Senate has PL to create ‘extraordinary regime’ against environmental calamities

Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) filed, with the National Congress, a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that deals with the creation of a “extraordinary regime” to deal with regional or local environmental public calamities.

The initiative, which has already surpassed the minimum of 49 senators’ signatures needed to begin processing, is launched in the midst of the climate catastrophe faced by Rio Grande do Sul, with a volume of rainfall well above the state’s historical average.

This is already the biggest flood in the history of the state of Rio Grande do Sul – a tragedy that has already caused 83 deaths (another 4 deaths are still under analysis), 111 missing and 276 injured.

According to a Civil Defense report, 141.3 thousand people are away from their homes, of which 19.3 thousand are in shelters and 121.9 thousand are homeless (in the homes of family or friends). To date, 336 of the 497 cities in Rio Grande do Sul have had a state of public calamity recognized by the federal government.

The text currently being processed in the Federal Senate provides for the application of rules similar to those adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, when a type of “war budget” was created, which did not apply to the restrictions of fiscal rules. In this way, there were no constraints on public accounts to the allocation of resources to face the extraordinary situation caused by the health crisis.

The PEC opens up the possibility of hiring temporary and emergency personnel, works, services and purchases. In addition to postponing tax payment deadlines, suspending late payment interest and fines, and waiving compliance with legal limitations in cases that require immediate action.

“We intend to apply some of the rules of the extraordinary fiscal, financial and contracting regime provided for in the Constitution for cases of national public calamity, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, for situations of regional or local environmental calamity, such as droughts and droughts. , floods, landslides, dam failures, contamination of rivers, seas or soil due to spills of toxic substances, tropical storms, cyclones and forest fires”, pointed out the parliamentarian.

The proposal provides for the application of the measures following a request from the President of the Republic to the National Congress, which must recognize the situation of public environmental calamity of regional or local importance.

The text provides a non-exhaustive list of 7 situations in which the rule could be triggered and opens the possibility for others that the Legislative Branch deems relevant. Here is the list:
1) Droughts and droughts;
2) Floods;
3) Landslides;
4) Dam failures;
5) Contamination of river, sea or soil due to spillage of a toxic substance;
6) Tropical storms and cyclones;
7) forest fires.

The PEC establishes that authorizations for expenses related to tackling the public environmental calamity and its social and economic effects are included in specific budget programs or contain markers that identify them and are separately evaluated in the federal government’s accountability, in addition to being included in the Report Assessment of Primary Revenues and Expenses (RARDP), published bimonthly by the economic team.

According to the text, in case of irregularity or non-compliance with the established limits, the National Congress may suspend, by legislative decree, any decision by a body or entity of the Executive Branch related to the authorized measures.

On the tax side, the text postpones tax commitments to individuals and legal entities located in the affected areas, during the duration of the public environmental calamity, without incurring late payment interest and fines. The measure covers:
1) Taxes levied on the Special Unified Regime for the Collection of Taxes and Contributions owed by Micro and Small Businesses (Simples Nacional) and on Individual Microentrepreneurs (MEI);
2) The employer’s contribution to the payroll and other work income;
3) The deadline for defending taxpayers in active debt collection processes and ancillary obligations;
4) Forwarding Active Debt Certificates for extrajudicial protest;
5) The establishment of new procedures for charging and holding taxpayers accountable; It is
6) Termination of installments resulting from default.

“With the frequent environmental emergencies that have plagued the country in recent years, it is crucial to have agile and effective mechanisms to deal with these situations. This proposal aims precisely to provide a quick and efficient response to regional or local environmental calamities”, argues senator Alessandro Vieira.

The parliamentarian highlights that the measure does not invalidate the need for adaptation and climate resilience plans, but that it is now necessary to take care of what is urgent. “It is our duty to do our part so that basic services do not collapse and so that cities can be rebuilt and citizens can return to living with a minimum of quality”, he says.