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89-579: There are four types of question—Starred, non-starred, short notice question and questions to private members. 1) Starred Questions are those for which an oral answer is expected. The member is allowed to as after the reply is obtained from the Minister concerned. Answer to such question may be followed by supplementary questions by member. These questions are printed in green colour and are marked with asterisk sign '*', in order to distinguish from other questions. 2) Non-starred questions are those for which

178-526: A citizens' legislative initiative for tougher blasphemy laws in Poland with close to 400,000 (Higher than the 100,000 needed) signatures to parliament. According to Article 74 of the Romanian Constitution, groups of at least 100,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage that reside in at least one quarter of all the counties and with a minimum 5,000 signatures per county have the right to send

267-488: A member's bill (often misattributed as private member's bill) is one that is introduced by a member of Parliament who is not a minister. There can be a maximum of eight members' bills on the Order Paper awaiting their first reading at any one time. When a slot opens up, a ballot is held to select a new members' bill for introduction; each MP can submit only one member's bill at a time to the ballot. Every second Wednesday

356-495: A Citizens' Initiative which must be considered by the legislative body (Initiatives that address fiscal or international matters are not covered by this right). If the initiative concerns changing the Constitution, Article 150 of the Constitution states that the group must include at least 500,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage who reside in at least half of all the counties, with a minimum of 20,000 per county. Article 151 of

445-599: A Constitution for Europe (TCE) included a limited indirect initiative right (Article I-46(4)). The proposal of introducing the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was that 1,000,000 citizens, from minimal numbers of different member states, could invite the executive body of the European Union (EU), the European Commission , to consider any proposal "on matters where citizens consider that

534-459: A Member seeks to ask a question urgently and cannot wait for the duration of the notice period, then the member can do so provided it is accepted by the Speaker . Such questions are called supplementary questions. The following procedural changes have been in force since the 5th session of the 15th Lok Sabha : This sort of a process where elected representatives ask questions that are replied by

623-541: A bill. These bills are given priority for debate and generally offer the best chance of success. Additional bills may be introduced via the Ten Minute Rule , although this is usually used just to raise an issue rather than legislate on it, or through presentation without debate under Standing Order 57. Neither Ten Minute Rule or presentation bills are likely to get time to be debated, so only non-controversial bills have any chance of success. Private members' bills from

712-473: A committee. Any petition which reaches 10,000 signatures triggers a response from the government and those which reach 100,000 signatures will almost always require the government to consider holding a debate (with some exceptions, such as whether a similar issue has been debated recently, or a debate for that issue is scheduled) on the matter in the House of Commons. Only British Citizens or individuals resident in

801-634: A human right" (against Water privatization ), "30 km/h - making the streets liveable!" ( Traffic calming in towns), " Unconditional Basic Income " (UBI - Exploring a pathway towards emancipatory welfare conditions), or to "End Ecocide in Europe" (to give the Earth Rights). It remains to be seen if the ECI evolves into a full initiative or remains in its present state of a de facto petition. Since 1 March 2012, Finnish citizens with suffrage have had

890-503: A legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Constitution." The precise mechanism had not been agreed upon. Critics underlined the weakness of this right of initiative, which did not ultimately entail any vote or referendum. A similar scheme under the same name, European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), has been put forward in the now ratified European Lisbon Treaty (which entered into force on 1 December 2009), enabling

979-664: A limited indirect initiative right. It follows very similar rules to the ones outlined in the European Constitution, requiring the signatures of 1,000 000 European Nationals. These citizens would thereby obtain the same right to request the Commission to submit a legislative proposal as the Council has had since the establishment of the European Communities in 1957. This, however, does require that

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1068-405: A popular vote (referendum) rests with the local assembly. A citizens' initiative referendum was proposed by the yellow vests movement . Citizens are able to submit a law project to the parliament through the "Référendum d'Initiative Partagée"; they can ask for a referendum if they meet the 185 deputies requirement and the signatures of at least 10% of the voting population. All German states have

1157-480: A private member's bill cannot be withdrawn after its committee stage, which occurs between first and second readings. In addition, private members' bills must undergo a preliminary reading , while government bills go to first reading directly when they are introduced. Compared to other Westminster system parliaments, the number of private members' bills introduced in the Knesset is very large: Between 2000 and 2016,

