Parliament adopted at first reading 11 of a total of 18 bills amending the Penal Code. The amendments mainly concern penalties for traffic accidents after the consumption of alcohol and narcotic substances, as well as crimes against animals.

Four of the approved bills were submitted by the Council of Ministers, while the rest were submitted by MPs from various parliamentary groups.

The amendments supported by Hristo Terziyski and Mladen Marinov from GERB-UDF propose that the refusal to undergo a test to determine the use of alcohol or drugs in a road traffic accident (RTA) be defined as a crime. The amendments approved at first reading, proposed by Anna Alexandrova (GERB-UDF) and a group of MPs, aim to improve the legislative framework regarding the punishment of drivers who cause road traffic accidents after consuming alcohol and drugs. 

The amendments approved at first reading, proposed by Anna Alexandrova (GERB-UDF) and a group of MPs, aim to improve the legislative framework regarding the punishment of drivers who cause road traffic accidents after consuming alcohol and drugs. It is proposed to introduce aggravated offence in Article 342 with the creation of a new provision (paragraph 4), which provides for more severe penalties when the act is committed while intoxicated or after using drugs or their analogues, or when the person refuses to be tested for alcohol and/or drugs or their analogues without medical reasons, or if the act has resulted in bodily injury or death to more than one person, or if the perpetrator has fled the scene of the accident, or has driven without the necessary legal capacity, where required by law, as well as after exceeding the speed limit in a built-up area by more than 50 km/h or if the act was committed after passing a red traffic light or a pedestrian crossing.

The bill proposed by Gabriel Vulkov (BSP-United Left), which was also supported by Parliament, aims to protect the life and health of animals by increasing fines and maximum penalties and setting lower limits for certain crimes. The amendments take into account additional aggravating circumstances such as crimes committed against more than one animal, for financial gain, or through the dissemination of violence via information technology.

The bill proposed by Hamid Hamid (MRF-New Beginning) and adopted by parliament at first reading also aims to respond to the urgent need to improve legislation and increase penalties for crimes against animals.

With the same aim of protecting the life and health of animals, the plenary session also supported amendments to the Penal Code tabled by Kristina Petkova (We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria). 

The Council of Ministers has also proposed amendments to ensure the protection of animals from unlawful interference and cruelty. New types of acts of violence against animals and animal fighting are criminalized if these acts are recorded. There has been legislation in the US on the so-called crush fetish for 15 years, explained Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev. A large proportion of consumers of this content are from other countries, so we are clearly talking about an international form of crime and we must respond with adequate national legislation, he added.

The other bills passed by the Council of Ministers on first reading are related to the fight against terrorism, the implementation of the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and removing Bulgaria from the gray list of money laundering countries, as well as reducing penalties for defamation and insult. The amendments to the Penal Code introduce a new chapter on terrorism and propose changes relating to the bribery of public officials and the fight against bribery in international commercial transactions. The proposed amendments also aim to ensure that, where appropriate, proceedings against natural and legal persons are conducted in parallel in the same case, following the practice of some other countries that have criminal corporate liability for legal persons, explained Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev. There is no such provision under Bulgarian law, he noted.

MPs also passed on first reading a bill by Kostadin Kostadinov (Revival) and a group of MPs aimed at criminalizing the sale to persons under 18 years of age of alcohol, tobacco products for smoking, and smokeless tobacco products (snus), synthetic substances that are smoked, heated, or vaporized, and nitrous oxide (laughing gas).

The MPs also approved Toshko Yordanov's bill (“There Is Such a People”), which introduces as legislative practice the guideline established in the interpretative practice of the supreme court that the period of deprivation of the right to drive a motor vehicle should be equal to the term of imprisonment. It is also proposed to introduce a minimum term of deprivation of the right to drive, which should exceed the term of imprisonment – from one to three years.