Chile 2022 Draft Constitution - Page 7 of 12

Table of Contents

CHAPTER VII LEGISLATIVE POWER

Article 251

The Legislative Power is composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions.

Congress of Deputies

Article 252

The Congress of Deputies is a deliberative, parity and plurinational body that represents the people. It participates in the formation of laws and exercises the other powers entrusted by the Constitution.
The Congress is composed of a number not less than one hundred and fifty-five members elected in direct voting by electoral districts. A statute of regional agreement shall determine the number of members, the electoral districts and the form of their election, taking into account the criterion of proportionality.
Seats reserved in the Congress of Deputies for indigenous peoples and nations shall be elected in a single national district. Their number is defined in proportion to the indigenous population in relation to the total population of the country. They must be added to the total number of members of Congress. The law shall regulate the requirements, procedures and distribution of reserved seats.

Article 253

The exclusive powers of the Congress of Deputies are:

Supervise the acts of the Government. To exercise this power it may:
1. Adopt agreements or suggest observations, which will be 83 84 b) c) transmitted in writing to the President of the Republic, who within thirty days of the communication must give a reasoned response through the minister or the minister of the corresponding State.
2. Request, with the sponsorship of a quarter of its members, background information from the President or the President of the Republic on the content or the foundations of the acts of the Government, who mustrespond justifiably through the minister or the minister of State that corresponds within the three days from its communication. In no case shall these acts affect the political responsibility of ministers of state.
3. To create special commissions of inquiry at the request of at least two-fifths of its members in office, in order to gather information on certain acts of the Government. The commissions of inquiry, at the request of one third of their members, may issue summonses and request background information. Any person summoned by these commissions shall be obliged to appear and to provide the background and information requested. However, the same investigative commission may not summon the same person more than three times without the prior agreement of the majority of its members.
Declare, when the President or the President submits the resignation from his position, whether or not the reasons that originate it are founded and, consequently, admit or reject it.
To declare whether or not there is room for the accusations that not less than ten nor more than twenty of its members formulate against:
1. The President of the Republic, for acts of her administration that have seriously compromised the honor or security of the State or openly infringed the Constitution or the laws. Such an indictment may be brought while the President or the President is in office and within six months of her expiration in office. During this last time he may not be absent from the republic without the agreement of the Congress of Deputies .
2. Ministers of State, for having seriously compromised the honour or security of the State, for infringing the Constitution or laws or for having left them without execution and for the crimes of treason, concussion, embezzlement of public funds and bribery.
3. The judges of the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court and the comptroller general of the republic, for notable abandonment of their duties.
4. The generals or admirals of the institutions belonging to the Armed Forces, the general director of the Carabineros de Chile and the general director of the Investigative Police of Chile, for having seriously compromised the honor or security of the State.
5. The governors and the regional governors, for violation of the Constitution and for the crimes of treason, sedition, embezzlement of public funds and concussion.
The accusation will be processed in accordance with the law that regulates the matter.
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The charges referred to in points (2), (3), (4) and (5) may be brought while the person concerned is in office or within three months of the expiration of his or her position. Once the accusation has been filed, he may not leave the country without the permission of the Congress of Deputies and may not do so in any case if the accusation has already been approved by it.

To declare that the accusation against the President of the Republic or a regional governor has taken place, the vote of the majority of the deputies in office will be required. The accused person shall not be suspended from his duties.

In other cases, the vote of the majority of the deputies present will be required and the accused person will be suspended from his functions from the moment the Congress of Deputies declares that the accusation has taken place. The suspension shall cease if the Chamber of the Regions dismisses the accusation or if it does not pronounce itself within the following thirty days.
To grant the country for more than thirty days or from the third Sunday of November of the year prior to the one in which the person in office must cease in office . its agreement so that the President of the Republic may be absent from
Periodically supervise the execution of the budget allocated to defense, as well as the implementation of national defense policy and military policy .
The others established by the Constitution.

