The Examining Board of Professional Planners of Puerto Rico is hereby created, attached to the Examining Boards Division of the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with the purpose of ensuring that the persons who are granted a license to practice the profession as planners in Puerto Rico have the knowledge and skills that make the exercise thereof feasible with a high sense of professionalism and proficiency. The Board shall be constituted by five (5) members, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advise and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico. One of the members shall represent the public interest and another member shall represent the Planning Board of Puerto Rico. The members originally appointed shall be granted a professional planners’ license by the Secretary of State. The members that are subsequently designated shall hold a license issued by the Board.
The members of the Board shall be over the age of twenty-one (21), shall have resided in Puerto Rico for a period of not less than five (5) years, must enjoy a good reputation, shall be professional planners and have practiced planning in Puerto Rico for a period of not less than five (5) years. No member of the Board shall have a pecuniary interest in a school or college offering professional courses or studies in planning. The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of four (4) years, or until their successors are appointed and take office, except the originally appointed members of the Board, who shall hold office as indicated below: one member for a term of one (1) year, two members for a term of two (2) years, one member for a term of three (3) years and one member for a term of four (4) years.
No member of the Board shall be appointed for more than two (2) consecutive terms. However, he/she may be eligible for a new term after five (5) years have passed from his/her last term of office.
Vacancies on the Board shall be filled in the same way as the original appointments were made. The term of the member who fills a vacancy shall be extended for the remaining term of his/her predecessor.
The Governor may dismiss a member of the Board for lack of professional ethics, violating of any of the provisions of this chapter, committing a felony, for inefficiency, negligence or incompetence in the performance of his/her duties, or for any other just cause, upon filing of charges, due notice and holding of a hearings to such effects.
History —Aug. 23, 1996, No. 160, § 3.