Vol. 44 - January 2025 | ©2025 by Vidal, Nieves & Bauzá, LLC. All rights reserved.
On January 2, 2025, Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer A. González Colón issued three executive orders to expedite the permit process for certain infrastructure, strategic and emergency projects in Puerto Rico.
EXECUTIVE ORDER OE-2025-002
Executive Order OE-2025-002 establishes a task force for the simplification of the permit process in Puerto Rico. The task force is composed of ten members, which include representatives from the government agencies that deal with economic development and permit
matters, such as the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC), the Planning Board and the Permits Management Office (OGPe).
The task force will be in charge of analyzing Puerto Rico's permit system and providing recommendations to make the process more efficient. This includes:
designing and proposing systemic and structural reforms to the current permit system;
identifying redundant and unnecessary processes;
recommending the review or derogation of current laws and regulations that are inconsistent with the purposes of the Executive Order; and
outlining the process to adopt a new Joint Permit Regulation.
During this process, the task force shall ask for the input of the Majors Association, the Majors Federation, the private sector and coordinate with the Financial Oversight and Management Board to make sure their recommendations are in accordance with the fiscal plan. The task force must issue its final report on June 30, 2025.
EXECUTIVE ORDER OE-2025-003
Executive Order OE-2025-003 establishes a process to expedite permits for strategic or critical projects, for emergency projects and for projects financed with federal funds. It orders the Auxiliary Secretary of OGPe to issue an administrative order to establish an expedited process for the issuance of permits for reconstruction projects financed with federal funds and for "critical projects" under the PROMESA Act, as established in Act 118-2024. It also orders the OGPe to hire a Specialized Permits Manager in accordance with Act 118-2024.
As part of the process to streamline the permit process on the Island, the Executive Order requests the Secretary of the DEDC to transfer all government employees who deal with the permit process to the OGPe. This includes employees from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and from the Culture Institute.
The Executive Order also mandates OGPe and the Planning Board to identify other types of projects that could benefit from the expedited permit process established therein, which could include:
commercial projects smaller than 500,000 square feet;
industrial projects;
social interest housing projects;
housing projects with houses under $300,000;
tourism projects;
institutional projects; and
public works projects.
Finally, the Executive Order orders all government agencies and municipalities that deal with permits processes to incorporate those processes into the Single Business Portal (SBP) managed by OGPe.
EXECUTIVE ORDER OE-2025-004
Executive Order OE-2025-004 declares a state of emergency to deal with the current conditions of roadway infrastructure in Puerto Rico.
The Executive Order exempts the Department of Transportation and Public Works and the Highways and Transportation Authority from all permit requirements for projects related to the state of emergency. This does not exempt them from performing the projects in compliance with security standards and other local and federal applicable norms.
The Executive Order also requests the General Services Administration, government agencies and municipalities to activate their special emergency purchase procedures for the acquisition of the materials needed for these projects.
Should you or your company have any questions regarding the above case or any other commercial area of the law on which you may have an inquiry or require advice, you may contact the attorneys at Vidal, Nieves & Bauzá, LLC, at info@vnblegal.com a corporate law firm with special emphasis on energy and environmental matters, corporate, tax, transactional, real estate and insurance practices. Feel free to browse our webpage at www.vnblegal.com.
Vidal, Nieves & Bauzá is located at Suite 110, T-Mobile Center.
コメント