Week 3 - Legislative Work During Bills Date: Mar 23, 2009 9:02:37 AM PDT Author: Brooke Describe the work done in the legislature between the first and third readings of a bill. Brooke Prater WBI Parliamentary Strengthening Program parliamentarystrengthening@gmail.com

Legislative Work During Bills Date: Mar 23, 2009 10:20:24 AM PDT Author: Moderator The first reading of a bill is, in most Commonwealth parliaments, simply a notification to the House. It is a purely formal device to let members know that the bill will be taken up for discussion. In certain parliaments there may be more that happens at this stage, for instance, some preliminary discussion may take place or a reference may be made even at this stage to a committee. A date will then be fixed for the second reading which is the point at which the policy aspects of the bill will be debated. The opposition should look on this stage as the opportunity to give notice of changes they would like to see and to convey to the general public how they would handle the problem or situation which the bill seeks to address. After that the bill will be passed on to a committee, possibly of the whole House, to consider each clause of the bill in detail. Amendments may be suggested by both the government and the opposition and some may be accepted in committee. The committee then reports to the House – a stage which has to be gone through even if the examination was by a committee of the whole. Amendments will be brought to the notice of the House and voted upon. The House then proceeds to a third reading which in most parliaments is a formality. No further amendments are taken up except for those of a drafting type. There is little or no debate at this stage. When the bill has passed the third reading, the necessary assent or certificate will be granted and the bill becomes law. Cautionary note: in a bicameral legislature, the bill may now go to the second chamber for its examination and further debate according to the established procedure. It will be useful to hear of varying usages of these procedures and indeed of procedures which could be quite different.

Legislative Work During Bills in Uganda Date: Mar 26, 2009 11:26:37 PM PDT Author: ekky Bills first reading is a time when Bills are introduced or presented to the House. The Speaker calls the Member whose name a bill stands on the order paper. The Member raises and moves that the Bill be read the first time, on question is put at this time. The Clerk reads aloud the Short Title of the Bill and it shall be taken as read for the first time. The Bill is refered to an appropriate committee at this time. Please note that there is no debate on the Bill at this time. In Uganda the Minister also presents a certificate of financial implication at this time stating among others: the specific outputs and outcomes of the Bill, the costs involved and their impact on the budget, the proposed or existing method of financing the costs related to the bill and its feasiblity inter alia. This certificate is signed by the Minister responsible for Finance. The issue of the Certificate of Financial implication was introduced by the Budget Act to ensue that Bills are relevant and implementable. While with the relevant committee the Bill committee is expected to examine the Bill in detail and make all such inquires in relation to it as the committee considers expedient or necessary and report to the House within 45 days from the date the Bill is refered to th committee. During this 45 days the committee may organise public hearings and receive memeorada from the public. This includes NGO'S,Civil Society, individuals and professional bodies. This is very important as it is a major entry point into the legislative process for the public . During second reading the Minister or any other Member in charge of the Bill shall move that the Bill be read a second time and may speak to the motion. The Chairperson of the Committee to which the Bill is refered or a Mmeber designated by the Committee shall then present a report on the Bill to the House. A debate shall then ensue on the merits and principles of the Bill on the basis of the explanatory memorandum and the report from the committee. If the motion is carried, the Clerk shall read aloud the short title of the Bill and it shall be taken to have been read for the second time. If the motion for second reading is carried, the bill shall stand committed to the Committee of the Whole House on a motion or committed to a select committee. The Committee of the Whole House shall not discuss the principles of the Bill but only its details.Proceedings of the Committee are under the Chairmanship of the speaker acting as Chairperson. The committee may propose and accept proposed amendments are relevant to the subject matter of the Bill including new clauses and new schedules. It should be noted that Members are allowed to speak more than once during this time and there is no need for a member to be seconded. Immediately a committee of the Whole House has reported, the House may proceed to the third reading of the Bill. If any Member desires to delete or amend any provision contained in a Bill as reported at anytime before a Member moves the 3rd reading of the Bill move that the Bill be recommitted either wholly or in respect only of some particular amendment or amendments. The House shall proceed to the third reading of the Bill upon a motion " that the Bill be read a third time and do pass". There is no debate during third reading. It is basically a decision making process. In conclusion, it is mandatory for every Bill to go through the above mentioned process. It usually takes alot of time especially before committees. If followed to the letter the process is elaborate and therefore aduequate to enact appropriate legislation.

