12
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Bills Committees
Any member, other than the President, may join a bills committee to consider the principles and merits of a bill allocated to it for scrutiny. It may also consider the bill's detailed provisions and relevant amendments. A bills committee usually reports its deliberations to the full council after it has completed its task. It is dissolved upon the passage of the concerned bill through the Legislative Council or when the House Committee so decides.
Panels
The Legislative Council has 17 panels to monitor and examine government policies in various areas. They also give views on major legislative or financial proposals before their formal introduction into the council or Finance Committee, and examine important issues of wide public concern as referred by the council, House Committee or as raised by the panel members themselves.
Select Committee
The Legislative Council may appoint select committees to consider matters or scrutinise bills in depth so small groups of members can examine complex problems and report their findings and recommendations to it. During the year, the Legislative Council set up a Select Committee to inquire into the circumstances leading to the problems surrounding the commencement of the operation of the New Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok from July 6 and related issues. By December 31, the Select Committee had held 31 hearings involving a total of 27 witnesses from the government, the Airport Authority and other related organisations.
Redress System
The Legislative Council operates a redress system under which members of the public can seek assistance for any grievance resulting from implementation of government actions or policies and lodge complaints against government departments. It is operated on a weekly roster with groups of six Legislative Council Members taking turns to receive public petitions and representations. They also take turns to be on 'ward duty' during their duty week to meet individual complainants and to give on- the-spot guidance to staff in processing cases.
The Legislative Council Commission and Secretariat
The Legislative Council Commission is a 12-member statutory body independent of the government, chaired by the President of the Legislative Council. Its main function is to provide support and services to the Legislative Council through the Legislative Council Secretariat. It is empowered to employ staff of the Legislative Council Secretariat and oversee its work, determine the organisation and administration of support services and facilities, formulate and execute policies on their effective operation and expend funds in ways it sees fit to support their activities.
The Legislative Council Secretariat provides supporting services to the Legislative Council, including:
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servicing of meetings of the Legislative Council and its committees;
facilitating communication with and among members in relation to the business of the Legislative Council;