Chapter 13
Conduct of business in committees
13.1The Legislature of Hong Kong has a unique committee system. As explained in Chapter 6 [1], when Members-elect of the First Legislative Council considered the draft Rules of Procedure in June 1998, they made a conscious decision to retain the historical Westminster type of committees as well as the OMELCO committees (which were made committees of the Council in 1992 and 1993) in the Rules of Procedure of the HKSAR Legislature. The modes of operation of these two groups of committees were originally quite different but they have evolved over the years to become more integrated with each other. This Chapter explains the functions of committees and how they conduct their business within the Council. The roles of committees in assisting the Council in performing its constitutional functions have been briefly described in Chapter 6 and also in other chapters when the relevant committees are referred to. This Chapter focuses on the details of their operations, i.e. how meetings of committees are held, how parliamentary rules and practices apply to the way they determine their agendas and consider the matters before them, and how they work with one another to avoid duplication of work. To enable readers to understand how some of the new practices have come into place, background information on their development is also provided.
13.2The practices and rules explained in this Chapter do not apply to the committee of the whole Council, details of which have already been described in Chapter 11 (Legislative Process). The rules which apply to all other committees of the Council can be found in the Rules of Procedure, House Rules and the procedures adopted by individual committees pursuant to the power given to them in the Rules of Procedure. To offer readers a more comprehensive account of the rules which apply to the day-to-day operations of committees, this Chapter also provides an overview of the procedural framework which governs the operations as well as the similarities and differences in their practices. To facilitate easy reference, a summary of the key features of the committees, such as their functions, memberships, quorum requirements, meeting arrangements and voting rights of the respective chairmen of committees, is provided in Appendix 13-A.
Powers and functions of committees
13.3It is a common practice and more efficient for the functioning of a deliberative assembly that work is done in small groups that would otherwise be difficult to accomplish in the full assembly. [2] The responsibilities of the committees of a legislative body are primarily to scrutinize the legislative proposals put before the legislature, monitor the activities of the government, examine issues of public concern, and review past and future expenditure. Committees provide a more informal setting which enables Members to exchange views among themselves and with others concerned, such as the government and interested parties. They also provide a direct channel of communication with the public so as to draw to their attention any new policies or legislation which may have an impact on stakeholders and the public at large.
13.4Committees in the Hong Kong Legislature had existed in the pre-1997 Legislature for over a century before the same committee system was adopted by the First Legislative Council in its Rules of Procedure in July 1998. Whilst Article 73 of the Basic Law stipulates the powers and functions of the Legislative Council, it makes no mention of whether those powers and functions may be performed by its committees. Article 75 nevertheless empowers the Legislative Council to make its rules of procedure on its own provided such rules do not contravene the Basic Law. The question whether the powers and functions of the Legislative Council may be exercised by its committees came before the High Court in 2009 in the case of CHENG Kar Shun and Another v LI Fung Ying and Others [3] ("CHENG Kar Shun case") in relation to committees' power to summon persons to give evidence.
13.5In its judgment in the CHENG Kar Shun case, the Court stated,
"Again, it must be emphasised that the Basic Law does not create a new legislature out of a vacuum. The committee system has been around for a long time and was still under development in 1990 when the Basic Law was promulgated. The Basic Law expressly leaves it to the new Legislative Council to make its own Rules of Procedure. Both as a matter of history and development as well as a matter of the nature of the substantive powers and functions to be performed, that at least some of the powers and functions described in article 73(1) to (9) may be exercised at committee level must have been something fully envisaged by the drafters of the Basic Law." [4]
and
"Finally, how the powers and functions are to be exercised may be governed by legislation, whether passed before or after 1997, so long as it is compatible with the provisions in the Basic Law. Subject to its compatibility with the Basic Law, the Ordinance [the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance] is such a piece of legislation." [5]
13.6As regards the power of the Legislative Council to delegate its power and function to summon witnesses under Article 73(10) of the Basic Law, the Court, in the light of the affidavit given by the Clerk to the Legislative Council and having considered the submission made on behalf of the Secretary for Justice [6], stated,
"… like many overseas jurisdictions, both the legislature and the Government in Hong Kong have regarded the power to summon witnesses to appear before the Legislative Council's committees as essential for the proper performance of the constitutional role of the Legislative Council, and ultimately for the good governance of Hong Kong in the 21st century [7]…. [It] must be remembered that a select committee is formed by the full body of the Legislative Council in the first place. Whether it is appropriate to give the committee the power to summon witnesses is again a matter to be resolved by the Legislative Council sitting as a full body.… [T]he work of the select committee including how it exercises its power to summon witnesses, is always under the supervision of the full body of the Legislative Council.[8]"
and concluded that [9],
"On its proper interpretation, article 73(10) provides for the exercise by the Legislative Council, whether sitting as a full body, or, functioning through a select committee in accordance with its Rules of Procedure, the power to summon, as required when exercising the powers and functions set out in article 73(1) to (9), persons concerned to testify or to give evidence before the full body, or (as the case may be) the committee, of the Legislative Council."
13.7In the legislation of Hong Kong, references to the committees of the Legislative Council can be found in various Ordinances which existed before 1997 and have continued to be in force in the HKSAR. These Ordinances include the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2) [10], Audit Ordinance (Cap. 122) [11], Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) [12], Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A) [13], etc. Details about the committees' exercise of the power to summon witnesses are given in Chapter2 [14] and further explained in Chapter 14.
Nature of the practice and procedure of committees
13.8The historical background of the development of the committee system of the Hong Kong Legislature has been provided in Chapter 6. [15] The various types of committees in place in the HKSAR Legislature include standing committees and select committees which had long existed in the Hong Kong Legislature, and the House Committee, Panels and Bills Committees which were originally committees under the OMELCO structure, as well as the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Investigation Committee and the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records which only came into existence after the establishment of the HKSAR in 1997.[16] As mentioned in paragraph 13.1, for historical reasons these committees have their own practice and procedure. It is therefore useful to understand how their practices and procedures have developed over the years to allow clearer delineation of responsibilities and more uniformity in the way they carry out their functions.
13.9Standing committees are permanent in nature and they are charged with specific functions. There are three standing committees in the Legislative Council: Finance Committee, Public Accounts Committee and Committee on Members' Interests. Select committees, which may also be charged with a specific responsibility, such as the study of a bill or the inquiry of a matter referred by the Council, are ad hoc in nature and the committees are dissolved upon the completion of their work. Standing committees were first mentioned in the 1884 Standing Orders while select committees were included in the Standing Orders in 1929 to replace the original special committees. By virtue of their being the committees of a colonial legislature, the standing committees and select committees (when appointed) also enjoyed the powers and privileges given to the legislature for the performance of its functions prescribed in the Letters Patent and the Royal Instructions. The general provisions in the pre-1997 Standing Orders relating to committees were also intended to apply to these committees. These general provisions were those included in Part H (Rules of Debate) [17] and Part I (Rules of Order) [18] of the Standing Orders. However, as the provisions in these two Parts of the Standing Orders were primarily provided for conducting business in the Council and committee of the whole Council, it was for the committees to decide how these provisions should be adapted to suit the needs of their day-to-day operation. However, in the case of select committees, since bills could be committed to them for clause-by-clause study in the same way as to a committee of the whole Council, details of how a select committee should conduct its proceedings had been provided for in the Standing Orders from 1929 onwards.
Finance Committee
13.10The Finance Committee was established as early as July 1872 although its name only appeared in the 1884 version of the pre-1997 Legislature's Standing Orders. The procedures provided in the then Standing Orders for the Finance Committee were very brief. It was in the 1968 Standing Orders that detailed procedures were provided for the Finance Committee, which was at that time the only standing committee of the Council [19]. The Finance Committee sat in private except for the examination of the Estimates when the public officers responsible for the services provided under any head of the Estimates were called to give evidence. In February 1985, the Council amended its Standing Orders to provide that the sittings of the Finance Committee should be open to the public unless decided otherwise by the Committee.
13.11In April 1994, with the setting up of the independent Legislative Council Secretariat, it was decided that the chairmanship and clerkship of the Finance Committee [20] should be taken up by the Members and staff of the Legislative Council. This was also in anticipation of the change in the membership of the Council in October 1995 when the Chief Secretary, who was then chairman of the Finance Committee, and the Financial Secretary would no longer be Members of the Council. The Council passed a resolution on 6 July 1994 to amend the Standing Orders to enable the chairman and deputy chairman of the Finance Committee to be elected by and from amongst its members, other than the ex-officio Members of the Council. On 8 July 1994, the Finance Committee approved its own procedures which took effect on 1 October 1994. The election of the first non-Government chairman and deputy chairman of the Finance Committee took place on 3 October 1994.
13.12In addition to the adoption of the Finance Committee Procedure, the Finance Committee also determined the Procedures of its two Subcommittees, namely the Public Works Subcommittee and the Establishment Subcommittee on 11 March 1994 and 13 May 1994 respectively. The three sets of Procedures at that time were largely based on the practice guides issued to Members and Government officers when the Chief Secretary was the chairman of the Finance Committee.
13.13The mode of deliberation in the Finance Committee had been by convention a question-and-answer type of communication between Members and Government officers over the financial proposals submitted to the Committee for its approval. Whilst the Finance Committee Procedure had set out formal provisions for the committee to follow, the need for resorting to them in the committee's normal operation had been rare. However, with the greater participation of Members in the discussion of financial proposals, especially after October 1994, more procedural issues, such as adjournment of discussion, time of speaking, etc. which normally arose in the course of debates on motions, began to emerge and were dealt with by the chairman of the Finance Committee in the course of proceedings in the same way as the President dealt with similar procedural issues in the Council. Where a situation was not provided for in the Standing Orders or Rules of Procedure and no reference could be made to the rulings of the President, general parliamentary principles would be followed.
13.14The Finance Committee remains a standing committee in the Rules of Procedure endorsed by the First Legislative Council of the HKSAR. Its responsibility, as prescribed in Rule 71(4) of the Rules of Procedure, is to perform such functions as are conferred upon it by the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), any other law and the Rules of Procedure and such other functions as may be referred to the committee by resolution of the Council. On 10 July 1998, the Finance Committee approved its Procedure which was modeled on the 1 October 1994 version used in the pre-1997 Legislature. In Paragraph 1 of the Procedure, it is highlighted that its functions include the examination of the Estimates of Expenditure in accordance with the Rules of Procedure [21] and the approving of proposals to change the approved Estimates in accordance with Cap. 2. [22] Changes to the Procedures were made from time to time where needed.
13.15In 2007, it was found necessary to conduct a review of the procedures of the Finance Committee and its Subcommittees to make them more suited to current needs and more consistent with the practices of other committees. Further details about these changes are provided in the latter part of this Chapter [23]. In reviewing the procedures, the practice has been that the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the Finance Committee and the two Subcommittees sit as a task group to study the rules with the help of the relevant clerks. Where amendments to the Rules of Procedure are required, the proposed changes would be forwarded to the Committee on Rules of Procedure for consultation before the task group consults members of the Finance Committee and the Government, if appropriate. After consultation, a proposal which is presented as an agenda item is placed on the agenda of the Finance Committee after all Government items. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the practice and procedure of the subcommittees of the Finance Committee are determined by the Committee. [24]
Public Accounts Committee
13.16The Public Accounts Committee is also a standing committee of the Council. Its main function is to consider reports of the Director of Audit on the accounts of the Government.[25] It does not have a separate set of procedures other than that provided in Rule 72 of the Rules of Procedure which is also modeled on the relevant Standing Order governing the operation of the Committee in the pre-1997 Legislature. The Public Accounts Committee was first established in 1978. When the Chief Secretary moved in the Council on 10 May 1978 to add a new provision in the Standing Orders for establishing this Committee, he explained the procedural steps expected to take place between the Committee and the Director of Audit after the Director's report on the Government's annual accounts was available and how the Government should take into account the Committee's comments and recommendations. He also highlighted the responsibility of each Head of Department to attend before the Committee in person and be responsible for the evidence given to the Committee. At that time, the meetings of the Committee to receive evidence were held in private. These procedural steps were followed and recorded in each of the reports of the Committee under the heading "Procedure".
13.17In July 1984, on the initiative of Unofficial Members, the procedure of the Public Accounts Committee was amended to cater for the admission of members of the public and of the press at meetings attended by persons called by the Committee to give evidence. The Committee was also required to table its report within three months of the laying of the Director's report. This latter provision was enshrined in legislation (section 12(2A) of the Audit (Amendment) Bill), also on the initiative of Unofficial Members. In the 1985-86 session, the Committee also began to take evidence from persons outside the civil service and the subvented sector, and the Committee was no longer constrained to make recommendations on a case solely on the basis of the Director of Audit's presentation. [26] In July 1987, the Standing Orders were revised to expand the scope of the work of the Public Accounts Committee to cover value for money audits. In July 1992, when the House Committee was set up under the Council, it was empowered to determine an election procedure for electing Members for appointment by the President as chairman, deputy chairman and members of the Public Accounts Committee. All these changes were reflected in the Standing Orders while the procedural steps were recorded in the reports of the Public Accounts Committee. These arrangements continue to be followed.
13.18The Public Accounts Committee has adopted some practices and procedures to cater for special circumstances. On each occasion, the Committee deliberated and decided on the practice and/or procedure and recorded it in its report. An example is the practice to declare direct and indirect interests, be they pecuniary or otherwise, before deciding whether a member should be able to chair or participate in the obtaining and examination of evidence. [27] On 14 May 2003, when the Public Accounts Committee held a public hearing on the Director of Audit's Report No. 40 concerning the staff remuneration packages and stipends of the University Grants Committee-funded institutions, the chairman and 3 other members declared personal interests in two chapters of the Report. In order to avoid any conflict of interest and in order that the impartiality and integrity of the Committee could be maintained, the Committee agreed that the four members be exempted from the examination of the relevant chapters and would not participate in the public hearing, nor in the discussion and compilation of the Committee’s report on these chapters.
13.19Another example is the method of investigating premature disclosure of evidence and discussion of evidence held in private. Following an investigation conducted by the Public Accounts Committee on press reports which speculated on the results of the Committee's internal deliberation in relation to the Director of Audit's Report No. 45 on the development of a site at Sai Wan Ho, the Committee considered it necessary to enhance its confidentiality undertaking mechanism.[28] From April 2006 onwards, all members of the Public Accounts Committee have been required to jointly sign a confidentiality undertaking upon appointment to the Committee. [29]
Committee on Members' Interests
13.20The Committee on Members' Interests was first established as a standing committee under the Standing Orders of the pre-1997 Legislature in 1991 as part of the mechanism for the registration and declaration of Members' interests [30] and adopted by the First Legislative Council in its Rules of Procedure in July 1998. Its main function, apart from examining the arrangements for the registration of Members' interests, is to consider any complaint made in relation to the registration and declaration of Members' interests and, following deliberation, to investigate such complaint. In July 2006, its terms of reference were expanded to cover consideration of any complaint made in relation to the conduct of Members in making claims for reimbursement of operating expenses or applying for advance of operating funds. [31] The committee is also responsible for considering matters of ethics in relation to the conduct of Members in their capacity as a Member of the Legislative Council and to give advice and issue guidelines on such matters. [32]
13.21When the Committee on Members' Interests of the First Legislative Council was established, the Committee considered it necessary to draw up a detailed procedure for handling complaints and conducting investigation so as to ensure fairness to both the Members under complaint and the complainant to guard against abuse or favouritism by any dominant political party or grouping in the Committee when dealing with such complaints. A document entitled "The procedure of the Committee on Members' Interests for handling complaints received in relation to the registration and declaration of Members' interests" was endorsed by the Committee and issued to Members in August 1999. It has been updated and re-issued to all Members at the start of each term. In December 2014, the procedure was substantially revised and was re-titled "Procedure of the Committee on Members' Interests for Handling Complaints". The procedure is attached at Appendix 13-B.
Select committees
13.22Detailed procedures are provided for select committees in the Rules of Procedure on how they should conduct their business. As mentioned in Chapter 1 [33], select committees existed even before 1858. Their main function originally was to study the details of a bill clause by clause and consider amendments to the bill (which was a common practice in other parliaments which followed the Westminster model) and their procedure in the Standing Orders was therefore similar to that of a committee of the whole Council. However, as it had become the practice of the Hong Kong Legislature to commit a bill to a committee of the whole Council for clause-by-clause consideration, the Standing Orders were substantially revised in 1968 to provide for, among other things, discontinuing the practice of referring the Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure to a select committee but allowing a petition presented before the Legislative Council to be referred to a select committee if at least 10 Members [34] rose to support such a referral. Subsequently the main responsibility of a select committee became the study of matters referred to it by the Council or by the President in the form of an inquiry. The current procedure of select committees, as provided in Rules 60 to 62 (for the study of a bill) and Rule 79 (for general application) of the Rules of Procedure, is modeled on the relevant provisions in the Standing Orders of the pre-1997 Legislature.
