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Committee approves measure to fund Boquerón improvements using portion of uncommitted IVU
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Summary
The House Committee on Finance and Budget approved Proyecto de la Cámara 1696 on June 24, 2024; the bill would use a portion of uncommitted sales-and-use tax (IVU) receipts to create a dedicated account administered by Natural Resources for improvements at the Boquerón beach and vacation center in Cabo Rojo.
The House Committee on Finance and Budget voted to approve Proyecto de la Cámara 1696 on June 24, 2024, a bill that would establish a financing mechanism using a share of uncommitted sales-and-use tax (IVU) receipts to fund development and maintenance projects at the Boquerón beach and vacation center in the municipality of Cabo Rojo.
The measure, presented to the committee by Representative Joel Sánchez Ayala, would amend provisions in the Código de Rentas Internas (Ley 1-2011, as amended) and add provisions to existing park-program law (Ley 107-2014) to create a dedicated account for the Boquerón area. Sánchez Ayala said the bill adapts a model used in Puerto Rico’s convention district — a tax-increment-style approach — where part of the IVU not already committed is set aside and reinvested in the same local area to support maintenance, operations and further development.
“Es el mismo concepto en el área de Boquerón,” Sánchez Ayala said, describing the mechanism as intended to preserve and develop the balneario, the vacation center and adjacent poblado while generating future economic activity for the municipality and the commonwealth.
Committee leadership acknowledged concerns from Treasury (Hacienda) that dedicating revenue could limit future budgets; the chair responded that the legislature may change the law later if priorities shift. The committee also discussed the applicable share of IVU receipts to be set aside; the transcript records discussion that the proposed mechanism would draw from the uncommitted portion of the IVU, with members referring to a fifty-percent share in the exchange.
A committee member participating remotely (recorded as Lourdes Ramos) said she must abstain, citing prior use of the concept in pension-related measures and a potential priority conflict. The roll call produced a committee tally of 11 votes in favor, 0 against and 3 abstentions on Proyecto de la Cámara 1696; the committee recorded the bill as approved with amendments and directed staff to prepare the certification and the approved text for the chair’s signature.
Next steps: the committee ordered the certification of the public final-consideration session and preparation of the approved text for procedural filing and reporting to the full House per the chamber’s rules.
