P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 555
The purpose of the Port Commission shall be to develop, approve, acquire, construct, manage, own, operate and administrate all port businesses, and it shall have and may exercise all such rights and powers as may be necessary or convenient for the carrying out of these purposes, including, but without limitation, the following:
(a) To have perpetual existence as a corporation.
(b) To adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal which shall be judicially noticed.
(c) To prescribe, adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws governing the manner in which its general business shall be conducted and the powers and duties granted to and imposed upon it by law shall be exercised and performed.
(d) To have complete control and supervision of any undertaking it may acquire or construct, including the power to determine the character of and necessity for all its expenditures and the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed and paid, and to prescribe, adopt, amend, and repeal such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper for the exercise and performance of its powers and duties, or to govern the rendering, sale, or exchange of port services or facilities.
(e) To sue and be sued.
(f) To make contracts and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of any of its powers.
(g) To prepare, or cause to be prepared, plans, designs, and estimates of costs for the construction, reconstruction, extension, improvement, enlargement, or repair of any undertaking or any part or parts thereof, and from time to time to modify such plans, designs, or estimates.
(h) To acquire in any lawful manner, including, but without limitation, acquisition by purchase, whether by agreement or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, lease, bequest, devise or gift, and to hold, maintain, use and operate any undertaking or part or parts thereof.
(i) To produce, develop, manufacture, hold, conserve, use, distribute, supply, exchange, sell, rent and otherwise dispose of any and all equipment, supplies, services, goods, and such other property, real and personal, as the Port Commission may deem necessary, proper, incidental, or convenient in connection with its activities.
(j) To hold and use any property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, or any interest therein, deemed by it to be necessary or convenient for carrying out the purposes of the Port Commission, and, subject to the limitations contained in this chapter, to lease as lessor, or exchange, any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it.
(k) To construct, reconstruct, and operate any undertaking or any parts thereof, and any additions, improvements, and extensions to any undertaking of the Port Commission by contract or contracts, or under, through, or by means of its own officers, agents, and employees.
(l) Upon holding public hearings, to determine, fix, alter, charge, and collect reasonable rates, fees, rentals, and other charges for the use of the facilities or services of the Port Commission, or other commodities sold, rendered, or furnished by it, which shall be sufficient for the payment of the expenses of the Port Commission incurred in the conservation, development, improvement, extension, repair, maintenance, and operation of its facilities and properties, for the payment of the principal of and interest on its bonds, and for fulfilling the terms and provisions of such covenants as may be made with, or for the benefit of, the purchasers or holders of any bonds of the Port Commission; Provided, That, in fixing rates, fees, rentals, and other charges, the Port Commission shall have in view the encouragement of the widest economically possible diversified use of its facilities; and, Provided, further, That, in determining, fixing or charging rates, or in making changes in the general structure thereof, the Commission shall hold a public hearing to hear the interested parties and the general public; but that, in case the Commission shall decide to make changes and shall deem the immediate effectiveness thereof to be necessary, then, within a reasonable time after such changes are made, a public hearing of an informative, quasi-legislative character shall be held with respect thereto before the Commission, or before any officer or officers that the Commission may designate, and after such hearing, the Commission, pursuant to the powers, duties, and obligations granted and imposed on it by this chapter, may alter, suspend or revoke such changes.
(m) To appoint such officers, agents, and employees and vest them with such powers and duties, and to fix, change, and pay such compensation for their services as the Port Commission may determine.
(n) To borrow money, make and issue bonds of the Port Commission for any of its corporate purposes, or for the purpose of financing, refinancing, paying or redeeming any of its bonds or obligations, whether outstanding or assumed, and to secure payment of its bonds and of any and all obligations, by pledge, alienation or mortgage of all or any of its contracts, revenues, income, or property.
(o) To make and issue bonds for the purpose of funding, refunding, purchasing, paying, or discharging any of the outstanding bonds or obligations issued or assumed by it or any bonds or obligations the principal or interest of which is payable in whole or in part from its revenues.
(p) To accept grants from, and enter into contracts, leases, agreements, or other transactions with any federal agency or the Commonwealth, and to use the proceeds of any such grants for any corporate purposes.
(q) To sell or otherwise dispose of any property of whatever kind, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, that in the judgment of the Port Commission is no longer necessary for carrying on the business of the Port Commission or for effectuating the purposes of this chapter.
(r) To enter any lands, waters, or premises, after notifying the owners or holders thereof, or their representatives, for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, or examinations.
(s) To promulgate such rules and regulations concerning rates, tariffs and services as are consistent with the adequate and proper development of the port resources of Puerto Rico.
(t) To do all acts or things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted to it by this chapter.
History —May 18, 1959, No. 10, p. 46, § 4.