13.23For the conduct of inquires, a select committee, after being appointed, draws up its work plan having regard to its terms of reference as set out in the resolution passed by the Council setting up the committee. It is a common practice for a select committee to devise a set of written practice and procedures based on the relevant provisions in the Rules of Procedure and past operational experience of previous select committees. This is especially so in matters relating to the summoning of witnesses to give evidence to the select committee if that select committee is given the relevant special authorization to summon. Certainty, transparency and fairness as to how the select committee conducts its investigation should thereby be ensured. The select committee may in the course of its work supplement other procedural and operational arrangements provided that such arrangements are consistent with the Rules of Procedure and the principle of fairness upheld by committees conducting any inquiry. A sample of the practice and procedures developed by a select committee which is given authorization to summon is given in Appendix 13-C. Some select committees may not be given such authorization, such as some of those responsible for studying matters referred to them under Rule 20(6) of the Rules of Procedure (Presentation of Petitions). They also adopted similar practice and procedure to ensure certainty, transparency and fairness. A sample is given in Appendix 13-D.
13.24The power of select committees to summon witnesses has been discussed in paragraphs 13.4 – 13.6 of this Chapter. Since the enactment of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) in 1985, special authorization from the Council for the exercise of such power by a committee is required. In other words, the appointment of a select committee by the Council does not necessarily mean that the select committee has the power to summon witnesses. The conferment of such power upon a select committee must be by a resolution of special authorization passed by the Council under section 9(2) of Cap. 382. Such authorization may be included in the same resolution for the appointment of the select committee or in a separate resolution to be put before the Council when such a need arises in the course of the work of the select committee.
House Committee, Bills Committees and Panels
13.25It has been explained in Chapter 6 that during the 20 years between early 1970s and early 1990s, in parallel with the standing committees and select committees, there existed quite a substantial number of committees operating under the then UMELCO [35] structure. These committees, including the LegCo In-house, Ad hoc Groups and Panels, subsequently became committees of the Council respectively in 1992 and 1993 [36], to undertake the same responsibilities as they had been performing in the past two decades outside the boundary of the Standing Orders, namely:
(a)LegCo In-house became the House Committee to oversee the processing of bills and decide on any matters relating to the business of the Council;
(b)Ad hoc Groups became Bills Committees concentrating solely on the scrutiny of bills; and
(c)Panels, which had been standing groups to deal with subjects of continuing importance such as civil service, public relations, housing, transport, education, security, health services, social services, etc. continued to be called Panels to monitor Government policies and examine issues of public concern.
13.26These committees, which originally conducted their business in private and were outside the protection of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382), became "committees" within the meaning of the Ordinance and, if authorized by the Council, could exercise the power to summon witnesses to give evidence.[37] To ensure minimum disruption to the work of these committees which had been operating effectively for many years, only those practices which were essential to their functioning such as membership, chairmanship, quorum, etc., were provided for in the Rules of Procedure, while many of the operational details were kept as house rules or provided for in other work manuals. [38]
13.27House Committee, Bills Committees and Panels continue to be the backbone of the committee structure of the HKSAR Legislature. They continue to maintain the same interactive and informal mode of deliberations as in the past although more practices have been codified as rules in recent years either in the Rules of Procedure or in the House Rules to minimize inconsistent handling by different committees. The rules, procedures and practices of these committees are available in the Rules of Procedure [39], House Rules and, in the case of Panel, Bills Committees and subcommittees of the House Committee on subsidiary legislation, also in the handbooks for chairmen of these committees which are available on the official website of the Legislative Council. More details about their operation are provided in paragraphs 13.161 – 13.187 of this Chapter.
Committee on Rules of Procedure
13.28The Committee on Rules of Procedure is one of the two committees included in the Rules of Procedure by the First Legislative Council. Its functions are to review the Rules of procedure of the Council and the committee system, and to propose to the Council such amendments or changes as are considered necessary. The Committee may examine matters of practice and procedure relating to the Council referred by the Council or its committees or the President, or raised by its own members.[40] The functions undertaken by the Committee were previously undertaken by the Subcommittee on Procedural Matters under the House Committee before establishment of the HKSAR Legislature. During the term of the Provisional Legislative Council, a Committee on Rules of Procedure was set up to undertake, among other functions, the drafting of the Rules of Procedure for consideration by Members of the First Legislative Council in order that the new Council could function immediately upon assumption of office by Members. Like all other committees, the Committee on Rules of Procedure also determines its own practice and procedure, subject to the Rules of Procedure.[41] It has adopted the mode of operation of the Subcommittee on Procedural Matters and has continued to meet in private.[42] However, to make its operation transparent to other Members and the public, the Committee presents discussion papers to the House Committee (which conducts its meeting in public) before making its decisions and it presents progress reports to the Council at least once in every session.
13.29Like other committees of the Council (except standing committees), the Committee on Rules of Procedure is required to seek special authorization of the Council in order to have the power to summon witnesses. The rules on the operation of committees in the House Rules do not apply to the Committee on Rules of Procedure but they may be referred to by the Committee in determining its own procedure, whilst key matters such as the Committee's terms of reference, method of appointment of members, quorum, etc. are set out in Rule 74 of the Rules of Procedure and are explained in the latter part of this Chapter.[43]
Investigation Committee
13.30Provisions for the establishment of an Investigation Committee were included in the Rules of Procedure by the First Legislative Council on 28 April 1999 as part of the whole package of procedural arrangements for implementing Article 79(7) of the Basic Law, i.e. disqualifying a Member from office when he or she is censured for misbehaviour or breach of oath.[44] The Investigation Committee is formed when a motion (signed by 4 Members) to censure a Member is moved. The Committee's responsibility is to establish the facts stated in the motion and give its views on whether or not the facts as established constitute grounds for the censure.[45] The Committee is dissolved as soon as it has completed the investigation referred to it and has reported to the Council, but may be revived by resolution of the Council if necessary.[46] The essential principles of how the Committee should conduct its investigation are laid down in Rule 73A of the Rules of Procedure. Subject to the Rules of Procedure, the Investigation Committee may determine its own practice and procedures.
13.31In the case of the Investigation Committee established in the Fourth Legislative Council in 2008, before it began its substantive work a set of practice and procedure was first adopted as it considered that without any precedents to follow, it was necessary to formulate practical principles on the basis of the framework of procedural provisions of the Rules of Procedure. During the process of drawing up the practice and procedure, the Investigation Committee made reference to some generally applicable principles of natural justice as well as the procedures adopted by other committees in conducting investigations. Amendments were made to the practice and procedure in the course of investigation in the light of experience and changes in circumstances, and these were explained in the Investigation Committee's report tabled in the Council on 28 March 2012. The practice and procedure adopted by the Investigation Committee established in 2008 is attached as a sample at Appendix 13-E.
Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records
13.32The Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records was added into the Rules of Procedure by the Fifth Legislative Council on 21 March 2014.[47] The functions of the Committee are to determine that a document or record of the Legislature (or its committee) should be made available for access earlier than the expiry of the closure period set out in the Policy on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records (Schedule 2 to the Rules of Procedure), to set guidelines for implementing the access policy and to consider any objection against a denial of access by the Clerk under Rule 6(5A)(b) of the Rules of Procedure. More information about the way the Committee performs its functions is provided in Chapter 16.
General practice and rules for committees
13.33As mentioned in Chapter 1 [48], the Rules of Procedure provide only a general framework for the operation of committees. Whilst specific rules have been made in the Rules of Procedure for individual committees, these rules are mostly related to their functions, membership, chairmanship, quorums and how the committees relate to one another and to the Council. For some committees in particular those that succeeded the former OMELCO committees, their mode of operation is generally guided by the House Rules.
13.34The House Rules first came into existence in 1988 as a Members' Guide issued by the OMELCO Secretariat setting out how the committees functioned. On 6 July 1998, the House Committee of the First Legislative Council adopted the House Rules which have been applied to the operation of most of the committees of the Council to date. The arrangements set out in the House Rules have become the general practice for those committees and are often referred to by other committees when adopting their own practice and procedure. For example, in July 2002, the Finance Committee amended the Procedures of its two Subcommittees to make their arrangements for signification of membership consistent with the relevant rules in the House Rules.[49]
Formation of committees
13.35Decisions of the Council are made at Council meetings but the preparatory and scrutiny work is often carried out by its committees. With the exception of the Finance Committee which has been given the power to approve changes to approved Estimates of Expenditure under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), decisions made by committees are not binding on any Member, whether in Council, in a committee of the whole Council or in the House Committee.[50] From time to time, Members may consider it necessary to set up a new committee to undertake certain responsibilities or to study a particular matter in detail. If the committee is expected to meet on a regular and continuous basis to perform a specific function, the House Committee may refer the matter to the Committee on Rules of Procedure for a more in-depth study. Where the setting up of the committee requires amendments to the Rules of Procedure, a resolution of the Council is needed.
13.36If the proposed committee is to be formed for a specific task and is to be dissolved after its work is completed, it is common practice to form a subcommittee under the House Committee or, if the task is related to a matter within the terms of reference of a Panel, to form a subcommittee under the relevant Panel. In the event that an inquiry is to be conducted into a policy matter or a matter of public concern, the inquiry may be undertaken by the relevant Panel or its subcommittee, or a subcommittee of the House Committee or, in most cases, a select committee. A resolution of the Council is required for the appointment of a select committee [51] and, if the power to summon witnesses is considered necessary, a special authorization of the Council for the committee to do so will be sought.
13.37A committee set up for a particular task, such as a select committee or a Bills Committee, is required to report to the Council upon the completion of its work. In the case of Panels and the Committee on Rules of Procedure which meet on a regular and continuous basis, they report to the Council at the end of each session.[52] [53] Subcommittees are also required to report to the committees by which they have been appointed upon the completion of their work or, if their work cannot be completed within a session, at the end of the session. The discretion of whether the work of a subcommittee may continue in the following session rests with the committee which appointed the subcommittee. There is also a mechanism to limit the number of subcommittees (other than those to consider subsidiary legislation) that may be working at any one time. The mechanism is set out in Rule 26 of the House Rules (Activation and Operation of Subcommittees) and is explained in detail in the latter part of this Chapter.[54]
13.38The House Committee plays an important role in providing a forum for Members to discuss whether a committee is to be appointed, its terms of reference, membership and whether the committee should be given the power to summon witnesses. The House Committee may appoint a subcommittee to discuss the details of the proposal and to consider whether the formation of a committee is the most appropriate course of action to deal with the matter concerned. Any Members who are interested in the subject may join the subcommittee. Where the Council's approval is required for appointing the committee, the subcommittee may also propose a draft of the resolution (which for practical purposes sets out the terms of reference of the committee) and propose the membership size of the new committee. [55]
13.39Notwithstanding a prior decision of the House Committee against supporting the appointment of a select committee, any Member may give notice to move a motion in the Council for appointing a select committee under the Council and, if needed, seeking the Council's authorization for the committee to summon witnesses to give evidence. In these cases, the normal rules governing the moving of motions under Part G (Motions) of the Rules of Procedure will apply.
13.40Also, as mentioned in Chapter 7 [56], a petition is referred to a select committee if no less than 20 Members rise to support such a request made by a Member immediately after the petition has been presented to the Council. The preparatory work for the select committee, if a petition is so referred, is undertaken in the same manner as that described in paragraph 13.38 above.[57]
Responsibilities and terms of reference of committees
13.41The responsibilities of committees of the Legislative Council are provided for in the Rules of Procedure which are determined by the Council. A summary of the provisions relating to the functions and responsibilities of committees is provided at Appendix 13-A.
13.42These responsibilities are sometimes referred to as the terms of reference of the committees. However, in the case of individual committees within a generic type, such as Panels, select committees and Bills Committees, each committee will have its own terms of reference. For example, Rule 77(2) of the Rules of Procedure specifically provides that the terms of reference of a Panel shall be recommended by the House Committee and approved by the Council although the responsibility of a Panel has been set out in Rule 77(3). Each Panel has a policy area(s) which corresponds with the portfolio of one or more Directors of Bureaux in the Government Secretariat. A change in the Government structure may therefore entail changes to the terms of reference of Panels. The House Committee provides a forum for such discussion. Since the first resolution to determine the terms of reference of the 18 Panels of the HKSAR Legislature was passed by the Council on 8 July 1998, 5 other resolutions have been passed in the Council to amend the terms of reference of some of the Panels. [58]
13.43The same also applies to select committees. The substance of the terms of reference of a select committee is found in the resolution of the Council or in the petition that stands referred to it at a Council meeting under Rule 20(6) of the Rules of Procedure. The terms of reference provide a framework for the work to be undertaken by the select committee and allow Members to have a common understanding of the scope of its work when considering whether to support the appointment of, or referral to, a select committee. On occasions, if the proposal to set up a select committee comes from a Panel, the Panel may draw up the proposed terms of reference for the select committee and present its proposal to the House Committee for discussion.[59] Where a resolution of the Council is required, the motion is usually moved by the chairman of the Panel or the subcommittee which has undertaken the preparatory work or the chairman of the House Committee if so decided by the House Committee.
13.44In respect of Bills Committee, according to Rule 76(7) of the Rules of Procedure, the terms of reference of a Bills Committee are to consider the general merits and principles, and the detailed provisions of the bill allocated to it by the House Committee under Rule 75(4) of the Rules of Procedure. The Bills Committee may also consider relevant amendments. [60]
Membership of committees
Membership size
13.45The membership size of committees varies according to the nature of the committees and their purposes. The Finance Committee, which is a standing committee vested with the power to approve changes to the estimates approved by the Council under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), comprises all Members except the President. The House Committee, which provides a forum for Members to consider any matters relating to the business of the Council, also comprises all Members except the President. It is only in the case of those committees which are assigned with a specific responsibility or task and are expected to report back to the Council on the progress or outcome of their work that a smaller number of members is stipulated in the Rules of Procedure, as in the following cases:
-Public Accounts Committee: a chairman, deputy chairman and 5 other Members appointed by the President in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee; [61]
-Committee on Members' Interests: a chairman, deputy chairman and 5 other Members appointed by the President in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee; [62]
-Investigation Committee: a chairman, deputy chairman and 5 other Members appointed by the President in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee; [63]
-Committee on Rules of Procedure: a chairman, deputy chairman and 10 other Members appointed by the President in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee; [64] and
-Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records: the President (as chairman); the Chairman of House Committee (as deputy chairman), the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee and not more than 10 other Members elected at a House Committee meeting in such manner as the House Committee may determine. [65]
13.46There are other committees which perform specific functions stipulated in the Rules of Procedure where membership is open to any Member of the Council except the President. These committees are Panels, Bills Committees and their subcommittees as well as subcommittees of the House Committee and Finance Committee. Generally speaking, there is an understanding that any committee or subcommittee should not consist of less than 3 members including the chairman. However in the case of Panels, the minimum requirement is 6 members including the chairman. The minimum membership requirements for Bills Committees and Panels are set out in the Rules of Procedure [66] and in the House Rules [67]. As a matter of practice the minimum requirement of no less than 3 members including the chairman also applies to subcommittees of the House Committee although this has not been formally provided for in the Rules of Procedure or House Rules. As the House Committee may determine the practice and procedure of its subcommittees[68], it may decide on the membership size of any of its subcommittees.[69]
13.47The question of whether there should be an upper limit on the membership size of Panels, Bills Committees and subcommittees of the House Committee has been raised from time to time at the House Committee and Committee on Rules of Procedure. It has been considered by some Members that a committee should not consist of so large a membership as to make deliberations unmanageable and a quorum difficult to obtain. However, there is also the concern that Members' discretion to join a committee, which is open to all Members, should not be restricted by the setting of a limit on the membership size. It is particularly important that those Members who do not belong to any major political parties or affiliations can also have the same opportunities to join any committees of their choice.
13.48For a select committee undertaking an inquiry, the general practice has been that it should be made up of 11 to 15 members with the same membership serving on the select committee until it presents its final report to the Council.