1246-449: A private member's bill, including Government ministers and whips , will routinely attempt to talk out the bill, stopping further progress by preventing a vote. The bill's proponent can force a vote only with the support of at least a hundred members (and a majority of those voting). As many MPs return to their constituencies on Thursday night, this has the practical effect of blocking all private members' bills without solid support. It

1335-412: A professional company to gather signatures. Instead of a signature hurdle a state-sponsored public opinion poll as hurdle has been proposed. The success of a popular initiative depends on the exact wording. A direct initiative places an initiative measure directly on the ballot for voters to pass or reject. The measure is not submitted to the legislature for support first. An indirect initiative

1424-735: A result of a member's bill includes: In the Parliament of Norway , any member may submit a private member's bill, called a representative's bill ( Norwegian : representantforslag lovvedtak ). The other method of initiating legislation is by a "Proposition to the Storting " from the Government . In the United Kingdom House of Commons , there are several routes to introducing private members' bills. In each session, twenty backbench MPs are selected by ballot to introduce

1513-479: A result, the member's bill process is nicknamed "biscuit tin democracy". Starting with the 53rd Parliament (2020–23), a member's bill can be introduced directly if it has the support of at least 61 non-executive members of Parliament. This allows members' bills with broad support to avoid the ballot process, while excluding executive members prevents the member's bill process being an alternative way of progressing Government business. Notable legislation passed as

1602-493: A shorter notice i.e. less than 10 days. These questions can be answered orally and supplementary questions can be asked. These questions are printed in light pink colour. 4) Questions to private members are those which are asked to members who are not ministers. These questions are related to private member's bills , parliamentary committees, private member resolutions. These questions are printed in Yellow colour. However, if

1691-571: A vote in the House. Prior to the 1986 rules, private members' bills and motions could be "talked out", meaning that all the time allocated to private members' bills could be used up introducing or debating bills without them ever being voted on, as each bill must be voted on after the second hour of debate. (The ramifications of the 1986 rules were discussed in the Canadian Parliamentary Review , 1988, Vol 11, No. 3. ) Even under

1780-645: A website maintained by the Finnish Ministry of Justice, where they may be electronically signed; signatures are also collected on paper. If an initiative is able to attract the signatures of a total of 50,000 citizens within six months, it is forwarded to the Finnish Parliament for consideration; otherwise, it will lapse. The Parliament treats citizens' initiatives according to normal parliamentary procedure, that is, they are debated and considered in committees and they may also be amended or altered;

1869-471: A written reply is expected. After the reply has been provided, no supplementary question can be asked. A notice period is to be given to the minister to reply to a question. These questions are printed in white colour and not more than 230 questions can be listed for a day in the Lok Sabha. 3) Short notice questions are those which are asked on matters of urgent public importance and thus, can be asked on

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1958-402: Is a formality; the bill will be put to the bottom of the order paper , will likely be objected to on each future occasion and has no practical chance of success. Even if second reading is passed, a bill is likely to need the support of the government to become law. The bill will be referred to public bill committee , which may make amendments. The amended version of the bill will then return to

2047-555: Is also known by its campaign slogan, #Tahdon2013 (#IDo2013). This initiative was accepted by the Parliament during the 2011-2015 parliamentary session, though political debate, decision-making and drafting of the new law continued on to the next parliamentary session. The new law took effect on 1 March 2017 . To date, a total of 24 citizens' initiatives have reached the 50,000 mark, with 20 of them having been either rejected or accepted in Parliament - so far, only two have been accepted:

2136-523: Is also used at the cantonal and communal level in Switzerland (all cantons , all communes where the direct democratic citizens' participation originates); many cantons allow initiatives to enact regular non-constitutional law, but the federal system does not. If the necessary number of supporters is reached, the initiative will be put to a plebiscite about two or three years later; the delay helps prevent short-term political moods from getting into

2225-480: Is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Article XVII Section 2, which states: Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following

