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and calls for members to vote.
Provided that there is a
majority vote in favour of the bill, it is represented to
the Governor for his assent. It is open to the Governor to
assent, to refuse to assent, or to reserve the bill for the
signification of Her Majesty's pleasure. The Governor has
not, however, refused his assent to any bill since the war.
Every Ordinance must be submitted to the Secretary
of State by the Governor, after assent or reservation, in
order that the power of non-disallowance may be exercised.
The Ordinance must be accompanied by a legal report, in which
the Attorney General states that he advised the Governor that
it was proper for him to assent before he did so, in cases
where assent has been given. If the Governor assents to a
bill, it then takes effect and becomes an Ordinance.
But
the Queen may subsequently disallow it, whereupon the law becomes
inoperative. So, the ultimate control and responsibility
for Hong Kong's legislation rests in London.
The procedure for bills, which is designed to
ensure that all bills introduced into the Legislative
Council are closely scrutinised and, if necessary, amended
before being passed, has two interesting features.
Firstly, by contrast to the position of official
members in the Executive Council, official members in the
Legislative Council are expected to vote in accordance
with Government policy. The matter was put by the Secretary
of State in the following terms as long ago as 1966: "Her
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