President not to take part in the work of committees
13.49With the exception of the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records ("CoA") and the committee of the whole Council both of which are chaired by the President himself, the President is not a member of any committees of the Council. This arrangement is to ensure impartiality on the part of the President who has to preside over meetings of the Council and, as Chairman, also meetings of the committee of the whole Council in an orderly, efficient and fair manner. As the President is not party to the deliberation of bills and other matters handled by committees, he is well positioned to rule on the admissibility of motions and amendments for consideration by the Council or committee of the whole Council with complete impartiality. The President has been made the ex officio chairman of CoA in order to recognize his role as President in regulating public access to documents and records laid before the Council under the Rules of Procedure. This is in line with common practices in overseas parliaments where the authority to review and determine matters relating to granting public access to closed parliamentary documents and records rests with the Speaker or the Clerk.[70]
Appointment of committee members by the President
13.50Members of the Public Accounts Committee[71], Committee on Members' Interests [72], Committee on Rules of Procedure [73], Investigation Committee [74] and select committees are appointed by the President. While the first 4 committees are to be appointed in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee, there is no such requirement for appointing members of select committees. Under Rule 78(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the President decides the size of every select committee and appoints the chairman, deputy chairman and members taking into account the recommendations of the House Committee.
13.51An election procedure was endorsed by the House Committee of the First Legislative Council on 6 July 1998 for making recommendations to the President on the Members to be appointed to the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Members' Interests and the Committee on Rules of Procedure. The election procedure which has been revised and fine-tuned over the years is as follows:
(a)The nomination and election of Members to be appointed to any one of these committees shall be conducted at a meeting of the House Committee, the date of which shall be appointed by the House Committee;
(b)A valid nomination shall be made orally by a Member, seconded by at least one other Member who should not be the Member being nominated, and accepted by the Member being nominated. A Member who nominates a Member who is absent from the meeting when the nomination is made may only do so if the former states that the absent Member's acceptance of the nomination has been secured;
(c)If the number of nominations exceeds that required for appointment, a poll shall be taken and Members shall cast their votes by using the Electronic Voting System. A Member may vote for as many nominees as, but not more than, the number required for appointment. If a Member has voted for a number of nominees which exceeds the number required for appointment, none of the votes which the Member has cast will be counted. The nominees who get the highest numbers of votes will be declared elected;
(d)After election, the meeting of the House Committee shall be suspended for 10 to 15 minutes to enable the elected members to elect their chairman and deputy chairman from amongst themselves; and
(e)The House Committee will then resume and be asked to endorse the election results. The Chairman of the House Committee will then submit the names of the chairman, deputy chairman and other members to the President for his appointment.
13.52Since the membership appointed to the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Members' Interests and Committee on Rules of Procedure hold office for the entire term, the election is usually held at the third meeting of the House Committee in the term after the respective election procedure has been agreed to at the second meeting.
13.53As regards select committees, the same procedure was adopted by the House Committee on 24 July 1998 for electing Members for nomination to the President for appointment as chairman, deputy chairman and members of a select committee[75]. Since then, the procedure for putting forward nominations to the President for appointment to select committees has been the same as that for the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Members' Interests and the Committee on Rules of Procedure as described in paragraph 13.51 above.[76]
13.54The election procedure for an Investigation Committee is however different from all these committees. The procedure was drawn up by a preparatory subcommittee appointed by the House Committee and approved at the meeting of the House Committee on 11 December 2009. The procedure, which is similar to the nomination procedure for the election of members of The Legislative Council Commission [77], is as follows:
(a)The election should be held at a meeting of the House Committee, the date of which should be appointed by the House Committee;
(b)Nominations are to be made in writing and delivered to the Legislative Council Secretariat by the deadline for nomination before the election date. Where the number of nominations made in writing is less than seven, further nominations may be made orally at the House Committee meeting at which the election is conducted;
(c)Where the total number of valid nominations made in writing or orally is more than seven, a poll should be taken at the House Committee meeting by a show of hands to determine which of the Members should be nominated;
(d)In cases where a nominee would have been elected but for there being one or more other nominees having been given the same number of votes (i.e. "tied votes"), a further round of poll should be taken to resolve the tied votes; and if there are still tied votes after that further round, lots will be drawn by the chairman of the House Committee to determine which of the Members should be nominated;
(e)After the election of Members for appointment to the investigation committee, the meeting of the House Committee should be suspended for 10 minutes to enable the elected Members to elect amongst themselves the chairman and deputy chairman of the investigation committee; and
(f)The President appoints the chairman, deputy chairman and five members of the investigation committee in accordance with the election results.
Election of members to committees
Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records
13.55The composition and size of membership of the CoA are modelled on those of The Legislative Council Commission, i.e. the President who shall be the chairman, the chairman of the House Committee who shall be the deputy chairman, the deputy chairman of the House Committee and not more than 10 other members to be elected to CoA. This is to ensure that the membership of CoA is balanced and broadly representative of that of the Council.
13.56At its meeting on 28 March 2014, the House Committee decided that the method of election to the CoA should be the same as that for electing the members of The Legislative Council Commission.[78]
Signification of membership
Panels
13.57The need to provide a procedure for signification of memberships is mentioned in the rules for Panels. Rule 77(4) of the Rules of Procedure provides that the members of a Panel shall be those members (other than the President) who signify membership in accordance with procedural rules (which shall provide only for the manner and timing of such signification) [79] decided by the House Committee. Pursuant to a similar provision in the Standing Orders of the pre-1997 Legislature, the House Committee of the pre-1997 Legislature provided a procedure in the House Rules for Members to signify membership for the Panels they wished to join. This procedure was subsequently adopted by the First Legislative Council. On 4 October 2000, the House Committee adopted the standing arrangements for signification of Panel membership and advised that:
(a)All Members, except the President of the Council, shall be invited to signify membership for the Panels of their choice at the beginning of a new term. The deadline shall be noon on the Saturday immediately following the first Council meeting of the new term; and
(b)Members shall be given the opportunity to re-signify membership for the Panels of their choice at the beginning of each of the subsequent sessions of the term. The deadline shall be noon on the Saturday immediately prior to the first Council meeting in each of the subsequent sessions of the term.
13.58As most of the returns to signify membership are sent by fax, to ensure that there is no omission in the receipt of returns, the Legislative Council Secretariat usually provides a summary of the returns at the House Committee meeting held on the Friday immediately before the deadline for cross-checking by Members.
13.59On 16 March 2001, the House Committee further clarified that membership of a Panel, once signified, last for a whole term unless the Member resigns from that Panel. Rule 22 of the House Rules [80] was amended to provide that for each of the remaining sessions of the term, a Member who wishes to join any Panel(s) in addition to those he has joined may do so by submission of a return to the Legislative Council Secretariat by noon on the Saturday immediately before the first Council meeting of that session and his membership of such additional Panel(s) shall take effect on the deadline for submission of return.
Subcommittees of the Finance Committee
13.60The method of signification of Panel membership was adopted by the Finance Committee on 12 July 2002 for its two subcommittees, namely the Establishment Subcommittee and the Public Works Subcommittee.[81] Prior to July 2002, the deadline for signifying membership was not less than seven days before the first meeting of the Subcommittee in the session, which was a long-standing arrangement when the two Subcommittees were still chaired by public officers. As the date of the first meeting of the term was subsequently determined by the Member who had the highest precedence in the Council, this Member was obliged to become a member of both Subcommittees in order that he could call the first meetings and preside over the election of the chairmen of the two Subcommittees, after which he could resign. The adoption of the Panel signification method has streamlined the process and removed this anomaly. Unlike Panels, the membership of the two Subcommittees is for a session; therefore a fresh exercise is conducted for each session. The deadline for signifying membership of the two Subcommittees is currently the same as that for Panels, i.e. by noon on the Saturday immediately following the first Council meeting of a new term and for the remaining sessions of the term, by noon on the Saturday immediately prior to the first Council meeting of each session.[82]
Bills Committees
13.61Bills Committees may be formed at any time during a session. The procedure for joining a Bills Committee is provided in Rule 21(c) of the House Rules. Members may join a Bills Committee by a show of hands at the House Committee meeting at which a bill is allocated to that Bills Committee. The Member who has the highest precedence among these Members is responsible for calling the first meeting of the Bills Committee. Signification of membership by other Members is by the submission of a return to the Secretariat by the deadline set by the clerk to the Bills Committee, which is normally one clear day before the day of the first meeting of the Bills Committee.
Subcommittees of the House Committee, Panels and Bills Committees
13.62No formal procedure has been drawn up for the signification of membership of subcommittees. It is for the committee which appoints a subcommittee to determine the practice and procedure of the subcommittee. Generally speaking, the method of signification of membership for Bills Committees is followed, especially in the case of subcommittees on subsidiary legislation under the House Committee. The nature of work of these subcommittees is similar to that of Bills Committees and the decision to allocate an item of subsidiary legislation to a subcommittee is also made at a House Committee meeting.
13.63Panels may appoint subcommittees to study specific issues.[83] The membership of a Panel's subcommittee is confined to members of the Panel. Invitation for signification of membership is usually done by circular after it is known that the subcommittee can commence work. (see "Activation of the work of subcommittees" in the latter part of this Chapter [84]). The deadline for membership is usually one clear day before the day of the first meeting of the subcommittee.
13.64The closing time for signification of membership is midnight on a working day or noon on a Saturday. In order that Members may check if the returns they sent to the Secretariat have been received, it has been a practice since March 2004 that the clerk of the relevant committee would issue a preliminary membership list at noon on the due day if it is on a weekday and noon on the working day immediately preceding the due day if it is a Saturday. An updated membership list is issued as soon as practicable after the due day.[85]
Late membership
13.65Generally speaking, a Member joining a committee after the work of the committee has begun is exceptional and late membership is only accepted on exceptional grounds. A new Member who is returned to the Legislative Council through a by-election is requested to signify membership of any existing Panels, Bills Committee or subcommittees of the House Committee within one month of the date on which he is declared as Member of the Legislative Council.[86] The membership of any Panels or committees he joins takes effect on the date his signification is received by the Secretariat. This is not regarded as an application for late membership, but if the new Member wishes to join any committee after one month of his becoming a Member of the Council, his application will be treated in the same manner as other Members who apply to join a committee outside the given timeframe.
13.66For Panels, Bills Committees and subcommittees of the House Committee, Rule 23 of the House Rules provides that:
(a)An application for late membership is only considered after the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the relevant committee has taken place;
(b)If the ground for application for late membership is indisposition or absence from Hong Kong during the time when a Member should signify his membership, it is for the chairman of the relevant committee to decide whether such application should be accepted;
(c)If the ground for application for late membership is other than that referred to in (b) above, it is for the relevant committee to decide whether such application should be accepted and such application shall only be accepted if there exist sufficient grounds for doing so;
(d)A Member who has failed to be admitted as a member of the relevant committee under Rule 23 of the House Rules may put the case to the House Committee for decision.
13.67The application procedure for late membership only applies to those committees for which a deadline has been imposed for signification of membership. It therefore does not apply to committees the membership of which is by President's appointment. There has been question about whether new members should be appointed to a select committee if vacancies have arisen in the course of its work. At the House Committee meeting on 26 February 2010, noting that a vacancy in a select committee had arisen as a result of the resignation of a Member, Members considered it not necessary to fill the vacancy since the select committee had already completed its hearings and was in the report drafting stage.[87]
13.68While Rule 23 of the House Rules only applies to Panels, Bills Committees and subcommittees of the House Committee, the same procedure has been adopted by the Finance Committee for its two subcommittees, namely the Establishment Subcommittee and Public Works Subcommittee. [88] In gist, the chairman of the Subcommittee may agree to accept late membership on grounds of indisposition or absence from Hong Kong while requests on other grounds are considered by the Subcommittee which only accepts applications when sufficient grounds have been provided. An application which is rejected by the Subcommittee may be put to the Finance Committee for a decision.[89]
Chairman and deputy chairman of a committee
13.69The Rules of Procedure provide each committee with a chairman and, in most cases, also a deputy chairman. It is only in the cases of Panels and Bills Committees that it is for the respective committees to decide if a deputy chairman should be elected. As the procedures for subcommittees are not provided for in the Rules of Procedure, it is also for the relevant committees to decide if there should be a deputy chairman in accordance with the general provisions in the Rules of Procedure that the practice and procedures of subcommittees shall be determined by the respective committees.
13.70For those committees whose chairman and deputy chairman are appointed by the President, the tenure of these offices is for the entire term or until the work of the committees is completed. These committees include the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Members' Interests, Investigation Committee, and Committee on Rules of Procedure. For those chairmen and deputy chairmen who are elected to office, a uniform arrangement has been put in place since July 2002 that they shall hold office until the chairmen and deputy chairmen for the next session are respectively elected in the new session or, if the election is held before the new session commences, they shall hold office until the commencement of that new session.[90]
13.71For Panels, Rule 77(6) of the Rules of Procedure provides that a Member who is the chairman or deputy chairman of a Government advisory body in respect of matters which a Panel considers to be directly related to the terms of reference of the Panel shall not be the chairman or deputy chairman of the Panel. Prior to the holding of the election of Panel chairmen and deputy chairmen, the Secretariat obtains from the Government a list of its advisory bodies relevant to the Panels and circulate the list to all Members. Members are also reminded at the start of the election at a Panel meeting to make reference to the list to ensure that there are no nominations contrary to Rule 77(6) as set out above. Rule 77(7) of the Rules of Procedure also stipulates that a Member shall not be the chairman or deputy chairman of more than one Panel at the same time. There is no stipulation that a chairman or deputy chairman of a Panel cannot take up the chairmanship or deputy chairmanship of other committees.
Election procedure
13.72The procedure for the election of chairman and deputy chairman of a committee is provided in the House Rules. As the House Rules do not apply to standing committees, the only standing committee which elects its own chairman and deputy chairman, i.e. the Finance Committee, provides its own election procedure in its Procedure [91] as well as the Procedures of its two Subcommittees [92], which is substantially the same as the election procedure provided at Appendix IV to the House Rules for other committees (Appendix 13-F).
13.73In gist, the chairman and deputy chairman of a committee are elected by and from among its members at an open meeting. The election of the chairman is held before that of the deputy chairman if both offices are to be elected. Where the election takes place at the first meeting in a term, the member present who has the highest precedence shall preside at the election. If the presiding member is being nominated for chairmanship, the member present who has the highest order of precedence among the members not nominated for the office shall preside. For any subsequent elections during the term, the incumbent chairman shall preside. If he is absent or being nominated for the office, the member who was deputy chairman before the election shall preside. If the deputy chairman is absent or also nominated for the office or if there is no deputy chairman in the committee, the member present who has the highest order of precedence among the members not nominated for the office shall preside.
13.74For the election of the deputy chairman, the chairman who has been elected shall preside. If the member who has been elected chairman is absent, the member present who has the highest order of precedence shall preside. If that member is nominated for deputy chairmanship, the member present who has the highest order of precedence among the members not nominated for the office shall preside.
13.75In any election, the making of a nomination is done orally by a member and seconded by at least one other member who should not be the member being nominated. The nomination must be accepted by the member being nominated and in the event that he is absent at the election, the member who nominated him should confirm his acceptance of nomination. Any Member may also nominate himself or herself for a position provided that the nomination is seconded by at least one other member. If there is only one nomination for the office, the presiding member shall declare the nominee as elected. If there are two or more nominations, a secret ballot shall take place and only members of the committee may vote. The presiding member shall vote at the same time as other members and in the event that there is a tie he has a casting vote which is decided by drawing lots. The member who receives the highest number of valid votes is declared elected.
Chairman's role in determining the time and place of meetings
13.76According to the Rules of Procedure, the time and place of meetings of committees are determined by the chairman of the committee.[93] Rule 79B of the Rules of Procedure also provides that in the event that the chairman cannot be contacted within 48 hours of a request made by a member for the holding of a meeting to discuss a specific issue of urgent importance, the deputy chairman may determine the time and place of the meeting and may direct a shorter notice of the meeting be given. This new rule was added to the Rules of Procedure on 8 October 2006 after a study was conducted by the Committee on Rules of Procedure.[94]
Extension of meeting time
13.77To avoid clashes of meetings, committees observe the scheduling guidelines for the conduct of meetings that are set out in Rule 24(a) of the House Rules. Meetings are normally arranged to be held at scheduled two-hour time slots on any working day starting from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm [95]. Where a meeting is expected to last longer than 2 hours, the chairman may decide to reserve a double slot for the meeting. Advance notice should be given to members. In the event that the need for a meeting to extend beyond 2 hours only arises in the course of the meeting, Rule 24A of the House Rules allows the chairman to extend the meeting or allow the meeting to continue for not more than 15 minutes beyond the appointed ending time, with or without making an announcement of the extension, subject to the availability of the meeting venue. For a meeting to extend beyond 15 minutes after the appointed ending time, the following procedure should be followed:
(a)There should be a proposal to extend the meeting for a specified period beyond 15 minutes made during the original appointed meeting time or the 15-minute extension allowed by the chairman;
(b)there should be no dissenting voice to the proposal; and
(c)the meeting venue would remain available throughout the period of the proposed extension.
