Each municipality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth Capital, shall constitute a primary registry district, but the Secretary of Health may, if he deems it necessary in order to facilitate registration, divide any municipality or the Capital into two (2) or more districts, and may likewise establish registry districts in any municipal or Commonwealth hospital, charity institution or penal institution of Puerto Rico, for the registration of births and deaths occurring therein, or for the sole purpose of issuing burial permits or removal-and-burial permits, as the case may be, in the case of persons deceased in the vital statistics registry district to which such hospital or institution belongs, at hours when the local vital statistics office is not open to service. In these cases, the director, superintendent or administrator of such hospital or institution, or his authorized representative, shall have charge of the registry so established. The compensation of and the expenses incurred by the registrars in each district shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico to each registrar upon certification from the Secretary of Health.
History —Apr. 22, 1931, No. 24, p. 228, § 4; Apr. 30, 1952, No. 145, p. 304, § 1; Apr. 28, 1954, No. 24, p. 152.