Parliament tightens sanctions for former government officials who work in companies in areas under their control

This Thursday, Parliament approved a text that tightens sanctions for former persons in senior political positions who move to work for private companies in the field under their control and who were privatized or received benefits during their mandate.

The final text presented by the Transparency and Statute of Deputies Commission was approved this Thursday in a final global vote, with votes for PS, Chega, BE, PAN and Livre, votes against IL and abstentions for PSD and PCP.

We are talking about introducing PS into the PCP Bill to combat the so-called “revolving doors”. The PKP announced a vote on its own initiative at the plenary session, but all voted items were eventually rejected, as happened on Wednesday at the meeting of the 14th commission, and only the proposals of the socialists were approved.

With this change, the Assembly of the Republic strengthens the regime of sanctions provided by law for the performance of functions by persons holding political positions and the highest public positions.

MPs are increasing from the current three to five years the disqualification from holding political office and senior government positions for persons who do not comply with the rule according to which persons holding positions of an executive nature cannot, for three years after the end of their mandate, perform functions in private companies in the sector which they control.

The law states that this obstacle applies when it comes to companies that have been privatized, received financial incentives or tax benefits of a contractual nature, or even to companies in which there has been direct intervention by a former minister or secretary of state.

The approved changes also establish that former government officials cannot perform functions in private companies under these conditions “through an entity in which they own a share.”

MPs also decided to provide that persons who hire former political officials in violation of the law “will be deprived of the opportunity to benefit from financial incentives or incentive schemes and tax benefits of a contractual nature for a period of three to five years.”

The communists proposed increasing the expected obstacles to five years and requiring companies that hired former political officials in violation of the law to return support or funds from which they benefited, upon the direct or indirect decision of the said person.

The PCP also proposed to prohibit them from “signing contracts with the state or any government entities, enjoying any benefits or benefits related to state resources, and accessing public funds for a period of five years from the date of practice of the offense.”

This Thursday, the plenary approved, also in a final global vote, another final text of the 14th Commission, which amends the same law and restores “the regime of guarantees for the resumption of professional functions of those called upon to perform public functions, and takes into account the time, spent in political office with a view to retirement or retirement.”

This text received upvotes from PS, PSD, IL, PCP, BE, PAN and Livre and a downvote from Chega.

With this change, Parliament adds an article regarding job security and social benefits for members of the government, which provides that “their position, their social benefits or regular employment cannot be impaired as a result of the performance of government functions.”

It is also determined that “the performance of public functions shall be counted as length of service for all purposes except those involving the effective exercise of professional activity” and that “in the case of a temporary function by force of law or contract, the performance of public functions shall suspend the counting of the relevant period.”

Another article, dealing with guarantees for other political officials, states that this regime will apply, mutatis mutandis, to those who do not have their own legal regime.

Speaking ahead of the vote, the PKP defended the need to strengthen the regime to combat “promiscuity between the public and private sectors”, while the PS and PSD stressed the common sense of the approved changes and accused the communists of wanting to create “imbalance” and “go too far”.