The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), along with a coalition of its parliamentary allies, has registered a proposal to reform the Congressional Regulation.

This initiative seeks to regulate the renewal of press credentials granted by the Chamber and to introduce a sanctioning regime applicable to accredited individuals who disrupt the institution's activities or hinder the work of other media representatives.

The proposal comes in response to requests from various journalist associations that have urged the Chamber to implement measures to "prevent unacceptable behaviors in journalistic practice." While Podemos has not signed the proposed law, it has expressed its intention to support the legislation during its processing.

The reform is stated to not limit, restrict, or undermine the right of the media to obtain and disseminate truthful information to the public.

The existing Congressional Regulation, which dates back to 1982, already allows the governing body of the Chamber to regulate the granting of accreditations to media representatives.

However, the new reform will also require it to establish procedures for the renewal of these accreditations and to set forth necessary requirements that respect the right to truthful information and the proper functioning of the Chamber.

The proposed legislation specifies that among the criteria for renewing credentials, any previous violations of the regulations, as well as directives and agreements by the governing body, will be taken into account.

Sanctions
The reform also outlines the establishment of a Parliamentary Communication Advisory Council, which will consist of one member from each parliamentary group and representatives from professional information organizations.

This council will be tasked with proposing sanctions when proceedings are initiated against an accredited journalist, although the final decision will rest with the governing body of the Chamber.

Accredited journalists will be bound to adhere to "the rules of parliamentary courtesy" and the governing body's directives.

Unauthorized recordings will be prohibited, and parliamentary groups will be allowed to designate a person to coordinate their informational meetings, ensuring order during these encounters.

Consequently, violations of this new framework will result in sanctions, categorized as light, serious, or very serious, which may include the temporary suspension or permanent revocation of credentials.

According to the proposal, a minor infraction will include failing to provide required information in the credential application or unauthorized access to restricted areas.

Such violations could lead to a warning or a suspension of the credential for up to ten business days.

Serious infractions will include providing false information when requesting a credential, unauthorized recording of images or audio, and unauthorized access to reserved spaces.

Disruptive behavior during press conferences or informational meetings, non-compliance with instructions from the General Secretariat staff, and sharing unauthorized images on social media will also fall under this category.

Serious infractions occurring more than twice could result in a suspension of the credential between ten days and three months.

Very serious infractions could lead to revocation of credentials for periods ranging from three months to five years or even permanently.

This category includes providing false information in essential parts of the credential application, lack of respect for parliamentary courtesy, and using insults or disrespectful language within the parliamentary venue.

Unauthorized recordings of images or audio with hidden devices and serious disruptions of parliament sessions are also classified as very serious infractions.

The proposed reform specifies that sanctions will be imposed on the media representative committing the infraction, but the media outlet may substitute the representative in cases of light infractions.

For serious or very serious infractions, the media outlet will be left without an accredited representative during the sanction period.

Additionally, if an infraction is reflected in a publication that does not attribute authorship, all credentials linked to that media outlet may be suspended for six months to three years.

Telecommuting Vote
In a related provision, the reform expands the scenarios in which deputies can request telematic voting, allowing it when they must attend to close family members or in cases of bereavement, aimed at facilitating the exercise of their duties in situations of grave and exceptional significance.

Furthermore, individuals undergoing assisted reproduction processes may also vote remotely, pending authorization from the governing body, in line with other cases.