Bill 275.

Summary.

Article 1 proposes new wording for Article 227 of the Consolidated Text of Law 49 of 1984, which adopts the Organic Rules of Internal Procedure of the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). Entitled “Employment protection,” the provision would cover substitute members of the National Assembly who are public servants during the term for which they were elected. During that term, they could not be dismissed, transferred, or subjected to another personnel action that harms them. The protection concerns their position as public servants and is tied to the duration of the term for which they were elected as substitutes.

The proposed wording sets out two exceptions to that protection. The first covers cases in which a substitute member fails to report to work without justified cause. The second covers cases in which a substitute member has been convicted of offenses against public administration. Article 227 itself presents these circumstances as exceptions to the prohibition on dismissal, transfer, or another harmful personnel action. The bill places both the employment protection rule and the circumstances in which it would not apply within the same provision.

The same article would allow substitute members to be appointed as public servants within the administrative structure of the National Assembly when they are not serving as substitute members. Appointment is therefore conditional on their not exercising the substitute role at that time. For a substitute member appointed to an administrative post who is later authorized to replace the principal member during an absence, the bill provides for a procedure to take unpaid leave from that administrative post. The Board of Directors (Junta Directiva) would regulate the procedure by resolution. The proposal thus addresses the position of a substitute member who holds an administrative post and temporarily replaces the principal member.

Article 2 expressly identifies the amendment: it modifies Article 227 of the Consolidated Text of Law 49 of 1984, which adopts the Organic Rules of Internal Procedure of the National Assembly. Article 3 provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation. The amendment concerns the employment protection of elected legislative substitutes who are also public servants, their possible appointment to administrative posts, and the leave associated with replacing a principal member.

The public entities connected with the proposal are the National Assembly, within whose administrative structure appointments could be made, and the Board of Directors, which would issue the resolution governing unpaid leave. The bill could be relevant to substitute members, public servants who hold that elected position, and the institution’s personnel administration units.