ENG-2016 — Page 29

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Constitution and Administration

Council may pass a motion of impeachment by a two-thirds majority of all its members and report it to the Central People's Government (CPG) for decision; and

• To summon, as required when exercising the above-mentioned powers and functions, persons concerned to testify or give evidence.

Composition

According to the Basic Law, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR shall be constituted by election. The Fifth Legislative Council (1 October 2012 to 30 September 2016) comprised 70 members, of whom 35 were returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections and 35 were returned by functional constituencies. The composition of the Legislative Council in the sixth term (1 October 2016 to 30 September 2020) is the same as the fifth term. The election for the Sixth Legislative Council was held on 4 September 2016. The President of the Legislative Council is elected by and from among the council's members.

Meetings of the Legislative Council

The Legislative Council normally meets on Wednesdays. The business at its regular meetings includes introducing and considering bills and proposed resolutions; tabling subsidiary legislation, papers and reports for the council's consideration; asking questions on the government's work; and debating motions concerning matters of public interest. All council meetings are open to the public. Members may address the council in Cantonese, English or Putonghua. With simultaneous interpretation provided, members of the public have the option of listening in any of these three languages and can also watch the simultaneous sign language interpretation. The proceedings are recorded verbatim in the Official Record of Proceedings of the Legislative Council.

During the 2015-16 legislative session from October 2015 to July 2016, the council held 35 meetings, three of which were the Chief Executive's question and answer sessions. Members. asked 150 oral questions on the government's work with 785 supplementary questions, and another 521 written questions. The council passed 29 bills. It also passed seven motions moved by the government under the positive vetting procedure to seek the council's approval to either make or amend subsidiary legislation. On subsidiary legislation subject to the negative vetting procedure, the council finished scrutinising 35 items which had been tabled during the 2014-15 session. It also completed scrutinising one technical memorandum and 161 out of 163 items of subsidiary legislation tabled in 2015-16, with the remaining two items to be scrutinised in 2016-17.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee consists of all council members except the President. The committee's Chairman and Deputy Chairman are elected from among its members. It normally meets in public on Friday afternoons to scrutinise and approve public expenditure proposals put forward by the government to change approved Estimates of Expenditure. The committee also holds. special meetings to examine annual Estimates of Expenditure presented by the Financial Secretary to the council during proceedings relating to the Appropriation Bill, which sets out the government's expenditure proposals for the following financial year.

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