Bill 294.

Summary.

The bill adds a paragraph to item 5 of article 50 of the Organic Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). That item assigns the Committee on Credentials, Rules, Parliamentary Ethics and Judicial Affairs (Comisión de Credenciales, Reglamento, Ética Parlamentaria y Asuntos Judiciales) the task of studying proposed changes to the Assembly’s internal rules. The new paragraph sets a prior requirement for any member introducing a bill to amend those rules: completion of a course covering legislative drafting, general knowledge of the Organic Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly and the formulation of laws. The requirement would apply to the member who introduces an initiative on that subject.

The National Directorate of Legal and Technical Advisory Services for Committees (Dirección Nacional de Asesoría Legal y Técnica de Comisiones) would provide the mandatory course and certify, by resolution, that the member completed it satisfactorily. That resolution would record completion and be attached to every draft bill of this kind. The provision therefore addresses both the training required before introduction and the document used to establish that the requirement has been met. Article 2 expressly identifies the amendment as the addition of a paragraph to item 5 of article 50 of the same rules.

Article 50, as reproduced in the bill, places the new requirement alongside the functions of the Committee on Credentials, Rules, Parliamentary Ethics and Judicial Affairs. Beyond studying changes to the internal rules, the article lists matters concerning members’ resignations and credentials and the suspension or loss of their office; elections held on National Assembly premises; and serious incidents there whose sanction is not assigned to the Assembly’s President. It also covers review of appointments sent by the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) for the Assembly’s approval or rejection under the Political Constitution (Constitución Política) or the law. These subjects appear in the reproduced text of article 50; the proposed condition is placed specifically after item 5.

The reproduced provision also refers to matters under article 160 of the Political Constitution of the Republic (Constitución Política de la República), opinions to the plenary on accusations and complaints against the officials it lists, and the study of amendments to and compliance with the Code of Parliamentary Ethics and Honor (Código de Ética y Honor Parlamentario). It further covers promotion of parliamentary ethical values and review of complaints concerning conduct affecting members’ ethics and honor. Article 3 provides that the proposed law would take effect upon its promulgation.

The bill concerns the National Assembly, the Committee on Credentials, Rules, Parliamentary Ethics and Judicial Affairs, the National Directorate of Legal and Technical Advisory Services for Committees and the Executive Branch. It would affect members who introduce initiatives to amend the internal rules and concerns the parliamentary procedures for training and introducing those initiatives.