Week 3 - Legislative Work During Bills Date: Mar 27, 2009 3:40:11 AM PDT Author: DOCTOR The legislative system practised in my country-Cameroon is a blend of the French and Anglo-Saxon Parliamentary systems. Legislation really starts in my country when a Government or Private Members Bill is tabled at the level of the Chairmen's Conference and it is declared admissible(the chairmen's conference in my country is what in other countries of the commonwealth is known as the business committee);they actually do the first reading of the bill and then refer to a committee of the whole house or competent committees for either advisory opinion or a thorough study of the bill and its eventual adoption at the level of the specialised standing commitee selected for that purpose(second reading of the bill) The third and final reading is done in a plenary sitting convened for that purpose.Here, a report of the work of the various committees or committee which was charged by the chairmen's conference to examine and carry a detail study of the bill is read. During this plenary sitting of the house,a debate on both the report and bill is done and either rejected and referred for further study by same committee or some other committee. If not,it is adopted into law and forwarded to the president of the republic who has 15 days to either put his assent or refers back to parliament for further study and amendments. The constitution of my country provides that when this 15 days deadline are by-passed without any statement from the president,the bill automatically becomes law and all citizens including the president is expected to abide by it. Amendments on bills,motions and other parliamentary acts are entertained during debates in committees and plenary sittings,they are either rejected or adopted. Movers of such amendments could either be members of parliament or government oficials piloting bills. Last modified by DOCTOR on Mar 27 2009 3:43AM

Week 3 - Legislative Work During Bills Date: Mar 27, 2009 8:31:07 AM PDT Author: Asad No doubt all the civilized societies pin hopes from the Parliament to legislate and make laws that would be observed by all and sundry to ensure smooth fnctioning of the system.In Pakistan the legislative function is being carried out effectively.The process is very simple as in most of the commonwealth countries. In the first stage, the Bill is introduced to the House by a member.After this, the second reading is done and the bill is debated upon in detail.At such a stage the bill can also be refered to the concerned committee for clause by clause examination.the committee prepares its report and submits it before the House.The final stage of the passage of the bill through the Hoose is the third reading.At this stage the bill is passed and sent to the other House in case the Paliament cosists of two Houses like in Pakistan.After passing of the bill by one house the bill is debated in the other house with in a stipulated time and then sent to Head of the State for approval or assent and the Bill thus becomes a law or act.

