740

(a) It sometimes happens, although infrequently, that officers sent to the United States or foreign countries on official mission, and scholarship grantees of the Commonwealth Government sent to pursue studies outside Puerto Rico, die while they are away from the Island and still engaged in the mission entrusted to them. Whenever this occurs, the relatives are obliged to incur the expenses entailed in the embalming and transport of the corpses to Puerto Rico, expenses which they are sometimes not in a financial position to meet. It does not seem fair that in such a situation the government, through lack of legislation, should find itself prevented from defraying such expenses.(b) The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby empowered and directed, upon the occurrence of a situation such as that described in subsection (a) hereof, and with the approval of the Governor, to reimburse, from any available funds in the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico not otherwise appropriated, the relatives of the dead employee, officer, or scholarship grantee of the Commonwealth Government, or whoever has paid for said relatives or has rendered the services on credit, as the case may be, for

relatives of the dead employee, officer, or scholarship grantee of the Commonwealth Government, or whoever has paid for said relatives or has rendered the services on credit, as the case may be, for the expenses incurred on the score of the embalming of the corpse and the transportation thereof to Puerto Rico. Such expenses must be reasonable and moderate, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall require the presentment of the receipts or other evidence which he may deem necessary in order to verify such expenses. History —May 7, 1952, No. 200, p. 464, §§ 1, 2; May 6, 1955, No. 28, p. 96, §§ 2, 3.