Parliament approves mandatory registration of hearings with lobbyists and legislative footprint

The Assembly of the Republic approved the Regulation for the registration and publication of hearings and interactions carried out within the framework of the legitimate representation of interests, through Assembly of the Republic Resolution no. 289/2026. The diploma, published in the Diário da República of November 9, 2026 (1st series, no. 217), creates the mandatory registration and publication of hearings with lobbyists and establishes the “legislative footprint” mechanism applicable to legislative initiatives. The regulation enters into force on the day following its publication, namely, November 10, 2026.

The resolution was approved on October 28, 2026, and is signed by the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, under paragraph 5 of article 166 of the Constitution. It regulates Law no. 5-A/2026, of January 28, which approves transparency rules applicable to private entities, national and foreign, that carry out the legitimate representation of interests with public entities and creates the Transparency Register for the Representation of Interests (RTRI), and is coordinated with Law no. 37-A/2026, of July 28, which establishes the organic structure of said register.

The scope of application is extended to all bodies of the Assembly of the Republic and their respective holders, services, parliamentary committees, support offices for members of the Board, parliamentary groups, sole representatives of parties, and non-attached deputies.

Prior registration in the RTRI and designated officers

Before being granted a hearing or participating in hearings promoted by the Assembly of the Republic, interest representatives must be registered in the RTRI, as determined by article 3. Compliance with registration and publication obligations is ensured through a platform provided by the Parliament’s services.

Each of the following bodies and services must designate one or more officers responsible for the registration and publication of their respective hearings and interactions:

• President of the Assembly of the Republic and Vice-Presidents;
• other members of the Board of the Assembly of the Republic;
• parliamentary committees;
• parliamentary groups;
• sole representatives of parties and non-attached deputies;
• Board of Directors;
• Secretary-General of the Assembly of the Republic, respective deputies, and support office.

In the case of deputies integrated into parliamentary groups, registration is carried out through the credentials granted to the officers designated by the group, without prejudice to the possibility of their own individualized access or the designation of a distinct responsible person for each deputy.

What is registered and for how long

The record of interactions must include the date, the type of interaction, the identification of the interest representative with their respective registration number in the RTRI, the identification of the persons present in each delegation (in the case of hearings), the entity whose interest is being represented when acting on behalf of third parties, and a summary indication of the object of the interaction. This indication must expressly identify the legislative or resolution initiatives pending decision to which they relate.

Hearings held are published during the 30 days following their occurrence, in a dedicated section of the Assembly of the Republic’s website, with the possibility of searching by those elements. The disclosure of contacts and hearings may, however, remain partially or totally reserved until the conclusion of the procedure or for as long as the duty of secrecy, confidentiality, or the protection of natural persons and their data lasts. Entities engaged in interest representation may also independently disclose the hearings on their own pages and request the Parliament to fulfill the registration obligation when they verify that it was not ensured within the foreseen timeframe.

The “legislative footprint” of initiatives

The authors of bills and law proposals must now mandatorily identify, at the time of submission to the Board, the hearings, consultations, or interactions that occurred during the preparatory phase with entities subject to registration, by filling out the form annexed to the regulation. The document requests:

• the title of the initiative;
• an indication of whether a public consultation was held during the preparatory work;
• an indication of whether the initiative was preceded by consultation or interaction with entities subject to the RTRI;
• the identification of hearings held during the preparatory work;
• the identification of other interactions or contributions submitted.

The form is publicized on the Assembly of the Republic’s page regarding the initiative in question, which also lists the hearings held with the parliamentary committees competent by reason of the subject matter and a link to the corresponding public consultation page.

Monitoring, annual report, and transitional period

The monitoring of registration and publication is the responsibility of the parliamentary committees competent by reason of the subject matter. The services of the Assembly of the Republic prepare an annual report with a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the execution, which must identify the difficulties encountered and include the result of the consultation of interest representatives and the services responsible for the registration; to evaluate the results, the collaboration of higher education institutions and civic associations in the areas of transparency and legislative quality may be requested.

Until the RTRI becomes operational, registration by entities dedicated to the representation of interests is voluntary and depends on express consent for the processing of the necessary data. Up to 30 days after the platform becomes operational, the covered bodies and services shall ensure the registration of hearings and interactions carried out since the entry into force of Law No. 5-A/2026, with the opening of the platform being announced by a notice published on the Internet and the Parliament’s intranet.

The new framework places Parliament under permanent public scrutiny regarding legislative influence: any citizen will be able to consult who was received, on what subject, and on whose behalf, and it will become visible whether a legislative initiative was prepared with contributions from entities registered in the transparency register. The obligation extends to all participants — deputies, parliamentary groups, committees, and services — and non-compliance is exposed to verification by the interest representation entities themselves, who may demand the missing publication.

Source: Diário da República, 1st series, no. 217, of November 9, 2026, Assembly of the Republic (official reference: Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic no. 289/2026).