official or employee renders services. In such a case, the appointing authority is under the obligation to hold the position or job for said official or employee while the Office employs his/her services.
(j) Furthermore, the Office is authorized to contract, without being subject to the provisions of § 551 of this title, as amended, the services of any public official or employee and to pay him/her for the additional services he or she renders to the Office outside his/her regular working hours.
(k) The Office may, with the approval of the Governor, commission any agency to conduct a study or research, or any part or phase thereof, or to perform any other kind of work as necessary for the performance of its functions, to which it shall give priority. If in its judgment it is necessary, the agency may request from the Office, and obtain from it, a transfer of funds for the amount the Office deems reasonable, with the prior authorization from the Governor.
(l) The Office is hereby authorized to receive and administer funds originating from legislative appropriations and from transfers, delegations, contributions and donations of any kind that it receives from agencies, municipal governments and the Government of the United States of America, as well as those originating from persons, non-government organizations and other private entities for the design and implementation of projects and programs to be executed by the Office, the agencies, the non-government elderly-related entities and organizations or the civilian society. The funds thus received shall be accounted for, controlled and administered subject to the laws that regulate the use of public funds, the legal norms, the rules or agreements by virtue of which the Office receives them, and the regulations that it adopts for these purposes. The Office may also receive any personal property from public agencies as a loan, for usufruct or as a donation, and own, administer and use it to carry out the functions provided for in this chapter.
(m) The Office shall present not later than January 31 of each year a written annual report and any other special reports to the Governor and the Legislature on its activities, operations, achievements, and fiscal situation, together with the recommendations it deems necessary for the continuous and effective protection of the rights of the elderly. After the first annual report, the Office shall include at the end of its annual reports a summary of the recommendations it has made previously and a description of the action taken on said recommendations. The Office shall publish its reports after these have been sent to the Governor and the Legislature and it may also publish the studies and papers submitted by its consultants and advisors.
(n) It shall plan and coordinate with the various public agencies as well as with private entities, elderly-related programs, activities and services to ensure the implementation of the public policy of this chapter in an integrated manner, subject to the conditions and restrictions provided for in applicable laws.
(o) It shall provide guidelines for the public agencies as to the formulation and implementation of elderly-related programs and projects.
(p) It shall establish systems and procedures to evaluate the effectiveness and improve the coordination of programs and projects of the various public agencies and private entities geared toward addressing the needs and problems of the elderly.
(q) It shall promote the participation of citizens in the development and implementation of projects and programs for the benefit of the elderly and facilitate their communication with public agencies.
(r) It may provide advice, technical assistance and professional services to the agencies and private entities that so request for the purpose of improving the services rendered and meeting operating purposes established by laws and regulations.
(s) It may organize and hold conferences, seminars and workshops, and it shall conduct studies by itself or in coordination with other agencies and private or educational entities or any other organization that carries out activities consonant with the purposes of this chapter, for the development of new approaches, methods, programs and services, and for the training and improvement of the personnel needed to render services to the elderly. Likewise, it may establish relations of coordination and collaboration with colleges, universities and post-secondary educational institutions for the design of a curriculum and the planning of gerontology textbooks.
(t) It shall promote the establishment of services, and when advisable, establish them as a demonstration or model, to be transferred later to public or private organizations, such as job retirement and old age preparation clinics, multiple activity centers, geriatric clinics and others.
(u) It shall compile, analyze and keep updated the statistical data needed for the planning, coordination and use of the government resources available for the implementation and development of an elderly-related public policy which responds to the demands of the times.
(v) It shall keep updated a catalogue or handbook of all the programs, benefits, services, activities and facilities available for the elderly, at both public agencies and nonprofit private entities. Said catalogue shall include and comprise a synthesis, with their citation, of Commonwealth and federal laws, regulations, orders, norms, procedures, resources, means, mechanisms and requirements needed to qualify and obtain any benefit, service, right or privilege. For the purposes of this subsection, the Office shall charge a reasonable price to any non-elderly citizen who requests a copy of this catalogue or handbook. Said price shall be set with the only purpose of recovering the expenses incurred for the reproduction of said handbook or catalogue.
(w) It shall foster in the citizenry and in the elderly the knowledge and a better understanding of the particular characteristics of the aging process.
(x) It shall carry out disclosure and orientation activities in pursuing to develop positive attitudes in citizens and to keep the elderly actively integrated within the community.
(y) It shall orient the elderly on services, benefits, programs and activities offered by public agencies and private entities.
(z) It shall designate the special committees it deems necessary to carry out the functions of the Office, in consultation with the Advisory Council.
(aa) It shall recommend to the Governor and the Legislature the measures it deems necessary to address the needs and problems of the elderly.
(bb) It shall analyze the factors that affect the exercise of the civil, political, social and cultural rights, as well as the rendering of services and benefits conferred to the elderly, in order to orient and advise as to the requirements, mechanisms, means, resources and procedures to uphold the same or benefit from these.
(cc) It shall investigate, canalize and settle the petitions or complaints in which it is alleged that an administrative act or the inaction of any public agency or private entity impairs the rights that the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the laws and regulations in effect recognize for the elderly; or in which it is alleged that there has been a denial of benefits and opportunities to which they are entitled or that programs for the benefit of the elderly are being affected; and it shall grant the pertinent remedies under the law, as well as order corrective actions to any natural or juridical person or to any public agency or private entity incurring such acts.
(dd) It shall ensure that agencies comply with and adopt affirmative action and corrective programs and promote their incorporation in private entities, in order to propitiate and achieve compliance with the rights conferred to the elderly by laws and regulations.
(ee) It shall file with the courts and administrative forums the pertinent actions to address violations of the elderly-related public policy established. The Office shall have discretion to file such actions per se or in representation of an interested party, whether it be elderly persons individually or as a class. The Office shall be exempted from the payment and cancellation of all kinds of stamps, tariffs and fees required for the filing and processing of any briefs, actions or proceedings, or for obtaining copies of any document with the courts of justice and public agencies of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(ff) It shall maintain a continuous review and evaluation of the compliance with services and activities carried out by agencies and private entities in order to prevent violations of the rights of the elderly and to enable systematic consultation processes with the purpose of ensuring that the activities of the Office respond at all times to the needs, demands and aspirations of this sector of the population.
(gg) It shall cooperate and establish work networks to exchange information and experiences with agencies, private entities and federal and international bodies devoted to the development and promotion of the rights and benefits of the elderly.
History —Aug. 7, 2004, No. 203, § 10.