After being approved by the Chamber of Deputies at the beginning of the month with broad party support, the so-called Public Security PEC should begin to be processed in the Senate in the coming days. Despite the expectation that the proposal will advance, the voting calendar has not yet been defined and depends on agreements between House leaders.
Behind the scenes, the tendency is for the text to be initially sent to the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), the collegiate responsible for analyzing the constitutionality of proposed amendments to the Constitution before a possible vote in plenary. The definition of the rite, however, is still under discussion between senators and the presidency of the House.
Interlocutors of the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), state that the intention is to build a prior understanding between the benches before formally starting the process. The assessment is that, despite the broad support obtained in the Chamber, the issue involves different sensitivities between the parties and requires political coordination to move forward.
The PEC was approved by deputies on March 4th with an impressive score — 461 votes in favor and 14 against — after an agreement that brought together the government, opposition and center parties. The proposal, originally forwarded by the Executive, underwent changes during processing in the Chamber and ended up consolidating a text negotiated between different benches.
Among the main points of the proposal is the creation of a constitutional basis for a stricter legal regime against criminal organizations. The text provides that legislation may establish harsher sanctions for members of these structures, including greater restrictions on criminal benefits and limits on regime progression.
Another axis of the proposal is the incorporation into the Constitution of the Unified Public Security System (Susp), currently provided for in ordinary law. The measure seeks to establish a permanent structure of cooperation between the Union, states and municipalities in the fight against crime, with information sharing and integrated action by police forces.
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The proposal also reinforces the Federal Police’s competence to investigate crimes that cross state borders or have international repercussions, especially cases related to criminal organizations and militias. Furthermore, the text authorizes the creation of community municipal police forces focused on overt policing and establishes constitutional rules for financing public security.
Among these rules is the constitutionalization of the National Public Security Fund and the National Penitentiary Fund, with criteria for the distribution of resources between the Union and states.
During the proceedings in the Chamber, one of the most sensitive points — the forecast of holding a referendum on reducing the age of criminal responsibility — ended up being removed from the report by deputy Mendonça Filho (União-PE), after pressure from parties within the government base and the president of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB). The exclusion of the device was considered decisive in facilitating the political agreement that allowed the approval of the proposal.
In the Senate, as it is a proposed amendment to the Constitution, the matter will require the minimum support of three-fifths of the senators — 49 votes — in two rounds of voting. If the text is approved without changes, the proposal may be enacted directly by the National Congress. If there are changes, it will be necessary for the Chamber of Deputies to analyze the matter again.
