JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following organic law.

PREAMBLE

The current Organic Law 8/2007, of July 4, on the financing of political parties, following the line previously marked by the Organic Law 3/1987, of 2 July, has been guaranteeing since its entry into force, a Annual subsidy not conditioned by the General Budget of the State to those political parties with representation in the Congress and in order to meet their operating expenses. Similarly, the current Law provides for the possible inclusion in the General Budget of the State, of an annual allocation to cover the security costs incurred by the political parties to maintain their political activity and institutional.

The third transitional provision of the Organic Law on the financing of political parties, established the annual grant for operating expenses and the annual allocation for security expenditure at 78,100,000.00 euros and EUR 4,010,000.00, respectively. These amounts have been adjusted annually to the increase in the consumer price index in accordance with the additional provision of the Organic Law on the financing of political parties. The above amounts resulted in an approximate 20% increase over the amounts that had been entered in the State General Budget for 2007.

In the current context of economic crisis, it is considered necessary to make an adjustment of the grants provided for in Article 3 of the Organic Law on the financing of political parties, in order to adjust them to the current situation. of the moment. With this measure, the political parties, as the main instruments of political representation, participate in the collective effort necessary to overcome the crisis. On the basis of the fact that the 20% increase in the 2008 financial year is true, it is considered appropriate to reduce the level of the like. For the same reasons, it is also envisaged that the amount of public calls for grants to associations and foundations linked to political parties will be reduced by 20% compared to the financial year 2011.

In addition to these measures, the introduction of the Law of others that obey the need to reinforce the differentiation between the financing mechanisms of the political parties and those of the political parties is considered appropriate. foundations and associations linked to these, in addition to the extension of the number of subjects who cannot finance the activity of the parties by receiving direct or indirect contributions from the Public Administrations. Thus, it is not only prohibited for political parties to accept donations from private companies that provide services or perform works for public administrations, but this prohibition extends to companies belonging to the same group, to companies mainly participated by those companies and their foundations.

In addition, in order to prevent private foundations, associations or entities receiving grants from Public Administrations or whose budget is made up of public contributions, they will serve as an instrument of The financing of the parties is prevented from accepting any donation from the former. However, it is possible that, in the interest of a common and coincident interest, political parties and foundations and associations, they can carry out actions in a joint manner, which are binding on the object and purpose they pursue.

It is also relevant to the modification that is made in the matter of debt waivers to the parties. Thus, no credit institution will be able to write to a political party more than 100,000 euros a year of debt, a quantity for which the principal and the interests agreed must be taken into account. On the other hand, under the principle of the autonomy of the will, the possibility remains that the parties can reach agreements in relation to the conditions of the debt that they could maintain with credit institutions in accordance with the legal order.

With regard to the sanctioning regime to which the political parties are subject, the Court of Auditors has been given the power to agree to the imposition of sanctions for very serious violations. constituted by the failure to comply with the obligations laid down in this Law and in the Organic Law 5/1985 of 19 June, of the General Electoral Regime, in respect of electoral expenses. In addition, the limitation period for such infringements is clarified, the regulation of the procedure is improved by the introduction of the possibility for the Court's plenary to agree to the opening of a prior information period, and the implementation of the general rules of administrative law. In addition, in relation to the foundations and related associations, the objective scope of the powers of audit of the Court is extended, constituted from now on by all the contributions received and not only by the donations.

In the field of foundations and associations linked to political parties with parliamentary representation, a set of specific forecasts is established that cater to its differentiated nature and the functions that are calls to play. In addition, it is specified that the purpose of this Law is to be granted, and it is established that they will not have this consideration of monetary or property supplies to finance activities and projects of common interest that are requirements.

Finally, as a complement to all the changes introduced, a series of measures directly inspired by the principle of transparency, which are carried out in the form of active advertising and notification obligations, are articulated. On the one hand, it is established that the political parties, foundations and related associations must-once the Court of Auditors has issued the audit report corresponding to each case-make public through its own Web page, certain accounting information. On the other hand, it introduces the obligation for political parties to notify the Court of Auditors of donations received in excess of 50,000 euros and those of real estate, as well as all agreements to which they arrive with credit institutions. in relation to the conditions of its debt, information that in the latter case should also be transferred to the Banco de España. As far as the related foundations are concerned, it is established that all donations made by legal persons are to be notified to the Court of Auditors.

