Tarcísio prepares management package and faces resistance – 03/21/2023 – Politics

The Tarcísio de Freitas government (Republicans) is considering sending a series of measures to the Legislative Assembly to change the state administration, after 30 years of PSDB management. The idea is to take advantage of the beginning of the legislature to try to approve initiatives such as the creation of a state MP (provisional measure) – something that already faces resistance among deputies.

As the Panel showed, the government intends to send to Alesp a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) creating a state equivalent of the provisional measures, including with the same deadlines as the national MP.

The federal provisional measure, which is valid for 120 days and loses its effectiveness if it is not approved by Congress during this period, depends only on the Executive branch – unlike bills, which follow a longer procedure.

Another PEC that Palácio dos Bandeirantes wants to approve in the Assembly is a change in the minimum percentage that the state Constitution defines for spending on education (30% of revenue) and health (12.5%).

The government argues that expenditure on education in the state does not exceed 25% of revenue, which is the floor defined by the Federal Constitution – but that there is an obligation to spend 30%.

On the other hand, health expenses are increasing. Therefore, Tarcísio wants to propose to deputies that the minimum with education be 25%, as in other states, and that the excess 5% be destined to health.

As shown to Sheettoucan governments made a move to comply with the 30% of education, even including the payment of retired civil servants in this account.

The two measures, the creation of MPs and the change in mandatory spending on health and education, require the support of three-fifths of the deputies –57 out of 94— and should represent a test for Tarcísio in the Assembly.

Today Tarcísio’s base parties total 53 deputies, there are 26 in the opposition bloc and another 15 whose parties declare themselves independent, but who tend to vote in favor of the government.

The new legislature of the Assembly began on the 15th, with the inauguration of 55 re-elected deputies and 39 who had no mandate. The new president of the Assembly, André do Prado (PL), is Tarcísio’s ally, which should facilitate the approval of important matters for the government.

In the corridors of the Assembly, however, there is resistance to the government’s measures, even from the base. The creation of a state provisional measure, for example, is seen as a way of expanding the power of the Executive to the detriment of the Legislative.

Allies of the governor, in turn, claim that the provisional measure is a healthy institute and that it gives full powers to Parliament, which may not approve them.

The proposal arose from the government’s assessment that a more agile legislative instrument was needed to deal with the rain tragedy in São Sebastião (SP). Tarcísio’s management would like to have the provisional measure at hand in order to be able to quickly expand spending on Civil Defense or hire emergency services, for example.

Tarcísio’s assistants also argue that the MP is a necessary tool to redesign the Executive, that is, to create and extinguish secretariats, after a new governor takes office, which usually happens at the federal level.

For the time being, the government has not defined which provisional measures would be issued if the PEC is approved by Alesp. The intention is to use them for relevant and urgent topics, such as climate disasters.

Tarcísio also did not indicate to the state deputies which should be their first project to be sent for voting in the House. At the meeting between President André do Prado and party leaders, this Tuesday (21), government leaders have not yet presented priority proposals.

The two PECs under development at Palácio dos Bandeirantes are part of a set of projects by Tarcísio to restructure the Executive. The governor’s allies say there is a demand for more efficient management and delivery.

Although the governor and his secretaries avoid talking about electoral plans, behind the scenes there is an understanding that Tarcísio should run for re-election in 2026, although his name has not yet been ruled out as a right-wing presidential candidate.

In the package, an administrative reform is also foreseen, which would also need to go through the scrutiny of the Assembly, but with a simple majority. The government argues that it is possible to do away with part of the positions and change the hierarchies so that there is an economy of expenses.

As reported by the Panel, the administrative reform mainly targets commissioned civil servants. The government identified the existence of around one hundred different hierarchical levels in the state machine, which would lead to a series of distortions. The intention is to drastically reduce this amount of administrative headings.

In this same area, but considering career civil servants, Tarcísio’s team envisions a new Civil Servant Statute, since the current one dates from 1968.

For deputy Luiz Claudio Marcolino (PT), the measures studied by the Tarcísio government “take away the space for building dialogue from the Legislative” and are controversial issues, which “demand a lot of debate and discussion”.

“It’s the state government trying to interfere in the dynamics of the Legislature”, he says regarding the proposed provisional measures.

“This Tuesday, in the college of leaders, we discussed that we want a strong Legislative, with voting on deputies’ projects and overthrowing vetoes. What the governor proposes goes against the grain”, he summarizes.

The issue of spending on education and the reform of the status of civil servants are themes dear to the PT, which questions the need for a new administrative reform (there was a law approved in this regard in 2020) and sees a gap for the rights of civil servants to be suppressed.