Making laws outside the usual process: the path that is consolidating in Parliament

BarcelonaSince Salvador Illa was sworn in as President of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), the Parliament has approved a dozen legal reforms. But there is a problem: none of them have followed the ordinary procedure provided for in the Rules of Procedure for legislative amendments. In six cases, the Parliament has opted to resort to an express procedure, the single reading (in a single plenary debate), which, on paper, is intended for surgical reforms. However, in this legislature, it is being used to introduce changes as significant as the modification of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure or to pass a law from scratch, that of the Agricultural and Livestock Fund. In the remaining seven cases it has been done by way of decree law, which the Government approves without parliamentary debate, and which is only subject to the Yeah or in the No from the room after.

What problems does using the single-reading procedure pose? First, it limits MPs' right to amend and the right to debate the legislative initiative, because it is approved in a single act before the plenary session. This means forgoing the ordinary procedure, which includes an initial vote to decide whether Parliament will process the proposal or not, and then its study in committee, listening to affected groups or sectors. Parliamentary administration sources consulted by ARA warn that what was supposed to be an exceptional procedure has become a way to expedite the process. They point out, in this regard, that when there is a rush, the Rules of Procedure already provide for an urgent procedure, which cuts the deadlines by half, or even delegates approval directly to committee. Meanwhile, the queue of laws undergoing ordinary procedure in Parliament has already grown to thirty in just six months. And in the pile of pending bills are bills that have been dragging on for years, such as the law to remove asbestos or the law on democratic memory. To speed up the process, Parliament Speaker Josep Rull wants to explore ways with the groups to break the bottleneck without having to amend the Rules of Procedure; for example, by agreeing on a maximum number of committee appearances to prevent them from becoming too long.

Throughout this first half year of the legislature, the groups have resorted to the single reading to advance proposals with broad consensus, such as the reform to protect school playgrounds from noise complaints. agreed between the PSC, ERC, Junts, the Commons, the CUP and the PP, which was approved unanimously. But they have also done so to materialize agreements reached for Isla's investiture, such as the elimination of the Hard Rock tax privilege agreed upon with ERC and the Commons. On the other hand, Junts saw how the board rejected processing the proposal for neighborhood associations to request the eviction of squatters by a single reading. The Republicans also request that one package of measures they have presented to combat gender-based violence be processed through this route, but they could be vetoed by the board.

Inheritance of 2017

The possibility for groups to request processing by a single reading in Parliament was introduced through a reform in 2017 to facilitate the approval of disconnection laws – previously only the Government could request this. The Constitutional Court endorsed it, but imposed a condition: the right of groups to submit amendments to the text must be guaranteed, even if it means having less time. According to the expert sources consulted, constitutional doctrine is key to understanding why the single reading is eating into the space of the ordinary legislative procedure: when the body of guarantees endorsed that the 2011 constitutional reform in Congress to limit debt (by Brussels' mandate) was produced by this procedure, the ban was now open for practically any type of law.

In Catalonia, the initial control of whether or not an initiative can be processed in a single reading is carried out by the committee, listening to the panel of spokespersons. Sources within this body acknowledge that it is necessary to proceed with "caution" when accepting it, as it can "harm" the rights of deputies. In this sense, they point out, an assessment is made of whether simple changes are proposed, affecting only a few articles, and whether they have the "consensus" of the groups. However, the final decision on whether it is advisable to use a single reading rests with the plenary session. But it is a fish that bites its tail: in this first vote, the same majority that supports the reform in question can overturn the right of the other groups to follow the ordinary procedure.

The controversial decree law

The other avenue that has altered the ordinary legislative dynamics in these first seven months of the legislature is the use of a decree law, a mechanism that should only be used in cases of "extraordinary and urgent need," according to Article 64 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. In practice –The previous government already did it– has become the fast track to passing legal changes that the executive wants to accelerate, because Parliament must approve or reject them within a month of them leaving the executive council. This has been the case with the sanctions under the housing law –which the commons urgently demanded– or by unblock Infraestructures.cat and step on the accelerator of public worksFollowing an appeal by ERC, the Council of Statutory Guarantees is still awaiting a ruling on whether the omnibus decree on housing and urban planning approved by the Catalan government a few weeks ago complies with the Statute of Autonomy. The government also plans to soon approve the tax package agreed upon with the Comuns by decree law. to raise taxes on large holders and the tourist tax, and which has been flatly rejected by the employers' association and Junts.