2314-399: Is generally because of lack of time – a controversial private member's bill can be "talked out" . In some cases, measures that a government does not want to take responsibility for may be introduced by backbenchers, with the government secretly or openly backing the measure and ensuring its passage. They are sometimes known as "handouts" or "whips' bills". The Abortion Act 1967 was enacted in

2403-489: Is more common than a legally binding direct or indirect initiative. In Brazil, a popular law initiative requires two conditions be met before it is sent to the National Congress: signatures from at least 1% of national registered voters and at least 0.3% of the people allowed to vote from each of at least five of the 27 federal unities (the 26 states plus the federal district). If both conditions are met, Congress

2492-586: Is neither a cabinet minister nor a deputy minister. The number of private members' bills an individual MK can submit is restricted, and their introduction requires approval by the Knesset Presidium (composed of the Speaker of the Knesset and their deputies), who are allowed to reject bills which are racist in their essence or reject the Jewish character of the state. Unlike government bills, which can be withdrawn at any point before their third reading ,

2581-546: Is obliged to discuss and vote on holding the initiative. The Canadian province of British Columbia has a citizen initiative law known as the Recall and Initiative Act. The original proposal was put to voters in a referendum held in October 1991 and was supported by over 83% of voters. It was subsequently put into force by the incoming NDP government. Since it came into force in 1995, at least 14 attempts have been made to force

2670-476: Is quite possible for the first bill to take up all five hours, preventing any other bill on the agenda from being debated. Any bill not debated may receive second reading without debate at the end of the session, but a single shout of "object!" will delay consideration to a future date; Government and opposition whips routinely block contentious private members' bills in this way. Another date for second reading will also be set for bills which have been talked out. This

2759-553: Is reserved for debating members' bills, although this rule is overridden when certain government business is before the House, such as the Budget. Even when a Wednesday is devoted to members' bills, any private or local bills on the Order Paper are considered first. The ballot to select new members' bills is conducted by drawing numbered counters out of a biscuit tin , purchased in the 1980s from now-defunct department store chain DEKA . As

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2848-635: Is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in which a "private member" is any member of parliament (MP) who is not a member of the cabinet (executive). Other labels may be used for the concept in other parliamentary systems; for example, the label member's bill is used in the Scottish Parliament and the New Zealand Parliament , the term private senator's bill is used in the Australian Senate , and

2937-413: Is voted on by a legislature after sufficient signatures are collected from the voting population. In most areas the measure is submitted to a subsequent popular vote only if amended by the legislature. An agenda setting initiative is a measure submitted by petition to a legislature for consideration. The legislature may choose to approve or reject the proposal without a public vote. This form or initiative

3026-975: The Charter Trustees Act 1985 , the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996 , the Knives Act 1997 , the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 , the Mental Health (Discrimination) Act 2003 the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 , the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 , the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 . In principle, private members' bills follow much the same parliamentary stages as any other bill. In practice,

3115-547: The Constitutional Convention considered Dáil electoral reform, members voted 83:16 in favour of allowing "citizens' initiatives" in general, 80:19 to allow them specifically for legislation, and 78:17 to allow them for constitutional amendments . In April 2015, the Fine Gael–Labour government rejected the recommendations on the basis that there is sufficient public involvement in legislation through

3204-668: The District of Columbia , and is also in common use at the local government level. Article I, Section I of the United States Constitution vests "all legislative powers herein granted" to the Congress of the United States . Establishing a national initiative procedure would likely require an amendment to the Constitution , which would under Article V require two-thirds of both houses of Congress or

3293-506: The House of Representatives by Louis Ludlow of Indiana between 1935 and 1940, proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would require a national referendum to declare war except in the case of invasion or attack. The amendment came closest to overcoming a discharge petition on January 10, 1938, when it was defeated in the House by a vote of 209 to 188, short of the two-thirds vote required for its passage. Unsuccessful attempts to get initiatives have nevertheless occurred, but since

3382-665: The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 , legalised same-sex marriage throughout Australia on 9 December 2017. It was introduced by Dean Smith , Senator for Western Australia. Notable also was the private member's bill introduced by Alan Corbett in the New South Wales Legislative Council to amend the Crimes Act of 1900. The first successfully enacted (or indeed introduced) bill in over 100 years to address

