Page:Spanish Constitution.djvu/18

 :2. The Houses may refer such petitions to the Government. The Government shall provide an explanation regarding their content, when required to do so by the Houses

Section 78


 * 1. In each House there shall be a Permanent Deputation (Diputación Permanente) consisting of a minimum of twenty one members who shall represent the parliamentary groups in proportion to their numerical importance.


 * 2. The Permanent Deputation shall be presided over by the Speaker of the respective House and their functions shall be that provided in section 73, that of assuming the powers of the Houses in accordance with sections 86 and 116 in case that the latter have been dissolved or their terms have expired, and that of safeguarding the powers of the Houses when they are not in session.


 * 3. On the expiration of the term or in case of dissolution, the Permanent Deputations shall continue to exercise their functions until the constitution of the new Cortes Generales.


 * 4. When the House concerned meets, the Permanent Deputation shall report on the matters dealt with and on its decisions.

Section 79
 * 1. In order to adopt agreements, the Houses must meet in statutory manner, with the majority of their members present.


 * 2. In order to be valid, such agreements must be approved by the majority of the members present, without prejudice to the special majorities that may be required by the Constitution or the organic acts and those which are provided for by the Standing Orders of the Houses for the election of persons.


 * 3. The vote of Senators and Members of Congress shall be personal and may not be delegated.

Section 80


 * Plenary meetings of the Houses shall be public, except when otherwise decided by each House by overall majority, or in accordance with the Standing Orders.

Section 81


 * 1. Organic acts are those relating to the implementation of fundamental rights and public freedoms, those approving the Statutes of Autonomy and the general electoral system and other laws provided for in the Constitution.


 * 2. The approval, amendment or repeal of organic acts shall require the overall majority of the Members of Congress in a final vote on the bill as a whole.

Section 82


 * 1. The Cortes Generales may delegate to the Government the power to issue rules with the force of an act of the Parliament on specific matters not included in the foregoing section.


 * 2. Legislative delegation must be granted by means of act of basic principles when its purpose is to draw up texts in sections, or by an ordinary act when it is a matter of consolidating several legal statutes into one.


 * 3. Legislative delegation must be expressly granted to the Government for a concrete matter and with a fixed time limit for its exercise. The delegation shall expire when the Government has made use of it through the publication of the corresponding regulation. It may not be construed as having been granted implicitly or for an indeterminate period. Nor shall sub delegation to authorities other than the Government itself be authorized.


 * 4. Acts of basic principles shall define precisely the purpose and scope of legislative delegation, as well as the principles and criteria to be followed in its exercise.

 5. Authorization for consolidating legal texts shall determine the legislative scope implicit in the delegation, specifying if it is restricted to the mere drafting of a single text or whether it includes 