The laws that may never pass as Spain awaits snap election

Spain’s snap election on November 29th means that there are several pieces of legislation that could never come to fruition.

Parliament is currently dissolved following Pedro Sánchez’s decision to call an early vote, and according to most polls Spain’s right-wing parties are on track to get an absolute majority.

This would mean that some of the bill the country’s left-wing coalition government would disappear into thin air, as in most cases the People’s Party and Vox oppose any legislation put forwards by the Socialists.

Even if the PSOE and the revamped version of hard-left Sumar (now renamed Frente Amplio) were to pull off a surprise win together with smaller regional and left-wing wing parties, the current government’s track record on passing legislation has been fairly lacklustre due to their weak parliamentary minority, so they may still struggle to implement the following laws.

Minors on social media

The headline law that was to include a ban on access to social media for all under-16s could be stalled. 

This legislation was already in the final stages in Spain’s Congress of Deputies, where there was widespread consensus amongst political parties that it would be successfully passed in the plenary session, with the law expected to be approved before the end of the year.

READ ALSO: Spain plans social media ban for under-16s

Anti-smoking law

Nor will there be time for the long-awaited anti-smoking law in Spain. 

The Ministry of Health’s proposal aimed to update the rules for the first time since 2010 in order to extend smoke-free areas to other places such as bar terraces or bus shelters.

It also sought to address the emergence of new tobacco-related products, such as vapes, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, treating them in the same way as conventional tobacco. 

READ ALSO: Spain moves to ban smoking at bar terraces, parks and beaches

Gender violence law

This bill will also fall by the wayside in Congress, having only just passed its first parliamentary reading a week ago. 

The legislation, which classified so-called ‘vicarious violence’ and gender-based violence as an aggravating factor under the Criminal Code, automatically stripped parents convicted of abuse of their parental rights and explicitly prohibited those convicted of vicarious violence from speaking about the crime for up to 20 years.

It’s now another piece of legislation that’ll likely never come to pass.

Saharwi nationality bill

The law granting Spanish nationality to Sahrawis after two years of legal residence in Spain will also miss out. 

The bill, put forward by the far-left Sumar, was approved by the Congress on September 10th and only needed to be ratified by the Senate, but the dissolution of parliament will also suspend this vote. 

Between 80,000 and 120,000 people from the contested territory of Western Sahara could have benefited from this legislation, according to Sahrawi organisations.

AI in cultural sectors

Government attempts to regulate AI use in the cultural sectors had already failed several times to make its way through the law-making process.

The latest text proposed that generative AI could be used “for the creation of content relating to the image, voice or results of the activity contracted to the artist, provided that the use of such content is limited to the purpose of that contract and is confined to the work”. 

Strip bullfighting’s cultural heritage

In February 2025, thousands of volunteers submitted to the Spanish parliament a petition with over half a million signatures calling to strip bullfighting of its status as cultural heritage and, consequently, of its protection at national level. 

Specifically, the proposal sought to repeal the law passed by the PP government in 2013 to safeguard bullfighting events, thereby returning jurisdiction over them to each autonomous community. 

Sumar MP Nahuel González revived the idea this September, in the form of a bill, but that too will likely become another bill never to become law.

READ ALSO: Will bullfighting ever be banned in Spain?