legislation

In the Federal Republic of Germany, legislation is the task of the parliaments; The German Bundestag is therefore the most important legislative body. It decides – with the participation of the Federal Council – all laws that fall within the federal government’s area of ​​competence. The members of the Bundestag and parliamentary groups can – just like the Bundesrat and the Federal Government – submit new or revised laws as drafts to the Bundestag. The debate, consultation and vote on the draft law then takes place here according to a precisely defined process. Since the states in the federal system have a significant share of state power, the Federal Council is also involved in the legislative process. He gets all laws submitted for a vote and – depending on the type of law – can even cause a bill to fail.

According to Article 70 of the Basic Law, the right to legislate generally belongs to the states, unless legislative competence has been assigned to the federal government in individual cases by the Basic Law. In fact, the majority of legislative powers lie with the federal government. The allocation of legislative responsibilities takes place according to subject areas. Most subject areas are listed in Articles 72 ff. GG; However, assignments of responsibility can also be found in numerous other provisions of the Basic Law. Until the law amending the Basic Law of August 28, 2006 (BGBl. I p. 2034) came into force on September 1, 2006 (“federalism reform”), the Basic Law differentiated in Articles 70 to 75 of the Basic Law between the exclusive, the competing and the Federal framework legislation. With the federalism reform, the federal framework legislation was abolished and its subject matter was reassigned. The Basic Law now distinguishes between exclusive and competing federal legislation in Articles 70 to 73 of the Basic Law.

If the federal government wants to change or introduce a law, the Chancellor must first submit the draft law to the Bundesrat. The Federal Council then generally has six weeks to issue a statement, on which the government can then respond in writing. The Chancellor then forwards the draft and statement to the Bundestag. The budget law is an exception to this process: draft laws are sent to the Bundesrat and Bundestag at the same time. A similar procedure applies to legislative initiatives from the Federal Council. After the majority of the Federal Council members have decided on a draft law, the draft is first sent to the federal government. It provides him with a statement within six weeks and then forwards it to the Bundestag.

Draft laws can also be initiated by MPs: either by at least one parliamentary group or by at least five percent of the members of the Bundestag – which currently corresponds to 31 MPs. Such drafts do not have to be submitted to the Federal Council first. That is why the government is introducing particularly urgent bills through its parliamentary groups.

Before a bill can be discussed in the Bundestag, it must first be sent to the President of the Bundestag and registered and printed by the administration. It is then distributed as a Bundestag printed matter to all members of the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the federal ministries. As soon as the draft law is on the agenda of the plenary session, it has completed the first part of its journey: It is now about to make its public and official appearance in the Bundestag.

As a rule, draft laws go through three discussions in the plenary session of the Bundestag – the so-called readings. A debate will take place in the first reading if it is agreed upon by the Council of Elders or requested by at least five percent of the MPs. This usually happens when legislative proposals are particularly controversial or of interest to the public. The primary goal of the first reading is to appoint one or more committees based on the recommendations of the Council of Elders to deal with the draft law from a technical perspective and prepare it for the second reading. If several committees are appointed, one committee will be in charge. He is therefore responsible for the progress of the procedure. The other committees have an advisory role.

The detailed work on legislation takes place in the standing committees, which are made up of representatives from all parliamentary groups. The committee members familiarize themselves with the matter and consult in meetings. You can also invite stakeholders and experts to public hearings. In parallel to the committee work, the parliamentary groups form working groups and working groups in which they develop and define their own positions. It is not uncommon for bridges to be built between the factions in the committees. In the interaction between government and opposition factions, most draft laws are revised to a greater or lesser extent. After the deliberations have been concluded, the lead committee submits a report to the plenary session on the course and results of the deliberations. His recommendations for resolutions are the basis for the following second reading in the plenary session.

Before the second reading, all MPs received the published resolution recommendation in printed form. This way you are well prepared for the debate. In addition, the parliamentary groups previously voted on their position again in internal meetings. Because in the public second meeting it is important to demonstrate unity. After the general discussion, all provisions of the bill can be accessed individually. As a rule, the entire bill is voted on directly. Any member of Parliament can propose amendments, which are then dealt with directly in plenary session. If the plenary session decides on changes, the new version of the bill must first be printed and distributed. However, with the consent of two thirds of the members present, this procedure can be shortened. The third reading can then begin immediately.

In the third reading, a new debate will only take place if this is requested by a political group or by at least five percent of the MPs. Amendments are now no longer permitted from individual MPs, but only from parliamentary groups or five percent of the members of the Bundestag and only on amendments from the second reading. The final vote takes place at the end of the third reading. When asked by the President of the Bundestag about approval, votes against and abstentions, the MPs rose from their seats. If the bill has received the necessary majority in the Bundestag, it will be sent to the Bundesrat as law.

Through the Federal Council, the states participate in every law. Your participation rights are precisely defined. The Bundesrat cannot make any changes to the law passed by the Bundestag. However, if he does not agree with the law, he can appeal to the mediation committee. An equal number of members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat sit on the Mediation Committee. The approval of the Federal Council is mandatory for approval laws. These are, for example, laws that affect the finances and administrative responsibility of the states. In particular, laws amending the constitution within the meaning of Article 79 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law require approval. In the case of objection laws, the Bundestag can allow a law to come into force even if no agreement has been reached in the mediation committee. However, an absolute majority is required in a new vote in the Bundestag.

After the bill has passed the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, it must go through further stages in order to come into force as law. The passed law is first printed and sent to the Federal Chancellor and the responsible minister for countersignature. The Federal President then receives the law to be drawn up. He checks whether it came about in accordance with the constitution and whether its content obviously violates the Basic Law. He then signs it and has it published in the Federal Law Gazette. The law is thus proclaimed. If no specific entry into force date is specified in the law, it applies automatically from the 14th day after the issue of the Federal Law Gazette.