In the center of the attention of Parliament was the law on the Federal budget, which this time were made not in a period of three years and one year.
MOSCOW, 23 Dec. Deputies of the state Duma on Wednesday will gather for the last meeting of the autumn session, the focus of the parliamentarians in the autumn has traditionally been a law on the Federal budget, which this time were made not in a period of three years and one year.
Parliamentarians also adopted a number of high-profile initiatives in the social sphere, in particular, the law on prolongation of the maternity capital programme for two years, also in the first reading approved amendments about increase of pension of officials to return 65.
Crisis three-year budget is a hindrance
The state Duma adopted the law on the budget only in 2016 due to the high volatility of financial and commodity markets. Traditionally, the main financial estimates of the country was approved for three years. The lower house of Parliament in recent times refused a three-year budget planning during the crisis in 2008.
According to the document, the income 13,738 trillion rubles, expenses — 16,099 trillion rubles. The budget deficit will be at 2.36 trillion rubles, or 3% of GDP. The budget is formed proceeding from inflation in 2016 is not above the 6.4% average annual price for Urals oil at $ 50 per barrel. GDP is expected to 78,673 trillion rubles.
Within budget funds were allocated for assistance to the regions. In particular, in 2016 the subjects of the Russian Federation will provide up to 310 billion rubles of budgetary credits to partially cover deficits in their budgets, for covering temporary cash gaps, as well as for activities connected with liquidation of consequences of natural disasters and technogenic accidents.
Amnesty
In order to implement the message of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly parliamentarians adopted amendments extending the Amnesty of capital for six months — until July 1, 2016.
According to the current law on Amnesty of capital, in 2015 in Russia it is possible to voluntarily declare their foreign assets, Bank accounts, securities, shares in equity of organizations and controlled foreign companies. While filers are exempted from criminal, administrative and tax liability, if related to the declared property violations were committed prior to January 1, 2015, and only to the extent of the property specified in the Declaration.
Also the MPs at the autumn session in the first reading a government bill on the free provision of land to the Russians in the far East. It is planned that the document will be finally adopted in the spring session.
The program makapela extended
One of the most notorious decisions in the social sphere became a governmental act to extend the maternity capital programme in Russia for two years. This initiative was made by President Vladimir Putin during the Federal Assembly.
Now the right to obtain a prisoner will have families to 31 December 2018 inclusive will be born or adopted a second or subsequent children. It will also need 807,4 billion rubles from the budget.
In 2015, the maternity capital amounts to 453 thousand rubles. It is expected that in 2017 it will increase to 480 thousand in 2018 — nearly $ 505 thousand rubles.
Send it it will be possible to improve housing conditions, education of the child, mother’s pension or rehabilitation of a disabled child.
Also the state Duma has once again extended the freezing of the cumulative part of pension of Russians. In 2016 premiums in full (22% of the wage Fund) will go to the Pension Fund on the formation of a pension insurance system, as was the case in 2014-2015.
Working pensioners without the pension indexation
The authorities of the Russian Federation in connection with the crisis phenomena in the economy had the time to refuse the rule to index pensions to the level of real inflation for the previous year. The state Duma adopted a law according to which from February 1, 2016 insurance pensions will be indexed at 4% and the first half of the second planned indexation, the size of which would depend on the situation in the economy. The Finance Ministry expects inflation by the end of 2015 will amount to 12.4%. However, MPs claim that the target is to bring total indexation to inflation.
The deputies adopted the law, which abolishes the indexation of pensions to working pensioners from 2016.
The retirement age of officials
Another high-profile bill that was passed by the Parliament in first reading in December, involves a gradual increase in the retirement age for officials younger than 65 years. The profile Committee of state Duma on Federal structure supported the adoption of the bill in the first reading, however, in its opinion, have a number of comments. In particular, it was noted that the estimated increase in the retirement age for public and municipal servants along with established for them by restrictions and prohibitions will lead to a leveling of social guarantees for this category of citizens.
In addition, a number of MPs have expressed fears that raising the retirement may be the first step to increase the retirement age in the whole country. However, the country’s leadership repeatedly stressed that the issue of raising the retirement age is not worth it. So, President Vladimir Putin during the annual press conference said that the time for raising the retirement age in Russia is not yet come.
The fight against terrorism
After a series of terrorist attacks in France and the crash of the Russian aircraft in the attack over the Sinai Peninsula, the parliamentarians called for the necessity of toughening of punishment for terrorism in Russia.
The members of the Federation Council and state Duma deputies at the joint meeting adopted the decision on the necessity to toughen the punishment for terrorism or acquiescence to it, including recruitment, propaganda, propaganda methods and practices of terrorism, as well as financing and any other support to terrorist groups. The state Duma Committee for security and counteraction of corruption sent to the security Council a package of bills on counter-terrorism, who had been training from September 2015.
From a number of parliamentarians were proposals to repeal the moratorium on the death penalty only for terrorists, but so far such initiatives have not been made to the state Duma.
During the autumn session the deputies also had to quickly respond to the situation with the protests of truckers in connection with the beginning of work of system “Platon”, which operates in Russia since November 15. The system implementation was accompanied by complaints of technical difficulties.
The deputies adopted the law establishing the order of charging heavy vehicles and fines for evasion. The document, in particular, reduced the fines for non-payment of fees. Now the violation will entail a fine of 5 thousand rubles with the driver, and in the case of detecting a violation of the cameras — the owner of the car. A second violation will cost 10 thousand rubles. Initially it was assumed the penalty in 450 thousand rubles for legal entities.
The lower chamber also passed a law giving the right to the Constitutional court of the Russian Federation to recognize the impossible enforcement in Russia of decisions of international courts, if they violate the rule of the Russian Constitution. The law was developed in pursuance of a resolution of the CA dated July 14, on which the court will decide about the execution of judgments of the European court of human rights in each case individually.
Sacred texts
In addition, in November, the deputies adopted the law of resonance, by which the Bible, the Koran, the Tanakh and Gandzhur constituting the spiritual basis of the world traditional religions, their content and quotes from them can’t be recognized as extremist materials. The reason for the amendments was the decision of the court of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the recognition of “extremist material” books “Prayer to God: its significance and place in Islam”, which had quotes from the Koran. Then the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov called accepted the decision of the judge and the Prosecutor to justice, and the Deputy of the state Duma of Samail sarailiev (EP) was sent to the Russian law enforcement authorities requests to verify the chain of people involved in the court’s adoption of such decision. Later the Sakhalin regional court upheld the appeal of Kadyrov, as well as variety of stakeholders and organizations in reversing the decision of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city court.
Elections
In the autumn deputies have put an end to the issue of moving elections to the state Duma from December to September 2016. Work on changing the date of parliamentary elections began in the walls of the Duma during the spring session, during which was adopted the so-called basic law on postponement of elections to the lower house of Parliament. This fall, Parliament passed two more laws – on combination of elections to the state Duma from a single day of voting and on approval of the schema “slicing” single-member districts for the next ten years.
International contacts of the state Duma continues to be hampered by the imposition of sanctions against a number of Russian deputies. Despite this, meetings with foreign parliamentarians are held in the state Duma quite often.
However, the question of the participation of the Russian delegation to the January session of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) still remains open.
