I lack any specialized knowledge in political science. I have asked by e-mail about the processing of their national budgets to the Private Secretariat of the Danish Prime Minister (24/02/2023, case no 2023 – 1660), who replied that they’d forward the query to the Ministry of Economy, as it fell within its competence, and to the Government of Portugal. To the Portuguese Government a few minutes ago, through a form on their website.
In Spain the processing of bills, government legislative initiatives, in the Parliament abides by what is called the “ordinary legislative procedure, which is described in Arts. 109 – 123 of the Regulations of the Congress.
(CR) Art. 133.1 remarks: “Ordinary legislative procedure” applies, except as is provided in this section, to examination and passage of the Finance Bill (i.e. General State Budget).”
“This section” refers to (CR) Arts 133 – 135 in DIVISION 2 of CHAPTER THREE (“Special rules of legislative procedure”) of these Congress Regulations”: “Finance Bill,” (General State Budget). It’s made up of Arts. 133 – 135 and does not add anything significant, just limits itself to specify in 134 a few particulars about the (two) debates in which budgets are discussed and voted.
Ordinary legislative procedure (I) : (CR) Arts. 109 – 111: “Amendments”: submission and types.
– According to Art. 109, at the start of “ordinary legislative procedure,” the Government presents a bill to the Board of the Parliament and the Board orders to publish it, to open a period for the submission of amendments and to send it to the proper Commission.
– According to (CR) Art. 46 the Budget Commission is “a standing Commission,” pertaining to the organization chart of the Congress.
– (CR) Art. 110.1 details that, once the bill has been published, Deputies and Parliamentary Groups have a period of 15 days to present amendments by means of written statement addressed to the Board in charge of the Commission.
– (CR) Art 110 2. explains that amendments can be of two types: amendments relating to the entire bill, the text as a whole, and amendments relating to articles.
– According (CR) 110.3, “Amendments to the entire bill” reject the “timeliness, the “foundation” or the “bias” of the bill and request the return of it to the Government, or propose a complete alternative text; only parliamentary groups can submit them.
– Amendments to articles ((CR) 112.4) may work by deletion, modification o addition. In the last two cases they must include the specific wording proposed.
– (CR) Art. 111 (3 sections) deals with a third type of amendments, a type involving either “an increase in budgetary appropriations” or “a reduction in budgetary revenue” and shows how they should be processed.
Ordinary legislative procedure (II)
(CR) Art. 112: the decision about “amendments to the entire bill” will be taken by means of a “debate on the entire bill,” including discussion and voting, held in a plenary session of the parliament.
According to the “ordinary legislative procedure,” “amendments to the entire bill” are processed first than “amendments to articles.”
The content of (CR) Art. 112, explaining how these amendments (“to the entire bill”) should be dealt with is this one:
– (CR) Art. 112.1 notes that, once they have been submitted, in that 15-day term, the President of the (Budget) Commission will forward to the President of the Parliament those that have been presented, if any, so that the President of the Parliament can include them in the agenda of the plenary session of the Parliament in which they should be discussed. Determining the date of that plenary session will be up to the President of Congress, surely. Maybe there is a small gap, a blank space in the regulation, or an ellipsis, between the “agenda” and the “date” of the plenary session.
– (CR) 112.2 points out: “The “debate about the entire bill,” will take place according to the provisions of this (Congress) Regulations for those of this nature, although each of the amendments presented may give rise to a turn in favor and another against.”
– (CR) 112.3. says that, after the deliberation is over ((CR) 112.2?), there will be a vote (CR regulate voting in Arts. 78 – 89). If the votes in the plenary session of the Parliament support an amendment to the entire bill of the type requesting the return of the Project, the Project will be rejected. If they do not endorse it, the project will be sent to the Commission, so that it can continue to be processed (112.4). If what is approved is an amendment to the entire bill of the type proposing an alternative text, that will be communicated to the Commission, will be published in the BOCG, General Courts Official Gazette, and a period of presentation of amendments will be opened that should only refer to articles (112.5).
The Board of the Parliament “processing schedule” for 2023 General State Budget I post the screenshot above neglects this entire sequence. Successively sets (sections 1.4 and 1.5) two deadlines, the first one, fifteen days after the bill is presented to the Board of the Parliament, for the submission of “amendments to the entire bill”; and a second ond, one week later, to submit amendments to articles.” I do not mean this, anyway.
Ordinary legislative procedure (III) (CR) Arts.113 – 116: The processing of amendments to articles, (a: initial steps).
The further processing of the bill in the Budget Commision (CR) Art. 112.4 refers to in its end develops as follows:
– First ((CR) Art. 113.1) the Commission will appoint within it one or several “rapporteurs” so that, in view of the text of the bill and of the amendments to articles, they draft a “report” within a period of 15 days, extendable (113.2) if the complexity of the text requires it. What’s the text? Which amends to articles have been submitted?
