GOVT SENDS PARLIAMENT CHANGES TO LAW ON STATE OFFICIALS

( Editorial: --> 2822 ) ZAGREB, Sept 24 (Hina) - The Croatian Government on Thursday sent to the Parliament a proposal on changes to the Law on the Rights and Duties of State Officials. The Government proposes that the circle of officials who the law refers to should be widened and three new decisions be adopted. Those decisions refer to the salaries of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Parliament President. The salaries of other officials would be determined in relation to the salary of the Parliament President. The Government has sent the proposal immediately to Parliament so that the changes can be discussed during the ongoing session. A final decision on the amount of salaries would be made by the Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Ljerka Mintas-Hodak and Administration Minister Marijan Ramuscak told reporters. According to the Government proposal, the salary of the House of Counties President would amount to 92 per cent of the Parliament President's salary. The salaries of ministers would amount to 72 per cent, prefects to 60 per cent and MPs to 56 per cent of the Parliament President's salary. The lowest salaries would be those of assistant ministers, amounting to 40 per cent of the Parliament President's salary. The salaries of state officials would be public, Mintas-Hodak said. The proposal also envisages widening the current circle of state officials to judges of the Administrative, High Commercial and High Magistrate's Courts as well as to the secretaries and assistants to ministers and deputies and aides to the Croatian Health Insurance director. The current law already regulates that state officials cannot be members of administrative and supervisory boards of companies. According to the proposed changes, they also cannot be members of company management boards. They would have to abide by this regulation within a year's deadline, Mintas-Hodak said. (hina) rml/mbr 241905 MET sep 98