Analysis could last until August, but Hugo Motta has already declared that he wants to bring the vote forward to May
The special committee of the Chamber of Deputies that will analyze the PEC (Proposed Amendment to the Constitution) will have 40 sessions to debate the merits and construct the final text of the project. The deputies’ expectation is that the vote in plenary will take place before the legislative recess, which begins on July 18.
However, the president of the Chamber, deputy (Republicanos-PB), wants to anticipate it. He stated on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) that he intends to.
The deadline for voting on a constitutional amendment tends to be longer than that for bills. First, it is necessary to go through the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) stage, which says whether the text is admissible from a constitutional point of view.
Subsequently, a special commission is formed and its term is counted in the number of sessions held – 40 in this case. In general, one session is held per working day, but, in special situations, deputies can make an agreement to hold several sessions per day.
The deadline for congressmen to present amendments to the proposal ends in the first 10 sessions of the collegiate.
2 em 1
The CCJ jointly analyzed two PECs that deal with the reduction of weekly working hours, currently limited to 44 hours by the Constitution. In the special commission, the text will be unified before going to plenary. They are:
- PEC 221 of 2019 – proposes reducing weekly working hours to 36 hours, with gradual implementation over 10 years. The text maintains the possibility of compensation of schedules by collective agreement. It was authored by the deputy (PT-MG). Here is it (PDF – 246 kB).
- PEC 8 of 2025 (added to PEC 221/2019) – stipulates working hours of up to 36 hours per week distributed over 4 working days, with 3 days of rest. It eliminates the 6 x 1 scale and maintains the possibility of adjustments through collective negotiation. It was authored by the deputy (Psol-SP). Here is it (PDF – 202 kB).
VOTING RITE
Once approved by the special committee, the PEC goes to the Chamber plenary. As it is a constitutional amendment, the text must receive in the plenary session at least 3/5 of the favorable votes of the deputies (that is, at least 308) in two votes.
If it passes the Chamber, it goes to the Senate, where it will need to receive again at least 3/5 of the 81 senators (equivalent to 49 votes), also in two votes.
During the analysis, deputies can approve the base text and make so-called “highlights” (separate sections for later voting, which can confirm, change or remove parts of the proposal).
NEXT STEPS
If the PEC at the end of the 6 X 1 scale is approved in both Houses without changes, it will be promulgated in the form of a constitutional amendment in a session of the National Congress.
If the Senate makes substantial changes (other than just the wording), the proposal must return to the Chamber for a new analysis.
There is also the possibility of “sliced promulgation”, in which only the sections that reach consensus between the two Houses are promulgated, while divergences remain under debate.
