4 Constitution and Administration
through the passage of motions moved by the Government. The scrutiny of the remaining 18 items continued in the next session. In addition, the council completed the scrutiny of 12 items of subsidiary legislation, which had been tabled in the previous session, plus the scrutiny of one Technical Memorandum tabled by the Government. The Government proposed 10 resolutions through the positive vetting procedure to either make new or amend existing subsidiary legislation, and all were passed by the council.
Apart from those relating to subsidiary legislation, motions may be moved by members to exercise the council's power under the Basic Law, to amend the council's Rules of Procedure, or to invoke the council's powers under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance. During the report period, the council passed two motions to amend the Rules of Procedure, one motion to suspend a rule of the Rules of Procedure for a meeting, and one motion to sanction a member by admonishment for failure to register his registrable interests. One motion moved to invoke the council's powers to order the production of documents by the Government regarding a works project was negatived. The council also debated 55 members' motions and four adjournment motions on issues concerning public interests.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee consists of all members of the Legislative Council except the President. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the committee are elected from among its members. The committee normally meets in public on Friday afternoons to scrutinise and approve public expenditure proposals put forward by the Government. Its work includes the scrutiny of the annual Budget presented by the Financial Secretary to the Legislative Council during the proceedings related to the Appropriation Bill, which sets out the Government's annual expenditure proposals for the following financial year. During the 2004-2005 session, the committee held 18 meetings and examined 50 financial proposals.
There are two subcommittees under the Finance Committee: the Establishment Subcommittee and the Public Works Subcommittee, which also conduct meetings in public. Membership of both is open to all members of the Finance Committee.
The Establishment Subcommittee examines and makes recommendations to the Finance Committee on the Government's proposals for the creation, redeployment and deletion of directorate posts, and for changes to the structure of grades and ranks in the Civil Service. During the 2004-2005 session, the subcommittee held six meetings and examined 11 proposals put forward by the Government.
The Public Works Subcommittee examines and makes recommendations to the Finance Committee on the Government's expenditure proposals under the Capital Works Reserve Fund for projects in the Public Works Programme and building projects carried out by or on behalf of subvented organisations. During the 2004-2005 session, the subcommittee held 11 meetings and examined 48 proposals, covering 47 projects and the Block Allocations for 2005-2006 put forward by the Government.
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