Metadata, reform of professional orders, tobacco law or even the constitutional revision. These are four of the topics that will be on the agenda of parliamentary work from September. This after some relevant files had been closed in the first session, such as the Mais Habitação program or the pardon of punishments and amnesty for offenses committed by young people. The new Rules of Procedure were also concluded, which provide for the return of bi-weekly debates with the prime minister and, among other things, for the strengthening of the powers of some deputies.
With the return to work scheduled for September 6, with an evaluation of the standing committee of the Assembly of the Republic (a body that works during parliamentary vacations), the second legislative session begins on the 15th, Friday, and the first debate is devoted to the National Health Service (SNS).
To DN, a parliamentary source highlighted a series of 12 topics in total that will be discussed and voted on in the next legislature.
Metadata
The parliamentary work, suspended until mid-September, will be marked by the discussion of the amendments to the metadata law proposed by the deputies.
In the last part of the session that has now ended, PS and PSD managed to agree on a common text which provides for the retention of this type of data for a period of three months. If customers do not object, this retention period is extended by a further three months.
The parliamentary working group on the matter was set up with the aim of circumventing the illegality declared in 2022 by the Constitutional Court, which considered that the legislation violated the Constitution by stipulating that data must be kept for one year. Despite the progress made in parliament, the proposal will not be voted on until September.
professional orders
Another file that emerges from this legislature is the reformulation of professional orders, which has been criticized both by the orders themselves and by the opposition.
At the last plenary sitting with votes before the holidays, PS deputies only approved two government bills that provide for the reformulation of the functioning of professional orders. Having been generally approved, work on the diplomas now moves on to the specialty. In December 2022, a decree was approved that changed the legal regime of public professional associations. The President of the Republic then sent it to the Constitutional Court, which found no illegalities in the text.
tobacco law
The theme was also the target of criticism, even within the Socialist Group, which led the government to reformulate the originally proposed text.
Now it will be considered from September, with deputies appreciating the government’s draft bill, which contains several amendments to the tobacco law. The Executive plans to impose more restrictions on sales and also more restrictions on consumption. For example, one of the proposals is that confectioneries and cafes will not be allowed to sell tobacco, something that, if approved, will take effect in 2025.
constitutional review
During the legislature that is now coming to an end, a possible commission was also set up with the aim of revising the constitution.
After deputies have discussed various amendments and held hearings over the past year and a half, the process is now expected to be delivered to a vote. But at the moment it is not yet certain that PS and PSD will converge on the themeguaranteeing the necessary two-thirds to implement amendments to the Basic Law.
Other topics
Also in the specialism, parliament will work on bills from the PS, BE, PAN and Livre that provide for the prohibition and criminalization of so-called sexual reconversion therapies. There are also diplomas from the PS, BE and PAN on gender identity self-determination legislation in schools.
On the other hand, parliament is also discussing amendments to the Nationality Act and the Transparency Acts (the latter with two bills, PAN and PCP). The change in informal caregiver status will be discussed, as well as the analysis of parish disaggregation processes.
Source: DN
