The PSOE and its parliamentary allies took another step on Tuesday towards regulating the activity of lobbyists in Congress and their relationship with deputies, by approving the report of the committee tasked with reforming the Chamber's Rules of Procedure. The document was approved with the abstention of Junts and the rejection of the PP and Vox.
The intention is for the Rules of Procedure Committee to meet next week to debate the amendments that are still active, with the aim of finalizing a report that can be submitted to the Plenary Session scheduled for July.
Parliamentary sources cited by Europa Press explain that around fifteen transactional amendments and two proposals presented by the PP were approved at Tuesday's meeting.
Among the agreed amendments, the one that addresses the demand from PNV, ERC, Bildu, and BNG to exclude non-profit social and associative entities without business ties from this regulation stands out. In the PSOE's initial text, they were equated with interest groups, which would have required them to register in the registry to be created to identify lobbyists seeking access to the Chamber.
Greater transparency in meetings and documentation
The agreed text also expands the data that interest groups will have to provide when registering. Lobbyists will have to record their meetings and interactions with deputies, parliamentary groups, and other personnel susceptible to influence, as well as the content of those contacts.
At the same time, deputies will be obliged to report on the documentation they have used to cast their vote. According to what was agreed in the committee, they will have to electronically register all proposals, observations, or documents sent by interest groups, provided they have used them, in whole or in part, to draft or amend legislative initiatives.
The legislative footprint report will also include all votes cast during the process. An annex will detail the voting intention in the Plenary Session of each deputy, and in the case of committees, the position of each parliamentary group will be reflected. If members of the same group vote differently, that circumstance will also be recorded.
More control over interest groups and their influence
During the work of the report, the guiding principles of the code of conduct for interest groups have been finalized and the regime of infractions and sanctions has been toughened.
In addition, an amendment from the PP has been incorporated that adds a new article to define what is understood by "personnel susceptible to influence." This will include any person who exercises public functions with the capacity to intervene in the formulation, execution or supervision of public policies, in regulatory development or in the decision-making or processing of any political agreement within the Congress.
This section expressly mentions deputies, members of cabinets performing trust or special advisory functions, temporary staff attached to the Chamber's Board or parliamentary groups, group staff, and other employees serving the Congress who may participate, directly or indirectly, in influence activities regulated by the Rules.
The approved amendment emphasizes that "this enumeration is enunciative and not exhaustive" and that, therefore, "any other public office or employee who may be subject to influence in decision-making" will likewise be subject to the rule.