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What it is

The official names of the Basque provinces change to their Basque forms

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 14 October 2010. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Vasco (EAJ-PNV).

Official title: Private member's bill to officially rename the provincial demarcations previously called 'Álava', 'Guipúzcoa', and 'Vizcaya' as 'Araba-Álava', 'Gipuzkoa', and 'Bizkaia'.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000252· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law explains that only a law passed by the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament) can change the name of a province, and that Basque institutions had already adopted the Basque names for their territories.
  2. The official name of Álava changes to Araba/Álava, valid in both official languages.
  3. The official name of Guipúzcoa changes to Gipuzkoa.
  4. The official name of Vizcaya changes to Bizkaia.

Who it affects

  • Residents and administrations of the three Basque provinces: They must use the new official names: Araba/Álava, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia.
  • The Government: It may issue the rules needed to apply the name changes.

Words worth knowing

Territorio Histórico
The name given to each of the three territories that make up the Basque Country, each with its own institutions.
Regímenes Forales
The set of self-government rules and institutions specific to certain territories, such as those of the Basque Country.
Juntas Generales
The representative and rule-making body of each Basque historical territory.
Norma Foral
A law passed by the Juntas Generales of each Basque historical territory.
Demarcación provincial
The territory corresponding to a province for the purposes of the State's organization.

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. Introduced14 October 2010Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted19 October 2010The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments25 February 2011Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee30 March 2011A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate4 May 2011The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE22 June 2011It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 11 official steps on a timeline
Oct 2010Nov 2010Dec 2010Jan 2011Feb 2011Mar 2011Apr 2011May 201111. 14 October 2010: Presentación22. 19 October 2010: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 19/10/2010 hasta 22/10/201033. 19 October 2010: Calificación44. 22 October 2010: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 22/10/2010 hasta 15/02/201155. 15 February 2011: Mesa del Congreso Acuerdo subsiguiente a la toma en consideración desde 15/02/2011 hasta 22/02/201166. 22 February 2011: Comisión de Política Territorial Publicación desde 22/02/2011 hasta 25/02/201177. 25 February 2011: Comisión de Política Territorial Enmiendas desde 25/02/2011 hasta 30/03/201188. 30 March 2011: Comisión de Política Territorial Informe desde 30/03/2011 hasta 12/04/201199. 12 April 2011: Comisión de Política Territorial Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 12/04/2011 hasta 04/05/20111010. 4 May 2011: Senado desde 04/05/2011 hasta 22/06/20111111. 22 June 2011: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 22/06/2011 hasta 19/07/2011

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 19/2011, of 5 July, by which the provincial demarcations previously known as "Álava", "Guipúzcoa" and "Vizcaya" are officially renamed "Araba/Álava", "Gipuzkoa" and "Bizkaia".

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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