Bill 596.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 3 of Law 51 of September 29, 2010, to grant the Urban and Household Waste Management Authority exclusive jurisdiction over solid waste services in both the District of Panama and the District of San Miguelito. That jurisdiction includes planning, administering, contracting for, providing, regulating, and overseeing collection, transportation, treatment, and final disposal. The provision classifies these activities as a public service of social interest and places the various stages of its management under a single authority in the 2 districts.

By adding Article 3-A to Law 51 of 2010, the bill provides that, upon the proposed law’s entry into force, the District of San Miguelito permanently transfer to the Urban and Household Waste Management Authority all operational and administrative functions, responsibilities, and powers related to urban and household sanitation. Under the proposed provision, the transfer covers both service operations and the administrative tasks associated with them.

The next added article, identified in the final provision as 3-8, assigns the Urban and Household Waste Management Authority responsibility for administering the financial resources allocated to sanitation services in the District of San Miguelito. These include fees, contributions, subsidies, and any other revenue allocated for that purpose. Administration of those resources would be governed by the Authority’s legal and budgetary framework. The proposal thus assigns management of revenue earmarked for the service to the entity that would assume its operational and administrative functions.

Proposed Article 3-C sets out the functions that the Municipality of San Miguelito (Municipio de San Miguelito) would retain: community coordination, public oversight, and institutional support. It also excludes direct operational authority over the provision of sanitation services. In its sole transitional provision, the bill directs the Urban and Household Waste Management Authority to progressively achieve full service coverage in the District of San Miguelito within 180 days of promulgation. During implementation, it requires continuity of service and protection of public health.

Finally, the text lists the amendment to Article 3 and the addition of Articles 3-A, 3-8, and 3-C to Law 51 of 2010, and provides that the law enters into force upon promulgation. The public entities concerned are the Urban and Household Waste Management Authority, the Municipality of San Miguelito, and the District of San Miguelito; the provisions may be relevant to those who provide or contract for solid waste collection, transportation, treatment, and final disposal services, as well as to the communities served.