In sum, with the present reform, the idea that a system of obtaining income from political parties in which sufficiency and austerity is adequately combined, together with a strengthening of the mechanisms of This is the best antidote to the irregular financing of the supreme audit body and the authority of the supreme oversight body and the prosecution of the accounting responsibility of those who are responsible for the handling of public funds. This, together with the adoption of a set of transparency measures, helps to improve the control of the adequacy of the revenue and expenditure of political parties to the legal system and to strengthen the quality of the democratic system.

Article first. Amendment of points (b) and (c), addition of a new point (d), (d), (e) and (f) to (e), (f) and (g) of Article 4 (2) of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

Points (b) and (c) are amended and a new point (d) is added, passing points (d), (e) and (f) to (e), (f) and (g) of Article 4 (2) of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties, which are drawn up in the following terms:

" (b) Donations from legal persons shall always require an agreement adopted in due form by the competent body or representative to the effect, expressly stating the fulfilment of the provisions of the This Act.

Political parties will not be able to accept or receive directly or indirectly donations from public bodies, entities or companies.

c) Political parties may not accept or receive, directly or indirectly, donations from private companies which, through current contracts, provide services or carry out works for the Public Administrations, agencies public or publicly owned companies. They will also not be able to accept or receive donations from companies belonging to the same group as those, from companies mostly owned by those or their foundations.

(d) Political parties may not accept or receive directly or indirectly donations from private foundations, associations or other entities receiving grants from the Public Administrations or whose budget is integrated, in whole or in part, by direct or indirect contributions from such administrations.

e) The amounts donated to the political parties shall be credited to the accounts of credit institutions, which are open exclusively for that purpose. The revenue incurred in these accounts shall be, only, those arising from such donations.

(f) The donations provided for in this Article shall be recorded on the date of taxation, the amount of the tax and the name and tax identification of the donor. The credit institution where the tax is to be imposed shall be obliged to extend to the donor an accreditable document in which the above ends are established.

g) In the case of in-kind donations, the effectiveness of the donations will be credited by certification issued by the political party, in addition to the identification of the donor, the document public or other authentic document which accredits the gift of the donated goods by making express mention of the irrevocable nature of the donation. "

Article 2. Article 4 of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is added to Article 4.

" Four. Agreements on debt conditions.

The political parties will be able to reach agreements regarding the debt conditions that they maintain with credit institutions in accordance with the legal order. The Court of Auditors and the Bank of Spain shall be taken into account of such agreements.

Debt waivers to political parties by credit institutions will be subject to the limit of 100,000 euros per year, for which the calculation will take into account both the principal and the principal conditions of the debt. of the interests agreed. "

Article 3. Amendment of Article 5 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

Article 5 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" Article 5. Limits to private donations.

One. Political parties will not be able to accept or receive directly or indirectly:

a) Anonymous, finalist, or revocable donations.

(b) Donations from the same natural or legal person in excess of EUR 100,000 per year.

Donations in kind of real estate are exempted from this limit, provided that the requirements laid down in Article 4 (2) (g) are met.

Two. All donations in excess of EUR 50 000 and in any event, donations of immovable property, shall be notified to the Court of Auditors within three months. '

Article 4. Addition of a paragraph eight to Article 14 of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

A paragraph eight is added to Article 14 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties, which is worded as follows:

" Eight. The political parties, once the audit report for a given financial year has been issued by the Court of Auditors, will be obliged to make public, preferably through their website, the balance sheet and the results account. and, in particular, the amount of the credits granted to them, the type of entity and the debt waivers for such an exercise, so that this information is free of charge and easy access for citizens. "

Article 5. Amendment of Article 15 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

Article 15 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" Article 15. Internal control.

