P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 441c-3
(a) Except as otherwise provided in the applicable federal regulations, the Department shall be subject to the provisions of Act No. 42 of August 5, 1989 and §§ 927 et seq. of this title, with respect to the use of construction materials manufactured in Puerto Rico in works defrayed with public funds.
(b) The Secretary shall establish through regulations the rules and procedures necessary for the application of the provisions of this section, which shall guarantee the purity of every procedure for acquisition and purchase of goods or for the contracting of works with or without public bid, in order to protect the public interest and that of bidders.
(c) The Bid Review Board is hereby created to attend and resolve the appeals initiated by persons affected by decisions by the Bid Board of the Department and review of decisions in the area of purchases and supplies as entrusted by the Secretary. The Review Board shall also be empowered to formulate recommendations to the Secretary regarding the regulations in effect on purchases and supplies.
The Bid Review Board shall be composed by three (3) persons of the highest moral repute and renowned competence and experience in the matters that they shall be addressing as members of this body. The members of the Review Board shall be appointed by the Secretary and the same shall not be officials or employees of the Department or its attached agencies, nor shall they have any direct or indirect interest in enterprises, businesses or projects that do business with the Department and its attached agencies, or that are total or partially financed by the Department or its attached agencies. The Secretary shall appoint one of its members as Chairman of the Board, who shall be an attorney authorized to exercise the legal profession.
The Review Board shall evaluate and resolve any appeals filed by those persons affected by the decisions of the Bid Board and shall abide by the regulations established for the processing of these appeals pursuant to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of this title, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedure Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
In the exercise of its functions, the Review Board may hold administrative hearings, receive testimonies, summon witnesses, require the presentation of books, documents and any other proof, may receive and examine this and any other relevant evidence, regulate the hearings and issue orders pursuant to its resolutions.
Any decision of the Bid Review Board may be appealed before the Court of First Instance, as established in §§ 2101 et seq. of this title.
History —June 10, 1972, No. 97, p. 242, added as § 4C on Dec. 17, 1999, No. 344, § 1.