Optional practice
The rules Committee of the state Duma on behalf of the Chairman of the lower house of Vyacheslav Volodin is preparing proposals for changes in regulations, obliging the government to provide at the request of the deputies of the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) of draft laws concerning the questions of financial and economic policy. This was stated by the Chairman of the Committee Olga Savastyanova.
The corresponding order, according to her, Volodin gave at a meeting of the Council of the state Duma on 21 February. By 9 March, the Committee intends to submit to the Council chamber of their own experience, which can later be framed as amendments to the regulations added Savastyanova.
The government is already practice to calculate the consequences for the economy, primarily for business development from the adoption of certain bills or amendments, said the head of procedural Committee. Such ODS, 2010 held by Ministry of economic development.
As earlier wrote “Kommersant”, for six years, the economy has produced 5.8 thousand reports on ODS (in 2016 at 1.1 million). According to statistics, 30-40% of the acts projects undergoing assessment, contain excessive and costly requirements for businesses (in 2016 year, the number was 32%). According to the Director of ODS, the Ministry of economy Vadim Zhivulin, “for six years the regulatory impact assessment procedure on request of the state Duma (it is stipulated by the regulations of the lower chamber) passed only one bill (to regulate Commerce), considered in the second reading”.
Savastianova complains that the practice of ODS is not required. “Government regulations have a provision that if the state Duma calls for regulatory impact assessment, the government could provide it voluntarily. If a consensus is reached [with the government], that may be amended and the regulations of the state Duma, and the regulations of the government that this practice will become mandatory,” she said. The finished project there are no changes, said Sevastyanova while they are under discussion and development.
“Tone” for the Cabinet
Volodin on the Council of the Duma insisted that the changes to the regulations on the mandatory ODS adopted and the government, said one of the participants of the meeting. Information about this confirmed by a source close to the leadership of the state Duma, according to him, the speaker discussed this issue at the Council chamber with the Plenipotentiary of the government in the state Duma Alexander Sinenko.
Sinenko did not comment on this issue.
Another wish of the Chairman of the state Duma to the government — actively to speak at meetings of the state Duma with the White house position on the bills. At the plenary meeting, 19 February the Volodin said did not want to speak Sinenko, “do You know what thoughts are reminiscent of the reluctance of you to take part in the discussion? That this topic is only of deputies”. He also invited the Ambassador of “a more creative approach to rate regulation”, referring to the possibility of interventions not only on government bills. Volodin added that the government “will always be the tone.”
Sevastianova said that such changes may soon appear in the Duma regulations: “When the government not only provides opinion or conclusion [on the bill], but voiced it.”
The struggle for influence
This is not the first attempt Volodina increase the influence of Council: late last year a group of United Russia deputies introduced amendments under which the government would be required to report to the Duma on all bills, which need regulations from the Cabinet of Ministers.
But it did not suit the government, and following the meeting Volodina with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the initiative of the parliamentarians had to soften and instead of a special law to adopt only amendments to the regulations. According to them, the lower chamber will appoint the third reading of a number of bills only after “receipt of the information of the government about introduction of the relevant draft normative acts”.
According to political analyst Igor Bunin, the mandatory provision of ODS “will be strong opposition to the emergence of lobbying initiatives.” Lobbyists from the government and among members becomes more difficult to make questionable from an economic point of view the amendments, he said . The analyst sees this as Volodin attempts to strengthen the influence of the state Duma, but considers a normal process as “confrontation between the legislative and Executive power provided by the political system.”
