La Ribera Baixa adapts its statutes to the Law of Mancomunidades

The General Directorate of Local Administration has published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana the modification of the statutes of the Mancomunidad de la Ribera Baixa, definitively approved by its plenary body in the session of May 14, 2026. The reform, contained in the resolution of July 28, 2026, aims to adapt the statutory text to Law 21/2018, of October 16, on mancomunidades (associations of municipalities) of the Comunitat Valenciana, and to obtain the qualification of regional scope.

The resolution, signed by the director general of Local Administration, José Antonio Redorat Fresquet, is published in issue 10432 of the bulletin, dated August 19, 2026, with reference DOGV-C-2026-25684. The modification was processed through the procedure provided for in article 46.3 of the aforementioned law, as it is a statutory reform of a constitutive nature.

A regional entity of eleven municipalities

The Mancomunitat de la Ribera Baixa is established for an indefinite period and of regional scope, in order to structure the region as an appropriate area for the provision of supra-municipal services. It is composed of eleven municipalities:

• Albalat de la Ribera, Benicull de Xúquer, Corbera, Cullera, Favara, Fortaleny, Llaurí, Polinyà del Xúquer, Riola, Sollana, and Sueca.

The city of Sueca serves as the capital, with headquarters at José Maiques Avenue, s/n. Valencian is the own language of the entity, although all citizens have the right to interact in the official language of their choice.

Purposes and governing bodies

The mancomunidad assumes the joint management of works and the provision of common services of supra-municipal interest, with powers ranging from regulatory and tax to expropriation and sanctioning. Its purposes cover areas such as:

• Environmental sustainability, waste management, and the water cycle.
• Security, local police, rural guardianship, and emergencies.
• Health and social welfare, culture, youth, education, and sports.
• Economic promotion and local development, urban planning, housing, and land management.
• Infrastructure, citizen participation, equality, and procurement.

The necessary governing bodies are the Plenary, the Presidency, the Vice-Presidency, the Governing Board, and the Special Accounts Commission, along with participation bodies such as the Regional Participation Assembly.

Delayed effectiveness and registration

The request for regional status dates back to the plenary session of November 7, 2022. Under the second transitional provision of Law 21/2018, the effectiveness of the statutory modification is deferred until the recognition of the regional character is obtained, at which point it will be registered in the Registry of Local Entities of the Comunitat Valenciana. An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against the resolution before the Autonomous Secretariat for Institutional Policy and Territorial Cohesion within one month.

The reform consolidates the Mancomunitat de la Ribera Baixa as the reference supramunicipal body of the region, in a context where the Generalitat Valenciana is promoting regionalization. For the residents of the eleven municipalities, the recognition of the regional scope strengthens the entity’s capacity to manage services and resources in a coordinated manner, with a more solid governance structure adapted to current regulations.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10432, August 19, 2026, III. Administrative Acts, C) Other Matters, p. 1 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-25684).