Draft and approve law on transparency and right to information (ES0098)

What is the problem/need that is desired to resolve with the commitment? With the approval in 2012 of the Open Government. Model by Agreement 17/2012 of 8 March of the Castilla y León Regional Government, the autonomous region government started its journey in the opening and dissemination of public information and the implementation of new channels for citizen participation in making decisions in advance of the approval of the basic state regulation on transparency. Law 3/2015 of 4 March on Transparency and Citizen Participation of Castilla y León offered regulatory coverage to this process, albeit with a very reduced impact as a result of a timid promotion of active advertising and the right of access to public information and leaving out very significant actors in this Autonomous Region, such as local entities. In addition, it would not be a mistake to state that in the overall context of the autonomous region initiatives to develop the basic state regulations on transparency, the law has proven to be a standard that has not responded as hoped to the demands and requirements of society. With this background, the future law cannot face the important and growing challenges of our times in terms of the design and implementation of a true transparency policy at the autonomous region level, which involves everyone, while compromising in any way, in order to continue strengthening democracy and the functioning of the institutions, improve the lives of the citizenship and of course, serve to also promote the growth and development of our land. These are some of the purposes this law strives for. It also strives to promote citizen participation thanks to better access to information, which will make it possible to have a greater active and responsible presence of society in the collective affairs, and the improved efficiency in public management by showing its results at the scrutiny of everyone.

Objectives of the commitment To approve a new law on transparency, access to public information and its reuse in order to advance towards a greater openness of public information to the citizenship and a real and more effective accountability

Brief description of the commitment Achieving the commitment involves the processing of a new regulatory initiative, which implies from the writing the drafts of the initial texts, proceedings of citizen participation, hearing and public information, to the parliamentary approval of a regulation and its publication

How does the commitment contribute to solve the problem or cover the need? It is necessary to approve a demanding standard that is in accordance with the current times in order to achieve the objectives that we are proposing: elevate the demands of active advertising, incorporate new subjects obliged by law, improve the exercising of the right of access, removing unnecessary obstacles and promoting the policy of reuse of public information. At the same time, the initiative incorporates a sanctionary regime that until now has not existed, in order to de‐incentivise violating it.

Why is the commitment relevant with respect to the values of Open Government? It promotes, strengthens and improves the quality of participation in the public management, allowing the citizenship to participate in making public decisions with the objective of achieving better results and better democratic quality. 234 The approval of this standard will allow getting to know public management better in order to thus guarantee the accountability, access all content that are necessary to promote citizen participation, and in brief, make possible the right to know and understand what happens in the public "office". It delves deeper into transparency, open data and accountability of Public Administrations through carrying out actions aimed at its improvement and the evaluation of the results of the plans and programmes. The proposals of the future initiative include achieving a better active advertising, a right of access to public information that features fewer obstacles and an open data policy that is free of charge, without restrictions and by default. It contributes to building a system of public integrity, strengthening the ethical values and mechanisms to bolster the integrity of the public institutions and reinforce the trust of the citizenship. Without being an initiative directed toward improving public integrity (in this legislation, these are being promoted with this specific objective, like the creation of an agency to fight against fraud and whistleblower protection), it allows for a greater public scrutiny of the public management through active advertising and the right of access guarantees greater integrity and avoiding corrupt and irregular practises. It raises awareness among society and civil servants about the values of Open Government, contributing to the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda in order to advance towards a just, peaceful and inclusive society. The initiative is directly linked to SDG 16, strengthens democracy and the participation of everyone in the management of public affairs.

Additional information Activities of the commitment Start date End date Prior consultation Processing of public consultation on the objectives that the future standard strives for in order to create a draft of the standard 01/07/2019 to 31/12/2019 01/07/2019 to 31/12/2019 Preparing the draft bill and impact analysis report of the regulatory impact Drafting of the text and report that accompanies it where the impacts that could be created are assessed, both internal and external to the organisation itself 01/01/2020 to 30/06/2020 01/01/2020 to 30/06/2020 Processing of the hearing, citizen participation and public information Subjecting the text to the critical judgement of other authorities and society as a whole 01/07/2020 to 31/12/2020 01/07/2020 to 31/12/2020 Mandatory reports on processing the approval of the standard Request for reports on the legality, budgets and those of different natures through which the standard must pass 01/07/2020 to 31/12/2020 01/07/2020 to 31/12/2020 Approval of the legal project Approval of the project by the governing council of the Community for it to be referred to the Courts for parliamentary processing 01/01/2021 to 30/06/2021 01/01/2021 to 30/06/2021 Parliamentary processing of the legal project Processing of the project in the Courts of Castilla y León 01/01/2021 to 30/06/2021 01/01/2021 to 30/06/2021 Approval and publication of the law Approval of the text in the Courts of Castilla y León and its publication both in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous Community and in the Official Gazette of the State 01/07/2021 to 31/12/2021 01/07/2021 to 31/12/2021