Illa backs the 11N strike and accuses Feijóo of using Urda: "A moral low point"

To modify or expand Law 12/2023, of May 24, on the right to housing, the ordinary route requires approving a new law in the Cortes Generales. The remaining procedures depend on the stage reached by each initiative: there is no single reform file. Also, a rejected proposal cannot continue from where it left off; it requires a new initiative.

1. Presentation and decision to start processing

The Government can approve a bill in the Council of Ministers and send it to the Congress. This goes directly to publication, committee, and submission of amendments, without a prior vote on consideration.

If a bill proposal is presented from the Congress, it must first pass the consideration stage: the Plenary decides, by simple majority —more favorable votes than opposing— whether to start processing it. Beforehand, the Government's opinion and budgetary conformity are requested when applicable. Initiatives can also be promoted by the Senate, autonomous assemblies, and citizens, the latter with at least 500,000 accredited signatures and the corresponding constitutional limits.

2. Amendments, committee, and commission

Once the initiative is admitted, the period to propose changes opens. The ordinary amendment period is fifteen working days, although it can be extended or shortened. Amendments to the articles allow deleting, modifying, or adding provisions.

In Government bills, groups can submit total amendments to return the text or replace it with another. In proposals considered by the Congress, return amendments are not admitted. Afterwards, a committee studies the proposals and drafts a report; the competent commission debates the articles and approves its report. These rules are in the Congress Regulations.

3. Approval by the Congress

The text usually goes to the Plenary, where the maintained amendments and the report are voted on. However, a commission can approve it directly if it has full legislative competence and the Plenary does not reclaim the decision. For an ordinary reform, a simple majority suffices, with the required quorum; 176 votes are not automatically required since it concerns housing.

4. Senate and possible return to the Congress

The Senate has two months to examine the text; the period is reduced to twenty calendar days for projects declared urgent. It can approve it without changes, introduce amendments, or veto it by absolute majority.

• If approved without changes, the parliamentary phase ends.
• If amendments are introduced, the Congress decides which to accept by simple majority.
• If vetoed, the Congress can override the veto by absolute majority or, after two months from its imposition, by simple majority.

The procedure is established in articles 90 and 91 of the Spanish Constitution. After final approval, the King sanctions the law within fifteen days, promulgates it, and orders its publication. Its application begins when the text determines.

5. What this means for the proposed reforms

The proposal to restrict the acquisition of housing by legal entities was rejected at the consideration stage: it has no pending procedures and would need to be presented again (publication of the rejection). A motion requesting to reform or repeal the law does not change it by itself either.

There is also the exceptional route of the decree-law, for extraordinary and urgent necessity and within its constitutional limits. It must be ratified or repealed within thirty days; ratifying it does not allow direct amendments, although its processing as an urgent bill can be agreed. If the Chambers are dissolved, ratification corresponds to the Permanent Deputation. Ordinary pending parliamentary initiatives expire with the dissolution, so their previous progress should not be confused with still open procedures.

The president of the Generalitat holds three main functions according to the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia: he has the highest representation of the Generalitat, directs the action of the Government, and exercises the ordinary representation of the State in Catalonia. The core of his powers is in article 67, which must be read together with other provisions on the Government and relations with the Parliament.

Institutional representation and Government direction

Article 67.1 establishes that the president "has the highest representation of the Generalitat and directs the action of the Government." This places the Presidency at the head of the institutional representation of self-government and the direction of governmental action.

It is important to distinguish his functions from those of the Government as a whole. According to article 68.1, the Government is the superior collegiate body that directs the political action and the Administration of the Generalitat and exercises the executive function and regulatory power. Therefore, not all Government powers are personal attributions of the president.

Ordinary representation of the State in Catalonia

Article 67.6 specifies the following powers of the president in this capacity:

• Promulgate, in the name of the King, the laws, decree-laws, and legislative decrees of Catalonia, and order their publication.
• Order the publication of appointments of State institutional positions in Catalonia.
• Request the collaboration of State authorities exercising public functions in Catalonia.
• Exercise other functions determined by laws.

Additionally, article 67.5 recognizes his preeminent position for precedence and protocol purposes in Catalonia, as representative of both the Generalitat and the State.