– Then ((CR) Art. 114.1), once this rieport “by the subcommittee” has been concluded (it’s reflected without much rigor, in section 1.8 of the “processing schedule” approved by the Board of Parliament for 2023 budgets, see the screenshot at the top of the entry, after meeting the appointed Spokesmen of all Parliamentary Groups: (1.8) “report of the subcommittee”), for writing it a term of two weeks is fixed after the deadline for reception of anmendments to articles ends, a debate inside the Commission will start which will be carried out “article by article” and in which the “amendants” of the articles and the members of the Commission may hold the floor.
(CR) Art. 115 establishes that the times for discussing each article, the time each one of the parts will have to express its views and the total time of the process, can be “settled” by the President of the Commission in agreement with the Board of the Commission.
Finally, according to (CR) Art. 116, the verdict (the final decision) of the Commission on this debate held inside of it, between “amendants” and “members,” signed by the President and by one of the Secretaries, will be sent to the President of the Parliament to continue with the processing. (This verdict of the Commission is referred to in point 1.9 of the “processing schedule” for 2023 budgets, setting it for November 19th, 8 days after the “report” by the subcommitee” is made. In other words, the debate inside the Commission would last a week).
(IV)
The screenshot above shows the “processing schedule” agreed by the Board of the Congress and the appointed Spokesmen of Parliamentary Groups on October 6th 2022 to be applied to process General State Budget for 2023.
⁃ The Finance Bill is presented on October 6th.
⁃ Published two days later, on October 8th.
⁃ Deadline for the submission of amendments to the entire bill ends on October 21st, two weeks later.
⁃ Deadline for the submission of amendments to articles ends on October 28th.
⁃ Deadline for the “report by the subcommittee” ends on November 11th.
⁃ Deadline for the “verdict” of the Commission ends on November 19th
The text of the Finance Bill, the General State Budget, for 2023 as it was published in the BOCG (the General Courts Official Gazette) on October 8th, two days after being presented amounts to 445 pages: https://www.congreso.es/public_oficiales/L14/CONG/BOCG/A/BOCG-14-A-125-1.PDF
Amendments to articles of this Bill, as they were published, 20 days later, on October 28th 2022 amount to 4003 pages: https://www.congreso.es/public_oficiales/L14/CONG/BOCG/A/BOCG-14-A-125-4.PDF
The “report of the subcommittee” published in the BOCG (General Courts Official Gazzette) on November 11th 2022 consists of 489 pages: https://www.congreso.es/public_oficiales/L14/CONG/BOCG/A/BOCG-14-A-125-6-C1.PDF
It should have served as a guide for a “debate inside of the (budget’s) Commission.” If this was so, the debate lasted for just a week.
The “verdict” of the Budget’s Commission was published in the BOCG on November 21st and occupies 584 pages: https://www.congreso.es/public_oficiales/L14/CONG/BOCG/A/BOCG-14-A-125-7.PDF
The final text of the Finance Bill for 2023 runs along 864 pages: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2022/12/24/pdfs/BOE-A-2022-22128.pdf
Though it’s mandatory I’m not sure that the bill was ever sent to the Senate. The “processing schedule in the screenshot ends with the “approval of the verdict of the Commission” in a plenary session in the Parliament.
I have no technical knowledge. Been a teacher. Tried to make things intelligible. I think the text deserves a detailed exam. It reminds me often those “exquisite corpses” surrealists enjoyed in their parties.
Just a pair of samples:
⁃ Chapter III (Other taxes) consists of a long article 85 establishing the “rate for reservation of the radioelectric public domain.” (Pages 180674 – 180699). Think it’s so.
⁃ Twenty-second final provision. Modification of article 40.1 of Law 22/2015, of July 20, on Auditing of Accounts. (Page 180867).
«Article 40. Hiring, rotation and appointment of auditors or audit firms.
In relation to the duration of the audit contract, the provisions of article 17 of Regulation (EU) No. 537/2014, of April 16, shall apply, in particular the provisions of sections 3, 5, 6 and 8. Additionally, The minimum duration of the initial contracting period of accounts auditors in public interest entities may not be less than three years, and the total contracting period, including extensions, may not exceed the maximum duration of ten years established in article 17. of said Regulation. However, once the total contracting period of a maximum of ten years for an auditor or audit firm has ended, said period may be additionally extended up to a maximum of fourteen years, provided that the same auditor or audit firm has been hired simultaneously. together with one or more other auditors or audit firms to act jointly in this additional period, or up to ten years if a public call for offers is made for the statutory audit in accordance with the provisions of article 16, sections 2 to 5 of the Regulation of the EU number 537/2014, of April 16. During the initial period, or the extension period of the initial contract, the contract may not be terminated without just cause, and divergences of opinions regarding accounting treatments or audit procedures cannot be considered as such. In any case, the account auditors and the audited entity must notify the Accounting and Audit Institute of the termination of the audit contract.»