LOWER HOUSE FORMULATES DRAFT ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

March 23 (Hina) - The House of Representatives formulated with a majority vote on Friday a Draft on Constitutional Changes, which, among else, envisages the dissolution of the House of Counties, and entrusted the Committee on the Constitution, Rule Book and Political System to prepare a bill on constitutional changes. #L# Deputies of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Croatian Party of Rights/Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HSP/HKDU) bench voted against the decision while independent deputy Ivo Loncar abstained. The third, last phase of constitutional changes will include a debate on a bill on constitutional changes, to be drawn up by the Committee on the Constitution. A two-third majority is required for the adoption of changes to the Constitution. The lower house decided with a majority vote on initiating changes to the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court, which, once the upper house is dissolved, should enable local self-government to influence the adoption of laws. MPs supported with the majority of votes changes to the Constitutional Law on the Implementation of the Constitution, which, among else, regulate that the terms of office of the incumbent Supreme Court president and members of the State Judicial Council are terminated with the new law. The lower house also passed a law on a ten-percent decrease in the salaries of state officials - the Presidents of the Republic, the Sabor and the Government, and parliamentary deputies and ministers. It was also decided that the basic salary of judges and other judicial officials should remain the same as last year's. The lower house forwarded into the second reading a bill on the units of local and regional self-government, which is aimed at decentralising the state administration and strengthening the role of counties, towns and municipalities. MPs adopted a law on the election of members of representative bodies of the units of local and regional self-government in the first reading. Under the law, the proportionate election system would be applied in the upcoming (May) local election, instead of the current mixed election system. The parliament forwarded into the second reading a draft national programme on fighting corruption and a proposal on the establishment of an office for the prevention of corruption and organised crime, called USKOK. However, the parliament did not vote about the third law from a package of anti-corruption laws - the one on the prevention of the conflict of interest in public offices. The bill was strongly opposed by the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) bench which believes that it will discourage entrepreneurship and has therefore requested that the government withdraw the bill from parliamentary procedure. A vote on the bill will be taken by the end of the 11th session. The lower house refused bills by HDZ deputies on the status of parents-raisers (on parents who chose to stay at home and raise their children and receive state allowances for that), employment and political parties. (hina) rml