The path deviation
The state Duma of the seventh convocation at its first session adopted a record low number of laws — 148. In the last session of the Duma of the sixth convocation, they were accepted 384, and in the autumn session last year, 202. The current figure is close to the end of the first session of the sixth Council (act 154).
One of the reasons for such a result later the new Duma has gathered for its first plenary session after almost three weeks, than last fall (October 5). This session was held 17 meetings, while last fall — 26, and this spring — 38. When the new speaker of the Duma Vyacheslav Volodin has slowed the pace of consideration and adoption of bills.
According to estimates RBC, the seventh Duma on average took about 30 projects per meeting, and the sixth is about 40 (in my last two sessions). Volodin had time to consider meeting an average of 40 bills, and his predecessor Sergey Naryshkin — 50.
He Volodin believes that this is one of the achievements of the state Duma. “We began to discuss the bills more carefully. If there are ten questions [to the speaker], you will be asked ten if he wants 15 people to act, then, will make 15 or 20. This, of course, affects the duration, but without this quality we will not reach”, — he said on Tuesday, December 20, at a meeting with parliamentary journalists.
In the last few weeks before vacation the state Duma Council has included in the agenda of the meetings, a record number of bills (sometimes 170 documents), however, the deputies did not have time to consider and half of the questions. In the leadership of the United Russia faction large agenda, explaining the need to get rid of the “legacy of the previous convocations”, so the bills proposed to be rejected, decided to consider on an expedited procedure.
According to interlocutors in the Duma, the task to include in the agenda a large number of bills were delivered to the leadership of the state Duma, to show the efficiency of the new Parliament. But neither the prolonged plenary session or short breaks didn’t help the deputies cope with the task.
The Duma Volodina cannot reject more documents than the Duma Naryshkin. According to estimates , the current deputies rejected an average of 70 bills per month, and the deputies of the sixth convocation — 60 (November—December 2015 and 2016). In his final speech at the closing session Volodin said that with previous convocations of the Duma got a 2020 backlog of bills, “some since the 1990-ies”.
The struggle for discipline
A key achievement of the first session Volodin believes the fact that the Duma was to work smarter and better: “We go not before 11 [PM]. And we went out in this session on the adoption of most bills recommended by the committees,” he said. According to Volodina, debug the work of the Parliament was already “80%”.
“Changing of the rules from the two plenary weeks to three is also a quality improvement. Because [in the past], the third Committee week — it’s been a week, when the deputies did not participate in the work of the committees — the committees for two or three people came,” — said Volodin.
In addition to the six “pleneros” per month on the initiative Volodin was compulsory to attend a meeting of the state Duma — for truancy MPs face fines, and the money will deduct from your paycheck. According to a source in the state Duma, as a rule, “at the meetings is missing about 30 people”.
But disciplinary control like not all deputies from all factions expressed dissatisfaction with the new regulations of the Duma, introduced with the arrival of Volodina. The parliamentarians complained about the lack of a regional week and the problems with the exit meetings for truancy. On December 8, members of the Communist party Tamara Pletnev and Faith Gansa expressed dissatisfaction with the prolonged plenary session of the state Duma and stated the need to “feed men”.
But Volodin in relief of discipline not going to accept. As he told the United Russia Yevgeny Revenko, changes in the regulations in terms of the relaxation of discipline and the reduction of monitoring attendance, and also eliminating penalties for truancy to wait just not worth it, told the Deputy the results of the meeting with the speaker.
The Monopoly Of “United Russia”
Most of all adopted bills during fall session is traditionally initiated by the government. Among the bills the government introduced an overwhelming majority — 92, although the proportion of documents from the Cabinet was not so great. In the spring session, the government introduced half of all the bills accepted.
If the second place on this indicator in the last session of the sixth Duma, were the deputies, and the third — the President, the members gave the head of state (18 laws) and showed overall low score with only 16 of the initiatives of the deputies were adopted by the Duma of the seventh convocation (10 vs 30% in the spring session). Half of them were made in the sixth Duma (for example, a bill toughening responsibility for doping).
The authors of all accepted initiatives of deputies — United Russia, half of these documents were developed in collaboration with representatives of other factions, in particular the proposal to increase the state financing of parliamentary parties and to increase the number of assistant deputies. Collective law-making was typical for the previous session.
The opposition parties failed in this time to spend any of the bill (without the participation of authors from other factions).
Was introduced in this session of the 328 bills — that is almost two times less than 623 of the bill last autumn, and almost four times less than in the previous session. More than 100 projects in the outgoing session is initiated by the deputies, 92 — government, 14 — President.
