Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced the initiative during her closing remarks at the 29th National Family Business Congress.
As Díaz Ayuso explained, one of the bill’s key provisions establishes that every new administrative burden imposed on businesses must be offset by eliminating another of equivalent cost. It also provides for organisational rules to have an expiry date, “so that rules that are no longer useful do not survive simply through inertia”. Once approved, the draft will be submitted to the Madrid Regional Assembly for debate and a vote.
The bill establishes that regulations must be assessed both before they are approved and after they come into force, in order to determine whether they are achieving their intended objectives and whether they should be maintained, amended or repealed. New obligations for businesses may only come into effect on two dates each year: 2 January and 1 July, “so that no one has to adapt against the clock”. Inspired by the British model, this timetable will allow businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to prepare in advance for the necessary changes.
The bill also regulates the participation of private entities in the management of administrative procedures in order to reduce response times. These entities will be required to obtain accreditation and will be subject to controls and accountability mechanisms to safeguard the rights of citizens and businesses.
It also provides for the strengthening of the Investment Accelerator, with priority processing and deadlines reduced by half for projects deemed to be of particular interest. In addition, regulatory sandboxes will be established where products or services not yet covered by current legislation can be tested under the supervision of the Administration. The bill also includes the use of data and artificial intelligence in public administration, as well as the digitalisation of administrative procedures.
More than 70 regulations simplified
The bill includes changes to the Open Channel against Overregulation, a Madrid Region service through which citizens and businesses can report administrative procedures or requirements that unjustifiably hinder economic activity or competition, allowing the Administration to review them. As the president explained, 738 regulations have already been reduced through this initiative, including the Land Law, which has been amended to speed up the granting of licences, as well as the extension of responsible declarations as a means of accessing the social services network.
The proposal follows the recommendations of organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which link clearer and simpler regulations to economic growth and productivity. The bill entails no additional expenditure or new administrative obligations; rather, it is designed to reduce existing ones.