Skip to content

Where are you from?

Choose your province and we will tell you how the deputies and senators you elected vote, one by one.

 

We remember it in this browser. If you create an account, we keep it there.
Sign in

Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

Bill to make prison officers agents of the authority

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 3 September 2020. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Popular en el Congreso.

Official title: Private Member's Organic Bill to amend Organic Law 1/1979, of September 26, General Penitentiary, to recognize the status of agents of the authority to prison officers in the exercise of their duties.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000080· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would amend Article 80 of the General Penitentiary Law to recognize prison officers as agents of the authority for all legal purposes. They could identify themselves with their professional registration number, and their reports would be presumed truthful unless proven otherwise.
  2. If someone commits the crime of attacking these officers in a way that seriously endangers their physical integrity, the officers would be considered authority for criminal protection purposes, the same as members of the state security forces.
  3. A new fifth paragraph would be added to Article 80 with measures to protect prison officers who are detained or serving sentences: they would be kept separate from other detainees and inmates, including during escorted transfers.
  4. The bill would be passed as an organic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes., under Article 81 of the Constitution, and would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Who it affects

  • Prison officers, more than 15,000 of them in surveillance roles according to the explanatory statement: They would be recognized as agents of the authority and would get stronger criminal protection and separation measures if detained or imprisoned.
  • People held in prisons: They would continue to live alongside officers who exercise public authority, with the respect duties that involves.
  • The prison administration: It would strengthen the legal authority of its staff to prevent and respond to assaults.

Words worth knowing

Agente de la autoridad (agent of the authority)
A person the law grants public authority, such as a police officer; disobeying or attacking them carries specific criminal consequences.
Ley Orgánica (Organic Law)
A type of Spanish law reserved for major matters, requiring a stricter approval process than an ordinary law.
Presunción de veracidad (presumption of truthfulness)
What the officer states in a report is taken as true unless someone proves otherwise.
Delito de atentado (crime of assault on authority)
The crime of attacking or resisting an authority or officer by violence while they perform their duties.
Exposición de motivos (explanatory statement)
The opening part of the text explaining the reasons for the proposed law.
organic law
A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.

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. Introduced3 September 2020Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted8 September 2020The 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 6 official steps on a timeline
Dec 2020Dec 2021Dec 202211. 3 September 2020: Presentación22. 8 September 2020: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 08/09/2020 hasta 11/09/202033. 8 September 2020: Calificación44. 11 September 2020: Gobierno Contestación desde 11/09/2020 hasta 19/10/202055. 19 October 2020: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 19/10/2020 hasta 30/05/202366. 30 May 2023: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 30/05/2023 hasta 16/06/2023

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.

Read the full method · Report an error