TNAG-2217-FCO40-3184-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 36

a

where Members tend to belong to a large number of committees outside LegCo as well as within, they may attend that number of meetings in a single month. Members may wish therefore to limit their committee burden. Here are some suggestions.

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

f)

g)

h)

i)

ad hoc committees and panels should be combined, and the number of committees should be fixed.

Committee jurisdictions and sizes should be agreed and written into the rules.

In order to eliminate subsequent friction, Members should be assigned or elected to committees, following the general elections, and, in normal circumstances, remain in the same committees for the four year term run of LegCo. This would enable the Committees to develop expertise, and to foster teamwork and strong working relationships with the Administration.

Committees should be provided with budgets for the purposes of research.

With the exception of housekeeping, rule making and ethics committees, Committees should meet in public unless, with the agreement of Members, exceptional circumstances dictate. It is difficult to see how LegCo can perform its role of educating public opinion when meetings are held in private. Moreover closed meetings preclude attendance by research. assistants whose vital roles may then be impaired, sometimes with serious effect.

Following introduction to LegCo, all Bills should automatically be referred to the appropriate Committee which would then determine whether detailed examination by the Committee is necessary.

Legislative Committees should be encouraged to hold public hearings, on the lines of the Swedish Remiss System, before going on to detailed consideration of Bills. This would help Committees to build a

consensus.

Committees should be encouraged to consider Bills systematically taking them line by line and grouping similar amendments together.

Committees should not be empowered to adopt amendments. Following deliberation, Committees should report their recommendations for amendment. This procedure would give greater scope to other Members and the Administration to contest controversial proposals for amendment.