3471-604: The Oath of Allegiance . By May 1928 Fianna Fáil claimed 96,000 signatures and attempted to have the petition laid before the Dáil (lower house). The motion was deferred, ostensibly to allow the Dáil procedure committee to define the method of dealing with such petitions. Before the committee could meet, the Cumann na nGaedheal government rushed through an amendment deleting Article 48 of

3560-540: The Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland rarely passes private members' bills, with the overwhelming number of bills being passed being introduced by members of the cabinet. A private member's bill is not to be confused with a private bill , which is a bill that only affects an individual citizen or group. In Australia, a draft bill is prepared by Parliamentary Counsel, acting under instructions from

3649-627: The United Kingdom through this means: with the Bill itself being introduced by a Liberal Party Member of Parliament, David Steel ; through the support from Labour Home Secretary Roy Jenkins the Bill was given enough government time to allow a full debate. Other private members' bills to have been enacted include the Adoption Act 1964, the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 ,

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3738-412: The 24 June 1999 law, citizens wishing to launch an initiative must create a committee of at least 15 members, which becomes a legal person . The committee must prepare the draft bill and collect at least 100,000 signatures (Article 2). Under Article 12 of the law, if there is "justified doubt regarding the authenticity of the required number of signatures of citizens, then within 14 days of the lodging of

3827-610: The 24 years between 5 November 1984 and 7 September 2008, 81 private members' bills passed. Passage was (and is) more likely during the periods of minority governments in Canada . The ramifications of the 1986 rules and new probability of success of private members bills were discussed in the Canadian Parliamentary Review , 1988, Vol 11, No. 3. Article 74 of the Hong Kong Basic Law prohibits private members' bills that relate to public expenditure, political structure or

3916-499: The Commons. To become law, it must also successfully negotiate report stage and third reading, as well as the House of Lords . Contentious bills are likely to run out of parliamentary time unless the government allocates some; any pending private members' bills lapse at the end of each parliamentary session. Private members' bills may also originate in the House of Lords. To become law, these bills must be adopted by an MP and passed in

4005-517: The Constitution also states that any amendments brought to it, must be also approved by means of a National Referendum. The federal popular initiative was included in the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1891, permitting a certain number of citizens (currently 100,000 signatures within 18 months ) to make a request to amend a constitutional article, or even to introduce a new article into the constitution. The right of initiative

4094-514: The Constitution. Citizens' legislative initiatives are a constitutional right in Poland, defined in Article 118, paragraph 2, of the 1997 Polish Constitution . The paragraph gives legislative initiative to any group of at least 100,000 citizens with voting rights to the Sejm , the lower house of Polish parliament. The detailed procedure is defined in a law dated 24 June 1999. Under Article 5 of

4183-459: The Director of Accounting Services. Of the 300 or so private members' bills introduced in the 14th Lok Sabha , barely 4% were discussed; 96% lapsed without even a single debate in the House. To date, Parliament has passed a total of 14 private members' bills. Following are the 14 Private Members' Bills which were passed:- Five of these were passed in 1956 alone and after 47 years of passing

4272-557: The Elections BC website. In the United States , a popular vote on a measure is referred to as a referendum only when aiming at allowing or repealing an act passed by a state legislature. An initiative may be called a " ballot measure ", "initiative measure", or "proposition". The United States has no initiative process at the national level, but the initiative is in use at the level of state government in 24 states and

4361-548: The House of Representatives on 24 July – both times with little debate – and given royal assent on 31 July. Despite much public debate ever since on the issue of compulsory voting, the legislation has never been repealed. Another very notable private member's bill was the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996, which deprived the Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Norfolk Island legislatures of

4450-613: The Jagt Resolutions never got out of committee. Senator Mike Gravel was part of that effort. The modern system of initiatives and referendums in the United States originated in the state of South Dakota , which adopted initiatives and referendums in 1898 by a popular vote of 23,816 to 16,483. Oregon was the second state to adopt and did so in 1902, when the Oregon Legislative Assembly adopted it by an overwhelming majority. The "Oregon System", as it

