(No. 99) (Approved June 14, 2000) AN ACT

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1 (H. B. 2654) (Reconsidered) (No. 99) (Approved June 14, 2000) AN ACT To amend subsections (b) and (c) of Section 2, and add a paragraph in Section 10 of Act No. 48 of August 22, 1990, as amended, known as the Act to Regulate the Student Boarding House Businesses, in order to eliminate the requirement of three (3) or more students; those of regular student; to broaden the meaning of the term pay ; and to authorize the Department of Consumer Affairs to enter any structure with the consent of the legal occupant, without having to request a court order. STATEMENT OF MOTIVES In Puerto Rico, there is an infinite number of student boarding houses at present, that operate without a license because they have been able to evade the law by having less than three (3) students, or because the students they lodge are part time students and, due to the way Act No. 48 of August 22, 1990, supra, is written, they do not meet the requirements to request and obtain a license. The Consumer Affairs Commission, during the consideration of House Bill 2247, and in an Executive Hearing with the Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, and employees of all the regional offices, bought their opinion and, among their recommendations, are included the amendments that are being submitted in this Bill. They indicated that, in order to make the current laws and regulations more effective, they need the law to be more specific in order to prevent mechanisms to evade the law.

2 At present, the Department of Consumer Affairs lacks the legal power to inspect sites when there are sufficient reasons to believe that a boarding house business is being operated without a license, which acts against the students best interests, because the minimum health and safety conditions and a better quality of life cannot be guaranteed while they are away from their homes. This Legislature deems that the laws need to be tempered to the prevent conditions in order to make them more effective, and to be able to give the students the best possible safety. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO: Section 1.- Subsections (b) and (c) of Section 2 are hereby amended and a paragraph is added to Section 10 of Act No. 48 of August 22, 1990, as amended, to read as follows: Section 2.- Definitions For the purposes of this Act, the following works and phrases shall have the meaning set forth below: (a)... (b) Student Boarding House Bureau (sic.)- Shall mean every establishment, dwelling, building or part of a building, to offer lodging to one or more students for pay, whether for rental or any of the basic services such as water, electricity, and telephone, with or without meals. The definition shall include, but shall not be limited to a residential club, guest house, furnished guest houses, rooms and boarding houses.

3 (c) Student- Anyone who attends a public or private high level post-graduate or technological educational institution accredited by the Council on Higher Education or by the General Education Council as a student. (d)... (e)... (f)... (g)... Section 4.- Section 5.- Section 6.- Section 7.- Section 8.- Section 9.- Section 10.- Whenever the Department has information or believes that a place is operating as a student boarding house business contrary to or in violation of this Act and the regulations approved thereunder, it may perform the necessary inspection of that site, with the consent of the legal occupant and without a prior search warrant issued by a competent court. In the exercise of the responsibility conferred herein, the Department may exercise all the powers granted to it pursuant to Act No. 5 of April 23, 1973, as amended, known as the Organic Act of Department of Consumer Affairs and Act No. 170 of August 12, 1988, as amended, known as the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, as amended, including the power to inspect the businesses subject to this Act and to impose administrative sanctions.

4 When through information or belief it is understood that a place is operating as a student boarding house business without a valid license issued by the Department, whether because it has been denied, suspended, cancelled, or because it has not been renewed or requested, the Department is hereby authorized to perform the necessary inspection, which includes the power to compel the appearance of witnesses and the production of documents or information to corroborate the existence or non-existence of the boarding house business at the moment it acquires knowledge of said information or belief, without having to request and having been issued a search warrant by a Court of Justice. If any legal occupant of the place to be inspected were to deny permission for the inspection, any Magistrate, upon receiving a sworn statement that reveals probable cause for it, may issue a warrant authorizing the authorized representative of the Department to enter the place in question with the purpose of performing the investigation or the corresponding inspection. None of the abovementioned shall be interpreted as limiting the right of the Department or its authorized representatives to enter sites that are, or that there is the belief that they are operating as a student boarding house, without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant, provided that the Department or its representative enters in good faith, with the purpose of carrying out investigations or inspections under the present law, directed to protect the health and safety of our young university students. Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.

5 CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 99 (H.B. 2654) (Reconsidered) of the 7 th Session of the 13 th Legislature of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to amend subsections (b) and (c) of Section 2, and add a paragraph in Section 10 of Act No. 48 of August 22, 1990, as amended, known as the Act to Regulate the Student Boarding House Businesses, in order to eliminate the requirement of three (3) or more students; those of regular student; to broaden the meaning of the term pay ; and to authorize the Department of Consumer Affairs to enter any structure with the consent of the legal occupant, without having to request a court order, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 17 th of November of Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director

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