Political parties should provide for an internal control system to ensure adequate intervention and accounting of all acts and documents resulting from rights and obligations of economic content, in accordance with its statutes. The report resulting from this audit shall accompany the documentation to the Court of Auditors. "

Article 6. Amendment to Article 16 (3) of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

Article 16 (3) of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" Three. The Court of Auditors, within six months of receipt of the documents referred to in Article 14 of this Law, shall issue a report on its regularity and adequacy of the provisions of this Law, or shall be recorded as appropriate. expressly any violations or irregular practices have been observed. "

Item seventh. Amendment of Article 17 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

Article 17 of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" Article 17.

One. Without prejudice to the legal responsibilities of any kind arising from the provisions of the legal order in general and the provisions of this Law in particular, the Court of Auditors shall agree to the imposition of sanctions against the party. policy that commits any of the very serious violations described below:

a) Accept donations that contravene the limitations and requirements set forth in Articles 5 and 7 of this Law. In this case, the Court of Auditors shall impose a penalty of an amount equal to twice the amount unlawfully received. It will have the same qualification and sanction the assumption, by third parties, of the party's expenses in the terms indicated by the Law.

(b) Not to submit, without justified cause, the accounts for the last financial year or for the latter to be so deficient as to prevent the Court of Auditors from carrying out its audit task. In this case, the Court of Auditors shall agree to the retention of the annual grant until the full compliance with the surrender obligation occurs or until the complete remedy of the defects is received.

c) Without prejudice to Article 134 of the Organic Law 5/1985 of 19 June of the General Electoral Regime, when the Court of Auditors warns, in the exercise of its function, that political parties have exceeded the limits of the electoral costs provided for in that law, shall impose a penalty equivalent to the excess produced.

Two. In all cases, the Court of Auditors shall ensure that the penalties are effective in the allocation of the corresponding subsidy.

Three. The limitation period for the offences contained in the Act shall be four years. Your computation will be initiated at the time of the commission of the infringement. "

Article 8. Amendment of the initial subparagraph, deletion of point (d) of paragraph 2 and amendment of Article 18 (8) of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

The initial paragraph is amended, paragraph two (d) is deleted and Article 18 (8) of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties, which are drawn up in the following terms:

" Article 18.

The sanctioning procedures referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of the previous Article shall be initiated by agreement of the Court of Auditors ' plenary session.

As soon as the Court of Auditors is aware of the facts, the institution of the institution will agree to the initiation of the sanctioning procedure, although the opening of a period of information will be provided prior to the hearing of the allegedly infringing political party. The sanctioning procedure shall be compatible, both with the exercise of its audit function on the economic and financial management of the allegedly infringing political party, and with the imposition, where appropriate, of periodic penalty payments. provided for in Article 30 of Law 7/1988 of 5 April of the Functioning of the Court of Auditors. The initiation of the sanctioning procedure interrupts the limitation of the infringements. "

(...)

" Two.

d) Deleted. "

(...)

" Eight. The penalty decisions taken by the Court of Auditors shall be subject to administrative and administrative proceedings before the Supreme Court. Where, in those resolutions, the imposition of any of the penalties provided for in Article 17 (1) of this Law is agreed, the appeal shall automatically suspend the enforcement of the decision taken by the Court of Auditors. '

Article ninth. Amendment of the sixth additional provision of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

The additional provision of the 6th of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" Additional provision sixth.

One. The General Budget Act of each financial year shall fix the overall amount of the consignment to cover the grants provided for in Article 3 of this Act.

Two. The quantities listed in the Articles of this Law other than those referred to in the first paragraph of this provision shall be adjusted annually to the consumer price index. '

Article 10. Amendment of the seventh additional provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

The additional seventh provision of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties is amended as follows:

" Additional Disposition Seventh.

One. The contributions received by the foundations and associations linked to the political parties with parliamentary representation will be subject to the control and control mechanisms and the sanctioning regime provided for in the Titles V and VI of this Law, without prejudice to their own rules of application.

Two. The resources to finance the activities of foundations and associations linked to political parties shall be those provided for in the legislation applicable in each case.

Three. In the case of donations, they shall be subject to the limits and requirements laid down in Chapter 2 of Title II of this Law, with the following specialties:

(a) The provisions of Article 4 (2) (c) and the limit laid down in Article 5 (1) (b) shall not apply.

b) Donations made by legal persons shall be approved by the competent body or representative in each case and where they are of a monetary nature and have an amount exceeding EUR 120,000, they shall be formalised in public document.

