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Transportation regulator defends 2020 tariff rules as legal challenge and low fine collection hamper enforcement
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Summary
The head of Puerto Rico's transportation regulatory office told a Senate commission the agency moved services online during 2020 and began enforcing temporary tariffs issued Dec. 23, 2020, but collection is low (about 46%) and the circular is being challenged in court, prompting the agency to file at the Supreme Court and to submit the full regulation to the Fiscal Control Board.
The transportation regulatory office told a Senate committee on June 4 that it has begun enforcing a 2020 regulatory platform and temporary tariffs approved Dec. 23, 2020, but legal challenges and limited collection tools are slowing compliance.
“Esa carta circular está impugnada,” Jaime Alafuente González, the agency negotiator, said as he explained that the temporary tariffs went into effect Dec. 24, 2020 but are now the subject of litigation. He told the Comisión de Innovación, Telecomunicaciones, Urbanismo e Infraestructura the agency plans to file at the Tribunal Supremo and will submit the translated regulation and required documents to the Junta de Supervisión Fiscal for review.
Why it matters: the agency regulates a broad set of franchises — freight, taxis, ride‑hail, funeral transport and other movers of goods and people — and changes to tariffs affect prices across Puerto Rico’s supply chain. Senators pressed officials about how the temporary circular and the longer regulatory process interact, and whether the office has the tools to collect fines and compel compliance.
Alafuente said the office has recovered roughly 46% of the fines it imposes, with the remainder outstanding because collecting from entities that are not concessionaires typically requires court proceedings. “En el caso de los que sean concesionarios del negociado, pues es más fácil el proceso; en los que no, habría que ir al tribunal,” an agency staff member explained, noting the cost and time such litigation entails.
Senators and witnesses disputed how to interpret headline figures cited by earlier panels. Alafuente clarified that the frequently quoted “36%” figure reflects a comparison from 2005 to 2020 that, when annualized, represents a smaller year‑to‑year delta rather than a single 36% immediate increase.
Asked who is challenging the circular, committee members were told that the Cámara Comercial (identified in the hearing as a party led by Juan Dante) has filed litigation against the temporary tariffs; agency counsel said the case is pending in appellate courts with certain motions denied and the office and the Procurador General preparing further filings.
Senators pressed for remedies to improve compliance, including stiffer penalties, more inspectors and stronger administrative tools to link outstanding fines to government procurement or permits. The agency said it is pursuing an information‑technology integration plan to allow fines and debts to appear in other agencies’ systems and thereby limit contracting or permit privileges for noncompliant businesses.
What happens next: the agency agreed to deliver the full regulation in Spanish and English to the Fiscal Control Board and to provide the committee with lists of fines and processed querellas for the last two years within the deadline set by the Presidenta. The office also said it expects to file the pending legal challenge at the Supreme Court in the coming days.
The hearing adjourned after senators sought additional documentation and time for follow‑up questions.
