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What it is

Rules to prevent conflicts of interest for ministers and senior officials

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 4 March 2005. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill regulating conflicts of interest of members of the Government and senior officials of the General State Administration.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000025· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. Before appointing the president of the Council of State and the top officials of regulatory and supervisory bodies, the Congress of Deputies may examine the candidate and issue an opinion on whether there is a conflict of interest.
  2. Senior officials must work exclusively in their public post and cannot receive any other pay. They also cannot hold, together with their spouse or dependent children, more than 10 percent in companies that contract with the public sector, act as subcontractors or receive subsidies; if they already hold such a stake, they must sell it within three months.
  3. Senior officials must step aside from matters affecting companies they worked for, or that interest their family, in the two years before taking office. After leaving, they cannot work for two years in private companies related to their duties, and they must declare to the Office of Conflicts of Interest any activity they plan to take up.
  4. Senior officials must declare their activities and all their assets, rights and obligations in two registries, within three months of taking office and of leaving, and must attach a copy of their income tax The personal income tax (IRPF in Spain): what people pay on what they earn from work, business or savings. and wealth tax returns.
  5. The law creates two registries (one for activities, which is public, and one for assets, which is restricted) and the Office of Conflicts of Interest, which manages them with functional autonomy. Every six months it reports to the Congress on compliance, violations and sanctions.
  6. Breaking the law, filing false declarations or failing to comply with the management of securities are very serious violations. They can lead to removal from office, publication of the breach in the BOE Boletín Oficial del Estado, the official gazette where laws and the sanctions provided here are published. and a ban from holding senior posts for between 5 and 10 years.

Who it affects

  • Members of the Government, Secretaries of State and other senior officials of the General State Administration and the state public sector: They must work exclusively in their post, declare their activities and assets, and step aside from matters involving conflicts of interest.
  • Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados): It may examine proposed candidates before their appointment and receives six-monthly reports on compliance with the law.
  • State public sector entities and companies with public representation on their boards: They must report appointments of senior officials to the Office of Conflicts of Interest.
  • Private companies that hire former senior officials: They cannot contract with the public sector for two years if they hire a former senior official in breach of the limits.

Words worth knowing

Alto cargo
A person holding a position of responsibility in the Administration, such as a minister, a Secretary of State or a director general.
Conflicto de intereses
A situation where a public decision could also benefit private interests of the official or their family.
Incompatibilidad
A ban on holding the public post together with another job, activity or income.
Cese
The end of the period during which a person holds a post.
BOE
Boletín Oficial del Estado, the official gazette where laws and the sanctions provided here are published.
income tax
The personal income tax (IRPF in Spain): what people pay on what they earn from work, business or savings.

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

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced4 March 2005Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted8 March 2005The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments11 March 2005Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee20 April 2005A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate23 November 2005The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE16 March 2006It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 9 official steps on a timeline
Mar 2005Jun 2005Sept 2005Dec 200511. 4 March 2005: Presentación22. 8 March 2005: Comisión de Administraciones Públicas Publicación desde 08/03/2005 hasta 11/03/200533. 8 March 2005: Calificación44. 11 March 2005: Comisión de Administraciones Públicas Enmiendas desde 11/03/2005 hasta 20/04/200555. 20 April 2005: Comisión de Administraciones Públicas Informe desde 20/04/2005 hasta 16/11/200566. 16 November 2005: Comisión de Administraciones Públicas Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 16/11/2005 hasta 23/11/200577. 23 November 2005: Senado desde 23/11/2005 hasta 08/03/200688. 8 March 2006: Pleno Enmiendas o veto del Senado desde 08/03/2006 hasta 16/03/200699. 16 March 2006: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 16/03/2006 hasta 03/05/2006

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?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

The same initiative in the other chamber:

Published in the BOE: Law 5/2006, of 10 April, on the regulation of conflicts of interest of members of the Government and of High-ranking Officials of the General State Administration.

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