P.R. Laws tit. 4, § 1501
The Parole Board is hereby created, attached to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, composed of a Chairman, who shall direct the Board in its quasi-judicial duties, and four (4) associate members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board members shall select a Vice-president from among themselves by majority vote, who shall hold office for the term of his/her appointment and shall substitute for the Chairman in all his/her duties during his/her absence.
The persons selected to compose the Board shall be of age, residents of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, of moral integrity and having recognized knowledge and interest in problems of delinquency and their treatment. The Chairman and at least one (1) of the four (4) members shall be attorneys admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and shall have practiced the profession for at least five (5) years at the time of their appointment. This is an indispensable requirement due to the quasi-judicial tasks performed by the Board, which makes necessary that some of its members should have full knowledge of judicial processes and compliance with due process of law.
Associate Members of the Board that are currently in office and whose positions are not abolished by this chapter, shall remain in office for the remainder of their terms. Subsequent appointmentshall be for a term of six (6) years, except for the Chairman, who shall be appointed for eight (8) years. The appointment to fill a vacancy that takes place before to the term of a Board member expires, shall be issued for the remainder of the term. The five (5) members of the Board shall devote all their working time to the official functions of their office.
The agreements of the Board shall be adopted by a majority of its members. The Board shall operate in plenary session, or divided into two (2) panels of three (3) members each at the discretion of the Chairman, in which the Chairman shall be the third member. The panels may only be constituted by the total number of the members and its agreements shall be adopted unanimously; if an agreement is not unanimous, it shall be considered by the Board in plenary session. Said panels may function and adjudicate matters independently from one another. The Chairman, at his/her own discretion, or by petition of any of the members that compose a Panel, may remove any matter from a Panel to the full Board. The Board shall adopt regulations for its operations. At the time of constituting the full Board to function as a Panel, at least one of the two (2) attorneys who are members of the Board shall be in attendance.
The Chairman of the Board shall earn a salary of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) a year, and the Vice-chairman shall earn a salary of sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000). The members of the Board shall earn an annual salary of sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) a year.
The Chairperson of the Board shall appoint [an] Executive Director who shall be in charge of the administration and operation affairs of the Board, contracting for the same or otherwise providing the board all estimated services it deems necessary or convenient for its operation.
The personnel needed to perform the functions of the Board shall be appointed by the Executive Director, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. The personnel provided to the office of each member of the Board shall be appointed by the Executive Director. All Board personnel, including its members, shall be included in the category of exempted services pursuant to the organic statutes that govern the central personnel administration system of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
History —July 22, 1974, No. 118, Part 1, p. 540, § 1; Nov. 17, 1992, No. 92, § 1; Apr. 27, 1994, No. 17, § 1; July 6, 2000, No. 114, § 1; Oct. 31, 2001, No. 151, § 1; July 11, 2005, No. 23, § 1.