Chamber of the Regions

Article 254

The Chamber of the Regions is a deliberative, parity and plurinational body of regional representation responsible for assisting in the formation of laws of regional agreement and for exercising the other powers entrusted by it. Constitution.
Its members are called regional representatives and are elected by popular vote, together with the communal and regional authorities, three years after the presidential and congressional elections.
The law shall determine the number of regional representatives to be elected per region, which shall be the same for each region and in no case less than three, ensuring that the final integration of the body respects the principle of parity. Likewise, the law will regulate the integration of reserved seats in the Chamber of regions .
The law shall specify its special rights and obligations, which, in any case, must include the obligation to report periodically to the regional assembly it represents. They may also be specially summoned and summoned for this purpose.
The Chamber of the Regions may not supervise the acts of the Government or the institutionality that depends on it.

Article 255

It is the exclusive responsibility of the Chamber of the Regions to hear the accusations brought by the Congress of Deputies.
The Chamber of regions will decide as a jury and will limit itself to declaring whether or not the accused person is guilty.
The guilty plea must be pronounced by two-thirds of its members in office in the case of an accusation against the President or the President of the Republic or a regional governor. In other cases, by the majority of its members in practice.
A person found guilty is removed from office and may not hold any other office of exclusive confidence of the President or the President for the remainder of his or her term or stand for the office of popular election from which he or she was removed in the next election, as appropriate.
The official found guilty shall be tried in accordance with the laws by the competent court, both for the application of the penalty indicated to the crime, if any, and to make effective the responsibility civil for damages caused to the State or to individuals.

Common provisions to the Legislative Power

Article 256

The Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions may not enter into session or adopt agreements without the concurrence of one third of their members in exercise. They make their decisions by the majority of their members present, unless this Constitution provides for a different quorum.
The law shall establish its rules of organization, operation and processing, which may be supplemented by the operating regulations that these bodies dictate.

Article 257

For a person to be elected deputy or regional representative must be a citizen with the right to vote, have reached eighteen years of age on the day of the election and have residence in the relevant territory for a period of not less than two years in the case of members and four years in the case of regional representatives, counted backwards from the day of the election.
It will be understood that they have their residence in the corresponding territory while exercising their position.

Article 258

The following may not apply to the Congress of Deputies or the Chamber of the Regions:
1. Whoever exercises the Presidency of the Republic or who subrogates him in the exercise of the Presidency at the time of the election.
2. Ministers of State and Undersecretaries and Undersecretaries.
3. The regional and communal authorities of popular election.
4. The directors of the Central Bank.
5. The directors of the Board of Directors of the Electoral Service.
6. Those who hold senior or managerial positions in the autonomous bodies.
7. Those who exercise jurisdiction in the Justice Systems.
8. Those who make up the Constitutional Court.
9. Those who make up the Electoral Qualification Tribunal and the regional electoral tribunals.
10. The comptroller or the comptroller general of the republic.
11. Those who hold the positions of national prosecutor, regional prosecutors or deputy prosecutors of the Public Ministry.
12. Female or active duty police officers.
13. Natural persons or administrators of legal persons who enter into or secure contracts with the State.
14. The military on active duty.
The disabilities established in this article will be applicable to those who have held the aforementioned qualities or positions within the year immediately prior to the election, except in respect of the persons referred to in point (m), those who must not fulfill those conditions at the time of registration of their application, and those referred to in points (k), (l) and (n), in respect of which the term of incapacity shall be the two years immediately preceding the election.

Article 259

The positions of Member of Parliament and regional representative are incompatible with each other, with other positions of representation and with any employment, function, commission or position of a public or private nature.
By the mere fact of their proclamation by the Election Qualification Tribunal , they will cease in the other incompatible position, employment, function or commission that they perform.

Article 260

Deputies, deputies and regional representatives are inviolable by the opinions they express and the votes they cast in the performance of their positions.
From the day of their election or investiture, they may not be charged or deprived of liberty, except in case of flagrante delicto, if the court of appeals of the respective jurisdiction, in full, does not previously declare that there is room for the formation of a case. An appeal may be lodged with the Supreme Court against decisions in this regard .
In the event that they are arrested for flagrante delicto, they shall be immediately placed at the disposal of the respective appeals court , with the corresponding summary information. The Court shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
From the moment it is declared, by final decision, that there is room for the formation of a case, they will be suspended from their position and will be subject to the competent judge .

Article 261

The deputy or regional representative shall cease to hold office when:
1. Is absent from the country for more than thirty days without the permission of the respective corporation or, in recess of this, of its Board of Directors.
2. During its exercise, it celebrates or guarantees contracts with the State, or acts as a procurator or procurator or agent in particular administrative procedures, in the provision of public jobs, councils, functions or commissions of a similar nature. This incapacity will take place whether acting by itself or by an intermediary person, natural or legal.
3. That, during its exercise, it acts as a statuteyer or lawyer or president or representative in any kind of trial, that exercises any influence before the administrative or judicial authorities in favour of or on behalf of the employer or workers in labour negotiations or disputes, whether in the public or private sector, or that intervenes in them before any of the parties.
4. That has seriously violated the rules on transparency, limits and control of electoral spending, from the date declared by final judgment of the Election Qualification Tribunal, at the request of the Board of Directors of the Electoral Service. A statute will identify cases where there is a serious violation.
5. That, during its exercise, loses any general requirement of eligibility or incurs in a cause of incapacity of those established in this chapter.
Deputies, deputies and regional representatives may resign from their positions when they are affected by a serious illness, duly accredited, that prevents them from performing them, and this is qualified by the Election Qualification Tribunal .
In case of vacancy of a deputy or a deputy or of one or a regional representative, the law will determine his form of replacement. His replacement must meet the requirements established by this Constitution to be elected to the respective office and the same inabilities and incompatibilities will reach him. The equal composition of the body shall be ensured to any event.

Article 262

Deputies and regional representatives are renewed in their entirety every four years and can be re-elected successively in office for up to one term. For these purposes, it will be understood that they have exercised their office for a period when they have completed more than half of their mandate.

Joint sessions of the Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions

Article 263

The Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions shall meet in joint session to:

Inaugurate the legislative year.
Take the oath or promise of the President or President-elect upon taking office.
Receive the annual public account of the President or the President.
Elect the President in the event of vacancy, if the next election is less than two years away.
Authorize or extend states of constitutional emergency as appropriate.
Decide on the appointments that correspond to this Constitution, guaranteeing a strict scrutiny of the suitability of the candidates for the corresponding position.
The other cases established in this Constitution.

The Statute

Article 264

Only by virtue of a statute can one:

Create, modify and eliminate taxes of any kind or nature and the tax benefits applicable to them, determine their progression, exemptions and proportionality, notwithstanding to the exceptions established by this Constitution.
Authorize the contracting of loans and other operations that may compromise the credit and financial responsibility of the State, its agencies and municipalities, notwithstanding to what is enshrined with respect to territorial entities and the provisions of the following letter. This provision shall not apply to the Central Bank.
Establish the conditions and rules according to which universities and state enterprises and those in which it has a stake may contract loans, which in no case may be made with the State, its agencies and companies.
To institute the rules on the alienation of state property, regional governments or municipalities and on their lease, enabling titles for their use or exploitation and concession.
Regulate national defense capabilities, allow the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the republic and authorize the departure of national troops out of it.
Establish or modify the political or administrative division of the country.
Indicate the value, type and denomination of the coins and the system of weights and measures.
Grant general pardons and amnesties, which will not proceed in case of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Establish the system for determining the remuneration of the President of the Republic and ministers of State, deputies, governors and regional representatives.
To identify the city in which the President of the Republic must reside , to hold its sessions in the Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions and to operate the Supreme Court.
To authorize the declaration of war, on the proposal of the President or the President of the Republic.
Establish the bases of the procedures that govern the acts of the Public Administration .
Establish the creation and modification of public services and public jobs, whether fiscal, autonomous or state enterprises, and determine their functions and powers.
Establish the applicable legal regime in labor, trade union, strike and collective bargaining in its various manifestations, social security and social security.
Create lotteries and bets.
Regulate those matters that the Constitution indicates as laws of necessary presidential concurrence .
Regulate the other matters that the Constitution requires to be established by statute.

Article 265

The President of the Republic may request authorization from the Congress of Deputies to issue decrees with the force of law for a period not exceeding one year.
This delegation may not extend to fundamental rights, nationality, citizenship, elections and plebiscites, or to the organization, powers and regime of officials of the National System of Justice, the Congress of Deputies, of the Chamber of the Regions, of the Constitutional Court or of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
The delegatory law shall indicate the precise matters on which the delegation shall fall and may establish such limitations and formalities as may be deemed appropriate.
Notwithstanding to the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, whoever exercises the Presidency of the Republic shall be authorized to fix the consolidated, coordinated and systematized text of the laws when it is convenient for its better execution. In the exercise of this power, it may introduce the changes in such a way that they are indispensable, without altering, in any case, their true meaning and scope.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic shall be responsible for taking account of these decrees with the force of law, and must reject them when they exceed or contravene the aforementioned authorization.
Decrees with the force of law shall be subject, in terms of their publication, validity and effects, to the same rules that govern the law.
The statute delegating powers that correspond to laws of regional agreement is law of regional agreement.

Article 266

The following are statutes of necessary presidential concurrence:

Those that directly incur expenses to the State.
Statutes related to the budgetary administration of the State, including amendments to the Budget Act.
Those that alter the political or administrative division of the country.
Those that impose, suppress, reduce or condone taxes of any kind or nature, establish exemptions or modify existing ones and determine their form, proportionality or progression.
Those that contract or authorize to contract loans or celebrate any other type of operations that may compromise the patrimonial responsibility of the State, of the autonomous organs and to forgive, reduce or modify obligations, interests or other financial charges of any kind imposed in favour of the Treasury or the bodies or entities referred to in question notwithstanding to point (c)Article 264.
Regulate national defense capabilities, allow the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the republic and authorize the departure of national troops out of it.

Article 267

Necessary presidential concurrence laws may have their origin in a message or a motion.
The motion shall be sponsored by not less than a quarter and not more than one third of the Members or, where appropriate, of the regional representatives in office, and must declare that it is a bill of necessary concurrence of the Presidency.
These motions must be accompanied by a technical financial report from the Secretariat of Budgets that includes an estimate of expenses and origin of the financing.
These laws may only be approved if the President of the Republic gives his sponsorship during the processing of the project. It may sponsor it at any time until fifteen days have elapsed since it has been dispatched for a vote in general by the respective committee, and in any case, before it. Once this period has elapsed without the corresponding sponsorship, the project will be considered discarded and its processing cannot be insisted upon.
Whoever exercises the Presidency of the Republic may always withdraw his sponsorship. In this case, the processing of the project cannot continue.

Article 268

They are only statutes of regional agreement:
1. Those that reform the Constitution.
2. Those that regulate the organization, powers and functioning of the Justice Systems, the Legislative Power and the constitutional autonomous bodies.
3. Those that regulate states of constitutional exception.
4. Those that create, modify or eliminate taxes or exemptions and determine their progression and proportionality.
5. Those that directly irrogate to the State expenses whose execution corresponds to the territorial entities.
6. Those that implement the right to health, the right to education and the right to housing.
7. The Budget.
8. Those that approve the regional statutes.
9. Those governing the election, appointment, powers, powers and procedures of the bodies and authorities of territorial entities.
10. Those that establish or alter the political-administrative division of the country.
11. Those that establish the mechanisms of fiscal and budgetary distribution and other mechanisms of economic compensation between the different territorial entities.
12. Those that authorize the conclusion of operations that compromise the patrimonial responsibility of the territorial entities.
13. Those that authorize territorial entities to create public companies.
14. Those that delegate legislative powers to the autonomous regions in accordance with the Constitution.
15. Those that regulate territorial and urban planning and its execution.
16. Those that regulate the protection of the environment.
17. Those that regulate popular votes and counts.
18. Those that regulate political organizations.
19. The others that this Constitution qualifies as a regional agreement.
If a conflict of competence is generated between the Chamber of the Regions and the Congress of Deputies in relation to whether one or more matters provided for in this article should be reviewed by the Chamber of theRegions, it will approve its competence by a majority of its members and the Congress will ratify it by majority. In the event that Congress rejects the revision approved by the Chamber of the Regions, it may appeal to the Constitutional Court by majority agreement.

Legislative procedure

Article 269

Bills may be initiated by message of the President or the President of the Republic or by motion of not less than ten percent and not more than fifteen percent of deputies or regional representatives. Additionally, they may have their origin in popular initiative or indigenous initiative of law.
One or more regional assemblies may submit initiatives to the Chamber of the Regions on matters of regional interest. If it sponsors them, they will be entered as an ordinary motion in Congress.
All bills, whatever the form of their initiative, will begin their processing in the Congress of Deputies.
Any bill may be subject to additions or corrections in the corresponding procedures, both in the Congress of Deputies and in the Chamber of the Regions, if it intervenes in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. In no case will those that are not directly related to the matrix or fundamental ideas of the bill be admitted.

Article 270

Statutes must be approved, modified or repealed by a majority of the members present in the Congress of Deputies at the time of their vote.
In the case of a regional agreement statute, the Presidency of Congress will send the approved project to the Chamber of the Regions to continue with its processing.
Once the processing of the project in the Congress of Deputies has been completed, it will be sent to the President or the President of the Republic for the purposes of its promulgation or return.

Article 271

Statutes relating to the organization, functioning and procedures of the Legislative Branch and Justice Systems; to electoral and plebiscitary processes; to the regulation of states of constitutional exception; to the regulation of political organizations; and those that regulate the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Electoral Service, the Court Constitutional and the Central Bank must be approved by the favorable vote of the majority of the members in office of the Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions.

Article 272

Once the Chamber of the Regions has received a bill on a regional agreement approved by the Congress of Deputies, the Chamber of the Regions will pronounce itself, approving or rejecting it. If approved, the bill will be sent to Congress for dispatch to the President or the President of the Republic for enactment as law. If it rejects it, it will process it and propose to Congress the amendments it deems pertinent.
If Congress rejects one or more of those amendments or observations, a joint committee shall be convened to propose further amendments to resolve the discrepancy. These amendments will be voted on by the House and then by Congress. If all of them are approved, the bill will be dispatched for enactment.
The Joint Committee shall be made up of an equal number of Members of Parliament and regional representatives. The law shall establish the mechanism for appointing the members of the commission and shall establish the period within which it shall report. If it does not issue its report within the deadline, it will be understood that the mixed commission maintains the observations originally formulated by the House and rejected by Congress and the provisions of the previous paragraph will be applied.

Article 273

In the session following its dispatch by the Congress of Deputies and with the favorable vote of the majority, the Chamber of the Regions may require to hear a bill that is not of regional agreement.
The House will have sixty days from the time it receives the bill to formulate amendments and send them to Congress. The latter may approve them or insist on the original draft with the favorable vote of the majority. If within the indicated period the Chamber does not evacuate its report, the project will be in a position to be dispatched by Congress.

Article 274

If the President of the Republic approves the bill sent by the Congress of Deputies, he or she shall order its promulgation as law. Otherwise, it will return it within thirty days with the observations it deems pertinent or communicating its total rejection of the project.
In no case will comments that are not directly related to the main or fundamental ideas of the bill be accepted, unless they have been considered in the respective message.
Partial observations may be adopted by a majority. With the same quorum, Congress will be able to insist on the original draft.
If the President totally rejects the bill, Congress must reject it, unless it is insisted on by three-fifths of its members in office.
In the event that the President of the Republic does not return the bill within thirty days, counted from the date of its referral, it will be understood that she approves it and it will be promulgated as law. The promulgation must always be made within a period of ten days, counted from when it is appropriate. The publication will be made within five working days following the date on which the promulgatory decree is fully processed.
The project that is rejected in general by the Congress of Deputies may not be renewed until after one year.

Article 275

The statute that regulates the functioning of the Congress of Deputies must establish the mechanisms to determine the order in which the bills will be known , and must distinguish between simple urgency, extreme urgency and immediate discussion.
The law shall specify the cases in which the urgency shall be fixed by the President of the Republic and by the Congress of Deputies. The law shall specify the cases and conditions of popular urgency .
Only whoever holds the Presidency of the Republic will have the power to determine the immediate discussion of a bill.

Article 276

The Chamber of the Regions shall hear proposals for regional statutes approved by a regional assembly, for the creation of regional enterprises carried out by one or more regional assemblies in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and for the delegation of legislative powers made by them.
Upon receipt of a proposal, the House may approve the bill or make such amendments as it deems necessary. If the amendments are accepted by the respective regional assembly, the project will be in a state of being sent to the Congress of Deputies for processing as a statute of regional agreement. For the knowledge of a regional statute, the Congress and the Chamber will have a period of six months.
Delegations may not extend to areas of necessary presidential attendance; nationality, citizenship and elections; to the areas which are subject to general codification, nor to the organization, powers and regime of national bodies or justice systems.
The law that delegates powers will indicate the precise matters on which the delegation will fall and may establish the limitations, restrictions and formalities that are deemed appropriate.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic shall take account of the regional laws issued in accordance with this article, and shall reject them when they exceed or contravene the aforementioned authorization.

Article 277

The Budget Bill must be presented by whoever holds the Presidency of the Republic at least three months before the date on which it must begin to govern.
If the project is not dispatched within ninety days of submission, the project initially sent by the President or the President shall govern.
The bill will begin its processing in a special budget committee composed of an equal number of deputies and regional representatives. The special committee may not increase or decrease the estimate of revenue, but may reduce expenditure contained in the Budget Bill, except those established by permanent law.
Once the bill has been approved by the special budget committee, it will be sent to the Congress of Deputies for processing as a regional agreement law .
The estimation of the performance of the resources consulted by the Budget bill and of the new ones established by any other bill will correspond to the person who exercises the Presidency of the Republic, after a report from the respective technical bodies, notwithstanding to the powers of the Budget Secretariat of the Congress and the Chamber.
No new expenditure may be approved from the public purse without indicating, at the same time, the sources of resources necessary to meet such expenditure. The Budget Law cannot create taxes or tax benefits.
If the source of resources granted by the Congress of Deputies is insufficient to finance any new expenditure that is approved, whoever exercises the Presidency of the Republic, when promulgating the law, after a favorable report from the service or the institution through which the new income is collected, endorsed by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, it shall proportionately reduce all costs, whatever their nature.
In the processing of the Budget bill, as well as with respect to regional and communal budgets, popular participation must be guaranteed .

Article 278

The Congress of Deputies and the Chamber of the Regions will have a Technical Unit administratively dependent on the Congress.
Its Legislative Secretariat will be responsible for advising on the legal aspects of the laws they process. It may also issue reports on areas of legislation which have fallen into disuse or which present technical problems.
Its Budget Secretariat will be responsible for studying the budgetary and fiscal effect of draft laws and for advising deputies, deputies and regional representatives during the processing of the Budget Bill.