The new law requires use of transportation rates approved by the NTSP and prompt payment to haulers
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has signed legislation aimed at modernizing and consolidating the regulation of the island’s aggregate hauling industry, a sector considered critical to construction activity and public infrastructure development.
The measure, Senate Bill 1140, became Law 224-2026 and folds into Puerto Rico’s Public Service Act the provisions that previously governed the transportation and hauling of aggregates under a separate 1972 statute. The law repeals that earlier legislation and places regulatory authority squarely within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Transportation and Other Public Services (NTSP).
Administration officials said the overhaul is intended to streamline oversight, clarify industry rules and update regulations that had not been substantially revised since the early 1970s, despite major changes in Puerto Rico’s construction sector.
“With this law we bring together in a single legal framework the provisions governing an important activity for construction and infrastructure development in Puerto Rico,” González Colón said in a statement announcing the measure. She added that the law also establishes clear obligations for those hiring hauling services, including compliance with approved rates and timely payment to transport operators.
The legislation defines aggregates broadly to include materials such as earth, sand, gravel, crushed stone, asphalt mix and similar construction materials transported on public roads for commercial and industrial purposes.
Among the most significant changes are new obligations imposed on the owners of construction materials or other parties contracting hauling services. The law requires them to use transportation rates approved by the NTSP and to pay haulers within 15 days of service. Companies that fail to meet the payment deadline may face administrative fines and interest charges based on the legal rate established by Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions.
The law also places responsibility on contractors and material owners for authorizing loads that exceed weight limits established by transportation regulators, exposing violators to additional penalties.
For transport operators, the legislation maintains a permitting structure under which no person or company may haul aggregates commercially without authorization from the NTSP. The bureau is empowered to issue permits and provisional authorizations, maintain an industry registry, conduct investigations, hold hearings and establish what it describes as “fair and reasonable” rates.
The measure also details the circumstances under which permits may be denied, suspended or revoked, including providing false information, violating regulations or failing to comply with bureau orders.
One provision with potentially significant implications for public construction projects requires aggregate loads financed with public funds to be distributed among authorized haulers through a numerical rotation system. Regulators will establish the procedures governing that allocation process. Government-owned heavy vehicles used by state agencies and municipalities are exempt from the law’s coverage.
Supporters argue the measure preserves the longstanding public-policy goal of maintaining a balance between the number of transport operators available and market demand, while ensuring service reliability and protecting the livelihoods of truckers who depend on aggregate hauling as a source of income.
By consolidating the regulatory framework into Puerto Rico’s principal public service law, lawmakers said the measure advances broader government efforts to eliminate regulatory duplication, simplify oversight and provide a more modern legal structure for an industry that plays a key role in the island’s construction and economic activity.