The most active legislators in the Deputy corps consists in fraction “Fair Russia” signed 45 projects. Then there are the representatives of the LDPR (35) and the “United Russia” (32), completing the four members of fraction of the Communist party (13). It was the experience of the introduction of the bill, which was signed by representatives of all factions: this document is intended to increase parliamentary scrutiny and obliges the government to provide the MPs the draft regulations to the third reading of the bill
Communist Vladimir Pozdnyakov complains that opposition initiatives are not only at the level of the state Duma, but they have no support and in committees. “What with the fact that the opposition won the governorships of several committees? If the head of the Committee from the opposition faction, the majority in the Committee — all the same United Russia, and they determine all decisions,” — said Pozdnyakov. Among the disadvantages of the new convocation Deputy from the Communist party also calls the desire of the new Duma EN masse reject all the initiatives of the deputies of previous convocations, and the shortened procedure. “This is done even without discussion, without the participation of the authors of the laws,” — said Pozdnyakov.
Without controversial laws
In the first session of the new Duma almost without making a resonant socio-political bills — it took a long time consideration and adoption of the Federal budget for 2017-2019.
At the beginning of the new Parliament was adopted by an unpopular government bill on the replacement of the second increase of pensions in 2016, lump-sum payment in the amount of 5 thousand rubles. And at the end of the session by the votes of United Russia were supported in the first reading the project of the government of the right of local authorities to introduce a fee for entrance to the city and travel on the roads.
The next session of the deputies postponed consideration in the second reading a government bill on deprivation of drivers of the rights for more than three traffic violations in a year, as well as discussion of the bill on punishment of drivers for driving on summer tires in the winter. During the autumn session, the leadership of United Russia has proposed to abolish the criminalization of assault in the family because of the big resonance.
The deputies agreed with the proposals of human rights defenders and softened the so-called law about the sadistic government amendments governing the use of punishments to prisoners. MPs banned from the prison staff beat prisoners for violation of the regime, said that physical force may be used “in exceptional cases, when non-coercive methods are insufficient and/or exhausted,” and added paragraph about “immediate provision” of medical care after injury.
Not spared by the MPs and the war in Syria, adopting the amendments, allowing to conclude fixed-term contracts for participation in anti-terrorist operations abroad.
The claim to independence
According to the analyst Abbas Gallyamov, the new Duma pretends to equalize their political weight with the government. And the true cause of activation of the Duma, said the analyst, “not in the ambitions Volodin,” this decision of Putin. “He has long acted within the traditions inherited from the Yeltsin era. Parliament then considered the most problematic political institution. To weaken it was an accomplishment of the President and his team. For three convocations of the Duma Putin acted in this direction”, — he said.
Political analyst Nikolai Mironov said that “the external image of the Duma became more “business”. But, in fact, the legislative process has not changed, the expert believes. “Basically, the Duma still accepts government bills. Independent legislative initiative of the deputies more was not” — said Mironov.
Most notably, the state Duma deputies of the 7th convocation
On 15 December the United Russia Irina Yarovaya, together with the deputies from other factions has made amendments to the law on parliamentary control, obliging the government to report to deputies about what regulations they are preparing. Rule softened after a meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin Dmitry Medvedev: the White house will inform the Duma only on normative documents for the social and fiscal laws.
The Deputy of the state Duma Irina Yarovaya
Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
The speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has initiated the tightening of discipline in the Duma: in particular, fines 1/6 salaries (about 60 thousand rubles) for deputies for absenteeism of the plenary session. Some MPs complained that they do not have the same regional week, and the Communist Tamara Pletnev and Faith Gansa said that meetings last too long, and they need to “feed men”.
Speaker of the state Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin
Photo: Anna Isakova/TASS
Coordinator of the Communist party faction Sergei Reshulsky has initiated the introduction of a “filter” for bills that will allow to avoid situations when the Duma fall weak and unexamined initiatives.
The Deputy of the state Duma of the Russian Federation Sergey Reshulsky
Photo: Vladimir Fedorenko/RIA Novosti
The Deputy from “United Russia” Natalia Poklonskaya became famous in the new convocation of the state Duma with a request to the Prosecutor General on the audit of subject insults the feelings of believers unfinished film by Alexei Uchitel, and also the fact that the radio attributed the phrase of Chatsky in the play “Woe from wit” the commander Suvorov.
Deputy Chairman of the state Duma Committee for security and combating corruption Natalia Poklonskaya
Photo: Sergey Fadeichev/TASS
One of the richest deputies of the Duma Alexander Skorobogatko (according to Forbes, his fortune — $2.3 billion) voluntarily left the Parliament on 28 November. A possible reason for the resignation is the decision Skorobogatko back in business, said a source in United Russia .
The Deputy of the state Duma Alexander Skorobogatko (center)
Photo: politonline.ru/ТАСС
