Senator Roxanna Soto Aguilú has filed Senate Bill 1503, which seeks to give economic relief to cargo transporters, but the fiscal analysis of the proposal would be done only after it becomes law. The bill calls for a reduction in fees and processing charges over a 36-month period after enactment. Specifically, every Qualified Cargo Transporter would be entitled to a 50% reduction of the amount legally owed for an Eligible Renewal of its franchise authorization; an Eligible Renewal of the authorization for each Qualified Cargo Vehicle; and the processing fee directly attributable to those renewal procedures.
For Qualified Operators, the bill provides a 50% reduction on the tariff and the processing fee. The bill establishes no estimate of its impact on government finances. Instead, it directs the Transport Bureau (Negociado de Transporte) to keep an accounting of the effect attributable to the law during the 36-month period, meaning revenue forgone from periodic fees, tariffs and charges.
It also orders the Bureau to give the Office of Management and Budget and the Legislative Assembly’s Budget Office an estimate of the program’s expected fiscal effect for each fiscal year. That information could be gathered by the Legislature through an investigation and then used to move the bill forward.