More than one district in Brasilia

The work in the Legislative Branch remains the focus of the Brazilian political week, since important aspects of the so-called Political Reform will be decided. Besides, there is the deliberation of topics related to the renegotiation of debts.

Adding more tension to the government, there is pressure of the so-called Centrão in the negotiation of second and third tier positions as a way to consolidate the basis of the government. The Government Secretariat (“Secretaria de Governo”), now occupied by Deputy Antonio Imbassahy (PSDB/BA), is one of the positions in jeopardy, since his party last week criticized the presidentialism of “cooptation”, implemented by Michel Temer. The support of PSDB has been essential for projects in which the government has an interest, and such malaise will yield a lot in the coming days, especially in the topic of the Political Reform.

Such a Reform is expected to be deliberated in the Plenary of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 22, when the fund with public resources to fund candidates’ campaigns and the electoral system will be discussed. The Proposal to Amend to the Constitution (PEC 77/2003, in the acronym in Portuguese) provides for the “district” (“Distritão”) for 2018 and 2020. In this model, each state or municipality becomes an electoral district, and the most voted candidates are elected. The votes for the party or coalition are not considered.

By the proposal, the “mixed district” will be adopted in 2022, a mix of the proportional system and the majority one. Thus, the voter will vote twice: once in the district candidate and once in the party list. Half of the vacancies will go to the candidates elected by simple majority. The other half, according to the electoral quotient by the candidates on the list.

The format has generated disagreements between the parties, and there are suggestions for changes in the text that can be voted in the plenary, and President Rodrigo Maia (DEM/RJ) has already confirmed that, with or without consensus, it will be voted on Tuesday.

Also this week, the government should forward to Congress the fiscal adjustment proposals announced by the economic team. With this, criticisms and debates of the opposition are expected in relation to the numbers presented and to the intended policies.

In the Chamber Plenary, we also highlight the decision of the Provisional Measure (MP) 783/2017 on the company’s debt forgiveness program – Refis. The text was modified giving discounts ranging from 25% to 90% to 85% to 99% on fines, lateness fees, legal fees and attorney’s fees. This change would drastically reduce the tax collection with Refis, that would amout to R$ 400 million. The government is working hard to reduce the “losses” in tax collection. For this, the economic team will present alternatives to the party leaders.

Other projects remain on the agenda for deliberation of the Plenary, such as the project on measures to prevent and repress contraband (PL 1530/2015) and increase penalties for those committing crimes against trademarks and patents (PL 333/1999). In addition to these, the proposed constitutional amendment that modifies the procedure for assessing Provisional Measures by the National Congress (PEC 70/2011) and the bill on lobby regulation (PL 1202/2007).

Even with the subject being discussed in the Plenary, two committees will deliberate on other points of the Political Reform. In the Special Commission on Party Coalitions during Elections (PEC 282/2016), a proposal is that ends the coalitions in proportional elections and creates a performance clause is being discussed, which may reduce the number of parties. In the Special Committee on Political Reform, regulation of the allocation of electoral fund resources between parties and candidates will be ruled.

In the commissions, we highlight the meeting of the Special Commission on Tax Reform on Tuesday, when the draft proposal will be presented by the rapporteur, Luiz Carlos Hauly (PSDB/PR), in which he proposes the extinction of ICMS, IPI, Cofins, ISS and the Education Salary to create Value Added Tax (VAT). The Special Commission on Health Plans, on Wednesday, 232, will hold a public hearing with representatives of the National Union of Health Self-Governing Institutions (Unidas); of the Dental Cooperatives (Unidonto) and of the National Union of Dental Companies (Sinog).

In the Senate, projects on political reform should not be scheduled in the Plenary, which has been criticized by some senators who claim that the House is disconnected with the national reality. However, President Eunício Oliveira (PMDB/CE) did not consider such an allegation and regulated Provisional Measure 776/2017 on public records; the Proposal for Amendment to the Constitution which provides for simplified accounts for smaller municipalities (PEC 77/2015) and the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution that establishes that members of the Electoral Court may not have had party affiliation in the two years prior to or at the beginning of the term of office (PEC 4/2017).

In the commissions, we emphasize on Tuesday, 22nd, in the Committee on Social Affairs (CAS), the presentation of the Director-President of the Brazillian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), Mr. Jarbas Barbosa, from the balancing of the activities carried out by his agency.

Also this week, CAS will hold a public hearing on Thursday to instruct a bill that makes mandatory the definition in regulation and the disclosure of the indicator or parameter of cost-effectiveness used in the analysis of requests and incorporation of technology (PLS 415/2015) with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Health’s Secretariat of Science, Technology and Strategic Inputs (SCTIE/MS); of the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies into the Unified Health System of the Ministry of Health (CONITEC/MS); of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ); of the Brazilian Society of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology; of the University of São Paulo (USP); and the National Institute of Science and Technology Assessment in Health Technology.

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) that is currently discussing the social welfare system in Brazil will hold a public hearing this afternoon, with representatives of the National Association of Federal Agropecuarian Inspection Technicians (ANTEFFA); the National Association of Federal Revenue Auditors of Brazil (UNAFISCO) and specialist in Social Security Law.

A session of the National Congress is scheduled for deliberation of presidential vetoes and projects related to the Budget on Tuesday, the 22nd.

Finally, there are meetings of the committees that analyze some of the provisional measures published, such as: MP 777/2017, which creates a new rate for BNDES contracts; MP 780/2017, which establishes the Non-Tax Debt Regularization Program (PRD); MP 781/2017 on the Penitentiary Fund; MP 784/2017, which deals with leniency agreement; and MP 785/2017, which reformulates the Student Financing Fund (Fies).

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Correia da Silva

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Category: GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, Heloisa Rodrigues Itacaramby Bessa

Tags: brasilia, correia dasilva advogados, csa, government relations

Posted in: 25/06/2019

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