To amend PROMESA to include certain ethics provisions to provide for the disqualification of certain advisors to the Financial Oversight and Management Board, and for other purposes.

This bill disqualifies certain third-party advisory or consulting firms with a potential conflict of interest from advising a Financial Oversight and Management Board. Such a board has been established for Puerto Rico.

Specifically, a board must establish rules to disqualify any third-party advisory or consulting firm from advising the board for any period during which the firm has a client, or provides consulting services to, an individual, corporation, or other business entity that is competing for or performing a contract with the territorial government, the performance of which is within the board's jurisdiction.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1702 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1702

 To amend PROMESA to include certain ethics provisions to provide for 
the disqualification of certain advisors to the Financial Oversight and 
               Management Board, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 22, 2023

Mrs. Gonzalez-Colon (for herself, Mr. Torres of New York, and Mr. Soto) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend PROMESA to include certain ethics provisions to provide for 
the disqualification of certain advisors to the Financial Oversight and 
               Management Board, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DISQUALIFICATION OF CERTAIN ADVISORS TO THE FINANCIAL 
              OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT BOARD.

    Section 109 of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2129) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(c) Disqualification of Certain Advisors.--
            ``(1) Definition of covered contract.--In this subsection, 
        the term `covered contract' means a contract with the 
        territorial government or an instrumentality of the territorial 
        government, the performance of which is within the jurisdiction 
        of the Oversight Board under section 204(b).
            ``(2) Disqualification.--In accordance with the rules 
        adopted by the Oversight Board under paragraph (3), any third-
        party advisory or consulting firm shall be disqualified from 
        advising the Oversight Board for the duration of any period 
        during which the firm has as a client, or provides advisory or 
        other consulting services in any capacity to, an individual, 
        corporation, association, organization, or other business 
        entity, including a subsidiary, that is competing for, or is 
        performing, a covered contract.
            ``(3) Rules.--For purposes of carrying out paragraph (2), 
        the Oversight Board shall adopt rules to carry out the 
        following:
                    ``(A) To be eligible to advise or consult the 
                Oversight Board with respect to the review, 
                procurement, or performance of a covered contract, a 
                third-party advisory or consulting firm shall certify 
                to the Oversight Board that the third-party advisory or 
                consulting firm is not disqualified from advising the 
                Oversight Board under paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Any officer or employee of a third-party 
                advisory or consulting firm who prepares, presents, or 
                certifies any information or report with respect to the 
                certification of the third-party advisory or consulting 
                firm under subparagraph (A) for the Oversight Board, or 
                any agent of the Oversight Board, that is intentionally 
                false or misleading, or, on learning that any such 
                information is false or misleading, fails to 
                immediately advise the Oversight Board or an agent of 
                the Oversight Board in writing, shall be subject to 
                prosecution and penalties under law.
                    ``(C) If, after an investigation conducted by the 
                Oversight Board, the Oversight Board determines that a 
                third-party advisory or consulting firm has provided 
                services to the Oversight Board in violation of 
                paragraph (2), has failed to submit a certification 
                required under subparagraph (A), or is in violation of 
                subparagraph (B) (including any rules adopted under 
                subparagraph (A) or (B)), the Oversight Board shall 
                immediately refer such information to the Attorney 
                General for the covered territory and the Office of the 
                United States Attorney for the covered territory.''.
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