Overhaul of Spanish local government rules on services, pay and spending control

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. City councils may only exercise their own powers if they do not put the council's financial sustainability at risk and do not duplicate a service already provided by another government. Own powers can only be established by law.
2. The law lists matters municipalities must always handle, such as urban planning, water, waste, local police, urban transport and cemeteries. It also sets the minimum services each municipality must provide based on its population.
3. In municipalities with fewer than 20,000 residents, provincial councils will coordinate services such as waste collection, water and street lighting, and will handle tax collection, electronic administration and centralized contracting.
4. Voluntary mergers of municipalities are encouraged with incentives: more funding, priority in cooperation plans and grants, and the option to keep their territorial identity as a deconcentrated organization. The merged municipality cannot split off for ten years.
5. Pay for mayors and council members is capped by population, with a maximum tied to a Secretary of State salary, and the number of full-time positions is limited by population brackets. Municipalities under 1,000 residents cannot have any full-time positions.
6. Economic activities will generally not require a prior license; one can only be required when justified by public order, safety, health or environmental reasons, or when the number of market operators is limited.
7. The local public sector is streamlined: entities in financial imbalance must correct it or be dissolved, second-tier entities are banned, and cooperation agreements with funding must be adapted to the law by December 31, 2014 or become void.
8. Autonomous communities will take over municipal powers in primary health care and social services, with a transfer of resources and no increase in public spending. If they do not, the services will continue to be provided at the autonomous community's expense.

Who it affects

• City councils and council members: Must adjust to the new rules on minimum services, pay, support staff and financial control.
• Autonomous communities: Must take over health and social services previously handled by municipalities and coordinate services in small municipalities.
• Provincial councils and equivalent bodies: Must coordinate and provide services in municipalities under 20,000 residents and oversee mergers.
• The general public: Will be able to know which government is responsible for each service, and local entities must publish the effective cost of their services.

Words worth knowing

Dedicación exclusiva

Full-time status: a council member works only for the council and is paid for it, as opposed to only receiving attendance allowances.

Plan económico-financiero

A document a council that misses spending and debt targets must submit, with measures to fix the situation.

Entidad instrumental

A company or body created by a municipality to manage services, such as public companies or foundations.

Tutela financiera

Oversight exercised by a higher level of government over the financial health of municipalities.

Personal eventual

Trusted staff freely appointed by elected officials, not career civil servants.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries