Bill 9.

Summary.

Article 1 proposes new wording for Article 297 of Law 418 of December 29, 2023, concerning travel allowances abroad. To send officials on official missions, the head of the public institution, or a delegate, would submit an authorization request to the Ministry of the Presidency (Ministerio de la Presidencia) no less than fifteen days before departure. The request would identify the official, destination countries, purpose and expected results of the mission, total cost broken down into transportation and travel allowances, and the airline itinerary. Only the Ministry of the Presidency could revoke the authorization. The request requirement would not apply to officials of the Legislative and Judicial Branches, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público), the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República), the Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Electoral), the Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Cuentas), the Office of the Prosecutor General of Accounts (Fiscalía General de Cuentas), and the Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), or to corporations, financial entities, and the presidential aircraft crew.

The proposal places daily allowances in two categories of positions and three destination groups. For ministers, deputy ministers, legislators, and the other senior positions listed—including authorities of the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), the Electoral Tribunal, the Court of Accounts, the Administrative Tribunal for Public Procurement (Tribunal Administrativo de Contrataciones Públicas), the Administrative Tribunal of the Civil Service (Tribunal Administrativo de la Función Pública), the Specialized Higher Technical Institute (Instituto Técnico Superior Especializado), and SIACAP—it sets B/.600.00 for Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania; B/.500.00 for the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile; and B/.400.00 for Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and the rest of Latin America. For other officials, including national directors and deputy directors, the respective amounts would be B/.500.00, B/.400.00, and B/.300.00. No allowance would be paid for the day of return. If an international event’s sponsoring institution does not cover the full allowance, the official would receive 50% of the amount applicable to the destination region.

The ordinary tables would not apply to fixed-term public posts abroad or to training lasting more than thirty ordinary days. For those cases, the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would set a supplementary allowance table by executive decree for all public entities. Within thirty calendar days after returning, an official would submit a substantive mission report to the institution’s Administrative Directorate, send the report to the transparency authority, and provide the relevant certificate if the event involved training.

Article 2 proposes replacing Article 325 of Law 418 of December 29, 2023. It defines an appropriation transfer as moving available or unused budget resources to appropriations with insufficient balances or no allocation. Transfers would be processed from 15 January to 15 November, and at any time of year for investment works and social service expenditure. Public institutions would submit requests, authorized by their legal representative or delegate, to the ministry responsible for finance, which would verify uncommitted balances. Transfers of five million balboas with 011100 (B/. 5,000,000.01) or more would go to the Budget Committee (Comisión de Presupuesto) of the National Assembly for approval or rejection. These provisions would affect public entities’ budget management and could concern sectors involved in investment and social services.