(a) The last week of the month of October of each year is hereby designated as the “Quality of Life Week” in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(b) The Governor of Puerto Rico, through proclamation to such effects, shall annually exhort all the entities of the public and private sectors to give their cooperation to the celebration of this week and to join in the activities addressed to awakening the conscience of our community regarding the importance and responsibility we all have of uniting our efforts to improve the expectations and quality of life of our fellow citizens, individually, and of Puerto Rico, as whole.
(c) The Advisory Board for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family in Puerto Rico and the Department of Education are hereby empowered and directed to jointly coordinate with all the pertinent government agencies and with private entities, associations and persons that they deem convenient to join in the organization and celebration of the “Quality of Life Week” in Puerto Rico, in order to comply with the purposes of this section. They will also determine the organization and celebration of appropriate special activities which will lead to extend the meaning of the same. All the government and municipal agencies and instrumentalities will give their utmost cooperation for the activities to be carried out during that week. The importance of improving the quality of life must be emphasized; the citizenry must be stimulated to participate in the search of solutions to the problems that affect the quality of life of the Puerto Ricans and to motivate them to assume the corresponding responsibility in this matter.
(d) The Advisory Board for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family in Puerto Rico and the Department of Education will designate a Committee no later than January 30 of each calendar year, to be composed of representatives of the private and public sectors and on which the task of organizing, coordinating and supervising the activities to be carried out during the “Quality of Life Week” in Puerto Rico shall be delegated. Said Committee may constitute a board of directors, as well as establish any other procedure in its internal organization that it deems convenient to obtain the greatest effectiveness from the activities to be carried out.
(e) “The Quality of Life Award” is hereby created, which shall be granted annually to the municipality or municipalities that are most outstanding in their efforts to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants. The Committee designated in subsection (d) of this section shall have the task of selecting the municipality or municipalities to which said award shall be granted, and organize, coordinate and supervise all the activities to be conducted in order to grant the “Quality of Life Award”, and it may also grant the honorable mentions it deems pertinent. The Committee shall establish, through regulations, the criteria and requirements for the granting of said award, including, among others: the creation of committees on a municipal level to promote the quality of life, which will followup the works that to such effects are being conducted; to foster social and community values, the development of green areas for passive recreation, activities for the family, educational and cultural programs and others for the benefit of the community, public safety, preservation of our autochthonous customs, the promotion of industry, commerce and education. In order to grant this award, the municipalities of Puerto Rico shall be classified according to the size of their population, in the following three (3) categories: large, medium and small municipalities. A municipality from each category shall be chosen and the Quality of Life Award shall be granted to the three (3) municipalities that have been outstanding in the improvement of the quality of life of their residents. The award shall be given to the Mayors of the respective municipalities receiving the award, as representatives of the local government, in the activity and in the manner determined by the Committee which is created in subsection (d) of this section.
History —June 17, 1987, No. 25, p. 81, §§ 1—5.