Amendments to the Atlantic Forest Law had been challenged by the Senate, and allow concessions on some items for deforestation.| Photo: Pablo Valadares/Chamber of Deputies

A group of senators will file a lawsuit at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) this Friday (26) to suspend the articles approved by the Chamber of Deputies last Wednesday (24) that make the Atlantic Forest Law more flexible. The appeal is signed by senators Alessandro Vieira (PSDB-SE), Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA), Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO) and Otto Alencar (PSD-BA).

The senators claim that the rapporteur for the matter, deputy Sérgio Souza (MDB-PR), and the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), inserted in a provisional measure amendments that had been previously contested by the Senate, the so-called “tortoises”. ”, rejecting the amendments made by the parliamentarians.

“The Chamber of Deputies, in absolute disregard of the due legislative process, unduly resumed impugned and reputed provisions not written by the President of the National Congress, as they deal with matters that are inconsistent with the scope of the provisional measure under examination, with the consequent referral of the text to the Presidency of the Republic for eventual sanction”, says an excerpt from the action.

The parliamentary senators also ask that the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) be notified and manifest itself within ten days.

The articles approved by the Chamber make the deforestation of Atlantic Forest vegetation more flexible in specific cases, of secondary vegetation in the medium stage of regeneration, which can be felled for public utility purposes even when there is a technical alternative or another location for the enterprise. The original legislation provided that priority should be given to the technical alternative or another location.