proposta de lei
Published 8 November 2026, 19:36
proposta de lei (government bill)
A bill that the government submits to parliament. Each has its own number in the form 98/XVII: the figure is the serial number, the Roman numeral the parliamentary term. A bill from MPs is called something else — projeto de lei. Neither is law yet.
Where you come across it. A news story saying "the government proposes changing the rules", when you are trying to work out whether the change already applies.
"Tabled", "debated" and "passed" are three different things, and months can go by between them. The text becomes law after a vote in parliament, the president's signature and publication in the Diário da República; the date from which it applies is set out in the text itself, in the article on entry into force.
Official website: parlamento.pt