The new bill, under discussion in the first reading, defines the HRT as a public institution offering public broadcasting services. The legislation, however, does not define the internal organisation of the public broadcaster, which will be done in the HRT statute.
The HRT's public services are precisely defined.
One of the new things in the proposed legislation is the conclusion of a five-year agreement stipulating the programming obligations of the national radio and television and the sources and amounts of funds for the broadcasting of those programmes. The first agreement of this kind is to be signed for a three-year period.
Culture Ministry State Secretary Nina Obuljen said the agreement would facilitate the work of the HRT programmes council in supervising programme content.
The HRT is to have a three-member managing board. The president and the other two members of the managing board are to be appointed together by the programmes council and the five-member supervisory board.
Four members of the supervisory board will be appointed by the national parliament and one member will be appointed on a proposal of the HRT workers' committee. The supervisory board is expected to appoint the HRT director.
The supervisory committee will also oversee the broadcaster's financial activities.
Regarding the make-up of the programmes council, two models are being offered: a 15-member council whose members are to be selected as representatives for strictly defined civil society associations; or, an 11-member council appointed and relieved by the parliament following the proposal of the media committee.
According to the draft legislation, the HRT will continue collecting monthly subscription fees, calculated as 1.5 percent of the average net salary in the previous year, and commercial revenues from advertising with time of broadcasting and duration limits.
The draft amendments envisage the reduction of the current monthly subscription fee from HRK 80 to 60, which the government says is an anti-recession measure which should help citizens.