13.78Subject to no dissenting voice, the meeting may be further extended beyond the period of extension provided that the proposal to further extend the meeting is made during the extended period.[96] It is for the chairman to ascertain whether there is any dissenting voice. No debate or discussion on the proposal is allowed.[97]
Scheduling of meetings
13.79For those committees which meet on a regular basis, such as House Committee, Finance Committee and its two Subcommittees and Panels, the schedules of the regular meetings of these committees are decided by the respective chairman and announced by the respective clerk at the start of a new session. The early announcement of the meeting schedules aims to make it easier for both Members and the Government to plan their work accordingly. Rule 24(b) of the House Rules reminds chairmen and members to make efforts as far as practicable to avoid scheduling two meetings within the same time slot. Clashes of meetings may become inevitable towards the end of a session or a term when efforts are made by committees to complete their work. Where a meeting is to be held at a time slot during which another meeting has already been scheduled, it is common practice to check if there is any overlapping membership of the two committees before a decision is made. In the event of tropical cyclones and rainstorm warnings, the arrangements set out in Rule 28 of the House Rules are followed.
Meeting time of the Finance Committee
13.80The duration of the meeting of the Finance Committee is not subject to the duration of the regular time slots. Meetings of the Finance Committee are held on Fridays after the meeting of the House Committee and the duration of each meeting is limited to two hours. Since 24 March 2006, the meeting of the Finance Committee is held at 3:00 pm or at 2:30 pm if there is no meeting of the House Committee on that day. Any items not dealt with at the meeting will be carried forward to the next meeting which, subject to notice being given to members, may be decided by the chairman to be held immediately after the first meeting on the same day. The chairman has the discretion to extend the meeting for up to 15 minutes where necessary. Where the meeting of the Finance Committee is preceded by the meeting of the House Committee, the meeting of the Finance Committee may start at a later time if it is not likely that the meeting of the House Committee can end by 3:00 pm, provided that the starting time is also fixed to minimize waiting time for the public officers attending the meeting. In the case of the two Subcommittees, their meetings are usually held on Wednesdays immediately before the Council meetings. Their meetings may also be extended for a specified period of time subject to the availability of the venue and the extended time not clashing with meetings of the Council, and there being no dissenting voice when deciding on further extension. This arrangement does not apply to meetings of the Finance Committee. [98]
Meeting time of the House Committee
13.81The House Committee does not appoint an ending time for its regular meetings. Since the Fourth Legislative Council, it has been a practice for the clerk to the House Committee, in consultation with the chairman of the House Committee, to make an estimation of the duration of each meeting of the House Committee and to notify the clerk to the Finance Committee so that the Finance Committee may fix a time for its meeting in the same afternoon. In the event that the House Committee cannot finish its business earlier than 15 minutes after the appointed starting time of the meeting of the Finance Committee, the chairman will direct the meeting to continue after the first 2-hour meeting of the Finance Committee.
Written notice of meeting
13.82Upon the direction of the chairman, written notice of a meeting is issued by the clerk stating the date, time and place at which the meeting is to be held. [99] For the purpose of Rule 24A of the House Rules (Extension of Meetings), the appointed ending time of the meeting is also stated in the notice. The minimum period of written notice of meeting to be given to committee members is stipulated in the Rules of Procedure. This period which ranges from 3 to 5 clear days is the minimum requirement (see Appendix 13-A). In order that members may be well prepared for discussion of agenda items, notice with information on the items to be discussed should be issued as early as practicable. Nevertheless, to deal with urgent issues, the chairman may agree to hold special meetings at shorter notice. In so doing, the chairman very often takes into account the views of members of the committee by consulting members through the clerk or by circulating the possible dates to ascertain if there will be a quorum for those dates. In this respect, in normal circumstances, a committee should not book more than three time slots for a meeting at a time.[100]
13.83The question whether an agenda item should be included in the notice of meeting was studied by the Committee on Rules of Procedure in 2009-2010 in respect of a special meeting of a Panel with no subject matter provided on the notice of the meeting. The meeting was called in response to the request of the Government which had expressed difficulty in disclosing the details of the discussion items due to confidentiality considerations. The Committee noted that although there was no provision in the Rules of Procedure which required the agenda to be issued together with the notice of meeting, it had been the practice for the notice (which provides the date, time and place of the meeting) and the agenda (which provides the discussion items and other relevant details) to be issued to member together. To prevent recurrence of the incident, chairmen and clerks of committees were reminded that the agenda should be issued together with the notice of meeting. If there is a confidentiality consideration the description of the agenda item should nevertheless at least provide the nature and scope of the subject matter, and details of the subject matter should be provided to members as soon as practicable.[101]
Chairman's role in deciding the agenda of a meeting
13.84Although the chairman has the power to determine the time and place of a meeting, it is not explicit if this power also includes the power to determine the agenda. The practices of different committees may vary as a result of the nature of the work undertaken by the committees and also their conventions. For example, in the case of Panels, it is the Panel which decides on the items to be included in the agenda but the chairman may alter the order of the agenda items having regard to the views of members and the Government. In the case of a Bills Committee, the chairman follows the usual stages of the consideration of a bill and the agreed work plan, if any, in deciding the agenda. He may alter the order of the subject areas on the agenda if he is satisfied that there is a good reason for the request and there is reasonable notice to members about the change, with minimum inconveniences caused to other attendees. The arrangements for deciding the agenda items for discussion at meetings of the House Committee, Panels and Bills Committees are provided separately in the mode of operation of these committees in the latter part of this Chapter. [102] With the exception of the Finance Committee, the agenda is usually determined by the chairman in consultation with members of the committees where practicable.
Practice in the Finance Committee
13.85The practice in the Finance Committee is slightly different. Under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), all financial proposals are submitted by the Financial Secretary. It is for the relevant designated public officer [103] to give notice to the Clerk of items to be included in the agenda of the Finance Committee or a subcommittee of the Finance Committee in the form of proposals.[104] The notice of agenda items should reach the Clerk at least 6 clear days before the meeting concerned, but shorter notice may be given if the chairman of the committee so directs. The same arrangement has been put in place in the Procedures of the two Subcommittees. For the Finance Committee, in the case of motions moved by members for deciding on matters under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), the notice must not be shorter than 2 clear days before the meeting concerned.
13.86Generally speaking, for Government items the discretion of the chairmen of the Finance Committee and its Subcommittees in deciding the agenda is exercised following a consideration of whether there will be adequate time to deal with all the items on the agenda within the given time and which public officers should be invited to attend the meeting to answer members' questions. At times, the chairman of the Finance Committee or its Subcommittee may indicate to the Government his or her view that certain items may need to be advanced or deferred in the light of the time available for discussion of all the items on the agenda or the urgency of any particular items. The chairman usually respects the views of the Government and may consult members before making his decision.
13.87In October 2014, in response to a request from a member of the Public Works Subcommittee to re-arrange the order of agenda items for a meeting, the chairman of the Subcommittee Mr Alan LEONG sought advice from the Legal Adviser on his power to re-arrange the order of the agenda items on the agenda of the Subcommittee. In his advice, the Legal Adviser confirmed that despite the lack of specific provisions in the Rules of Procedure and Procedures of the Finance Committee and Public Works Subcommittee, the chairman's power of agenda-setting could be reasonably read as coming within his power to convene meetings, his power to direct the Clerk to give notice of meetings and his power to chair a meeting under the relevant provisions in the Procedure of the Subcommittee. Nevertheless, in setting the agenda, it is advisable to follow the established practice of respecting the Government's view or, where a departure from the established practice is warranted, to seek the Subcommittee members' view before deciding on the matter. How the power should be exercised depends on the particular circumstances of each case subject to the limitation that it should not be inconsistent with the constitutional principle in public finance that it is for the government to make the demand and for the legislature to grant.[105]
13.88On 18 November 2014, Mr Alan LEONG issued a letter to members of the Public Works Subcommittee to inform them of his intended ruling to accede to the request of the member for rearranging the items on the agenda of the Subcommittee for the upcoming meeting on 19 November 2014, but as the items which the member proposed to advance had been withdrawn by the Government and thus were no longer on the agenda except one which was placed as the second item on the agenda and since discussion on the first item on the agenda had already commenced, there was no need to rearrange the items on the agenda.[106]
Chairman's role in maintaining order at meetings
13.89In Chapter 8 [107], it has been explained that the rules which are used to maintain order at meetings of the Council, committee of the whole Council, standing committees and select committees were extended to other committees in May 2011 following various incidents involving disorderly conduct of Members at committee meetings. These rules, namely Rule 44 (Decision of the Chair Final) and Rule 45(2) (Order in Council and Committee) of the Rules of Procedure, empower the chairman of any committee to order a Member whose conduct is grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the committee for the remainder of that meeting. His decision is final.
13.90During the debate at the Council meeting of 11 May 2011 on the motion to extend the power of chairman under Rule 44 and Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure to all committees, the proposal also to extend the power under Rule 45(1) to committee chairmen was negatived. This proposal originally aimed to provide the chairman with the power to direct a member to discontinue his speech if a member in his opinion persisted in irrelevant or tedious repetition of his own or other Members' arguments in the debate (or discussion). Those Members who did not support the proposal held the view that Members' freedom of speech in the Council should be protected. Following this decision of the Council, it is for the chairman of a committee to decide how to ensure that the time of the committee can be used effectively. The usual practice is the adoption of time allocation for individual items on the agenda. Apart from stating the time allowed for each item on the agenda [108], it is usual practice to set a speaking time limit for each occasion when a member is called to speak on an item. As there is no restriction on the number of occasions a member is allowed to speak, it remains the responsibility of the chairman to ensure as much opportunity as practicable for members to seek information or express views while preserving the order and smooth conduct of business at meetings of the committee. In this context, it is an accepted practice that no further questions or speeches are allowed after the designated time allocated for the item is reached.
13.91As regards deputations who make oral representations at committee meetings, the usual practice is that the chairman determines the speaking time limit for each having regard to the number of deputations and the duration of the public hearing. Each deputation may only speak once but it may be invited to respond to questions from members during the discussion session after all deputations have made their presentations. In the event that one person has registered to make an oral representation in different capacities or on behalf of absent deputations, the Committee on Rules of Procedure has concluded that he or she may only speak once at committee meetings held for the purpose of receiving public views on a subject but the chairman should continue to have the discretion to handle special requests flexibly.[109]
13.92If at a meeting of a committee the chairman notices that a member of the press or of the public is behaving, or appears likely to behave, in a disorderly manner, the chairman may order the removal of such person.[110]
Chairman's power to curtail discussion on agenda items
13.93The need to curtail the discussion of an agenda item may arise particularly in the case of the Finance Committee where a substantial majority of members are clearly ready to vote on a financial proposal but a few members have found it necessary to continue to prolong the proceedings. The Procedures of the Finance Committee and its Subcommittee stipulate that before putting an item to the vote, the chairman shall ask members if they have further questions.[111] This provision is to enable the chairman to ensure that those members who wish to ask questions but have not yet indicated their intention would be able to do so before the chairman puts the item to vote, after which no member is allowed to speak. Where the asking of questions in relation to a financial proposal is used as a means to prolong the proceedings of the Committee, the chairman has the responsibility to ensure that the business on the agenda is transacted in a proper and efficient manner. It has been a practice for the chairman of the Finance Committee to seek views and agreement from members on a timeframe and procedure for concluding the discussion on the agenda item. Such a procedure includes the reduction of speaking time progressively where multiple rounds of questions and answers have been conducted.[112]
13.94Another practice to curtail further asking of questions adopted by the chairman of the Finance Committee is to "draw a line" to disallow any further questions from members when the chairman considers that there has already been adequate discussion on the item and the discussion should come to a close. This practice was questioned in January 2010 when the Committee considered the financial proposals related to the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project. After seeking advice from the then Secretary General (Appendix 13-G), the Chairman, Ms Emily LAU, consulted members and "drew a line" after the 13th round of questions and answers at the 11th meeting on the proposal.
13.95The power of the chairman to "draw a line" came under question again in June 2014 when the chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr NG Leung-sing, proposed it in the course of the discussion on the financial proposal relating to the advance site formation and engineering infrastructure works at Kwu Tung North new development area and Fanling North. By the time he made this suggestion, it was at the end of the 7th meeting after 16 rounds of questions and answers on the financial proposal for which a progressive reduction of speaking time had been ordered.[113] In response to a member who questioned the chairman's power to "draw a line", the Legal Adviser reiterated that "[t]here are no explicit provisions in the Rules of Procedure and the Finance Committee Procedure on such power of the chairman. However, from the legal perspective and in accordance with the general legal principles, a person chairing a meeting as the chairman of a committee would, by necessary implication or for any purposes reasonably incidental to or consequential upon this function, have such powers as are reasonably necessary for the performance of such function." [114] These powers would include the power to control the progress of a meeting by drawing a line to disallow further questions from being raised.
Voting rights of chairmen
13.96Prior to November 2005, provisions relating to the voting rights of committee chairmen in the Rules of Procedure varied from committee to committee. The situation was inevitable as the rules on committees were adopted from various sources and the conventions of individual committees had been preserved as far as possible in the new rules. While some committee chairmen had an original vote and a casting vote, some only had a casting vote but not an original vote and in some cases, it was not specified in the Rules of Procedure whether the chairmen had any vote at all. The Committee on Rules of Procedure decided in 2004-2005 to conduct a full-scale study on the subject, but pending the outcome of the study, the Committee considered that unless otherwise provided expressly in the Rules of Procedure, the chairman of a committee should have the same voting rights as other members of the committee. In other words, all chairmen should have an original vote which should be exercised at the same time as other members exercise their votes. Also the committee chairman should not have a casting vote unless otherwise provided in the Rules of Procedure.
13.97An inquiry was conducted by the Committee on Rules of Procedure in 2005-2006 and in the light of its preliminary finding, a consultation exercise was conducted among all Members of the Council to obtain their views on the subject. The Committee noted that according to the Westminster convention, that in exercising a casting vote, the principal consideration of the chair was that there should be an opportunity for further discussion if there was no clear majority on a question. The Committee also noted that this principle had already been reflected in the procedures of the Finance Committee and its Subcommittees. The chairman of the Finance Committee should not exercise the casting vote in such a way as to produce a majority vote in favour of the question before the committee. The same principle had been adopted in the procedures of the two Subcommittees of the Finance Committee. The Committee on Rules of Procedure recommended that the same arrangement should be provided for all other committees and their subcommittees.
13.98As to whether the committee chairmen should have an original vote and a casting vote, the Committee on Rules of Procedure noted that the majority of members who responded in the consultation exercise considered that the chairmen of Panels, Bills Committees and subcommittees of the House Committee on subsidiary legislation should have one vote, whether it was an original vote or a casting vote, while chairmen of all other committees and subcommittees should only have a casting vote but not an original vote. The Committee concluded that given the principle that the chairman of a committee should have the same voting rights as other committee members unless expressly provided to the contrary in the Rules of Procedure, the chairmen of these committees should have an original vote which should be cast at the same time as others. This principle should also apply to other subcommittees of the House Committee including those appointed to study draft legislation, other instruments and subsidiary legislation not subject to section 34 or section 35 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1).
13.99The above recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure were endorsed by the House Committee on 7 October 2005 and the proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure to reflect these changes were endorsed on 11 November 2005 and approved by the Council on 23 November 2005.
13.100A summary of the voting rights of chairmen of committees and subcommittees is provided at Appendix 13-A.
Provision of papers
13.101Members of committees attach great importance to timeliness in the provision of discussion and information papers to enable them to have adequate time to understand the subject matter and, if needed, consult their respective political parties or affiliations. This is particularly important in the case of the Finance Committee and its two Subcommittees due to the crucial role of the Finance Committee in scrutinizing and approving the financial proposals.[115] The Finance Committee Procedure (and also Procedures of its two Subcommittees) requires the discussion papers to be dispatched to members at least 5 clear days before the meeting unless otherwise directed by its chairman on grounds of urgency.
