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What it is

Bill to set time limits on official secrets

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 10 June 2019. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Vasco (EAJ-PNV).

Official title: Private member's bill amending Law 9/1968, of April 5, on official secrets.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000008· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would require every classified matter to have a set validity period: at most 25 years for secret matters and 10 years for reserved ones. Only for secret matters could the Council of Ministers grant an exceptional, reasoned extension of up to 10 more years.
  2. The power to classify a matter and to cancel that classification would belong exclusively to the Council of Ministers.
  3. The Congress of Deputies and the Senate would always have access to any classified information they request, and the text removes the reference to whether sessions must be secret, since that belongs to each chamber's rules. Also, access in a non-secret session would automatically declassify the matter.
  4. A transitional provision is added: matters classified before the law takes effect would be declassified if they have already reached the maximum periods, or when they do reach them if they have not.

Words worth knowing

Materia clasificada (classified matter)
Official information that cannot be freely accessed because it may affect State security. It can be 'secreta' (secret) or 'reservada' (reserved).
Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers)
The body made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers, which makes the Government's main decisions.
Recurso contencioso-administrativo (administrative court appeal)
A court appeal to ask judges to review decisions made by the public administration.
Desclasificación (declassification)
No longer treating information as classified, so it stops being protected as an official secret.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced10 June 2019Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted20 June 2019The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 5 official steps on a timeline
Jun 2019Jul 2019Aug 201911. 10 June 2019: Presentación22. 20 June 2019: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 20/06/2019 hasta 25/06/201933. 20 June 2019: Calificación44. 25 June 2019: Gobierno Contestación desde 25/06/2019 hasta 24/09/201955. 24 September 2019: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 24/09/2019 hasta 23/10/2019

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It was presented again:

Presented before in:

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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