Bill 354.

Summary.

The bill declares the buildings and land parcels housing Colegio José Antonio Remón Cantera, Escuela Profesional Isabel Herrera Obaldía and Colegio Richard Newman national historic monuments. It places all three schools in the District of Panama (Distrito de Panamá), Province of Panama (Provincia de Panamá), and identifies their properties by the registration details held by the Public Registry of the Republic of Panama (Registro Público de la República de Panamá). The declaration covers both the school buildings and the land on which they stand, as identified in the property records.

The bill reserves the separate registered properties comprising those buildings and land parcels exclusively for the schools named in its first article. It applies that allocation to each property individually, as recorded in the Public Registry of Panama (Registro Público de Panamá). The proposed use is therefore tied to the properties covered by the declaration and to the schools operating on them, with each property treated according to its own registration.

The Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura) would be responsible for maintaining, conserving and restoring the declared monuments. To support the continued operation of the buildings as schools, it would coordinate those responsibilities with the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación). The bill also makes its provisions subject to the National Constitution of the Republic of Panama (Constitución Nacional de la República de Panamá), the rules in force on taxation and the Nation’s Historical Heritage, and other applicable laws. This provision places the declaration and work concerning the properties within that legal framework.

Plaques referring to the declaration would be placed in visible locations on the buildings of the three schools. Each plaque would state that the school has been declared a national historic monument and identify the law establishing that designation. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education would also include the funds needed to implement the bill in their annual budgets, each in line with its powers over budget allocations. That funding provision concerns implementation of the proposed law as a whole, including responsibilities assigned to both institutions.

The bill provides for the proposed law to take effect on the day following its promulgation. Its provisions concern the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and the named public registries, as well as the three schools and their school communities. Its subject matter could also affect the education sector, historical heritage management, building conservation and the administration of property used to provide educational services.