Work done in the Legislature between First and Third readings of a Bill. Date: Mar 27, 2009 12:31:49 PM PDT Author: Jackée Subsequent to first reading of a Bill, it is printed and published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. Copies of the Bill as printed and published are forwarded to all Members. An interval of not less than five days must elapse between the first and second reading of a Bill (fifteen clear days in the Senate) unless the House, on motion made and question put, agree to proceed with the Bill at an earlier date or forthwith. No Bill is read a second until it has been printed and circulated to Members. On the second reading of a Bill a debate may arise covering the general merits and principles of the Bill. When a bill has been read a second time it stands committed to a Committee of the whole House, unless the House, on motion made, commits it to a Select Committee. When a Bill has been committed to a Select Committee, no further proceedings shall be taken thereon until the Select Committee has presented its report to the House. Any Committee to which a Bill is committed shall not discuss the general merits and principles of the Bill but only its details. The Committee has the power to make amendments it thinks fit, provided that the amendments are relevant to the subject matter of the Bill, and shall report the same to the House. The Chairman in Committee of the whole House shall call the number of each clause in succession. If no amendment is proposed thereto, or when all proposed amendments have been disposed of he shall propose the question “that the clause (or the clause as amended) stand part of the Bill” and, when all Members who wish to speak thereon have spoken, he shall put that question to the Committee for its decision. The Bill is then reported to the House. When a Bill has been reported from a Committee of the whole House, it shall be ordered to be read a third time. If any Member desires to delete or amend any provision contained in a Bill as reported from a Committee of the whole House or to introduce any new provision therein, he may, at any time before a Member rises to move the third reading of the Bill, move that the Bill be recommitted either wholly or in respect only of some particular part of parts of the Bill or some proposed new clause or new schedule. No notice of such motion shall be required, the question shall be put without amendment or debate and, if the motion is agreed to, the Bill shall stand so recommitted. The House may then, upon motion made, resolve itself into Committee to consider the business so recommitted either forthwith or upon a later day. When the whole Bill has been recommitted, the Committee shall go through the Bill as mentioned before. When the Bill has been recommitted in respect only of some particular part or parts, the Committee shall consider only the matter so recommitted and any amendment which may be moved. At the conclusion of the proceedings in Committee on a Bill recommitted, the Chairman put the question “that the Bill (or Bill as amended on recommittal) be reported to the House”. This question shall be decided without amendment or debate. As soon as the Bill has been reported, the Member in charge of the Bill may either name a future day for the third reading of the Bill or move that it be read a third time forthwith. When a Bill has been reported from a Select Committee, the House proceeds to consider the Bill as reported from the Select Committee upon a motion “That the report of the Select Committee on the ……. Bill be adopted”. If that motion is agreed to without amendment, the House may proceed to the third reading of the Bill as reported from the Select Committee. On the third reading of a Bill no amendments may be proposed to the question “that the Bill be now read a third time and passed” and the question shall be put without debate. Corrections or errors or oversights may be made by the Speaker before the question for the third reading of the Bill is put from the Chair. Last modified by Jackée on Mar 27 2009 12:33PM

Work done between First and Third Readings of Bills Date: Mar 28, 2009 12:55:26 PM PDT Author: Moderator We have had some good and extensive information here which participants will no doubt wish to study carefully. One of the ideas in setting up discussion on this point was to help you to examine these differences in practice and even in terminology. Fir instance it is interesting to see that in some parliaments a reference may be made to a committee even before the second reading. No one so far has mentioned whether they have the practice of a debate followed by a vote being taken on the first reading (where therefore a bill can be lost even at his stage). As an example of such a circumstance, here is what may happen in New Zealand (taken from the parliamentary website www.parliament.nz): ‘A first reading debate provides the first chance to debate a bill in the House. It can occur no sooner than the third sitting day after a bill’s introduction. This delay allows members time to look at a bill and decide if they agree with it. … At the end of the debate the House decides if a bill should progress and votes on whether it should be ‘read a first time’. If a bill is defeated in the vote, that is the end of the bill. If the ‘first reading’ is agreed, the bill is usually referred to a select committee to be considered in more detail.’ Another facet which bears study is the examination of constitutionality of the proposals in a bill. In Sri Lanka such a challenge may be made in the Supreme Court within a stipulated time after the first reading and the Court will treat the challenge as an urgent matter. The Court has quite often asked for variations to be made so as not to offend the constitution and the fundamental rights of the people. Perhaps participants will like to comment on these and draw our attention to any other interesting deviations from the generally followed Commonwealth practices as outlined in the Unit.

