La categoria delle leggi di spesa dopo l’introduzione del nuovo art. 81, c. 3, Cost

di Michela Troisi

SOMMARIO: 1. Note per un inquadramento preliminare. – 2. Le modifiche intervenute con la revisione del 2012: quale rilievo per la categoria delle leggi di spesa? – 3. Le procedure di spesa tra normazione primaria, regolamenti parlamentari e prassi. – 3.1 Il caso delle clausole di salvaguardia. – 4. L’apporto della giurisprudenza costituzionale. – 4.1 Questioni di carattere “processuale”. – 4.2 Indicazioni di natura “sostanziale”. – 5. Spunti per una costruzione della categoria delle leggi di spesa nel quadro della finanza pubblica allargata.

The essay investigates the category of spending laws, with particular attention to the new elements that can be identified after constitutional law n. 1 of 2012, that introduced, inter alia, the principle of balanced budget. The notion of financial coverage as evoked by Article 81, third paragraph, of the Constitution, is extremely important for the construction of this category. Firstly, after an analysis of the relevant constitutional parameter, the research considers the constraints imposed by ordinary legislation and parliamentary regulations, as well as current practice. Secondly, the study examines the contribution of the Constitutional Court, taking into account both the novelties of "procedural" relevance and the indications of "substantial" nature that derive from constitutional jurisprudence. The result is a complex picture, within which the burden of financial coverage of spending laws appears to be interpreted with ever-greater strictness. The "financialization" of the decisions of the Constitutional Court places the issue of the relationship between resources and rights in the direction of a greater guarantee of the effectiveness of the latter.