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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Bills Committee
After a bill has been introduced into the Legislative Council, it is referred to the House Committee which may, as it sees fit, allocate the bill to a bills committee for detailed scrutiny.
Any member of the Legislative Council, other than the President and ex-officio members, may join a bills committee. The chairman is elected by the committee from among its members. Government officials and members of the public may be invited to attend such meetings. A bills committee may consider the principles and merits of a bill allocated to it for scrutiny, as well as the detailed provisions of the bill. In addition, it may consider any amendments relevant to the bill. A bills committee may also appoint sub-committees for the purpose of assisting it in the performance of its functions.
After a bills committee has completed scrutiny of a bill, it will report back to the House Committee. A bills committee is normally dissolved after it has reported on the bill concerned to the House Committee.
Panels
The Legislative Council has set up 18 panels to examine issues of public concern and to monitor government policy matters. Since October 1994, the panels have been restructured to obviate or minimise the need for policy secretaries and government officials having to brief two or more panels at their respective meetings on the same subject within a short period of time. The panels now cover administration of justice and legal services; constitutional affairs; economic services; education; environmental affairs; financial affairs; health services; home affairs; housing; information policy; planning, lands and works; manpower; public service; recreation and culture; security; trade and industry; transport; and welfare services.
Council members, other than the President and ex-officio members, may join any of the panels. A panel may examine any issue that touches on the policy area with which it is concerned. The subjects for discussion can be brought up by members themselves, be referred to them from meetings with district boards, result from public complaints and representations, or arise from proposals presented by the administration. To facilitate deliberations, senior government officials and interest groups are often invited to provide information on the matters to be considered. A panel may also form sub-committees to study specific issues.
The year saw the invocation of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance for the first time since the enactment of the ordinance in 1985. Members of the Security Panel voted to go ahead with an inquiry into the dismissal of a former deputy director of operations of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), following the refusal by the administration to divulge publicly the reasons behind the dismissal. A number of persons, including the Commissioner of the ICAC, gave evidence before the panel. In its report published in October, the panel considered, among other things, that the commission's decision to dismiss Mr Alex Tsui was proper but recom- mended that the government should review its experience from this incident and consider how accountability on issues of public concern can be addressed. It also recommended that the government review the appropriateness of the Commissioner's power under Section 8(2) of the ICAC Ordinance in the present-day situation.