For the purposes of this paragraph, a donation shall be deemed to be free of charge, whether monetary or not, provided by a natural or legal person, intended to finance the general expenses of the foundation or of the association.

Four. They shall not be given the consideration of donations, for the purposes of this additional provision, of monetary or economic supplies carried out by a natural or legal person to finance an activity or a specific project of the foundation or association, as such an activity or project is carried out as a consequence of a common interest derived from the activities of the corporate or statutory object of both entities.

Five. The foundations and associations governed by this additional provision shall be required to formulate and approve their accounts in the terms provided for in the legislation in force and to carry out an audit of their annual accounts. Once the audit report of the contributions referred to in paragraph 1 of this article has been issued by the Court of Auditors, they shall be obliged to make public, preferably through their website, the balance sheet and the account results so that this information is free of charge and easy access for citizens.

Six. The foundations and associations regulated by this additional provision will be required to report annually to the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations of all donations and contributions received, to which an order will be approved. (a) ministerial meeting in which the content, scope and structure of the information to be provided shall be indicated. In addition, all donations from legal persons shall be notified to the Court of Auditors within three months. '

Item 11th. Amendment of the ninth provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

The additional provision, ninth of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July, on the financing of political parties is amended to be read in the following terms:

" Additional provision ninth.

The quantitative limits provided for in Articles 4 (4) and 5 of this Law shall be updated each year in accordance with the increase in the consumer price index. "

Article twelfth. Introduction of a new additional provision in the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties.

An additional provision is introduced in the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties, which is worded as follows:

" Additional Disposition 12th.

For the financial year 2012, the amount of public calls for grants to associations and foundations linked to political parties will be reduced by 20% compared to the financial year 2011. "

Article 13th. Abolition of the second transitional provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

The second transitional provision of Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is deleted.

Article 14. Amendment of the third transitional provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

The third transitional provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is amended, which is worded as follows:

" One. For the financial year 2012, the annual State subsidy for the operational expenditure of the political parties and the annual allocation for the costs of security are fixed respectively, at EUR 65,883,000,58 and EUR 3,382,000.75.

Two. From the entry into force of this Law, the amounts received by the political parties up to that time shall be deemed to be delivered on account of the total amount foreseen for the year 2012.

Three. The monthly payments from that date shall be adjusted to ensure that the total sum of all payments does not exceed the amount provided for in paragraph 1. '

Item 15th. Change of numbering of the final provision of the Organic Law 8/2007, of 4 July, on the financing of political parties that becomes the final disposition.

The unique final provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties is still becoming the final disposition.

Article sixteenth. Introduction of a second new provision of the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

A new final provision is introduced in the Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July 2007 on the financing of political parties, which is worded as follows:

" Final Disposition Second.

The sanctioning procedures regulated in this Law, in an additional and in default of express rule, will be governed by the general rules of these procedures contained in Law 30/1992, of November 26, of Legal Regime of the General Administration and the Common Administrative Procedure. "

Article seventeenth. Introduction of a third final provision in Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties.

A third final provision is introduced in Organic Law 8/2007 of 4 July on the financing of political parties in the following terms:

" Final Disposition Third. Amendment to Article 6 (4) (f) of Royal Decree-Law 1298/1986 of 28 June 1986 adapting the existing right in the field of credit institutions to that of the European Communities.

Paragraph (f) of Article 6 (4) of Royal Decree-Law 1298/1986 of 28 June 1986 adapting the existing right of credit institutions to that of the European Communities, which is hereby amended, is hereby amended. as follows:

(f) The information that the Banco de España has to provide for the fulfilment of its respective functions to the Court of Auditors, the National Securities Market Commission, the Directorate-General for Insurance, the Funds (a) a credit institution or an institution of its group, appointed in the relevant administrative or judicial proceedings, and the auditors of the accounts of the institutions of the Member States of the European Union; credit and its groups. "

Final disposition. Entry into force.

This Law shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this organic law.

Madrid, 22 October 2012.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

MARIANO RAJOY BREY