Technical Budget Support Unit (UTAO)
The Assembly of the Republic has a Technical Budget Support Unit (UTAO). It is “a specialised unit that operates under the guidance of the standing parliamentary committee with competence in budgetary and financial matters, to which it provides support by drawing up technical working studies and documents on budgetary management and public finance”, as established in the Law governing the Organisation and Modus Operandi of the Departments and Services of the Assembly of the Republic (Law no. 77/88, of 1 July 1988), amended by Law no. 13/2010, of 19 July 2010.
The UTAO started its work in November 2006, having been created by Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic no. 53/2006, of 7 August 2006, later amended by Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic no. 57/2010, of 23 June 2010, which enhanced its human resources and competences.
In 2014, the UTAO's competences were further enhanced by Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic no. 60/2014, of 30 June 2014, which added competences regarding the assessment and monitoring of public-private partnerships, concessions and financial rebalancing.
The UTAO is responsible for drawing up studies and technical working documents on public budgetary and financial management within the scope of the following matters:
a) Technical analysis of government bills on the State Budget and amendments thereto;
b) Technical assessment of the General State Accounts;
c) Technical monitoring of the budgetary execution for all public administrations;
d) Technical analysis of revisions of the Stability and Growth Programme;
e) Assessment and monitoring of public-private partnership contracts concluded by any public body, specifically the costs arising from the contracts, the negotiation and amendment process regarding the contracts, and the fulfilment thereof;
f) Assessment and monitoring of concession contracts concluded by any public body, specifically the costs arising from the contracts, the negotiation and amendment process regarding the contracts, and the fulfilment thereof;
g) Assessment and monitoring of financial rebalancing contracts concluded by any public body, specifically the costs arising from the contracts, the negotiation process, amendments to the contracts, and the fulfilment thereof;
h) Such technical studies on the budgetary impact of legislative initiatives that are admitted, as the President of the Assembly of the Republic deems fit to submit to the specialist committee with responsibility for budgetary and financial matters, in accordance with Article 17(1)(d) of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic;
i) Such other work as the specialist committee with responsibility for budgetary and financial matters orders the UTAO to engage in, or as the President of the Assembly of the Republic or other specialist committees submit to the specialist committee with responsibility for budgetary and financial matters;
j) The drawing up of quarterly reports on the debts contracted and investment made at all the entities and enterprises in the public sector and the regional and local administration.