Senators on the National Development Committee are expected to discuss this month the bill modernizing the Procurement Law (PLS No. 561/2009) and the proposal setting rules on transparency and social oversight of Regulatory Agencies (PLS No. 52/2013).

The rapporteurs’ opinions on both bills have already been presented, but the vote on the proposals is scheduled for August.

As for the Procurement Law, the bill covers the main rules in force on the subject and on administrative contracts, especially Law 8,666/93, the Reverse Auction Law and the Law establishing the RDC (Differentiated Public Procurement Regime).

Among the many new proposals, those suggested by Senator Fernando Bezerra Coelho (PSB-PE) in his report stand out regarding the overhaul of the contractual guarantee system, allowing the tendering Government to require insurance with a step-in clause, which in practice means that, in the event of unilateral termination of the contract, the insurer may take over management of the contract and complete the contracted object. The report also provides that administrative contracts should include alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation and arbitration.

The bill for the General Regulatory Agencies Law seeks to unify the rules on the agencies’ management, powers and social oversight under a common legal regime. The bill also requires the agencies to submit annual accounts to Congress and to enter into so-called management contracts, which must contain targets, mechanisms, funding sources and results of the regulatory and oversight actions of these autonomous agencies.

Senator Simone Tebet (PMDB-MS), the bill’s rapporteur, also proposed changes to the division of powers between the ministries and the agencies, removing amendments to the specific laws of each regulatory agency. According to her, the amendments would shift the main powers to the supervising ministries, such as entering into concession contracts and imposing the most serious sanctions.