The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that nine of the 17 escort officers of the then presidents of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018 received health plan and life insurance benefits simultaneously from the House and from the Police Bureau. This extraordinary compensation situation, contrary to the Political Code of Puerto Rico, had the effect that improper payments totaling $76,355 were made. In addition, two of the 17 officers who had resigned as escorts in 2014 and 2018 continued to receive these benefits. The report recommends that the House take recovery actions.
The three-finding audit notes that four employees, in supervisory positions, received improper salaries of $62,686 for the accumulation of compensatory time, without being entitled to it. This situation is contrary to Administrative Order 2005-27, which establishes that the category of confidential employees is not entitled to compensatory time.
The auditors found that, as of November 30, 2020, the House of Representatives had not updated Administrative Order 2005-27, had no standards to govern payroll operations, and lacked a regulation to regulate sponsorships and donations. These situations do not allow for adequate control over the attendance of administrative personnel or over the granting of donations. The Human Capital personnel also do not have guiding procedures to perform their functions in a uniform, effective, and efficient manner.
The Report comments that the Police Bureau paid $876,138 for overtime to 17 officers who provided escort services to the presidents of the House, from January 1, 2013 to September 30, 2017. According to the Police Act, the overtime, per diem, transportation, and lodging of the escort service must be paid by the entity requesting the service.
The audit also comments that the House of Representatives has not updated the Classification and Compensation Plan of 1998 and could not locate the documents of the sections on class specifications and salary scales of the Plan. This situation fosters variations in compensation, irregularities, favoritism, and does not allow personnel actions to be carried out in a uniform, efficient, and effective manner. This third and final report on the House of Representatives covers the period from January 1, 2013 to November 30, 2020.
See Audit Report DA-23-08.
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