13.102The minimum days required for the provision of discussion papers to other committees however was not stipulated until January 2002. With the enhanced role of Panels since 1996 in the consultation process on major legislative and financial proposals, it has become necessary for members of Panels to have a good understanding of the policy aspects and how they would impact the community before they can confirm if the proposals are ready for presentation to the Council or to the Finance Committee, or whether further discussion is needed. In order that the relevant papers should reach members of Panels well in advance, the House Committee endorsed the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure on 18 January 2002 for the following arrangements:
(a)The Government is required to provide papers at least 5 clear days before the relevant Panel meeting for items which have been given no less than 3 weeks' notice;
(b)The Government is required to provide papers at least 2 clear days before the relevant Panel meeting for items involving time critical proposals or where the need to consult Panels does not arise until a very late stage; and
(c)The Government is required to provide papers as soon as practicable for items with less than 3 weeks' notice, or for policy matters where approval of the Executive Council has just been sought, or for matters involving commercially sensitive information.
13.103The chairman of a Panel should exercise discretion according to individual circumstances but where in his opinion that there is no compelling reason for the late provision of papers and the item is not time critical, he may decide to defer the relevant item to a future meeting.
13.104A different arrangement is adopted for the provision of discussion papers to Bills Committees and subcommittees on subsidiary legislation. As the policy aspects of a legislative proposal will already have been discussed by the relevant Panel, there is generally a better understanding of the extent of deliberation required for the scrutiny of the details of the relevant bill or subsidiary legislation. It is common practice that the chairman of the relevant committee/subcommittee will fix the meetings with the relevant bureau and the Government should have assessed its ability to provide discussion papers or draft amendments to the bill or subsidiary legislation at a reasonable time before the meeting.
13.105The House Committee also endorsed that the Government should, as far as possible, arrange for the papers to reach the relevant clerk by 11:00 am if a deadline fell on a day before a public holiday so that the relevant papers reach Members on the same day. This arrangement took effect on 1 March 2002.
13.106Where meetings are held in public, the Legislative Council Secretariat will normally provide the press/public observing the meetings with the agendas for the meetings. As all papers are now uploaded onto the Legislative Council website, unless directed by the chairman, members of the press/public are requested to access the documents on the website.
Quorum of committees
13.107The quorum of a committee is prescribed in the Rules of Procedure. The House Rules [116] provide that unless a quorum is present within 15 minutes of the starting time appointed for the meeting, the meeting will not be held. With the exception of standing committees, select committees and the Investigation Committee where every effort is made to ensure the presence of a quorum throughout the meeting, committees may only count their quorum at the beginning of a meeting or when the attention of the chairman is drawn by a member of the committee during a meeting to the fact that a quorum is not present. The chairman shall direct members to be summoned if his attention is drawn to a lack of quorum.[117] If after 15 minutes have expired and a quorum is still not present, the chairman shall announce that the meeting is closed without any question put.
13.108The quorums of committees vary due to historical reasons and also the nature of work undertaken by the committees. The purpose of laying down a quorum for a committee is to ensure the presence of an adequate number of members to examine matters before them thoroughly.[118] For the House Committee which comprises all Members except the President, the quorum is 20. This quorum is the same as the quorum of House Committee in the pre-1997 Legislature which was the same as the quorum of the Council and the committee of the whole Council at that time. The membership of the Council had been 60 since 1993 [119], and the quorum was 20, being one-third of Members of the Council. The same ratio, i.e. one-third of membership, was also adopted for the House Committee, Bills Committee and Panels which became formal committees of the Council in 1992 and 1993. When the quorum of the Legislature of the HKSAR was raised to not less than one half of all its members in compliance with the requirement in Article 75 of the Basic Law, it was a conscious decision of the Members-elect of the First Legislative Council to keep the quorum of the House Committee at 20. This requirement has remained the same even after the membership of the Legislative Council was increased to 70 in 2012.
13.109The quorum of Panels and Bills Committees, as mentioned above, remains at one-third of membership (a fraction of the whole number being disregarded) or three members including the chairman, whichever is the greater. This quorum also applies to the subcommittees of Panels, Bills Committees and House Committee. There was discussion at the Committee on Rules of Procedure in 1999-2000 on whether the quorum requirement for these committees could be relaxed especially when a large number of Members had signified membership. After reviewing the quorum requirements in the parliaments of other jurisdictions, the Committee did not consider it justified to change the existing arrangements by measures such as capping the number of members for these committees or limiting the number of committees that each Member could join. The Committee held the view that Members should be free to join any committees they wished but in considering whether to join any committee, a Member should take into account the time and commitment likely to be involved. [120]
13.110The quorums of those committees whose members are appointed by the President are relatively higher than those of all other committees. Examples are two 7-member standing committees, namely the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Members' Interests; they both require the chairman and 2 other members to make up a quorum.[121] The Committee on Rules of Procedure and the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records require the chairman and 3 other members to form a quorum.[122] The Investigation Committee requires the highest number of members to produce a quorum: 5 out of 7 members including the chairman.[123] While it is difficult to trace the historical reasons for the more stringent quorum requirements for these committees, the investigative nature of these committees may explain why a higher attendance of members is considered necessary. In any event, it would not be fair or practicable to have a quorum of less than 3 members given that the chairmen of these committees do not have an original vote.
13.111The Finance Committee and its Subcommittees, on the contrary, require the lowest quorum size in terms of the ratio of the quorum to the membership size. The quorum of the Finance Committee, which was chairman and 8 members when the membership of the Finance Committee was 59 in the pre-1997 Legislature, has remained unchanged. This quorum has worked out to be about one-seventh of membership, which was the quorum for the two Subcommittees of the Finance Committee. Today, despite the increase in the number of members of the Finance Committee to 69, the quorum remains the same. One-seventh of membership continues to be the quorum of its two Subcommittees.
13.112A summary of the quorums of committees is provided at Appendix 13-A.
Modes of deliberations
13.113The Rules in Part H of the Rules of Procedure (Rules of Speaking) apply to the proceedings of a committee unless directed otherwise by the chairman.[124] These rules include the time and manner of speaking, number of occasions on which a member is allowed to speak on a subject matter, interruptions, adjournment of debates, contents of speeches and behaviour when not speaking. In practice, the rules of speaking at a committee meeting are applied with greater flexibility so as to facilitate interactive discussions.
13.114Generally speaking, the mode of deliberation adopted by most committees is a spontaneous question-and-answer type of communication between members and a responding party (or parties) which is usually the Government. For the discussion of an item on the agenda of the meeting, whether it is a financial proposal in the Finance Committee or a subject on the agenda of a Panel meeting, members are invited to raise questions or express views usually up to a time limit of 5 minutes on each occasion. This mode of deliberation has proven to be an efficient means to ensure that all members present are given an equal opportunity to raise questions or to speak on the subject matter. However it may give rise to the concern that such a mode may result in a lack of discussion and inadequate exchange of views among members on the subject matter before the deliberation is put to an end. It was against this background that a new Rule 22(p) of the House Rules was put in place in March 2001 to allow member to move motions relevant to the subject matter on the agenda of the meeting.
Motions
13.115The Rules in Part G of the Rules of Procedure (Motions) only apply to the Council and committee of the whole Council but not other committees. Prior to the incorporation of the OMELCO committees into the committee structure of the Legislature, there was no need as such to deal with motions at meetings of the standing committees and select committees. Financial proposals considered by the Finance Committee, though known as agenda items, were in fact motions to be voted on at the end of the discussion of each item. In the case of the Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Members' Interests and select committees, their deliberations were recorded in their respective reports to the Council. Motions would only be raised in the Council for adopting the committees' reports. Owing to the deliberative nature of the meetings of most committees, in particular Panels and Bills Committees, there were very few cases prior to the First Legislative Council which called for motions to be moved during meetings. In the absence of a procedure governing the processing of motions in committees, the method of dealing with a request for moving a motion rested entirely within the discretion of the chairman of the committee concerned.
13.116In 1999-2000 an inquiry into the mode of deliberation at committee meetings was conducted by the Committee on Rules of Procedure upon the request of the House Committee. While the question-and-answer mode of deliberation at Panel meetings helped create a more interactive dialogue between members and public officers or other parties attending the meetings, it was difficult for both the committee and the Government to gauge the majority view of the committee members unless a motion was moved, debated and voted on at the meeting. Accordingly the Committee on Rules of Procedure was asked specifically to come up with procedural arrangements for handling motions at Panel meetings.
Moving of motions at Panel meetings
13.117In its report to the House Committee on 9 June 2000, the Committee on Rules of Procedure considered that the flexibility in the conduct of business of a Panel was necessary in order to facilitate its frequent exchange of views with the Government and interested parties on matters of public concern. However, it also considered that the moving of motions was necessary when there was a need for the Panel to come to a view or decision on a specific issue, including urging the Government to take certain actions. As it was not always possible for members of Panels to give advance notice for the moving of motions and that very often such a view or stance would come about in the course of deliberation of the subject matter concerned, the Committee proposed an arrangement to provide Panels with the opportunity to decide on a collective view or stance where necessary without being inhibited by rigid procedural rules. The Committee did not consider it necessary to adopt the procedures governing motions in the Council for the purposes of Panel meetings. Neither did it find it practicable to require notice to be given for the moving of motions to adopt such a view or stance. The proposed arrangements were as follows:
(a)any motion to be proposed during a Panel meeting should be directly related to an agenda item of that meeting;
(b)it should be for the chairman of the Panel to decide on the direct relevance of a proposed motion to the agenda item;
(c)whether a proposed motion is to be proceeded with should be determined by a simple majority of the members present at the Panel meeting; and
(d)any proposed motion or amendment to a motion should be presented in written form to facilitate members' consideration and voting.
Rule 22(p) of the House Rules
13.118The House Committee agreed to the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and amended Rule 22 of the House Rules by adding a new subrule (p) which reads:
Rule 22(p)During a Panel meeting, a motion may be proposed if it is considered by the chairman of the Panel as directly related to an agenda item of that meeting. The motion will be proceeded with if agreed by a majority of the members voting. Any proposed motion or amendment to a motion should be presented to the Panel in written form.
13.119In 2003-2004, the Committee on Rules of Procedure studied whether a Member should be allowed to move a motion in accordance with Rule 22(p) of the House Rules under "Any other business" on the agenda of Panel meetings. The Committee noted that the requirement of Rule 22(p) that the motion should be related to an agenda item was to ensure that members were made aware of the possibility that a motion could be moved without notice on the subject matter of the agenda item. Such information was important in view of the guideline under Rule 24(l) (later renumbered as Rule 24(n)) of the House Rules that a motion, if passed, became the Panel's decision and should not be reopened for discussion unless with the Panel's permission. If a motion were to be allowed to be moved under "Any other business", it would mean that members would not have knowledge of the matter to be decided at the meeting and those members who were not able to attend the meeting would be deprived of the opportunity to express their views and vote on the motion. The Committee therefore concluded that such a motion should not be admissible under Rule 22(p).[125] The Committee's view was noted by the House Committee at its meeting on 21 May 2004.
Rule 24A(e) and (f) of the House Rules
13.120In the event that the meeting time of a meeting is extended, Rule 24A(e) of the House Rules provides that a motion which has been proposed and agreed to be dealt with during the original appointed meeting time but has not been so dealt with, may be dealt with and disposed of during the period of extension or continuation of meeting allowed by the chairman and/or the period of extension or further extension agreed by the committee.[126] Rule 24A(f) provides that no new motion is allowed to be proposed after the appointed ending time of the meeting.[127]
Moving of motions at Finance Committee meetings
13.121A provision similar to Rule 22(p) of the House Rules is also found in the current Finance Committee Procedure (Paragraph 37A) and the Procedures of its two Subcommittees (Paragraph 31A of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure and Paragraph 32A of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure). This provision was adopted by the Finance Committee in November 2007. Since the proceedings of the Finance Committee and its two Subcommittees in fact are quite different from those of a Panel, it is relevant to examine why this provision was adopted by the Finance Committee in the first place.
Background
13.122Unlike Panels, every item on the agenda of the Finance Committee is a proposal which, once approved by the Committee, shall have substantive effect. This has been explained in Chapter 12. [128] In other words, the agenda item is by itself a "motion". [129] The items which may be placed on the agenda of a Finance Committee meeting include financial proposals coming from the Financial Secretary, as well as motions from members such as motions to amend procedures, and motions to impose conditions, exceptions or limitations on the Finance Secretary's power delegated to him under section 8(3) of the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2) or under the Capital Works Reserve Fund Resolution (Cap. 2 sub. leg. A) or the Capital Investment Fund Resolution (Cap. 1 sub. leg. B). By virtue of Paragraph 37 of the Finance Committee Procedure, Rules 29 to 35 of the Rules of Procedure which apply to motions in the Council shall apply, with necessary modifications, to the proceedings of the Finance Committee.
13.123As a general rule, any motions on the agenda of a committee should be subject to amendment unless provided otherwise explicitly in its rules. In the case of a financial proposal, the Finance Committee must discuss and vote on the proposal as it has been tabled.[130] Section 8 of the Public Finance Ordinance stipulates that proposals to change the approved Estimates must come from the Financial Secretary. Therefore only the Financial Secretary may amend the financial proposals on the agenda of the Finance Committee. In the circumstances, the remit of members during the discussion of the proposal is to raise questions and seek to improve the proposal through undertaking by the Government. In the event that diverse views are expressed by members, it becomes difficult for the Government, as well as the membership to gauge the majority view of the Committee. In terms of possible procedural solutions, the Finance Committee may adjourn its proceedings upon a motion moved without notice and allow the matter to be further discussed by the relevant Panel before Finance Committee proceedings on the proposal are resumed, but this may not be what the majority of members would wish to see especially if the proposal is time-critical. As will be seen in the following paragraphs, more practical procedures were devised based on Rule 22(p) of the House Rules.
Adoption of Rule 22(p) of the House Rules by the Establishment Subcommittee
13.124Towards the end of the 2006-2007 session, a number of financial proposals involving controversial issues were considered and had led to extensive discussions with the Government during meetings. On 13 June 2007 at a meeting of the Establishment Subcommittee, the chairman, Ms LI Fung-ying, was asked by a member if he could move a motion without notice to seek a commitment from the Government in relation to its proposal to apply the findings of the 2006 Starting Salaries Survey to the Civil Service. The motion was to express a view on the implementation of the proposal and, if passed, the view would be included as part of its recommendation to the Finance Committee on the proposal. The chairman, after referring to the procedure as set out in Rule 22(p) of the House Rule, adopted that procedure in dealing with the member's request. The proposed motion, which was considered relevant to the agenda item by the chairman and had the support of the majority of members that it should be proceeded with immediately, was moved, debated and put to a vote at the meeting before the Subcommittee voted on the agenda item. The motion was passed and was incorporated as part of the Subcommittee's recommendation to the Finance Committee on the financial proposal.[131]
13.125Although the procedure of the subcommittees of the Finance Committee should be determined by the Finance Committee, paragraph 25 of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure (which was approved by the Finance Committee) provides that subject to the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council and the procedure endorsed by the Finance Committee, the Establishment Subcommittee determines its own practice and procedure. As there was no procedure in the Establishment Subcommittee's Procedure to deal with a motion without notice for the purpose of expressing a view, the chairman had the discretion to refer to the practices in other committees and to consult members of the Subcommittee before she made her decision. There was no dissenting voice when Ms LI Fung-ying, chairman of the Subcommittee, indicated her wish to adopt the procedure in Rule 22(p) of the House Rules. Her application of the Rule 22(p) to the proceedings of the Subcommittee had accordingly become a precedent.
Adoption of the new Paragraph 37A by the Finance Committee
13.126On 6 July 2007, the chairman of the Finance Committee, Ms Emily LAU, also adopted the same procedure in dealing with two motions moved without notice in relation to two agenda items. On 2 November 2007, the procedure was adopted by the Finance Committee and a new Paragraph 37A was included in the Procedures of the Finance Committee and a similar provision in the Procedures of its two Subcommittees.[132] The purpose of providing for this type of motion to be moved in the course of discussing a proposal is to facilitate the Committee or Subcommittee to express a view on the proposal. The motion, which should be submitted in written form, must be considered to be directly related to the agenda item by the chairman and agreed by a majority of members that it should be proceeded with forthwith. Amendment to the motion is allowed so that the final version of the motion passed by the Committee or Subcommittee reflects what the majority of members wish to achieve. Any amendment to the motion should also be in written form and, if considered relevant by the chairman, may be proposed without notice. Members may speak on the motion and amendment to the motion in a joint debate. The rules of speaking in Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure, i.e. each member not to speak more than once and not longer than 3 minutes or any time period as decided by the Committee, may be adopted by the chairman for a debate under Paragraph 37A.
