Senate evaluates project to reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence and Congress prepares vote on 2026 budget

The PL known as Dosimetry will be the only point on the agenda of the CCJ this Wednesday, at 9 a.m. The proposal was approved by the Chamber of Deputies last week and is reported by Senator Esperidião Amim (PP-SC). If it passes the committee, the text will be submitted to the Senate plenary, where a vote is expected later this year.

At the same time, Congress must vote on the Annual Finance Law on Thursday, at 9 a.m., as announced by the President of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP). It is possible that the session will be brought forward to Wednesday, if there is an agreement between the Chambers. Before that, the text must be approved by the Joint Budget Commission (CMO).

— We are organizing the budget vote for next Thursday, in agreement with the Chamber of Deputies. In other words, we will have a session of Congress, if all goes well, on Thursday, which could even be brought forward to Wednesday afternoon, but which was previously scheduled for Thursday at 9 o’clock. All that remains is for President (of the Chamber) Hugo Motta to authorize us to use the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies to vote on the annual finance law – Alcolumbre said last week.

The project could benefit those convicted of coups

The Dosimetry PL modifies the provisions of the Penal Code and the penal execution law and has as its main objective crimes against the democratic rule of law. The text modifies the method of calculating sentences, combining the crimes of attempted coup d’état and abolition of the democratic rule of law.

The text also provides for a reduced sentence for crimes committed in a crowd context, provided that the convicted person did not finance or direct the actions. The measure seeks to differentiate participants without protagonists from the organizers or financiers of the events.

Another central axis of the proposal is the reorganization of the regime’s progression rules – a mechanism that allows the convict to move from a more severe regime to a gentler regime, such as from closed to semi-open, provided that he serves a minimum sentence and demonstrates good behavior.

The project restores the general rule of progression after serving one-sixth of the sentence, while establishing specific percentages depending on the type of crime, recidivism and the seriousness of the behavior. Heinous crimes, militias, criminal organizations and femicide continue to see higher percentages of sentences served.

The proposal also clarifies that house arrest does not prevent sentence remission – a mechanism that reduces the total length of the sentence through work or study. In practice, convicts serving their sentence at home can continue to benefit from days off, provided that they can prove their activities and comply with the conditions imposed by the court.

While the Senate discusses changes to criminal legislation, Congress is moving forward with consideration of the 2026 budget. The final report of the draft budget is prepared by Deputy Isnaldo Bulhões Jr. (MDB-AL) and is expected to be presented on Monday, according to CMO President Senator Efraim Filho. The committee vote is scheduled for the next day.

Last week, the OCM completed the analysis of the 16 sectoral reports of the Budget. Among the highlights, the social area concentrates the largest volumes of resources, with 301 billion reais allocated to the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, mainly for Bolsa Família and gas aid.