Selling in a government building: space and power at no cost

It is a 1976 law almost nobody mentions and that still stands: it requires government agencies to set aside space in their buildings where a person with a severe disability can sell. It is not a permit you buy: the space is not charged for, neither is the electricity, and all sales profits belong to the concessionaire. It can be anything from magazines and sweets to your own crafts or artistic production.

Section 3 says: “The severely disabled individual who meets the eligibility standards provided by Act No. 414 of May 13, 1947, as amended, shall be entitled to this Act’s benefits.” OGP’s own compilation notes that Act 414-1947 was repealed and replaced by Act 97-2000, which we did not read, so we publish no eligibility test. What this Act does carry is its own definition: “severely disabled” is “an individual who has a physical and/or mental impairment that seriously limits their functional capacities (mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, work tolerance or work skills) in terms of employability; and whose vocational rehabilitation requires multiple programme services over a prolonged time, or who has one or more physical or mental impairments as defined by the Program.”

• Be a severely disabled individual who meets the vocational rehabilitation programme’s eligibility standards.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: The duty reaches every agency

   Section 2 leaves nobody out: “All departments, agencies, public institutions, public corporations and instrumentalities of the Government of Puerto Rico shall set aside in buildings owned by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico adequate space.” The duty is over Government-owned buildings.

2. 2

   Step 2: What you may sell

   The Act describes the space so the person may engage, “without limitation, in the sale of miscellaneous articles such as magazines and sweets, and may display any artistic production, crafts or products made or acquired by them for sale.” Note two things: the phrase “without limitation” comes before the examples, and the Act covers both what you make yourself and what you buy to resell.

3. 3

   Step 3: You pay for neither space nor electricity

   Section 5 says it in one line worth keeping at hand: “Provided that the person with the disability shall not be charged for the space they occupy in public buildings, nor for electricity consumption.” And Section 6 completes the picture: “All sales profits shall be for the benefit of the concessionaire operating the space.” All of them.

4. 4

   Step 4: The agency may seek a waiver, but in writing and by certified mail

   The exit exists and the Act formalizes it. If the agency considers setting aside the space “impractical, onerous or counterproductive, whether for reasons of space, security or the nature of the services provided,” it must “document its inability to comply with the Act. This by means of an official document addressed to the Administrator of the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration and sent by certified mail, in the name of the director or secretary” of the entity, “stating the reasons for which it requests a waiver.” Saying it cannot be done is not enough: it must be documented and sent certified.

5. 5

   Step 5: Ninety days, and silence grants it

   This is the deadline worth knowing if you are chasing a space. “The Vocational Rehabilitation Administration shall have ninety (90) days from receiving the document to object to the requested waiver.” And the consequence of silence is written out: “Every waiver submitted to the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration and not answered within the corresponding ninety (90) days shall be understood as granted.”

6. 6

   Step 6: The ARV must orient you on the permits

   It is a written duty, not a favour: “It shall be the duty of the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration to orient duly qualified clients in obtaining such permits as are necessary to operate a place for selling miscellaneous articles, as established in this Act.” The same section charges it with “ensuring faithful compliance with this Act” and reporting every six months to the Legislative Assembly “on the functions, operation and persons benefited by the programme.”

7. 7

   Step 7: The concession is yours and does not transfer on its own

   Section 4 is brief: “Concessions granted under this Act’s provisions shall be personal and non-transferable unless the Program expressly authorizes the transfer.” Personal, non-transferable, save express authorization.

8. 8

   Step 8: Who sets up the space and who grants the permit

   Section 5 says the Division shall set up the spaces “using the resources available to it for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.” Section 7 adds that the setting up, operation and functioning “shall be carried out under the regulations issued by the Department and the Public Buildings Authority.” And Section 8 clarifies that nothing limits the authority of the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works to grant the setting-up permits, “provided the permits so granted obtain the Department’s prior recommendation,” a power that may be delegated to the Department. We did not read those regulations.

9. 9

   Step 9: About this Act’s language

   We say this because you will run into it if you read the text. The Act is from 1976 and uses the words “incapacitado” and “severamente incapacitado” throughout. That vocabulary is not the one recent laws use, which speak of persons with disabilities or functional diversity. We quote the Act in its own words when we quote it, because changing a quotation falsifies it, but we do not use them in our own prose.

The operative text of Section 2 names the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration directly: it receives agencies’ waiver requests, ensures compliance with the Act, and must orient qualified clients on the permits. The original Act defined “Department” as the Department of the Family and “Program” as its Vocational Rehabilitation Program; OGP’s compilation notes in brackets that both moved to the Department of Labour and that the Program was replaced by the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration under Act 97-2000. Those bracketed notes are OGP annotations, not statutory text, which is why we identify them as such.

• Thinking rent or power must be paid: the Act expressly says neither the space nor the electricity consumption is charged for.
• Believing the government keeps part of the sales: all profits go to the concessionaire.
• Accepting a verbal “it cannot be done” from the agency: the waiver requires an official document to the ARV Administrator sent by certified mail.
• Not knowing that silence grants it: if the ARV does not answer within ninety days, the waiver is understood as granted.
• Assuming only sweets and magazines may be sold: the Act says “without limitation” and includes crafts and artistic production.
• Transferring the concession to another person: it is personal and non-transferable save express authorization by the Program.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos (DTRH)

  Departamento del Trabajo

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov