P.R. Laws tit. 5, § 4703
The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby empowered to promulgate the necessary regulation on the approval and endorsement process requirements for the establishment or expansion of agricultural biotechnology-related operations. If necessary, he/she shall amend and/or repeal such provisions as he/she deems pertinent in order to adjust the regulations and administrative rules necessary to make the efficient operation of these enterprises feasible, safeguarding the best interests of the local agriculture and of the People of Puerto Rico in general. The Department of Agriculture shall be advised by the School of Agricultural Sciences for the purposes of fully complying with the regulating duty.
The regulation shall cover areas such as:
Development of the inspection and release protocol for seeds shipments, clearly stating the grounds for retaining shipments of seeds and the documentation that must be issued as a result of the retention of the shipments in question.
The jurisdiction to regulate agricultural biotechnology-based production, except for those species of plants, seeds, and/or varieties that have undergone plant breeding subject to controlled substance acts or regulations, shall be under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture.
Due to the peculiarities of our diverse and biologically vulnerable agricultural production industry and to ensure the bio-safety of our agricultural biotechnology products in international markets, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop biological safety regulations whereby phytosanitary requirements, as well as requirements for seeds shipments and the release thereof are established.
The economic resources collected by the agencies attached to the Department of Agriculture through the enforcement of the regulations pertaining to agricultural biotechnology shall be invested by the Secretary in matters related to the public policy set forth in this chapter.
The regulation or regulations to be promulgated shall be approved within six (6) months from the approval of this act.
History —Aug. 10, 2009, No. 62, § 5, eff. 30 days after Aug. 10, 2009.