Legislative Work Between Frist and Third Reading of Bill Date: Mar 31, 2009 2:39:03 AM PDT Author: MOG A bill develops from an idea coming from a lawmaker, individuals, stakeholders, interest groups or the civil society, one of the parliamentary committees or the other arms of government – the executive and judiciary. The First Reading of a bill is the formal/notification or introduction stage that tells people of the existence of such a bill before the House. The Presiding Officer (Speaker or President of the Senate) calls the clerk of the House to read out the short title of the Bill after which the Presiding Officer himself/herself repeats the short title of the Bill and declares it read the ‘first time’. The bill is not debated or commented on by any member at this stage. Thereafter, the Rules and Business Committee of the House sets an appropriate (convenient) day for debate and this gives members the time to study and digest the content of the Bill. The Second Reading stage of the Bill is when the House considers the general principles, its imports and gives or withholds provisional approval. If the Bill is an executive one the majority leader moves a motion for the reading of the bill for the second time and this motion must be seconded by a member of the House. The main sponsor of the bill kick-starts debates on the bill by highlighting the objectives and salient points of the bill. Barring any objection to the bill, the Presiding Officer after debates, calls on the clerk of the House to read the Long Title of the Bill, which the presiding officer himself repeats after the clerk has read it out, and declares it read the Second Time by the dropping of the gavel. After the bill is read the second time, it is committed to the Committee and the particular committee it is committed to is the prerogative of the Presiding Officer. However, the Standing Order of the House of Representatives of Nigeria in Section 5(1) prescribes that unless the House on a motion made commits a Bill to the Committee of the Whole, such bill stands committed to a Standing Committee. Section 5(2) says that if a Bill touches on two or more jurisdictions it is committed to a committee having the dominant jurisdiction and the other committees become subcommittees. The committee to which the Bill is committed to reports to the House after considering the bill with amendments (if any) it proposes to it. Whenever a Bill is committed to a Standing Committee, the committee organizes a public hearing to incorporate testimonies and public inputs in reaching decisions. After the Bill has been considered by the relevant standing committee, it is placed on the House calendar for the Committee to report to the House. When the House receives the report of the Standing Committee, a date is set in the House calendar for the consideration of the report by the Committee of the Whole. Additional new clauses may be added to a Bill provided they are relevant to the subject matter of the Bill and not inconsistent with a previous decision of the Committee, e.g. it will be out of order to propose a new clause substantially the same as a clause which the Committee had previously proposed to be inserted at any specific point in the Bill. At the conclusion of the proceedings in the Committee of the whole, the Leader of the House shall move the motion “That the Chairman do report the bill” which question shall be decided without amendment or debate. The chairman then leaves the chair, returns to the presiding officer’s seat. The mace brought up from the lower brackets and placed back on the higher brackets on the Table and the presiding officer or whoever was the chairman instead of the presiding officer now reports the bill as amended (or without amendment) to the House. At the Third Reading stage, the Bill is printed in its final version with all amendments included for Third Reading. Although amendments may still be moved; these are hardly major amendments. The Leader of

Rwanda -Legislative Work During Bills Date: Apr 1, 2009 6:01:51 AM PDT Author: augu In Rwanda, when the cabinet adopt the bill or when a MP introduce the bill, it is sent to all Members of Parliament, after it is put on the weekly agenda. If it is bill from the government the Minister concerned come and explain the bill and its related policies into parliament, or if it is a private member bill, a MP who introduced it do the same. After presenting the importance of the bill, remember that it is the first time that bill is discussed in Parliament even the title was not read before in Parliament, instead of distributing the bill to MP before it is discussed. MPs asked questions on it and after they vote to confirm if they accept the bill or not. After to confirm the appropriateness of that bill it sent to committee where each provisions is examined in details. After the Committee make a report and Present it to the plenary session and the bill is voted. All amendment are made in the committee meeting. After the law passed by the Chamber of Deputies it sent to the Senate if it is among the laws which must be examined by the Senate, if not it is sent the the President of the Republic for Promulgation and the publication is followed. When the Senate received a law passed by the low chamber it follows the same procedures and after the laws is returned to the Chamber of Deputies. When there are core amendment on the Law the to Chamber put together a joint committee the examine the amendment of the Senate. If the 2 chambers reach consensus the law is sent to the President for promulgation, if consensus is not reached, the law it sent to it initiator.

Legislative Work During Bills in Uganda Date: Apr 1, 2009 10:37:54 PM PDT Author: karoli I agree with Ekky on the procedure of bills in the House. In Uganda's system the rules of Parliament spellls out the process and I feel it is a good system. The Committee under whose jurisdiction the bill falls, is given time to analyse the bill, invite stakeholders to propose input if any. The Committtee also has enough time to intaract with the minsiter concerned and this helps alot in making a well informed law