P.R. Laws tit. 5, § 4702
(a) Agricultural Biotechnology Development Interagency Coordination Committee. — The Secretaries of the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Agriculture, together with the Executive Director of PRIDCO, and the Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences, shall establish a task force, within a term not to exceed sixty (60) days as of the approval of this act, to gather, evaluate, and develop the purposes of this chapter. This Committee shall also study and analyze the aspects related to agricultural biotechnology in order to make recommendations to the concerning agencies and to the Legislative Assembly regarding the implementation of policies that support the safe and adequate use of science and technology. To such effect, the Committee shall serve as an advisory group on the balance between the necessary regulation and development so as to enable the promotion of safe agricultural biotechnology-based products that may be used in Puerto Rico and exported to the rest of the world.
(b) Offers and attractions catalog for Agricultural Biotechnology Companies in Puerto Rico. — The Committee established in subsection (a) of this section shall collect data that could be useful in the decision-making process of biotechnology project investors by convincing them to choose Puerto Rico to establish their operations. This data shall include, without being limited to: history, climate; soil cadastres and agricultural land inventory; academic offerings; human capital profile, both skilled and professional, suitable for agricultural biotechnology; legal provisions in matters of intellectual property, taxes, finances, and incentives in general; environmental, plant, and animal health regulations; and infrastructure available by region.
The information collected shall serve as a work tool to prepare a promotional package that PRIDCO shall use to promote Puerto Rico as an ideal destination for the establishment of this type of commercial activities. Likewise, this information shall be used by the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Agriculture to establish an implementation program to address the needs of local entrepreneurs that want to develop this type of activity.
(c) Implementation Program. — Those enterprises that wish to avail themselves of the incentive benefits set forth herein must comply with the requirements established in the approval and endorsement regulation issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and PRIDCO for these incentives. These government agencies shall have the ministerial duty of providing advice in matters pertaining to permits and assistance in the process of operations establishment or expansion within a term of not more than one (1) year as of the time the applicant complies with the requirements clearly pre-established by the corresponding agencies; thus, these agencies shall be responsible for reimbursing such enterprises for costs related to noncompliance with this subsection, provided that there is no force majeure (Act of God) that justifies it. PRIDCO and the Department of Agriculture shall coordinate the approval of the different government incentives to avoid duplication of benefits and/or incentives and to ensure compliance with the corresponding legal regulation without preventing the agricultural biotechnology enterprise from receiving such benefits. Both agencies shall advise applicants on the different incentives available in the laws within their jurisdiction. The use of these incentives shall include, without being limited to, financing and investment fund matching programs for the development of infrastructure, agricultural and laboratory facilities, machinery, sophisticated equipment, and permits, among others. It shall be the duty of the biotechnology enterprises that wish to avail themselves of the incentives, to comply with any and all of the requirements established in the different laws in effect so as to receive the incentives for the establishment or expansion of operations in the Island.
The incentives may be granted as a tax credit or by facilitating the patent granting process (PRIDCO) without hindering the provisions of this subsection. Such incentives shall apply to companies that:
(1) Develop and market transgenic plant species that produce pharmaceuticals or nutraceuticals from tropical crops well adapted to grow in Puerto Rico.
(2) Perfect high efficiency processes in the design, development, and mass production of new transgenic plants.
(3) Develop and use transgenic plants in manufacturing process and as catalytic agents in environmental cleaning processes.
History —Aug. 10, 2009, No. 62, § 4, eff. 30 days after Aug. 10, 2009.