P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 930c
In any procurement of office furniture made by the Government of Puerto Rico, preference shall be given to goods and services produced by inmates and persons with special needs as part of the rehabilitation programs duly established and approved by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and produced by nonprofit organizations that employ blind persons or persons with severe disabilities, in compliance with the regulations relating to specifications and lowest price. In procuring uniforms for public employees that are defrayed with public funds, preference shall be given to those manufactured by the Employment and Training Enterprises Corporation (CEAT) attached to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or to nonprofit organizations that employ blind persons or persons with severe disabilities, in compliance with the regulations relating to specifications and lowest price. In any procurement of goods and services made by the Government of Puerto Rico, the goods extracted, produced, manufactured, assembled, or packaged in Puerto Rico, or distributed by agents established in Puerto Rico, or the services rendered in Puerto Rico shall be procured, provided that said goods and services meet the specifications, terms, and conditions established in the bidding notice or purchase order, and that their price is the lowest after applying the corresponding investment parameter.
It is hereby provided that with respect to the purchases and the contracting of services of all agencies, dependencies, subdivisions, or instrumentalities of the Government of Puerto Rico, each and every one of them shall reserve at least fifteen percent (15%) of said purchases and contracting for services rendered in Puerto Rico or articles extracted, produced or manufactured, assembled or packed in Puerto Rico by non-profit organizations that employ blind persons or persons with severe disabilities; or small or medium-sized companies or cooperative-based companies as defined by regulations.
In the discharge of said obligation, the government entities, municipalities, public corporations and subsidiaries subject to compliance with this chapter shall establish an order of precedence or preference in the granting of priority and procurement preference in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations to products made in Puerto Rico, in accordance with the evaluation criteria described in the regulations to be approved by the Board to such effect. It being understood that said priority shall be upheld even for products assembled or distributed in Puerto Rico.
In this sense, it shall be understood that said evaluation criteria, among others established by the regulations of the Investment Board, shall be taken into account by the bidding and reconsideration boards at the time of effecting their adjudication for the locally manufactured products and in second instance, the consideration of articles or products distributed, assembled and packaged by agents established in Puerto Rico, provided the cost is less and that they meet the established quality and delivery requirements. The criteria to be established by the Board shall seek that the public entities do not elude or circumvent the mandate of this chapter through technicalities or specifications that do not represent essential elements of the product or service object of the purchase by the Commonwealth.
History —Jan. 8, 2004, No. 14, § 7; Jan. 23, 2006, No. 20, § 2; Dec. 12, 2007, No. 184, § 5; July 17, 2008, No. 117, § 4; Aug. 13, 2009, No. 70, § 4; Jan. 18, 2012, No. 28, § 2.