Bogota Council approved reform of the regulations so that challenges do not prevent them from discussing the projects

The debate on the Land Management Plan presented by Claudia López in the Bogotá Council was a failure. The mayor issued it by decree after the councillors, entangled in endless challenges, failed to make a decision on it despite the fact that everything indicated their collapse. Faced with this blockade of its functions, the corporation's purpose for 2022 was to modify the regulations, an agreement that was finally approved on March 24.

The document went on to the sanction of Mayor López to stand firm. “We had many discussions, more than a month with different work tables and accidents where we agreed to have better internal rules,” said President Samir Abisambra.

During the 90 days that the Council has to discuss the POT, most left to debate anonymous challenges that reached councillors. One of the problems was that the 2019 regulation did not include a regulation for that citizen appeal and gave the lobbyist a 5-day procedure to answer, three days to know the challenge and 10 to the presidency to make a decision. Until it was resolved, the discussion could not be restarted.

Thus, several councillors were challenged to discuss the POT, the time for ordinary sessions expired and the draft legislation was left without a decision, which opened the possibility for Claudia López to issue it by decree.

Now, with the new internal regulations, a different procedure will be given to challenges. “We will be able to convene plenary sessions when a councilor is challenged by a citizen, but these challenges and impediments must have the minimum requirements provided by the jurisprudence of the Council of State, which regulates them. That is why it seems important to us that, immediately we can quote it, and that we do not get to what happened to us last year with the POT and the budget,” said the president of the council.

In the approved agreement the times were maintained, but it was established that in “draft agreements, before or during the session in which he discusses the project, the councilor will state in writing the conflict of interest. Once such communication has been received, the President shall immediately submit to the plenary or the relevant Commission for consideration the impediment presented, so that it may be resolved by a simple majority”.

In addition, in order to expedite the vote, the president of the committee or the plenary may group the impediments according to the causes and circumstances of configuration, and proceed to decide them in a group respecting the majority required for the decision of impediments.

In this sense, impediments can be processed on the same day they are presented, they will be resolved in plenary and it may be convened urgently to process them and prevent them from frustrating the discussion of the council.

The amendment of the regulations in Draft Agreement No. 100 (cumulative with Draft Agreements Nos.029, 050, 097, 100, 103, 105 of 2022) was approved by a majority of the plenary with 28 votes in favor and 0 against.

“Things that are indeed very important, the debates of political control are going to be made much more agile where the administration effectively responds to citizens and councilors for the questions and proposals made immediately,” said Councilor Abisambra.

The establishment of the Commission for Equity for Women was also highlighted and its functions were assigned to it. In addition, the responses to the proposals, the filing of the papers and the Draft Agreements are allowed to be done in physical or digital media.

The use of virtual resources and the regulation of remote session attendance was a point of disagreement among councillors during the discussion of the project on March 23, even with obvious annoyance from Councilman Carlos Carrillo, who opposed the article, but was ultimately rejected by 32 lobbyists.

The intervention in political control debates will change, the citing bench will have up to 60 minutes, the main caller divides the time among the other members of the bench and if they fail to intervene they can do so as non-citing councilors. The Administration may respond for up to 50 minutes, modifiable by the president according to the circumstance. Spokespersons of non-citing benches for up to 10 minutes and non-citing councillors 5 minutes each.

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