Moving of motions under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure
13.127Motions without notice were first proposed in Finance Committee under Paragraph 37A of its Procedure during the Committee's discussion on the financial proposals in relation to the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project in January 2010. The discussion on the financial proposals lasted from 18 December 2009 to 16 January 2010 over 13 meetings. At the 2nd meeting on 18 December 2009, a member requested to move a motion under Paragraph 37A after the Committee had negatived a motion to adjourn the discussion on the proposal. The chairman, Ms Emily LAU, put the request to the Committee for its consideration and the request was negatived. After 13 rounds of questions and answers on the financial proposal, 18 members proposed another 28 motions to be moved under Paragraph 37A.
13.128Throughout the 13 meetings of the Finance Committee, the chairman took into account the advice given to her by the then Secretary General on the practices of the Finance Committee (Appendix 13-G) and the advice from the Legal Adviser on the handling of requests to move motions under Paragraph 37A [133]. She requested all proposed motions to be put in writing and be read aloud by the respective movers individually, for the Committee to decide whether each should be dealt with at the meeting. No debate was allowed at this stage as debates should be held on the motions themselves and not on whether the Committee should deal with the proposed motions. The Chairman allowed a division to be claimed without waiting for a show of hands at each voting, and the division bell was rung for 2 minutes on each occasion. After about 2½ hours' voting on the proposed motions, all requests to move motions under Paragraph 37A were rejected by the Committee. The Chairman allowed all members to give their concluding remarks for not more than one minute, and the put the agenda item to vote. The financial proposals were approved.
Number of motions that may be moved by each member
13.129Discussion relating to the moving of motions under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure in January 2010 was centred on the fairness and expediency in the way the proposed motions were disposed of at meetings. For example, the Chairman, after taking advice from the Legal Adviser, decided that the proposing of a motion to the Committee for a decision on whether it should be dealt with at the meeting should not be subject to debate. This decision of the Chairman was accepted by members and has become the practice since then.
13.130In June 2012 when 13 members proposed a total of 982 motions under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure in relation to the funding proposals arising from a proposed reorganization of the Government Secretariat, it was noted that 939 of these motion came from 3 members (at 218, 236 and 485 respectively). Questions began to emerge on whether "a member may move a motion without notice to express a view on the agenda item" in Paragraph 37A should be interpreted to mean a member may only be allowed to move "one" motion on an agenda item throughout the proceedings on that agenda item.
13.131When Paragraph 37A was included in the Finance Committee Procedure (and similar provisions in the Procedures of its Subcommittee), the intention was to enable the Committee to formulate a view on a financial proposal, if there was a need to do so, through a motion without notice. Such motion is subject to amendment so that members may agree on a motion which would best describe the view they wish to convey to the Government in respect of the proposal. The procedure was not framed in such a way as to set a limit for the number of motions allowed to be moved by a member or on an agenda item, nor was it intended to cater for a large number of motions to be moved in respect of a financial proposal. When questions were raised about the interpretation of Paragraph 37A in June 2012, the chairman, Ms Emily LAU, referred to the way the 29 proposed motions in respect of the Express Rail Link Project were handled in January 2010. The chairman noted that the 29 motions were moved by 18 members, with 7 of them proposing more than one motion. Although the question of whether a member could move more than one motion was not considered at that time, Ms LAU did not find any compelling reason for adopting a new interpretation of Paragraph 37A. She therefore allowed all relevant motions to be moved. However, to ensure smooth conduct of business and to facilitate clearer understanding of the way she would conduct the meetings to deal with the agenda item and the large number of proposed motions to be moved on the item, she instructed the Secretariat to set out the relevant procedures and practice in a circular for issue to all members. [134]
13.132The Finance Committee started to deal with the proposed motions at the 17th meeting on 29 June 2012, and by the 20th meeting on 6 July 2012, the Committee had disposed of a total of 237 proposed motions with over 700 motions to be dealt with. In view of the fact that some members continued to submit motions under Paragraph 37A, the Government finally decided in early July to rearrange the order of the financial proposals on the agenda for the last meeting of the Finance Committee in the term on 13 July 2012 so as to advance the consideration of the financial proposals related to people's livelihood before the prorogation of the Council on 18 July 2012. As the agenda items on the reorganization of the Government Secretariat were only reached towards the scheduled ending time of the Finance Committee meeting on 13 July 2012, no further proceedings on the proposal relating to the reorganization of the Government Secretariat were undertaken by the Finance Committee before prorogation.
13.133As Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure was not intended to cater for a large number of motions, there is no notice requirement in the procedure governing the submission of proposed motions. The continued submission of motions in respect of the financial proposal on the reorganization of the Government Secretariat had prompted some members, such as Mr IP Kwok-him, to suggest to the chairman of the Finance Committee at the meeting on 29 June 2012 to amend the procedure in Paragraph 37A.[135] As it would be out of order to deal with any motion to amend the Finance Committee Procedure in the course of considering a financial proposal, the matter was deferred until October 2012, as explained in paragraph 13.139 below.
Imposition of a cut-off time for receiving motions moved under 37A
13.134The receipt of 1 633 proposed motions in respect of a financial proposal considered by the Finance Committee in May/June 2014 with some members announcing that more would continue to be submitted had caused the then chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr NG Leung-sing, to make a decision on 13 June 2014 to stop dealing with motions without notice under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure. The financial proposal was related to the advance site formation and engineering infrastructure works at Kwu Tung new development area and Fanling North new development area. The Committee started the deliberation on the proposal on 2 May 2014 and it went on through a series of meetings on 16 May, 30 May and 6 June 2014. By 13 June 2014, 1 633 motions had been put before the chairman to be dealt with under Paragraph 37A. Noting some members' intention to continue to submit motions, the chairman announced at the meeting on 13 June 2014 that, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the Finance Committee, he would stop dealing with any further motions presented to him by members of the Committee under Paragraph 37A.
13.135In response to some members' question on whether the chairman of the Finance Committee could properly stop dealing with motions submitted in accordance with Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure, the Legal Adviser explained at the meeting on 13 June 2014 that although no upper limit was explicitly specified in the procedure, there should be a presumption that no reasonable institution would formulate any procedural rule that would paralyse its own operation or that would make it not possible to function. As the Committee had a duty under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2) to consider whether to approve financial proposals from the Financial Secretary, the Committee should scrutinize and decide whether or not to approve such proposals within a reasonable period of time. Noting the views of some members on his decision, the chairman allowed members to express their views at the meeting and also at the meeting on 20 June 2014. At the same meeting, the Finance Committee started to vote on the admissible motions [136] out of the 1 633 proposed motions received before 13 June 2014. In the meantime, some members continued to submit proposed motions. By 27 June 2014, 3 924 other proposed motions had been received, making a total of 5 557 proposed motions in respect of the financial proposal.
13.136On 27 June 2014, having considered members' views on his decision made on 13 June 2014, the chairman of the Finance Committee issued a written ruling (Appendix 13-H) reaffirming that he would not deal with those motions received after 13 June 2014. As all admissible motions from the 1633 motions were disposed of on 20 June 2014, the chairman allowed a last round of questions/speeches on the financial proposal before it was put to vote. The financial proposal was approved after a total of 28 hours of discussion.
13.137Some members held very strong views against the decision of the chairman of the Finance Committee. They considered that the chairman did not have the power to stop dealing with proposed motions under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure presented to him by individual members. Mr WONG Yuk-man filed an application on 8 July 2014 for leave to apply for judicial review to challenge the chairman's decision to stop dealing with members' motions and the Finance Committee's decision to approve the financial proposal. The leave application was heard at the Court of First Instance on 11 June 2015 and the Court's judgment, refusing the leave application, was handed down on 7 October 2015. In respect of the power of the chairman of the Finance Committee to chair meetings, the Court held that the chairman, who is vested with the power to chair meetings under Paragraph 13 of Finance Committee Procedure, has the power to regulate the process of the meetings under its Procedure, including the power to set limits to and terminate a debate. A summary of the judgment prepared by the Legal Service Division of the Legislative Council Secretariat is at Appendix 13-I.[137]
13.138In October 2014, the Finance Committee considered four financial proposals jointly in relation to the extension of three landfills and development of an integrated waste management facility. The discussion spanned over the period from 31 October 2014 to 9 January 2015. On 21 November 2014, after the Committee had spent a total of 16 hours raising questions on the four proposals, the chairman, Mr Tommy CHEUNG, directed that he would proceed to deal with motions moved under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure after the current round of questions and answers had been completed. He also asked members who wished to propose any further motions to submit them in writing before a cut-off time (i.e. 5:00 pm on 24 November 2014) so that he could have sufficient time to determine whether the proposed motions were directly related to the agenda items under discussion. Any motions submitted beyond the deadline would not be accepted. However, at the Finance Committee meeting on 28 November 2014, the chairman decided not to pursue his earlier decisions as he had understood from the members who intended to move motions under paragraph 37A that no more than 500 such motions would be proposed. As this would not prevent him from conducting meetings of the Finance Committee in an orderly, efficient and fair manner, he agreed not to enforce the cut-off time. The chairman eventually put 702 proposed motions to the Committee for a decision as to whether they should be proceeded with. The Committee decided against proceeding with any of the proposed motions.
Moves to amend Paragraph 37A and equivalent provisions in the Subcommittees' Procedures
13.139On 10 October 2012, Mr IP Kwok-him gave notice to include an agenda item in a Finance Committee meeting to amend the Finance Committee Procedure and Procedures of the two Subcommittees to the effect that each member could only move one motion without notice to express a view or a number of views on an agenda item. In February 2013, the Chairman agreed that a meeting would be convened on 22 February 2013 to deal with Mr IP's motion as well as a motion from Mr Ronny TONG to amend Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure to replace "a motion" by "one or more than one motions" and also the equivalent provisions in the Procedures of its Subcommittees. By the close of the deadline for giving notice of amendments to the two motions, the Clerk had received over 1.9 million amendments which, according to the Clerk, would require 408 man-months to complete the preliminary vetting of the facts and accuracy in both Chinese and English languages. If all the amendments were admitted by the Chairman, the voting time to dispose of the amendments alone would take more than 23 868 two-hour meetings. The Chairman then changed the purpose of the meeting on 22 February 2013 to a discussion among members on how to handle the motions to amend the Procedures. At the end of the discussion, members noted that Mr IP would further discuss with members on the subject and the original motions would not be proceeded with until further notice.
Speaking on a motion moved under Paragraph 37A
13.140On 13 July 2012, in considering a funding proposal relating to the procurement of electric buses for trial by franchised bus companies, the Finance Committee agreed to proceed with one of the two motions proposed respectively by two members under Paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee Procedure to express a view on the funding proposal. Each member of the Committee was allowed to speak once for not more than 3 minutes on the motion moved. The motion was passed by the Finance Committee before the funding proposal was put to vote.
Adjournment of proceedings
13.141The moving of a motion to adjourn proceedings under Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure[138] is not uncommon in the Finance Committee. Such an adjournment is sometimes considered necessary when it is found that the proposal requires more discussion of the policy aspects or over the technical details by the relevant Panel.[139] The relevant provision is an adaptation of Rule 40(4) of the Rules of Procedure. Originally, the provision was to cater for the adjournment of the discussion of an agenda item. Where the motion to adjourn discussion was passed, the committee would move to the next item. However, following a review of the procedure in 1996, members agreed at the Finance Committee meeting on 29 November 1996 to amend the Procedure to require that if discussion on an agenda item were to be adjourned, the consequence would be the adjournment of the entire proceedings. The rationale was that it would be unfair to members and the Government if an item could not be voted on after it had been fully deliberated.[140] This provision in any case does not disable the chairman from exercising his discretion to apply Rule 40(1) of the Rules of Procedure to the Finance Committee. By virtue of Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure, Rules 36 to 42 apply to the proceedings in a committee unless the chairman of the committee orders otherwise. The discretion therefore rests with the chairman. In practice, the chairman of Finance Committee has not ordered that Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure cannot apply.[141] Besides, in Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure approved by the Finance Committee of the First Legislative Council, the expression "discussion on an item" is kept in the adjournment procedure.
13.142Regarding the question on whether a motion to adjourn proceedings may be moved at each meeting held consecutively on the same day to consider the same item, the Legal Adviser advised in June 2014 [142] that when Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure was promulgated, the current arrangement to limit each meeting of the Finance Committee to two hours had not yet been established. In considering whether a motion to adjourn proceedings may be moved at a meeting immediately after a meeting (both of which follow the same meeting agenda) when the same motion has been negatived, the chairman would have to give regard to whether this would give rise to an absurd situation. Based on this advice, the chairman of the Finance Committee, Mr NG Leung-sing, ruled at the second meeting on 27 June 2014 that for the purpose of Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure the three meetings scheduled for that day should be regarded as three sessions of the same meeting and that it would not be in order for members to move a motion to adjourn proceedings again for the remainder of the meetings scheduled for the day.
13.143The same principle was adopted by Mr Tommy CHEUNG, chairman of the Finance Committee in the 2014-2015 session, when the Committee considered the Government's proposal to establish the Innovation and Technology Bureau. A total of 8 two-hour meetings had been held to consider the proposal, including 2 meetings held consecutively on 6 February 2015 and 4 meetings held consecutively on 14 February 2015. On 6 February, the Chairman allowed the debate on a motion to adjourn further proceedings under Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure to continue at the second meeting of the day. On 14 February, the Chairman also allowed a motion to adjourn further proceedings to continue at the second meeting on the same day. This arrangement reaffirmed that where the agenda for the consecutive meetings on the same day is the same, all such consecutive meetings are regarded as one meeting for the purpose of the procedure on adjournment of proceedings under Paragraph 39.
13.144In this respect, some principles have been established in the case of the committee of the whole Council.[143] On 16 May 2012, when the Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012 was on the fifth day of it committee stage proceedings, two Members proposed to move a motion to adjourn the proceedings of the committee. The same adjournment motion had been negatived by the committee of the whole Council on 9 May 2012, when the Bill was on its second day of its committee stage proceedings. The President, in his capacity as the chairman of the committee of the whole Council took the view that since Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure was silent as to whether a motion to adjourn proceedings could or could not be moved more than once in the same committee stage proceedings on a bill, if those proceedings were going to be lengthy, different Members should be allowed to move a motion to adjourn proceedings at different times provided that the lapse of time since such a motion was last moved was reasonable. Before deciding whether the two proposed motions to adjourn proceedings should be allowed to be moved, the chairman had invited the two Members to speak and he ruled on both occasions that he did not consider that there was any new development since the last debate on the same kind of motion which would have made the debate on the proposed motion different from the previous one. He therefore did not allow the two motions to be moved.
13.145Paragraph 39 of the Finance Committee Procedure is adapted from Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure as is evident from the cross-reference to it made in Paragraph 39.(Appendix 13-J) [144] Any principles established by the President, as Chairman of the committee of the whole Council, in the application of Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure should be of relevance to the chairman of the Finance Committee. Thus, notwithstanding the number of meetings held to consider a financial proposal, where the discussion is to span over a number of meetings whether on the same day or on different days, the chairman may allow different members to move such a motion at different times provided that the timing is considered by the chairman to be reasonable. The member who proposes to move the motion for a second time would have to explain why this motion should be moved. The chairman has the discretion to decide not to propose the question on it to the committee if he believes that the proposed motion is an abuse of the rules [145] and the debate on this question would not be substantially different from the one held earlier. So far, for a motion to adjourn discussion of an agenda item, it has been the practice that the chairman of Finance Committee would not allow it to be moved the second time after one has been dealt with on the same item.
Voting
13.146Decisions of a committee are made by its members through voting. Rules in Part J (Voting) of the Rules of Procedure are only applicable to the Council and committee of the whole Council. Separate rules are provided for committees. Apart from stipulating the voting rights of the chairmen, there is a general provision which applies to all committees: "All matters before the committee (or its subcommittees) shall be decided by a majority of members voting.".[146]
Interpretation of "a majority of members voting"
13.147There has been discussion on what constituted "a majority of members voting" in the case of committees. The meaning of "majority vote" in the context of the voting requirement in Annex II to the Basic Law has been discussed in Chapter 7. [147] In relation to the passage of all motions before the Council or a committee of the Council except those otherwise provided for in the Basic Law, the Council endorsed that a majority vote occurs when the members voting in favour of a question exceed half of the number of Members present at the time of voting. This means that only affirmative votes will be counted. Rule 46(4) was therefore added to the Rules of Procedure to clarify this point. However, in the case of committees, there is no such stipulation in Annex II or in any part of the Basic Law. It was concluded by the Members-elect of the First Legislative Council that the voting method in Annex II referred only to the business at Council meetings while the procedure of committees would be for the Council to decide. The voting requirements for committees in the pre-1997 Legislature were adopted in the Rules of Procedure, i.e. only the members voting would be counted. As "abstention from voting" is not regarded as a vote [148], when the affirmative votes exceed the negative votes with any "abstentions" disregarded, there is a majority vote. This voting requirement is used by all committees and subcommittees of the Council.
