Provisional measures (MPs) are rules with the force of law, sent by the President of the Republic for analysis by the National Congress. The rule is that the MP is edited in situations of relevance and urgency. As soon as it is edited, the MP already produces immediate legal effect. But, to become a law, it needs to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The term of validity of the MP is 60 days, automatically extended for an equal period if the vote in Congress has not been concluded.
If the MP is not appreciated within 45 days, counting from its publication, it enters into an emergency regime, with the suspension of the processing of all other legislative deliberations.
constitutional rules
Article 62 of the Federal Constitution has the general rules for the editing and processing of MPs, such as topics that cannot be the objective of a provisional measure.
The Constitution prohibits the issuing of MPs on: nationality, citizenship, political rights, political parties and electoral law; criminal law, criminal procedure and civil procedure; organization of the Judiciary and the Public Ministry, the career and guarantee of its members; multi-year plans, budget guidelines, budget, and additional and supplemental credits.
It is also forbidden to issue an MP that seeks to detain or seize assets, popular savings or any other financial asset, a matter that can only be dealt with by complementary law. A topic already disciplined in a bill approved by the National Congress and pending sanction or veto by the President of the Republic cannot be an MP’s objective.
The Constitution also vetoes the re-edition, in the same legislative session (annual legislative work calendar), of a provisional measure that has been rejected or that has lost its effectiveness due to an lapse of time.
According to the Constitution, the MP that implies the institution or increase of the tax rate will only produce effects in the following financial year, as long as it has been converted into law by the last day of that year in which it was issued.
The Constitution also defines that after losing its effectiveness for not being converted into law within the deadline, the National Congress must regulate, by legislative decree, the legal relations arising from the MP. If this decree is not issued, the legal relationships established and resulting from acts performed during the validity of the MP will continue to be governed by the measure.
Processing
One National Congress resolution (No. 1 of 2002) also has rules for the processing of provisional measures.
Within 48 hours after publication, the president of the National Congress designates a mixed commission, formed by 12 senators and 12 incumbent deputies (with an equal number of alternates), responsible for analyzing the constitutional requirements of relevance and urgency, merit and adequacy financial and budgetary
The president of the mixed commission has the prerogative of rejecting outright amendments presented that are extraneous to the original text of the MPV.
Presented and discussed, the rapporteur’s text is submitted to a vote by the collegiate body, becoming the opinion of the joint committee when approved. The opinion can conclude for the approval of the MP; by the presentation of the Conversion Bill (PLV), when the original text of the MP is changed; or for the rejection of the matter, with the opinion being obligatorily forwarded to the appreciation of the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies.
Chamber of Deputies
After analysis by the joint committee, the MP goes to the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. The quorum for deliberation is a simple majority (half plus one of the deputies present in plenary). The conclusions of the resolution of the matter include rejection, full approval (under the terms of the edited MP), or approval of the PLV.
If rejected, the matter has its validity and processing ended and is filed. If approved (in full or in the form of a PLV), it is sent to the Senate.
Senate
The quorum for deliberation in the Senate is also a simple majority (half plus one of the senators present) and the result of the vote has the following options:
rejection: the matter has its validity and processing ended and is filed;
approval in full (as per the terms of the original edition): MPV is sent for enactment and becomes law;
approval of the PLV received from the Chamber of Deputies without changes in merit: the text is sent for approval by the President of the Republic;
approval of the PLV received from the Chamber of Deputies with amendments on the merits: the matter returns to the Chamber of Deputies, which deliberates, exclusively, on the amendments;
approval of the provisional measure, as a result of preference over the PLV of the Chamber of Deputies: the matter returns to the Chamber of Deputies, which will deliberate, exclusively, on the provisional measure;
approval of a new PLV: the matter returns to the Chamber of Deputies, which deliberates exclusively on the PLV offered by the Senate.
Return to the Chamber of Deputies
If the Senate approves the text received from the Chamber with modifications, the proposals return to the analysis of the Chamber of Deputies. The amendments promoted by the Senate are accepted or rejected by the Chamber of Deputies, and the matter is sent to sanction (if the PLV is approved) or to promulgation (if the original text of the provisional measure is approved).
Promulgation
In the case of MPV approval, the matter is enacted and converted into ordinary law by the President of the National Congress, not being subject to sanction or veto, as occurs with the conversion bills.
Conversion Bill Approval
When the MPV is approved in the form of a Conversion Bill, it is sent to the President of the Republic, who can either sanction it or veto it. It will be up to the National Congress to deliberate on the veto and, thus, conclude the process of processing the matter.
Rejection of the provisional measure
Both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate can conclude by rejecting the provisional measure, when its validity and processing are terminated and it is filed.
*With information from the National Congress website.