4539-457: The Lords may also be adopted by an MP to complete their journey through Parliament. Private members' bills can sometimes become the cause for much anxiety and shenanigans, as outside individuals or organisations seek to influence members who have been selected in the ballot. There are two principal routes for influencing UK law: Only a small proportion of private members' bills are enacted. This

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4628-484: The Parliament is not restricted to passing or rejecting them as they are. The first initiative to pass the 50,000 mark did so already a few months after the "kansalaisaloite" first became possible. The initiative demanded the ending of fur industry in Finland, but failed to pass in Parliament. The first initiative to be accepted by the Parliament was the citizens' initiative known in Finland as "Equal Marriages Law", which

4717-900: The Prime Minister or other government ministers is part of parliamentary tradition in many other countries. The Question Hour in the Indian Parliament is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, and the Question Period in the House of Commons of Canada. India's very first major financial scam

4806-448: The UK are allowed to start a petition or be a signatory. Petitions can be initiated via a specialist website, which also contains guidance on when petitions will, and will not, be debated. On occasion, some petitions which are signed by fewer than 100,000 people are still debated. Examples of issues which have been debated in parliament via this system are various issues surrounding Brexit and

4895-535: The Union Commerce Ministry to grant licenses for importing various items. The signatures were forged on the behest of Indira Gandhi 's key aide, Lalit Narain Mishra. Private member%27s bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch . The designation "private member's bill"

4984-562: The aforementioned "Equal Marriages Law" and the "Motherhood Law" from 2015/16 . A limited, indirect form of local initiative was added to the French Constitution (article 72-1, référendum d'initiative locale ) on 28 March 2003 as part of decentralization reforms. However, the only power these "local referendum initiatives" confer on citizens is the ability to add propositions to their local assembly's meeting agenda. The decision as to whether to submit citizen propositions to

5073-475: The agenda of Parliament, and must be re-introduced in the new session of Parliament after an election). In the House of Commons (but not in the Senate), private members' bills remain on the order paper when Parliament is prorogued . Notable private members bills have been the following: In the 98 years from 4 May 1910 to 7 September 2008, 229 private members' bills passed. The new rules took effect in 1986. In

5162-412: The application of two-thirds of the state legislatures to propose, and three-fourths of all state legislatures (or conventions in three-fourths of the states ) to ratify. The Constitution itself, pursuant to Article VII , was ratified by state conventions rather than by a referendum. Several proposals have been made to institute a national referendum. The Ludlow Amendment , introduced several times to

5251-428: The constitution. The parliament and government will both issue their official opinions on whether they recommend voting for or against the proposed amendment, and these opinions will be published. The parliament may also pass an alternative amendment suggestion which will also be included on the ballot; in this case, the voters cast two votes, one for whether or not they want an amendment, and one for which one they want,

5340-539: The constitutional right to send a citizens' initiative (Finnish: kansalaisaloite , Swedish: medborgarinitiativ ) to the Parliament of Finland . An initiative must begin with at least five citizens as sponsors, and it must consist either of a direct proposal for a new law or of a motion to initiate the drafting of a new law by the relevant government department, as well as present reasons for doing so. A single initiative may not contain proposals on more than one specific legislative issue. Proposed initiatives are published on

5429-427: The day. In contrast, a popular referendum that allows voters only to repeal existing legislation. The hurdles the petition has to meet vary between countries, typically a certain number of signatures by registered voters , to prevent a flood of frivolous measures on the ballot. It's been argued that a signature hurdle does not always determine popular support since the signature hurdle can be achieved through hiring

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5518-455: The exception of the clause banning the use of implements (which was dropped to gain essential support from the state Labor Government for the bill), it was passed intact and became law in 2001. In Canada, a private member's bill ( French : projet de loi émanant d'un député ) is a bill introduced in the House of Commons by a member of parliament who is neither a cabinet minister nor a parliamentary secretary. A private member's bill follows

5607-522: The exception; however, some time is set aside in the schedule for reading such bills. They may be introduced by non-ministerial MPs from government-supporting parties ( backbenchers ), by members of opposition parties ( frontbencher or backbencher), or by independents or crossbenchers . The Israeli Knesset has a long history of enacting private members' bills: a slight majority of the laws passed by it originated as private members' bills, and thousands more are introduced without being passed. In contrast,

