Dominican Executive Power deposits in the National Congress hydrocarbon bills, public trusts and public contracting

Statement of the Presidency of the Republic

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Spanish

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader, through the legal consultant of the Executive Branch, Antoliano Peralta, deposited three bills, as announced yesterday in his accountability speech.

The legislative initiatives promoted by the head of state are the bill that reorganizes the hydrocarbon sector in the Dominican Republic, the general bill for public procurement, and the bill that establishes the applicable regime for the regulation of public trusts in the Dominican Republic.

The aforementioned regulatory proposals are the result of a long process of consultation and analysis with the main actors in the sectors under regulation.

Upon being received by the president of the Senate, Eduardo Estrella, he specified that the pieces will be prioritized and introduced in the next sessions of the Treasury and Energy Affairs commissions as they are of high interest to the Dominican population and the Executive Branch.

Likewise, he pointed out that they will listen to the different sectors of national life so that these projects can come out as enriched as possible.

The bill that reorganizes the hydrocarbon sector in the Dominican Republic aims to establish a model for the comprehensive reorganization of the fuel sector in the Dominican Republic, for which it introduces modifications to Law 112-00, of November 29, 2000, which establishes a tax on the consumption of fossil fuels and petroleum derivatives.

The prolonged international context of rising oil forces the Dominican State to adapt the current legislation on hydrocarbons, in order to incorporate regulatory tools in accordance with this new reality.

In that order, this initiative will establish, in the fuel pricing methodology, cost elements based on efficiency criteria and best practices.

“We have taken the step of bringing the modification and creating the opportunity for it to be debated and to see what the majority says and where it has to be modified,” said the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Víctor -Ito- Bisonó.

It was also added that among the modifications introduced by this piece, fortnightly adjustments to fuel prices are established, instead of weekly, mechanisms are created to create funds for times of instability; the aim is to automate structures and processes and dismantle fuel exemptions for energy systems that are not interconnected.

In addition, it will incorporate tools that allow mitigating the impact of increases in fuel prices in the international market, as well as inspecting and monitoring the actions of the Public Administration and regulated subjects.

Bill for the regulation of public trusts

For its part, the bill that establishes the applicable regime for the regulation of public trusts in the Dominican Republic aims to establish regulations for the regulation of public trusts, their organization, structure and operation, as well as their legal capacity to manage public resources and provide, manage or execute infrastructure works or services of collective interest.

The provisions established in this bill are mandatory for public entities that structure and constitute a public trust.

Draft general law on public procurement

With regard to the general public contracting bill, the aim is to make public contracting processes more transparent and agile.

The purpose of this proposal is to establish the general legal regime for public procurement, by determining the bodies, principles, procedures and rules that apply to it, in order to guarantee an efficient use of public funds and greater satisfaction of the needs of general interest and the fundamental rights of people, applying criteria that ensure sustainable development and promote the use of technology in a cross-cutting manner.

Among the novelties included in the piece are the framework agreements, which are the agreements resulting from the supplier selection procedure, managed and executed by the General Directorate of Public Procurement for the acquisition of common and standardized goods and services frequently used by institutions public, in which prices and delivery conditions will be established for a defined time.

Likewise, the principles of the public contracting system are strengthened, including legality, inclusion, due process, objectivity, impartiality, suitability, planning, sustainability, favorability of national production and favorability of local development.

An absolute prohibition is established for contracting with the State for the president, vice president and their relatives by consanguinity or affinity up to the second degree (children, spouse, parents, parents-in-law, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, grandparents, brothers, grandchildren and brothers-in-law).

Among other innovative issues, this bill establishes contracting modalities or procedures based on the amount and the purpose and characteristics of the service.

The types of procedure will be public bidding, abbreviated public bidding, simplified contracting, lottery of works, reverse auction, minor contracting and contracting subject to threshold. Of these, the main novelty is the abbreviated public tender, which establishes a reduced term for the contracting of common and standardized goods and services.

Regarding MSMEs, the law would increase from 20 to 30% the percentage of the budget reserved for hiring aimed at this business sector and, within this, from 5 to 10% for female MSMEs.

Also present were the legal sub-consultant Pedro Montilla; Senators Iván Lorenzo and Ricardo de los Santos, president of the energy affairs commission, and Faride Raful, president of the Treasury commission; as well as other officials related to the aforementioned projects.