Committee presses Agriculture and Lands authorities on staffing, technology and delays in processing legislative requests

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance heard presentations April 23 from the Department of Agriculture, the Autoridad de Tierras and related agencies on the FY26–27 budget request, staffing pressures and plans to modernize systems.

Secretary of Agriculture Irvin Rodríguez Torres summarized the department's consolidated recommended budget and priorities, framing the proposal around climate adaptation, producer organization, and food security. He told legislators the consolidated FY26–27 request includes a general‑fund proposal of roughly $58.3 million (fiscal breakdowns were presented in committee tables) and emphasized that some payroll lines were reduced in the recommended budget; he said own‑source revenues would be used if necessary to cover key operations.

Elga Méndez, executive director of the Autoridad de Tierras, told the committee the authority now receives about 600 infrastructure requests per month under the rural infrastructure program and that contracted technical staff are at capacity. She said the authority requested an additional $569,000 for three technicians to handle the backlog and that FIDA (a Fideicomiso related to the authority) may have nearly $1 million in CAPEX available for technology. Méndez said the authority's recent request for CAPEX totals about $4.2 million for technology and security upgrades and is pending approval.

Members pressed about the mechanics of Law 173 remittances that fund local infrastructure projects; the authority said remittances fluctuate (historically between about $33 million and $40 million in recent years) and that the authority retains a share to cover administrative costs for the legislative‑request program. Law 173 mechanics and the split of remittances were explained by agency officials and questioned by legislators who asked for a five‑day written accounting of receipts, capex availability and program income.

Committee members raised specific constituency concerns about transfer delays (one member cited delays of up to eight months on a municipal transfer) and sought a timetable for digitalization of the request process. The authority and FIDA officials said a digitalized case‑management system is under evaluation with three vendor proposals and estimated one solution at roughly $210,000 and argued the system would substantially reduce case processing time.

Why it matters: the Authority of Lands and the Department of Agriculture administer programs tied to local infrastructure, food procurement for schools and legislative district projects. Staffing shortages and manual processes have produced backlogs that legislators said are harming constituents. The committee asked agencies to provide cost proposals, the three vendor bids, and a reconciliation of legislative funds within five days.

The hearing concluded with the chair scheduling the next public hearing and reiterating the deadline for requested documentation.