5696-600: The government to either adopt a law or to hold a referendum on the question, but only one has succeeded. Only one secured the required signatures of 10% of registered voters in each riding throughout British Columbia. Due to this achievement the government held the first referendum under this legislation, in September 2011 on the subject of repealing the Harmonized Sales Tax . Details of its use in BC are available on

5785-403: The initiatives have proven to be a useful tool to force the government to concentrate on subjects that will otherwise remain hidden from the politic, lowering the distance between the government and the citizens. While there is no mandate for a referendum following directly from such an initiative, the UK government has a system whereby citizens can set up online petitions, which are considered by

5874-577: The last bill, the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968 that became an Act on 9 August 1970; Rajya Sabha has passed the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 on April 24, 2015, which was introduced in the lower house, Lok Sabha on 26 February 2016. In Israel, a private member's bill ( Hebrew : הצעת חוק פרטית ) is a bill introduced in the Knesset by an MK who

5963-457: The list of signatures, the Marshal of the Sejm must request the National Electoral Commission to verify the signatures. The electoral commission has 21 days to carry out the verification. One of the best known citizens' initiatives in Poland is the pair of 2015/2016 anti-abortion and pro-abortion initiatives which were accompanied by the Black Protest marches coordinated by women's rights groups. In October 2022, United Poland submitted

6052-417: The new rules, very few private members' bills become law. But passage is more likely in minority government situations. The vast majority of private members' bills that actually do become law are for the purpose of changing the name of the riding represented by the MP introducing the bill. When an election is called, all bills that have not been passed die on the order paper (that is, they are removed from

6141-431: The number of private members' bills introduced before the Knesset was 22,949, a world record. However, this is a relatively recent phenomenon – while only 6% of laws passed by the Third Knesset where introduced as private members' bills, the equivalent share for the Fifteenth Knesset is 53%, a slight majority. As of September 2021, no private member's bill was passed in the Malaysian parliament . In New Zealand ,

6230-453: The operation of the Government . Private members' bills that involve government policies must be agreed by the Chief Executive . Whether the bill involves such issues are to be determined by the Legislative Council President . For private members' bills proposed for the particular interest or benefit of any individual, association or body corporate, a fee of HK$ 33,500 for amendment bills, and HK$ 67,000 for principal bills must also be paid to

6319-441: The original one from the initiative or the one introduced in parliament, in case a majority decides for amending. A citizen-proposed change to the constitution in Switzerland at the national level needs to achieve both a majority of the national popular vote and a majority of the canton-wide vote to pass. The vast majority of national initiatives introduced since 1891, when the system started, have failed to receive voter support. But

6408-603: The other. An even larger number did not pass the house in which they were introduced and thus lapsed. Among the most notable of the successful bills was the Commonwealth Electoral Bill 1924, which introduced compulsory voting for federal elections. This was introduced by Senator for Tasmania Herbert Payne of the Nationalist Party on 16 July 1924, passed by the Senate on 23 July, passed by

6497-574: The petitions committee and the pre-legislative scrutiny process. Article 48 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State gave a right of initiative: if more than 50,000 voters demanded a change in law, the Oireachtas had two years to enact it, failing which 75,000 voters could petition for a referendum . The only attempt to invoke this was organised in 1927 by Fianna Fáil , the largest opposition party, which sought to abolish

6586-752: The power to make laws permitting euthanasia . This was introduced by Kevin Andrews , Member for Menzies, after the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly had passed such a law, the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 . Although Andrews was a member of the Liberal Party , members and senators were allowed a conscience vote on the issue, and each side of the debate was supported by members and senators from all political parties. A private member's bill,

6675-531: The prestigious Australian of the Year award in 1996). Its initial aims were to limit physical chastisement by banning the use of implements (belts, sticks, hairbrushes, etc.), ban the use of force above the shoulders (thus preventing neck, head, brain and facial injuries), and require that any physical force applied leave only trivial and short-lived signs such as redness (that is, no bruising, swelling, welts, cuts, grazes, internal injuries, emotional trauma, etc.); with

