Bill 283.

Summary.

The bill creates the "Gladys de La Lastra" Cultural Festival, to be held during the first ten (10) days of March each year in the District of Penonomé, Province of Coclé. Its purposes are to preserve and publicize the district’s and the country’s folk customs and traditions and to highlight Gladys de La Lastra’s artistic, creative and teaching work and the tamborera genre. Similar events could also be organized elsewhere in the national territory with the board’s coordination and endorsement.

The text establishes the Cultural Festival Board (Patronato del Festival Cultural), based in the District of Penonomé, with its own assets and administrative autonomy, as the festival organizer. Its tasks include ensuring the annual celebration, presenting folk expressions from different regions, holding educational activities in schools in the Province of Coclé, supporting exhibitors and folk ensembles, arranging academic activities on the tamborera, and granting recognition. It would also create the "Gladys de La Lastra" Cultural Festival National Prize and invite businesses, hotels, tourist sites and media outlets to publicize the festival and the artist’s career.

The board of directors would select its president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, auditor and other members from among the board’s membership; the president would act as legal representative. Representatives would come from the district mayor’s office, the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), Coclé’s chambers of commerce and tourism, civil society, cultural organizers, the Music Workers, Artists and Related Workers Union of Panama (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Música, artistas y Similares de Panamá, SITMAS), and the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Penonomé (Consejo Municipal del Municipio de Penonomé). Each institution or association would appoint a representative and alternate for two years, serving Ad Honorem. The directors would adopt internal rules governing administrative and technical matters.

The board could seek diligent allocation of state funds, set its budget and service fees, and agree on its calendar with the Ministry of Culture. It would safeguard the property it administers, conduct activities under that ministry’s guidelines, submit its management plan for approval, cooperate with ministry and Comptroller General oversight, and publish its calendar and budget execution. Its assets would include property, inheritances, bequests, donations, contributions from members and collaborators, lawful proceeds from activities and capital, and annual contributions from the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Authority of Panama (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá) and the Municipality of Penonomé (Municipio de Penonomé). The text also lists operating appropriations, private contributions, and proceeds from campaigns and events.

Each year, two (2) months after the festival, the board would report on public funds to the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la Republica). Within no more than two (2) months after the event, it would report private income and activities to the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Penonomé. The Comptroller would audit state funds and property through inspections and cash counts, including without prior notice. Administrative expenses paid from state funds would be capped at 15% of the appropriations allocated.

The Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Authority of Panama would allocate annual appropriations for the festival in their budgets and deliver them to the board no later than six (6) months after approval of the proposed law. The board would be exempt from municipal taxes and national levies while remaining responsible for utilities, social security and staff wages; contributions and donations by individuals or legal entities would be deductible from income tax. An executive decree would approve the directors’ composition, internal rules and other operating provisions within 2 months of that approval. Cultural and tourism authorities would include festival promotion in their plans and arrange exchanges with groups from other countries in coordination with the board. The proposed law would take effect the day after its promulgation.

The provisions involve the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Municipality of Penonomé, the Ministry of Education, the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Penonomé and the Comptroller General of the Republic. They could concern artists, teachers, folk groups, media outlets, and Panama’s commerce, hotel and tourism sectors.