2024 ended with several important laws due for amendments. They are projects or law proposals that are in the process awaiting modification proposals presented by the parliamentary groups and that are expected to be approved or rejected by the Congress of Deputies during 2025. The Family Law, the cinema law or the one that seeks to establish the universality of the National Health System are added to the reforms of the official secrets law, the Penal Code or the norm that seeks to lower the retirement age of the Forces and Corps of State Security. All of them are waiting to conclude their processing in the Lower House.
One of the most notable is the Family Law, widely debated during the previous legislature. The Council of Ministers approved the family law in the second round in March, initially promoted in 2022 by Ione Belarra, leader of Podemos and then Minister of Social Rights. The regulations introduce measures such as work permits to care for family members, expansions in maternity deductions and the equalization of rights between de facto couples and married couples, including access to widow’s pensions and social benefits.
It also highlights the recognition of single-parent families with two children as equivalent to large families and the creation of categories for families with greater support needs, such as those affected by disabilities or gender violence. The current minister of the branch, Pablo Bustinduy, expects the inclusion of improvements during his parliamentary phase, such as the expansion of paid parental leave and the extension of birth leave.
From the environment of the ministries in the hands of the minority partner of the coalition, Sumar, several proposals for new laws or rescued from the previous legislature have been presented. The Ministry of Health has launched the bill for the Universality of the National Health System, aimed at eradicating the health exclusion established in 2012 and correcting the “deficiencies” of the 2018 decree that failed to guarantee access to health for people without papers. . The rule, promoted by Mónica García, Minister of Health, is very similar to the one drafted in the previous legislature by former minister Carolina Darias.
Guarantee health protection for vulnerable groups
The intention is to guarantee health protection for vulnerable groups, such as non-regularized migrants, victims of trafficking, and Spaniards residing abroad during temporary visits. In addition, it eliminates the need for registration and simplifies access through a responsible declaration. New co-payments for basic services are prohibited, closing bureaucratic loopholes that facilitated exclusion.
The Ministry of Culture has, for its part, reactivated the Cinema Law, which had been on hold since 2022 after its initial approval in the Council of Ministers. The new text seeks to especially protect independent producers, prioritizing public aid for them. In addition, the law expands its scope to include series and other audiovisual productions, allowing them to qualify for subsidies for the first time. It also introduces measures to guarantee diversity, gender equality, and encourages transparency of platforms such as Netflix and Max by requiring audience data. Another novelty is the creation of the State Council of Audiovisual Arts.
One more Sumar proposal that the Government has approved comes from the Ministry of Labor of Yolanda Díaz. The second vice president intends to modernize through a law a sector that she considers “key”, that of the Social Economy, because it generates 10% of the GDP and employs more than 2.2 million people. The text updates the regulations on cooperatives, promotes equality through specific plans, strengthens the regulation of Insertion Companies to support vulnerable groups and redefines their role in labor inclusion.
In addition, it adapts the Social Economy Law towards a model that, according to the vice president, will be “greener, feminist and democratic”, reinforcing “the Government’s commitment to sustainability, decent work and social justice.” The minister presented the law after also announcing that Valencia will be the Spanish capital of the social economy.
A historic request from the PNV
An issue that has been in parliamentary limbo for years and that finally seems to be going forward, at the proposal of the PNV, is the reform of the Law on Official Secrets, pre-constitutional and in force since 1968. The nationalists propose adapting it to “current democratic standards.” ”, establishing new criteria for the classification and declassification of information and guaranteeing greater transparency. The proposal limits the declassification of secret documents to 25 years, with a maximum extension of 10, and establishes that classified documents be declassified after 10 years. The initiative seeks to modernize current legislation, which lacks defined deadlines, and align Spanish standards with European ones.
Although it has the support of several government partners, such as ERC and Junts, the right-wing PP and Vox oppose the reform. This is the fifth time that an attempt has been made to modify the law without success, after failed attempts in previous legislatures due to early elections or lack of consensus.
Sumar, on the other hand, has recovered from the drawer a bill from Unidas Podemos to modify the Penal Code and reinforce the protection of freedom of expression, reviewing crimes related to opinion and the dissemination of ideas, and ensuring that they are not criminalized. artistic or critical expressions. The main objective of this Law is to repeal and modify those articles of the Penal Code that clash head-on with freedom of expression or that have a difficult fit in a democratic system. Among them are the crimes of insults to the crown, offenses or outrages against Spain and the crime of offending religious sentiment, which has once again been at the center of the controversy in recent days.
Podemos has presented a bill to strengthen the implementation of the Law on the Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, or “only yes means yes.” The proposed reform addresses the elimination of the mitigating factor of reparation for damage in cases of gender violence and sexual violence. In addition, it is proposed to modify the Organic Law of the Judiciary and other regulations to specialize justice operators in sexual violence, attributing specific powers to courts and prosecutors for violence against women.
The main opposition group, the Popular Party, has presented an initiative to toughen penalties for cases of multiple recidivism in theft and fraud crimes. According to the popular ones, it addresses the “deficiencies” in the treatment of multiple recidivism in minor crimes of theft and fraud, solving the problems identified after the Supreme Court rulings of 2017 and 2019. The modification adapts the key articles to recognize criminal records in aggravated types, guarantee the proportionality of penalties and add specific aggravating factors, such as the theft of devices with personal data.
Extension of some measures of the “social shield”
Congress is also processing two bills related to the extension of the Government’s “social shield.” Firstly, the measures that prevent evictions from habitual homes when they affect people in vulnerable situations, presented as a result of pressure exerted by Podemos on the Executive. This measure seeks to guarantee the right to housing and prevent families in vulnerable situations from facing situations of homelessness. This reinforces the commitment to social justice in a context of economic and social crisis that especially affects the most disadvantaged sectors.
In the same sense, a bill that extends exceptional measures to face the economic and social consequences of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East has been given the green light. These measures include tax aid, energy support and other initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact on the most affected sectors, reinforcing social and economic protection in the face of international uncertainty and its repercussions in Spain. In addition, at the end of the year an agreement between the Government and the purple party was announced to extend discounts on public transport, which must also be endorsed by Parliament.
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