Government organization and delegation of functions

Article 67.8 identifies as presidential powers the appointment and dismissal of consellers. Meanwhile, article 69 allows the president to appoint and dismiss by decree a first conseller or first consellera, reporting to the Parliament. This figure has the functions established by law and those delegated by the president.

If no first conseller has been appointed, article 67.9 allows the president to temporarily delegate executive functions to one of the consellers. The Statute thus distinguishes between the Presidency's ownership and the possibility of entrusting certain functions to another Government member.

Relations with the Parliament and elections

Article 66 contemplates that the president may agree to the early dissolution of the Parliament, ending the legislature before the four years of the ordinary mandate elapse. Article 67.8 also identifies proposing a vote of confidence among his powers.

There is also a specific electoral call case: if two months pass from the first investiture vote without any candidate being elected, the Parliament is automatically dissolved. According to article 67.3, the acting president must immediately call elections, which will be held between forty and sixty days after the call.

Limits and responsibility

These powers are exercised within a parliamentary system: the Parliament elects the president from among its members and the King appoints him. Article 67.7 establishes that he ceases, among other causes, by approval of a motion of censure or denial of a vote of confidence.

Substitution or replacement does not allow exercising all his powers either: article 67.8 expressly excludes proposing a vote of confidence, appointing or dismissing consellers, and early dissolution of the Parliament.

The reference text is the Organic Law 6/2006, reforming the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

Before becoming president of the Generalitat in August 2024, Salvador Illa had gone through municipal politics, autonomous management, leadership of the PSC, and the Government of Spain. His trajectory began in La Roca del Vallès and gained national projection as Minister of Health during the pandemic. Afterwards, he led the opposition in the Parliament before reaching the Catalan Presidency.

The beginnings: La Roca del Vallès

Born in La Roca del Vallès in 1966, Illa studied Philosophy and completed his studies with a master's degree in business administration. His first political experience was linked to the City Council of his municipality, where he started as a councilor in 1987. In 1995 he joined the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, according to his institutional biography.

Between 1995 and 2005 he served as mayor of La Roca del Vallès, in two terms. That municipal stage was the foundation of his career: before taking on responsibilities at the Catalan or national level, he accumulated experience leading a local administration.

Management in the Generalitat and Barcelona

In 2005 he moved to the Generalitat as director general of Infrastructure Management of the Department of Justice, a responsibility he held until 2009. His work took place during the governments of Pasqual Maragall and José Montilla and was related to planning and managing judicial infrastructures, according to the Generalitat profile.

After a brief stint in the private sector, in 2010 he joined the Barcelona City Council as director of Economic Management. Later he held responsibilities in the management of Business, Culture, and Innovation. He also coordinated the socialist municipal group and was chief of staff to Jaume Collboni between 2014 and 2016, a stage reconstructed by Europa Press.

The rise in the PSC

In 2016 he assumed the Organization Secretary of the PSC, with Miquel Iceta leading the party. That position placed him in the leadership of the socialist internal structure, after years mainly focused on municipal responsibilities and public management (PSOE Archive).

Minister of Health during the pandemic

On January 13, 2020, he was appointed Minister of Health in the Government presided over by Pedro Sánchez. His arrival at the Executive preceded by a few weeks the COVID-19 crisis, which marked practically his entire term, as reflected in his profile at La Moncloa.

During that year he participated in the state response to the emergency, health coordination with autonomous communities, and the preparations and start of vaccination. He left the Ministry in January 2021 to run in the Catalan elections, after being designated PSC candidate in December 2020 (CNN profile).

From opposition to Presidency

In the February 14, 2021 elections, his candidacy was the most voted and tied in seats with ERC, but did not gather support to govern. Illa became president of the Socialistes i Units per Avançar group and acted as opposition leader. On December 18, 2021, he was elected first secretary of the PSC (Demócrata profile).

In May 2024 he again led the socialist candidacy, which obtained 42 deputies. After agreements with ERC and the Comuns, the Parliament invested him on August 8, 2024, with 68 favorable votes and 66 against. He took office on August 10, culminating his journey from local politics (Parliament of Catalonia).