In recent months, a series of rulings by the Supreme Federal Court (STF), followed by a recent initiative from the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), has begun to establish and consolidate mechanisms aimed at increasing the transparency and traceability of parliamentary amendments. This movement has been accompanied and driven by recurring demands from civil society for greater oversight and integrity in the management of public resources.
In recent years, the STF has played an increasing role in regulating the transparency of so-called parliamentary amendments—tools used by representatives and senators to direct public budget resources to their political bases. Initially focused at the federal level, the Court’s decisions have increasingly addressed a growing problem: the replication, in states and municipalities, of practices marked by low transparency and limited accountability.
This scenario began to change in October 2025, within the framework of the Claim of Noncompliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 854. Following a request submitted by Transparency International Brazil, Transparência Brasil, and the Open Accounts Association (Associação Contas Abertas), Justice Flávio Dino ordered that states, the Federal District, and municipalities adopt rules equivalent to federal standards to ensure transparency and traceability of parliamentary amendments.
The decision was supported, among other elements, by evidence from the Public Transparency and Governance Index (ITGP), which revealed extremely low levels of transparency regarding the execution of amendments in a large portion of subnational entities. The initial outcome of this movement was the adoption, by all state courts of accounts and municipal courts of accounts across Brazil, of regulations establishing oversight mechanisms for the use of these public resources.
On May 12, 2026, the STF took another step forward. In response to a new request from the organizations, the Justice determined that state legislative assemblies must, within 30 days, demonstrate compliance of the rules applicable to their amendments with the federal transparency model—establishing, for the first time, a concrete deadline for implementing these measures.
In the same ruling, the STF also advanced other oversight fronts. It ordered the Office of the Attorney General of the State of São Paulo to clarify arrangements between the state government and the São Paulo congressional delegation involving the allocation of federal and state amendments, and it notified the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and the Office of the Electoral Prosecutor General of risks related to the indirect use of these resources for financing electoral campaigns.
At the same time, ADPF 854 also opened space for the development of new active transparency instruments. During a contextualization hearing held in October 2025, the TCU presented a new dashboard for monitoring the execution of parliamentary amendments. Since then, however, this dashboard had not been made available to the public. Following a request submitted by Transparency International Brazil, Justice Dino inquired of the President of the TCU when the dashboard would be released.
In response to this demand, the Federal Court of Accounts reported, in May 2026, that the dashboard will be made publicly available on its portal starting July 1. The initiative represents a significant step in consolidating structured monitoring mechanisms, enabling greater visibility into budget execution and contributing to social oversight.
Taken together, the STF’s decisions and the TCU’s initiatives highlight a broader institutional movement: the incorporation of transparency, traceability, and social oversight as core elements in the management of parliamentary amendments. They also demonstrate the decisive role of civil society in promoting reforms that strengthen public integrity.
