P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 546
The franchise previously granted to the Municipality of Ponce by the now-defunct Executive Council to operate port facilities in that municipality is hereby amended, as a matter of law, Provided, however, That the Puerto Rico Public Service Commission, as the successor of the now-defunct Executive Council, recognizes under the franchise granted to Ponce that the same shall be exercised indistinctly by the municipality, by itself, or through the Authority created by virtue of this chapter.
The powers and authorities conferred to the Authority shall be liberally construed in order to achieve the purposes of this chapter. Once this chapter has been adopted by the Municipality of Ponce, said franchise shall be amended in full by the provisions contained herein; therefore, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail with respect to the power and authorities that the created Authority shall have over its operations and those that are developed in the area of the Port of Ponce or the Rafael “Churumba” Cordero-Santiago Port of the Americas. It is also hereby established that any provision set forth in the franchise against the operation of the municipal docks of Ponce is hereby rendered ineffective.
The creation of the Port of Ponce Authority does not require nor means that the Municipality shall relinquish the franchise previously granted thereto for the operation of the port facilities. Such franchise shall be understood as recognized by and delegated to this Authority; Provided, however, That the franchise may not be limited, altered, or amended without the previous consent of the Port of Ponce Authority itself and the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce.
History —Dec. 12, 2011, No. 240, § 7.