Regarding the forest fires that currently affect the country in various regions, there are a series of bills stalled in the National Congress and that seek, precisely, to regulate what happens with the damaged soils post-emergency as well as prohibit and distance plantations. forests close to the urban radius.
On the one hand, there is the bill created by deputy Félix González (Independent), which seeks to grant greater powers to the municipalities and Conaf to mandate forestry companies to generate greater firebreaks as well as so that, by municipal ordinance, prohibit monoculture near urban sectors.
This bill has been in the National Congress for regarding ten months and just a month ago, specifically in the first days of January, it was sent from the Lower House to the Senate. However, it cannot yet be reviewed due to the parliamentary recess.
To this we must also add two other bills that seek to regulate what happens with post-fire damaged soils. One of them, authored by Congresswoman María Luisa Cordero (RN), seeks to establish prohibitions on the use of land affected by forest fires and increase penalties for the crime of arson; since January 5, 2023, which is in the first constitutional process.
Another that seeks the same purposes as the previous one, is the one presented by Deputy Diego Ibáñez (CS), which since it was entered into the Lower House, on December 17, 2020, is still in the first constitutional process and which, In short, it seeks to prohibit a series of modifications to damaged land for a period of 30 years.
Representative Félix González is one of the congressmen who signed this initiative. After being consulted regarding the reason for the delay in processing, he commented that there is an error in the premise of the project itself, since it is based on the fact that it is the real estate companies that cause forest fires and that it aims to protect damaged sectors. post-fires, not before.
The “Short Fire Law”
For its part, the so-called “Short Fire Law” also maintains a slow process in the National Congress. Although it has already moved on to the second constitutional process, the Senate is in legislative recess, making it difficult to legislate on the matter before March.
Although there is a possibility of legislating on the matter, according to Deputy González, this might be done as long as the president of the Upper House, Senator Juan Antonio Coloma (UDI), calls an extraordinary session in the middle of the recess. .
To this, Deputy González commented that, although he spoke with the Minister of the General Secretariat of Government, Álvaro Elizalde, in order to impose great urgency on the “Short Fire Law” in the Senate, this has not occurred; and even if it happened, if there is no work in the Upper House, it would not have any effect until March, following the legislative recess.
“That has already been requested (the utmost urgency). What happens is that in February there is a parliamentary recess so the Government’s emergencies have no real effect. If they put it into immediate discussion, that will be until March. So what is required, if it were to be approved now, is for Senator Coloma (the president of the Senate) to call a special session. They vote. That there is a quorum, they approve it and the Government will have to publish it in the Official Gazette. “That it is possible, it is possible,” commented Deputy González.
Text: Sebastián Rojas – Diario Concepción
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