6764-531: The private member. After community consultation, the member introduces the bill into the Parliament. Only 30 private members' bills or private senators' bills introduced into the Australian Parliament since 1901 have been passed into law. Of these, thirteen have been initiated by senators, ten by members and seven by the Speaker and Senate President. A larger number have passed one house but not

6853-407: The procedural barriers to passage are much greater. Time is allocated for private members' bills on 13 Fridays a year in the House of Commons . Five hours of time are available each day, and several private members' bills are scheduled for each session. Unlike Government bills, debates are not timetabled and there is no guarantee that the debate will finish within the time available. MPs opposed to

6942-510: The proposals were bills, not constitutional amendments, no initiative could probably have lawfully been voted on notwithstanding the bills' passage. The first attempt to get national ballot initiatives occurred in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma ; the proposal was never put to a vote. In 1977, both the Abourezk-Hatfield National Voter Initiative and

7031-407: The proposed measure is first referred to the legislature, and then if the proposed law is rejected by the legislature, the government may be forced to put the proposition to a referendum. The proposition may be on federal level law, statute , constitutional amendment , charter amendment, local ordinance , obligate the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of

7120-497: The protection of children from abuse and excessive physical chastisement. It received very wide support from New South Wales organisations related to child health and welfare and was backed by several prominent members of the medical profession, particularly in the paediatric field, notably John Yu , CEO of Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children , Sydney (who had been honoured by the Australian Government with

7209-422: The ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter. This provision is further protected by Republic Act 6735 or The Initiative and Referendum Act. The law defines initiative as: The law also provides indirect initiative defining the exercise of people's initiative through a proposition sent to congress or local legislative body for action. The rejected Treaty establishing

7298-505: The right to petition , particularly since a petition is directed to Parliament while a citizens' initiative is directed to the Commission; whereas a petition is a method of remonstrance, usually focussing on perceived infringements of European Law, an initiative is a grassroots proposal for new legislation. In 2013 the subjects of ongoing open initiatives of the European Citizens' Initiative are e.g. about "water and sanitation as

7387-477: The right to initiative. However, there is no constitutional citizens' initiative in Germany at a federal level. The Constitution of Ireland , since its 1937 enactment , has never made provision for initiatives. Since 2012, the Oireachtas (parliament) has a joint committee to which the public can submit petitions ; the committee must formally consider them but need not accept them. In May–June 2013, when

7476-405: The same legislative process as a government bill, but the time allocated for its consideration is restricted. Private members' bills may be considered only during one of the daily Private Members' Hours. Under rules established in 1986, 20 items of private members' business are selected at random to receive priority in debate. Six of these items are chosen by a committee to be votable and must come to

7565-460: The same way as a bill originated in the Commons. Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative ) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative , the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite or referendum , also called a popular initiated referendum or citizen-initiated referendum . In an indirect initiative ,

7654-510: The signatures come from a "significant number" of Member States. It is suggested that this significant number will need to be around a quarter of member states, with at least 1/500 of the citizens in those member states supporting the initiative. With the variety of languages within the European Union, this creates a significant hurdle for people to navigate. The treaty also makes it clear that right of initiative should not be confused with

7743-597: The term public bill is used in the Senate of Canada . In legislatures where the executive does not have the right of initiative , such as the United States Congress , the concept does not arise since bills are always introduced by legislators (or sometimes by popular initiative ). In the Westminster system, most bills are " government bills " introduced by the executive, with private members' bills

7832-465: Was at first known, subsequently spread to many other states, and became one of the signature reforms of the Progressive Era (1890s–1920s). Almost every state currently in the union utilizes some sort of State Question or Initiative. A contemporary issue that is commonly decided through this method is the legalization of marijuana . People's initiative to propose amendments to the constitution

7921-491: Was brought to light during the 2nd Lok Sabha when Feroze Gandhi questioned the finance ministry regarding government owned Life Insurance Corporation 's unauthorised investment into Haridas Mundhra's companies. It eventually resulted in the resignation of the then finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari . In 1974, during the 5th Lok Sabha , a licence scandal was unearthed during question hour. A memorandum allegedly signed by 21 MPs were submitted by traders of Puducherry to

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