State deputies and capital councilors stamped R$ 15.4 billion from the budgets of these entities for 2026, the election year, according to a survey carried out by Sheet.
Of this amount, R$13.46 billion will be distributed through amendments by state deputies, a nominal growth of 13.1% in relation to . The remaining amount (R$ 1.98 billion) will be allocated by city councilors.
The amendments give parliamentarians direct control over a slice of the public budget. In the Union, this portion already totals R$50 billion. The instrument allows resources to be directed to local works, projects or specific entities, in transfers that are not always transparent and that sometimes become the target of investigation due to suspected embezzlement.
The mapping shows that the practice is disseminated and consolidated, and innovations at the federal level are quickly reproduced at the regional level.
After 20 states incorporated the so-called “”, which ensure direct contribution of resources to municipal coffers, a similar trend follows. The measure is considered strategic by parliamentarians to speed up the release of funds without running into electoral restrictions.
Approved by Congress against the president’s (PT) wishes, the rule already has its state counterparts: Acre’s budget law provides for payment of 50% of amendments in the first half of the year. In Alagoas, this percentage is even higher: 65%.
The Government of Alagoas said that “there was no acceleration in the execution of these resources” and that the process is conducted with “due transparency and traceability”. The Government of Acre did not respond.
Some states didn’t even need a calendar to step on the accelerator. Mato Grosso allocated R$658.6 million for amendments this year, of which R$657.8 million has already been committed (when the resource is reserved for future payment). The effective disbursement reached R$313.9 million, almost half of the total. The state government did not respond.
The first state to create a mandatory amendment reserve was Piauí, in 2013. In the same year, the capital Teresina also approved a similar device.
Between 2014 and 2019, the instrument proliferated in state Constitutions. In the capitals, the phenomenon was more gradual, but it also advanced until 2022. In the following years, some dedicated themselves to creating new modalities, and many increased the percentages of net current revenue reserved for amendments. There are those who already have new adjustments contracted for 2027 and 2028 (in the case of Pernambuco, Maceió and Porto Velho).
The hypertrophy of this system begins to manifest itself in the management structure. Belo Horizonte City Hall created one, linked to the Municipal Government Secretariat. The Federal District also has the Subsecretariat for Management of Parliamentary Amendments, linked to the Secretariat of Economy.
“Terrible examples spread like wildfire”, says the research and advocacy manager at the NGO Transparency International in Brazil, Guilherme France. The organization is one of those that have worked with the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to increase the transparency of these resources.
For him, the amendments reflect the desire of legislators to take direct control of the public budget, an interest that will continue to grow as long as there is no accountability in the case of irregularities.
“Today the scenario is very comfortable for legislators. They have taken on a role similar to that of spending planners, not only defining themes and priorities, but also recipients”, he says. “However, they are not subject to instances of liability, as they do not formally assume the position of signing a contract or agreement.”
France cites the recent STF decision as an important milestone, but recognizes that the topic is still challenging.
“It is difficult to hold parliamentarians responsible for a law that has become unconstitutional, and the amendment has a similar problem. They approve it, but they are not included in the process [de execução]. It is difficult to demonstrate that there was direct interference from the parliamentarian [em eventual desvio]even though this happened. The legislator’s footprints disappear much sooner. It’s difficult to balance this system,” he says.
In 2026, the champion of amendments in absolute values is , a position that had already been supported by the state in 2025. The entity is also and to obtain financial relief.
The budget approved by allocates R$2.54 billion for amendments this year. It is double the amount dedicated by the state of São Paulo (R$ 1.24 billion).
When contacted, the Minas Gerais government said that the amendments have “specific legal provisions” and that, therefore, the resources would not be available for allocation to other policies.
In terms of values per parliamentarian, the state of Roraima surpassed and now leads in this comparison. The total reserve of R$858.9 million represents, on average, R$35.8 million per deputy, the largest in the country. There are individual and bench amendments. The Government of Roraima did not comment.
In the capitals, the highest absolute value of amendments is in São Paulo (R$330 million), followed by Belo Horizonte (R$206.9 million), Rio de Janeiro (R$193.8 million) and Goiânia (R$185.1 million).
To carry out the survey, the Sheet consulted state Constitutions, municipal Organic Laws, as well as budget laws and transparency portals.
All 27 federation units and 26 state capitals were contacted by the report to confirm the values. In the states, 17 of them corroborated the figures or made reasoned corrections.
Minas Gerais presented a lower value of R$34 million, saying that this amount refers to “other amendments presented in the legislative process”, but the report was unable to obtain details of this data independently. Therefore, it considered the original value provided for in the budget law.
In three cases involving city halls (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória), there was no information in public databases on municipal amendments for 2026.
Rio and São Paulo detailed the values after requesting the communications department. Both highlighted that they do not have a rule for mandatory execution of amendments.
The City of São Paulo also stated that the indications “are the free choice of the councilors” and that the execution follows technical feasibility analysis procedures and rules set out in ordinance. Vitória City Hall did not respond.
Another seven capitals responded to the report’s requests, and 17 did not respond. Cuiabá City Hall stated that, of the R$78 million reserved for amendments, R$5 million did not meet minimum technical requirements. Florianópolis allocated R$26.4 million to parliamentarians and said that, although the amendments have their role, “any increase beyond that becomes unfeasible”.
Recife City Hall said that the R$3.8 million in amendments identified in the budget law refer to the undistributed balance, but did not clarify what the amount indicated by the councilors would be. Due to the lack of clearer information, the report maintained the value in the survey.
