General Provisions

Article 234. The Union cannot assume, directly or indirectly, as a result of the creation of a state, burdens related to expenses with:

• inactive personnel
• charges and repayments of internal or foreign debt of the public administration, including those of the indirect administration.

Article 235. During the first 10 years after the creation of a state, the following basic rules shall be observed:

1. the Legislative Assembly shall have:

• 17 Deputies if the population of the state is less than 600,000 inhabitants
• 24 Deputies if it is equal to or greater than this number, up to 1.5m population

2. the Government shall have at most 10 Secretariats
3. the Audit Court shall have three members, appointed by the elected Governor, among Brazilians of proven good repute and notable knowledge;
4. the Court of Justice shall have seven Judges
5. the first Judges shall be appointed by the elected Governor, chosen in the following manner:

a) five of them from among judges with more than thirty-five years of age, in exercise within the area of the new state or of the original one; b) two of them from among public prosecutors, under the same conditions, and from among attorneys of proven good repute and legal knowledge, with at least ten years of professional practice, complying with the procedures set forth in this Constitution;

6. in the case of a state which originated from a federal territory, the first 5 Judges may be chosen from among judges from any part of the country
7. in each judicial district the first Judge, the first Public Prosecutor and the first Public Defender shall be appointed by the elected Governor after a public entrance examination of tests and presentation of academic and professional credentials;
8. until the promulgation of the state Constitution, the offices of Attorney- General, Advocate-General and Defender-General shall be held by lawyers of notable knowledge, with at least thirty-five years of age, appointed by the elected Governor and removable ad nutum;
9. if the new state results from the transformation of a federal territory, the transfer of financial burden from the Union for payment of opting civil servants who belonged to the Federal Administration, shall take place as follows: a) in the sixth year after its creation, the state shall assume twenty percent of the financial burden for the payment of the civil servants, the remainder continuing as a responsibility of the Union;

155b) in the seventh year, thirty percent shall be added to the burden of the state and, in the eighth year, the remaining fifty percent; 10. the appointments subsequent to the first ones, for the offices mentioned in this article, shall be regulated by the state Constitution; 11. the budgetary personnel expenses shall not exceed fifty percent of the revenues of the state.

Article 236. Notary and registration services shall be exercised by private entities by Government delegation.

Paragraph 1. The law shall regulate the activities, discipline the civil and criminal liability of notaries, registrars and their officials and define the supervision of their acts by the Judicial Power. Paragraph 2. Federal law shall set forth general rules for the establishment of the fees for the acts performed by notary and registration services. Paragraph 3. The entrance in notary and registration activities shall depend on a public entrance examination of tests and presentation of academic and professional credentials, and an office shall not be permitted to remain vacant for more than six months, without the opening of a public examination to fill it, either by appointment or transference. Article 237. The supervision and control of foreign trade, which are essential to the defense of national financial interests, shall be exercised by the Ministry of Finance. Article 238. The law shall organize the sale and resale of petroleum-derived fuels, fuel alcohol and other fuels derived from renewable raw-materials, respecting the principles of this Constitution. Article 239. The revenues from contributions to the Social Integration Program, created by the Supplementary Law number 7 of September 7, 1970, and to the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme, created by the Supplementary Law number 8, of December 3, 1970, shall, from the date of the promulgation of this Constitution, fund the unemployment insurance programme and the bonus referred to in paragraph 3 of this article, in the manner prescribed by law. Paragraph 1. At least forty percent of the funds mentioned in the head paragraph of this article shall be allocated to finance economic development programmes, through the National Economic and Social Development Bank, with remuneration criteria which preserve their value. Paragraph 2. The accrued assets of the Social Integration Programme and of the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme shall be preserved, maintaining the criteria for withdrawal in the situations provided for in specific laws, with the exception of withdrawal by reason of marriage, it being forbidden the distribution of the revenues referred to in the head paragraph of this article, for deposit in the personnal accounts of the participants.

Paragraph 3. Employees who receive monthly remuneration of up to two minimum wages from employers who contribute to the Social Integration Programme and to the Civil Servants Asset Development Programme shall be ensured the annual payment of one minimum wage, in which value the income of the individual accounts shall be computed, in the case of those who already participated in such programmes before the date of the promulgation of this Constitution. Paragraph 4. Funding of the unemployment insurance programme shall receive an additional contribution from companies in which employee turnover exceeds the average turnover rate of the sector, in the manner established by law.

Article 240

The present compulsory contributions calculated on the payroll, made by employers, intended for private social service and professional training entities linked to the labour union system, are excluded from the provisions of article 195.

Article 241

The Union, the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities shall issue legislation to regulate public syndicates and cooperation agreements between members of the Federation, authorizing the joint management of public services, as well as the transfer, in whole or in part, of charges, services, personnel, and goods essential to the continued rendering of the services transferred. (CA No. 19, 1998)

Article 242

The principle of article 206, IV, shall not apply to the official educational institutions created by state or municipal law and in existence on the date of the promulgation of this Constitution, which are not totally or predominantly maintained with public funds.

Paragraph 1. The teaching of Brazilian History shall take into account the contribution of the different cultures and ethnic groups to the formation of the Brazilian people. Paragraph 2. The Pedro II School, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, shall be maintained in the federal sphere. Article 243. Tracts of land in any region of the country where illegal plantations of psychotropic plants are found shall be expropriated immediately and specifically assigned to the settlement of tenant farmers, to the culture of foodstuffs and medicinal products, with no indemnity to the owner and without prejudice to other sanctions set forth by law. Any and all good of economic value seized as a result of illegal traffic or narcotics and similar drugs shall be confiscated and reverted to the benefit of institutions and personnel specialized in the treatment and cure of drug-addicts and in the equipping and funding of supervision, control, prevention and repression of drug traffic crime. Article 244. The law shall provide for the adaptation of presently existing sites and buildings of public use and of the public transportation vehicles in order to guarantee adequate access to the handicapped, as set forth in article 227, paragraph 2. Article 245. The law shall provide for the cases and conditions in which the Government shall give assistance to the needy heirs and dependents of victims of willful crimes, without prejudice to the civil responsibility of the perpetrator of the offense.

Article 246. The adoption of a provisional measure for the regulation of any article of the Constitution the wording of which has been altered by means of an amendment enacted between January 1, 1995 and the date of enactment of this amendment 4 is forbidden.

Article 247. The laws provided for in item III of paragraph 1 of article 41, and in paragraph 7 of article 169, shall establish special criteria and guarantees for the loss of office of a tenured public employee who, by virtue of the duties of his effective post, performs exclusive activities of State.

In the event of insufficient performance, the loss of office shall only take place by means of an administrative proceeding in which the adversary system and ample defense are ensured.

Article 248. The benefits paid, under any auspices, by the agency in charge of the general social security scheme, even if they are financed by the National Treasury, and those benefits not subject to the maximum amount stipulated for benefits granted by such scheme shall comply with the limits set forth in article 37, XI.

Article 249. For the purpose of securing monies for the payment of retirement pensions and other pensions granted to their respective employees and their dependents, in addition to the monies of their respective treasuries, the Union, the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities may establish funds, made up of monies arising from contributions, and of property, rights, and assets of any kind, by means of a law that shall provide for the nature and the management of such funds.

Article 250. For the purpose of securing monies for the payment of benefits granted by the general social security scheme, in addition to the monies arising from taxation, the Union may establish a fund made up of property, rights, and assets of any kind, by means of a law that shall provide for the nature and the management of such a fund.

Brasília, October 5, 1988.