Ringing of voting bell at committee meetings
13.148Prior to April 2005, there was no uniform approach on the way to notify members of committees that voting would take place at committee meetings. This was mainly due to the fact that voting bell was only installed in the Chamber and one of the conference rooms in the then Legislative Council Building on Jackson Road.
13.149During the 2004-2005 session, the Committee on Rules of Procedure conducted a study on the subject in response to the request of the House Committee. The Committee found it reasonable to notify all members of the committee including those who were not present at the meeting venue that a vote was about to take place so that they could return in time to take part in the voting. A recommendation was made to the House Committee in April 2005 to amend the House Rules to provide a procedure in Rule 24(i) and (j) for the ringing of a voting bell. In gist, the procedure provides that before a matter is voted upon at a meeting of a committee, a voting bell shall be rung if the chairman orders, on his own motion or upon request of a member of the committee, unless the committee meeting is held simultaneously with a Council meeting. The committee will proceed to vote immediately after the bell has been rung for 2 minutes. Where no voting bell is provided for the meeting venue or if the bell does not function or may not be rung because a Council meeting is in progress, the chairman shall order the clerk to arrange for members of the committee within the precincts of the Chamber to be notified and voting will take place after 4 minutes. This procedure which was endorsed by the House Committee on 4 April 2005 and incorporated into the House Rules on 29 April 2005 is still in force. A similar procedure was also adopted by the Finance Committee for its meetings as well as the meetings of its two Subcommittees on 27 May 2005.
13.150On 7 October 2011, following the relocation of the Legislative Council to the new Complex which is four times the size of the former Legislative Council Building, the House Committee passed a motion to suspend Rule 24(i) and (j) of the House Rules to enable the voting bell to be rung for 5 minutes but if the voting bell does not function or may not be rung, the voting to take place 10 minutes after the chairman orders that members of the committee be notified of the voting. The suspension, which will continue to be in place until it is removed or the relevant House Rules are amended, is applicable to the House Committee, Bills Committees, Panels and their subcommittees.
13.151In the case of the Finance Committee and its Subcommittees, their Procedures provide that if the Committee or Subcommittee is to proceed to a division, a division bell is to be rung for 2 minutes and any further divisions under the same agenda item may be shortened to one minute upon the passage of a motion moved without notice.[149] On 4 November 2011, in line with the interim arrangement endorsed by the House Committee for other committees, the Finance Committee agreed to suspend part of the relevant procedures and put in place an interim arrangement for the division bell to be rung for 5 minutes and if the bell does not function or may not be rung, the voting to take place 10 minutes after the Clerk has been ordered to notify members of the voting. The duration of the division bell shortened with the passage of a motion moved under Paragraph 47 of the Finance Committee Procedure for further divisions on the same agenda item remains at one minute.
Duty visits
13.152Any committees may conduct visits in Hong Kong or places outside Hong Kong. From time to time, committees may find it necessary conduct a visit within Hong Kong to gain first-hand information on the issues being inquired into by the committees or on any organizations of interest to them in connection with Council business.[150] Such visits may be decided by the committees at meetings or in response to the invitation from the organizations concerned. The timing and programme of such visits are decided by the respective chairmen after consulting members of the committees concerned and the host organizations. The duration of a visit is kept to within 3 hours where possible.[151] If it is noticed after the deadline for signing up for a visit that the number of members participating is less than 3 or the number has dropped to below 3 after the withdrawal by some members, the chairman may decide to cancel or postpone the visit after consulting other members and the host organization.[152] Members have been reminded that last-minute withdrawal should be discouraged. The Secretariat is therefore required to keep a record of the Members who withdrew from such visits.[153]
13.153If a committee considers it necessary to conduct a visit to places outside Hong Kong under the name of the committee and/or the funding for the visit is to be charged to individual Members' Overseas Duty Visit accounts [154], the following mechanism must be followed:
(a)The purposes of the visit must be in relation to the obtaining of first-hand information on matters and practices in these other places; [155]
(b)The committee may decide a maximum number of members in the delegation after consulting the parties to be visited, and prepare a budget;
(c)Prior permission of the House Committee must be sought and the decision of the House Committee should be referred to The Legislative Council Commission for reference;
(d)Members of the committee joining the visit should participate in the entire programme;[156] and
(e)Any Members who are not members of the committee may also join subject to not exceeding the maximum number of members on the delegation. They should also take part in the entire programme.
13.154Any visit proposed in response to an invitation should first be referred to the relevant committee(s) to determine if the visit is related to the business of the Council. There should be transparency in the deliberation on logistical arrangements, including who among the Members would take part in the visit, the itinerary, matters to be studied and places to be visited. Approval of the House Committee is required for any such proposed visits and also for visits which are to be led by the President or any Member under the name of the Council or a committee(s), the funding of which is to be charged to individual Members' Overseas Duty Visit account. The decision of the House Committee must also be referred to The Legislative Council Commission for reference.[157] Details of the mechanism for handling Members' visits outside Hong Kong in response to invitations is set out in Appendix VI of the House Rules and is reproduced at Appendix 13-K. A report of such a visit should be submitted to the House Committee after the visit.[158]
Minutes and reports
13.155The Clerk to the Legislative Council is responsible for providing every committee and subcommittee of the Council with a clerk. [159] The clerk to a committee has the responsibility to keep the minutes of the meetings of the committee in a manner determined by the committee. These minutes are usually taken to provide a detailed and official record of the deliberations of meetings.
Keeping of minutes
13.156Most committees keep some form of minutes or records of discussion to record the deliberations and decisions of the committees. In deciding the form of minutes or records to be used, the guiding principle is that where no report would normally be published to record the deliberations and views of a committee upon the completion of the inquiry into a specific subject, as in the case of Panels, a detailed form of minutes should be used. Where a report will be published upon the completion of work, as in the case of a Bills Committee, the minutes may be presented in a condensed form recording the decisions of the committee, outstanding matters to be followed up at future meetings, undertakings made by the Government, etc. For committees which only keep minutes in condensed form, the audio-recording of the meetings should be kept in the archives for future retrieval. Where needed, the verbatim transcripts of the relevant part of the proceedings of a committee meeting may be produced.[160]
13.157Generally speaking, minutes should be drafted by the committee clerk within 2 weeks (in the case of Panels) or 3 clear days (in the case of Bills Committees) for comment by the relevant public officers from the Government bureaux concerned. The timeframe for commenting by the Government is usually one week for detailed minutes and 3 clear days for those in condensed form.[161] This arrangement only applies to regular meetings which last for not more than 2 hours. For longer meetings, some flexibility is allowed to take into account the capacity of the Secretariat, frequency of meetings and the duration of the meetings concerned. Rule 25 of the House Rules provides guidelines on the preparation of minutes and verbatim records of committee meetings.
Submission of reports
Tabling of reports in the Council
13.158The Rules of Procedure require the following committees to submit reports:
(a)The Public Accounts Committee is required to table its report upon the report of the Director of Audit on the accounts of the Government or value for money audits within 3 months (or such longer period as may be determined by the President [162]or the Council respectively) of the date on which the report is laid on the Table of the Council; [163]
(b)The Committee on Members' Interests has the responsibility to report to the Council and make recommendations including a recommendation as to a sanction under Rule 85 of the Rules of Procedure;[164]
(c)An Investigation Committee is required to report to the Council as soon as it has completed investigation of the matter referred to it; [165]
(d)The Committee on Rules of Procedure is required to report from time to time its deliberations and may make recommendations to the Council; [166]
(e)The Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records may make reports to the Council as it considers appropriate;[167]
(f)The House Committee may report to the Council on the consideration of any policy matter it has referred to a Panel after the report from the Panel has been received;[168]
(g)A Bills Committee is required to advise the House Committee in writing of its deliberations as soon as it has completed consideration of the bill allocated to it, and report further to the Council;[169]
(h)A Panel is required to make at least one report to the Council during a session and, if so requested or on its own motion, make a report to the House Committee on a particular matter;[170] and
(i)A select committee is required to report to the Council as soon as it has completed consideration of the matter or bill referred to it, or if it is of the opinion that it will not be able to complete consideration of the matter or bill before the end of the term.[171]
13.159A report for tabling in the Council should first be endorsed by the committee. The draft report is prepared by the relevant clerk and endorsed by the chairman of the committee before it is issued to members of the committee for discussion and endorsement at a meeting or, if so agreed by members of the committee, circulated to members for endorsement. Procedure for the tabling of a paper in the Council is provided in Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure. Permission of the President is required for the report to be presented by a Member and, in this case, usually by the chairman of the committee. A copy of the report should be sent to the Clerk to the Legislative Council who will arrange for its distribution to all Members of the Council. It is common practice to specify the date of the tabling of the report. If the date is not specified, the Clerk will arrange for it to be tabled at the opening of the next meeting of the Council and the laying and publication of the report will be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of that meeting. The same procedure is followed if any member wishes to submit a minority report.[172]
Submission of reports to the House Committee
13.160It is only in the case of the Bills Committee that provision has been made to require the committee to advise the House Committee in writing of its deliberations before reporting further to the Council.[173] As a bill studied by a Bills Committee is referred to it by the House Committee, the Bills Committee is required to notify the House Committee after it has completed its work to enable the House Committee to be advised of the Bills Committee's view on whether the bill is ready for resumption of second reading debate in the Council. Similarly, it has also been a practice for any committee or subcommittee of the House Committee to report its deliberations to the House Committee on any matter referred to it by the House Committee.[174] The same also applies to subcommittees of Panels which are required to report to the relevant Panels upon completion of their work.[175]
Mode of operation of committees subject to the House Rules
13.161As mentioned in Chapter 1[176], when the former OMELCO committees became committees of the Council in 1992 and 1993, there was an understanding that these committees had been working effectively for many years and their mode of operation should continue. These committees have since then been guided by the House Rules which provide quite substantial details on what they are expected to do in their daily operation. Among the more than 50 committees working at the same time in the Legislative Council, some 85% are committees which have adopted the interactive question-and-answer type of communication in their deliberations. The practices of these committees therefore have great impact on the operation of other committees. On the other hand, there are also instances where there is a need for a more focused and structured discussion and more ordered conduct of business at meetings. The paragraphs below describe the mode of operation of the House Committee, Bills Committee and Panels and some of their practices which have become the common practices of other committees.
House Committee
13.162The House Committee comprises all Members except the President and it normally meets every Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm when the Council is in session. Through meetings of the House Committee, every Member has the opportunity to understand and participate in deciding how matters arising from previous Council meetings would be followed up and to prepare themselves for the business to be dealt with at least at the next two meetings of the Council. The House Committee therefore plays an important role in steering the work of the Council, in particular overseeing the scrutiny of bills and subsidiary legislation [177] and considering how issues of public importance may be handled.[178] As the House Committee may consider any matters relating to the business of the Council [179] and may provide procedural guidelines for Bills Committees, Panels and subcommittees [180], it provides a forum for Members to raise any matters of concern relating to the Council and to decide the way forward. The Rules of Procedure have given the House Committee the responsibility to make recommendations to the President on a wide range of matters including matters to be included on the Agenda of the Council.[181] The rationale behind this is that while the final decision on such matters still rests with the President, the recommendation of the House Committee represents the majority view of Members and should have a bearing on the President's decision-making process.
13.163In view of the special role of the House Committee, the need for all Members to have adequate time to prepare for any items to be discussed at its meetings has become an important consideration for the chairman when deciding the agenda of the House Committee. In order that all Members should have an equal and fair opportunity to propose items for inclusion onto the agenda, a deadline for proposing agenda items is stipulated in the House Rules. Any proposed items for a meeting on Friday should reach the clerk to the House Committee not later than 5 pm on the Tuesday before the meeting concerned. Urgent items may be accepted only with the permission of the chairman.[182] The chairman may refuse to include in the agenda any item not within the House Committee's scope of work, e.g. matters which should be dealt with by The Legislative Council Commission [183]. The agenda of the meeting is issued on Wednesday afternoon together with the relevant papers which may also be sent on Thursday if they are not yet ready by Wednesday.
13.164On the basis of the agenda items of each meeting, the clerk to the House Committee, after consulting the chairman, will assess the time required for the meeting and notify the clerk to the Finance Committee of the anticipated ending time of the meeting if a meeting of the Finance Committee is to be held after the House Committee meeting on the same day. If the House Committee cannot finish its business before the scheduled starting time of the Finance Committee, the meeting will be suspended and resumed after the Finance Committee meeting to deal with the unfinished business on the agenda.[184]
13.165Matters to be decided by the House Committee are usually set out in the reports, discussion papers or proposals attached to the agenda. As the nature of the items for discussion relates to the handling of the business of the Council, no discussion is normally allowed on the contents of the business, such as the contents of a bill or a proposed motion unless it is to facilitate the House Committee to decide whether a committee or subcommittee should be formed for detailed examination of the matter or permitted by the chairman under special circumstances. Any Member may ask to speak on the subject by raising his hand or by pressing the "Request to Speak" button. When the Member is called to speak by the chairman, he may speak from his own seat. If he is seeking an answer from the Member who proposes the item for discussion or from any staff member of the Secretariat, the chairman may allow other Members who also wish to speak on the same subject to speak before inviting the Member or staff member concerned to respond. There is no hard and fast rule on how many times a Member is allowed to speak on each item, but the chairman has the duty to ensure that business on the agenda is transacted in an orderly and efficient manner. It is for the chairman to decide how much time is allowed for Members to speak on each item and how many rounds of speaking may be allowed. Where no objection is expressed when a course of action is proposed, it is normally assumed that the proposal has the support of the House Committee. Where diverse views have been expressed, the chairman may ask for the matter to be voted on either by a show of hands or by electronic voting.
13.166Where a matter is raised in the course of discussion which calls for a decision which is not part of the original proposal, the chairman may decide if the matter should be set out in a separate proposal to be discussed at a future meeting. The principle is that Members should have the opportunity to consider and to consult their own political parties or affiliations on any proposal to be decided at the House Committee.
Special meetings with the Chief Secretary for Administration
13.167The House Committee also provides a regular forum for Members to communicate directly with the Chief Secretary for Administration. This forum is held in the form of a special meeting of the House Committee usually two to three times a year on any subject which the Chief Secretary for Administration or Members wish to raise. The question-and-answer mode of deliberation is adopted for these meetings. Members who have pressed the "Request-to-Speak" buttons to indicate their wish to ask questions are registered according to the number of times each of them has asked questions at previous special meetings during the term and in the order when the buttons were pressed. In determining Members' order of asking questions, the chairman will make reference to this order and may make variations to allow an even spread of Members from different political groupings and affiliations in asking questions.
13.168On occasions, the House Committee may hold special meetings to invite Government representatives to brief Members on major issues of public concern. On 24 February 2012, a special meeting was held to discuss with the Secretary for Home Affairs and other Government representatives on issues relating to allegations of conflict of interests in the West Kowloon Reclamation Concept Plan Competition.[185] On 8 February 2013, noting that the Chief Secretary for Administration had held the first meeting of the Steering Committee on Population Policy, the House Committee decided to invite her to brief Members at a special meeting.[186]
Subcommittees of the House Committee
13.169The House Committee may appoint any number of subcommittees to assist its consideration of subsidiary legislation and proposed motions to endorse the appointment or removal of senior judges under the Basic Law. [187] It may also appoint subcommittees to study an issue of public concern which falls outside the purview of Panels or straddles the policy areas of many Panels or any matter relating to the Council.[188] In the latter case, the House Committee has decided that there should be not more than 8 such subcommittees, including those appointed by Panels, operating at any one time.[189] A waiting list is kept and maintained by the House Committee which will decide which subcommittee on the list may be activated. For details, please see paragraph 13.175 – 13.179 below.
Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee
13.170The Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee is one of the subcommittees of the House Committee appointed at the start of the legislative term whose tenure lasts for the entire term. It assists the House Committee to promote liaison and develop good relationships with other parliamentary bodies such as parliamentary friendship groups. Its activities include the sending of delegations to visit the parliamentary friendship groups of other parliaments, and hosting liaison functions for parliamentary delegations visiting Hong Kong. Members of the Subcommittee also take turns to receive visiting Parliamentarians and delegations from overseas.
Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration and Operating Expenses Reimbursement
13.171The Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration and Operating Expenses Reimbursement is another subcommittee of the House Committee appointed at the start of the legislative term which meets on a regular basis throughout the term. This Subcommittee, originally named the Subcommittee on Review of Allowances for Members of the Legislative Council, was first appointed on 10 July 1998 by the House Committee of the First Legislative Council to look into the financial arrangement for reimbursement of operating and setting up expenses for Members and other related matters. The Subcommittee has been re-appointed by the House Committee of every subsequent term of the Legislative Council to continue to consult Members and the public and to discuss with the Government matters related to Members' remuneration and operating expenses reimbursement. Details about the work of the Subcommittee are provided in Chapter 4.[190]
Bills Committees
13.172Bills Committees are appointed by the House Committee for the study of bills which the Committee considers to merit further scrutiny. Any Member, including one who is the Member in charge of a bill [191], may join a Bills Committee. A Bills Committee must have at least 3 members. As explained in Chapter 11, the number of Bills Committees that may be operating at any one time is limited to 16. A Bills Committee, once it has commenced work, is expected to conduct scrutiny of the bill quickly and should report to the House Committee if it cannot complete its work within 3 months. [192]
13.173With the support of a clerk and a legal adviser, a Bills Committee considers the general merits and principles of the bill and the detailed provisions including the drafting and legal aspects of such provisions and any proposed amendments relevant to the bill through examining it clause by clause.[193] For a complex bill, it is common practice for the Bills Committee to draw up a work plan which sets out the order of and timeframe for the study of the various aspects of the bill. It is also common practice to invite deputations and relevant professional bodies or trade associations to give views on the bill and, for this purpose, public hearings may be conducted. This is usually done at an early stage of the scrutiny work or when some major changes to the bill are being considered.
13.174The Bills Committee also considers any proposed amendments to the bill coming from the Government or from Members, and it may also propose amendments to the bill if it has the consent of its members to do so. The decision of the Bills Committee is not binding on any Member. Details of the way a Bills Committee scrutinizes a bill are provided in Chapter 11.
Panels
13.175The primary function of a Panel is to monitor and examine policy matters referred to it by a member of the Panel or by the House Committee. In a resolution passed by the First Legislative Council on 8 July 1998 the terms of reference of each of the 18 Panels were set out, with each responsible for a particular policy portfolio corresponding to the portfolios of one or more Directors of Bureaux in the Government. The terms of reference, which have been updated on 4 occasions since 1998 [194], are provided in Appendix 13-L.
13.176Since 1 March 2002, as a standing arrangement agreed between the House Committee and the Government, all major legislative and financial proposals are referred to the Panels concerned for preliminary discussion on the policy aspects of the proposals.[195] Based on the Government's legislative programme which is published at the start of a new session, Panels schedule their meetings in such a manner as to enable discussion of these proposals in good time. Where such items may not be included in the monthly regular meetings of the Panels, special meetings are held. It is also common practice for Panels to conduct public hearings, usually on Saturdays but also on weekdays, to listen to the views of stakeholders and the community at large on any major proposals or new initiatives of the Government before they are formally presented to the Council (or the Finance Committee in the case of a financial proposal) or put in place.
13.177It is a common practice that at the start of each meeting of a Panel, the chairman will invite members to suggest items for discussion at the next regular meeting(s). This is to ensure that there will be sufficient time for the Government to provide the relevant information or discussion papers and for the clerk to provide the relevant background briefs. Where there is disagreement over the inclusion of any items on the agenda, the Panel will decide. Based on the decision of the Panel, the clerk after consulting the chairman will provide the wording of the item and the time allowed for the discussion on that item. In scheduling the time allocation for each item on the agenda, the chairman takes into account the extent of discussion likely to take place on the item and whether parties other than those from the Government would also be invited to attend the meeting. Generally speaking, the time allocated for each item ranges from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. For items where deputations are received, the time to be allocated will depend on the number of deputations attending the meeting.
13.178Special meetings may be scheduled or regular meetings be extended to deal with urgent items or any items which cannot be dealt with within the two-hour time slot of the meeting concerned. In considering whether an urgent item should be added to the agenda of a meeting, the chairman would particularly have regard to whether there is sufficient notice to members, the Government and other parties concerned and whether relevant information about the discussion item would be available to members at a reasonable time before the meeting. If there is a request to alter the order of items on the agenda, the chairman, before making a decision on the request, should consider whether there is good reason for it, whether the change will cause inconvenience to other attendees and whether reasonable notice can be given to members about the change before making a decision on the request.
Joint Panel meetings
13.179A Panel may decide to hold a joint meeting with another Panel or other Panels on a subject matter which straddles the portfolio of more than one Panel or any matter of common interest. The Panels concerned shall decide which chairman should preside at the joint meeting. If the chairmen of two Panels cannot agree on how the issue straddling the work of the Panels should be handled, the chairman of the House Committee or, in his absence, the deputy chairman of the House Committee should be consulted on whether one of the Panels should take up the issue or a joint meeting should be held.[196] Where the joint meeting involves more than two Panels, the chairman of the House Committee may be consulted as to whether the Panel having a prominent interest in the subject matter should convene the meeting, with members of other interested Panels invited to attend. In the event that an informal briefing for all interested Members is to be held, no quorum is required. Members attending the briefing should be reminded that with respect to their attendance at the informal briefing, they are not covered by the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382).[197]
13.180For calculation of the quorum for a joint meeting, a member who is member of both Panels should be counted as one member of the joint meeting. The quorum is one-third of the membership of the joint meeting including the chairman, with a fraction of the whole number being disregarded.[198] In other words, if there are 10 members in each of the two Panels with 2 Members being members of both Panels, the total number of members of the joint meeting is 18. The quorum is therefore 6 members including the chairman.
Subcommittees of Panels
13.181A Panel may appoint subcommittees to study specific issues. Two or more Panels may appoint joint subcommittees to study any matters of common interest to the relevant Panels. Membership of a joint subcommittee is confined to the members of the Panels concerned. The quorum is one-third of the membership of the joint subcommittee including the chairman, with a fraction of the whole number disregarded.[199]
13.182In proposing the appointment of a subcommittee, whether a subcommittee under a Panel or more than one Panel, the terms of reference of the subcommittee should be decided by the Panel(s) concerned and such terms of reference should be issue-specific or project-specific. A work plan should be drawn up with an estimation of the working timeframe.[200] A subcommittee should complete its work within 12 months of its commencement and report to the Panel(s) at least once in the session. If it is anticipated that the subcommittee needs to work beyond 12 months, it should first obtain the endorsement of the relevant Panel(s) and report to the House Committee with justifications for an extension of the 12-month period.[201]
Activation of the work of subcommittees
13.183Both the House Committee and Panels may form subcommittees to study issues of public concern or policy issues. On 2 March 2007, the House Committee endorsed the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure on the arrangements for the appointment, operation and servicing of such subcommittees. These arrangements included, among others, provision that the maximum number of subcommittees appointed by the House Committee and by Panels on specific issues that may be in operation at any one time should be kept at 8. [202] Where the number of subcommittees formed has reached this maximum number, a queuing system will be activated with a waiting list formed according to the date on which the subcommittees were formed.[203] Each subcommittee should complete its work within 12 months and should give justifications for an extension of the 12-month period.[204]
13.184According to Rule 26(b) of the House Rules, the House Committee may activate subcommittees on the waiting list when the number of Bills Committees in operation is less than 16 after having considered the following:
(a)the number of vacant slots for Bills Committees;
(b)the number of bills likely to be introduced to the Council in the next 3 months;
(c)the number of subcommittees already or likely to be formed for the study of subsidiary legislation or consideration of appointment or removal of judges; and
(d)the availability of resources in the Secretariat. [205]
13.185Nevertheless, Rule 26(e) of the House Rules provides that House Committee may allow exceptions to the arrangements above, i.e. in Rule 26(a), (b) and (c), where it considers appropriate.
13.186To ensure the completion of the work of subcommittees on policy issues within a specified time frame so that slots may be vacated within a reasonable timeframe for the activation of other subcommittees, the House Committee agreed at its meeting on 15 November 2013 to adopt the following principles for the activation, operation and extension of period of work of such committees:
(a)where a subcommittee considers it necessary to extend the period of its work beyond 12 months but there are subcommittees on the waiting list awaiting activation, the House Committee, may, if considered appropriate, give permission for the subcommittee to continue to operate for 3 more months in the first instance after the expiry of its period of work, to allow time for it to wrap up its current stage of work, after which the subcommittee will, if necessary, be placed on the waiting list for re-activation of work. Upon re-activation, the subcommittee shall complete its work within the remainder of the extension period it originally sought, unless decided otherwise by the House Committee. The House Committee may decide the order of activation/re-activation of subcommittees on the waiting lists; and
(b)the number of subcommittees under each Panel operating at the same time should not exceed 2. For this purpose, a joint subcommittee will be counted as one subcommittee for each of the Panels concerned.
13.187At the same meeting of the House Committee, Members also noted that following the allocation of additional resources to the Secretariat in the 2013 Resource Allocation Exercise the Secretariat would be able to provide service to two more subcommittees on policy issues on top of the quota of 8 specified in Rule 26(a) of the House Rules. Accordingly, since 1 April 2014, a total number of 10 such subcommittees have been allowed to operate at any one time.
- [1]
- Chapter 6, para. 6.1 and 6.15.
- [2]
- See for example, House of Commons Procedure and Practice (Canada), 2nd Edition, pp. 950 – 951.
- [3]
- [2011] 2 HKLRD 555.
- [4]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 123.
- [5]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 130.
- [6]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 191 – 193.
- [7]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 194.
- [8]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 198.
- [9]
- Judgment in CHENG Kar Shun case, para. 200.
- [10]
- Section 8 and others of the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2).
- [11]
- Section 12 (2A) of the Audit Ordinance (Cap. 122).
- [12]
- Section 2 and others of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382).
- [13]
- Section 1 and others of the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A).
- [14]
- Chapter 2, para. 2.24 – 2.27.
- [15]
- Chapter 6, para. 6.3 – 6.16.
- [16]
- Chapter 6, para. 6.17 – 6.18.
- [17]
- Standing Order 32A of the pre-1997 Legislature provided that the rules in Part H shall apply to the proceedings in a standing or select committee unless the chairman of the committee ordered otherwise.
- [18]
- Standing Orders 33 and 34 of the pre-1997 Legislature also applied to any standing or select committee.
- [19]
- Although the Finance Committee was regarded as "a committee of the Council" in Standing Order No. 60(1), clarification was made by the Chief Secretary at the Council sitting on 18 July 1984 that amendment was proposed to the Standing Order to make it clear that the Finance Committee was a standing committee of the Council.
- [20]
- The Finance Committee, which is one of the standing committees with the power to summon witnesses, performs such functions conferred upon it by the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2), any other laws and the Rules of Procedure and resolutions of the Council. Its functions include the examination of the Estimates and approving changes to the approved Estimates.
- [21]
- Rules 67 and 71(11) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [22]
- Section 8(1) of the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2).
- [23]
- Paragraph 13.126.
- [24]
- Rule 71(13) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [25]
- Rule 72(1)(a) of the Rules of Procedure. Also see Chapter 12, para. 12.94 – 12.111.
- [26]
- Report No. 8 of the Public Accounts Committee published in January 1986.
- [27]
- Public Accounts Committee Report No. 59 – Chapter 4 of Part 7.
- [28]
- Legislative Council meeting on 15 February 2006, Speech of the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Page 4488.
- [29]
- The signing of confidential undertaking is also required by the Committee on Members' Interests (Part VI of its Practice and Procedure at Appendix 13-B) and the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records (para 23 of its Practice and Procedure at Appendix 16-H).
- [30]
- See Chapter 3, para. 3.59.
- [31]
- Rule 73(1)(a) of the Rules of Procedure; also see Chapter 3, para. 3.91 and Chapter 4, para. 4.79 – 4.80.
- [32]
- Rule 73(1)(d) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [33]
- Chapter 1, para. 1.57.
- [34]
- The number of Members required for referring a petition to a select committee was increased to 20 members in 1983 to reflect the expansion of the Council membership. The membership size of the Legislative Council in 1983 was 48 (up to a maximum of 58).
- [35]
- UMELCO stands for the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils. It was renamed as OMELCO in 1985.
- [36]
- In 1991, an Ad Hoc Group was set up in OMELCO to conduct a comprehensive review of the committee structure. Following the endorsement by the LegCo In-house of the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Group, the Council amended the Standing Orders in 8 July 1992 to provide for a new House Committee to take over the duties of the former OMELCO and LegCo In-House meetings, and bills committees to replace Ad Hoc Groups. On 19 February 1993, panels were also incorporated into the Council's formal committee structure.
- [37]
- Section 2 of Cap. 382 and Rule 80 of the Rules of Procedure.
- [38]
- Chapter 1, para. 1.48.
- [39]
- Rules 75, 76 and 77 of the Rules of Procedure.
- [40]
- Rule 74(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [41]
- Rule 74(6) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [42]
- Rule 74(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [43]
- Para. 13.45, 13.50 – 13.51, 13.110.
- [44]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 1998 to April 1999), para. 2.39 – 2.66.
- [45]
- See Chapter 3, para. 3.119 – 3.120.
- [46]
- Rule 73A(12) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [47]
- Rule 74A of the Rules of Procedure.
- [48]
- Chapter 1, para 1.55.
- [49]
- See Finance Committee Paper FCR(02-03)36 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr01-02/english/fc/fc/papers/f02-36e.pdf.
- [50]
- Rules 76(10) and 77(13) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [51]
- Rule 78(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [52]
- The House Committee presents its reports to the Council on its consideration of subsidiary legislation and other instruments at the Council meeting immediately before the expiry of the period for amendment of such subsidiary legislation and instruments. Rule 49D of the Rules of Procedure.
- [53]
- The Finance Committee presents its report to the Council after its examination of the Estimates referred to it by the President under Rule 71(11) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [54]
- Paragraphs 13.183 – 13.187.
- [55]
- An example is the recommendation of the Subcommittee to prepare for the operation of the select committee on the petition presented at the Council meeting of 25 June 2014. See Report of the Subcommittee at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr14-15/english/hc/papers/hc20141107cb1-181-e.pdf.
- [56]
- Chapter 7, para. 7.57 – 7.59.
- [57]
- On 8 May 2013, Mr Dennis Kwok presented to the Council a petition in relation to the handling of duty visits, official entertainment and gifts by Mr Timothy TONG while he was serving as Commission of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. At the meeting, 25 Members rose in support of Ms Cyd HO's proposal to refer the petition to a select committee. On 24 May 2013, the House Committee appointed a subcommittee to undertake preparatory work for the operation of the select committee, including drawing up the terms of reference to reflect the substance of the petition, the membership size and the nomination procedure in respect of the select committee. The subcommittee held one meeting and reported to the House Committee on 7 June 2013. Since then, the approach adopted by the subcommittee in undertaking preparatory work for the operation of select committees has been adopted by subsequent preparatory subcommittees.
- [58]
- The terms of reference of Panels were amended on 26 January 2000, 21 December 2000, 9 October 2002, 11 July 2007 and 3 July 2008.
- [59]
- An example is the Panel on Housing's proposal to set up a select committee to inquire into the building problems in the production of public housing units in November 2000. The draft motion was provided in its proposal and was accepted by the House Committee at its meeting on 5 January 2001. Another example is Panel on Home Affair's proposal to the House Committee on 20 February 2004 to set up a select committee to inquire into the incidents which had affected the credibility of the Equal Opportunities Commission and related issues. The proposed motion which provided the terms of reference of the select committee did not have the support of the House Committee.
- [60]
- Rule 76(7) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [61]
- Rule 72(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [62]
- Rule 73(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [63]
- Rule 73A(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [64]
- Rule 74(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [65]
- Rule 74A(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [66]
- Rule 76(3) and Rule 77(8) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [67]
- Rule 21(b) and Rule 22(b) of the House Rules.
- [68]
- Rule 75(18) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [69]
- At the House Committee meeting on 10 October 2008, Members discussed the membership size of the Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee and considered that given the nature of the Subcommittee, it was not necessary to limit the membership size of the Subcommittee. On 17 October 2008, by a show of hands without the need for nomination and election, 10 Members joined the Subcommittee.
- [70]
- Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure dated 14 March 2014 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/procedur/reports/crop0319crop-53-e.pdf, para 10 and 14.
- [71]
- Rule 72(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [72]
- Rule 73(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [73]
- Rule 74(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [74]
- Rule 73A(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [75]
- Select Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances Leading to the Problems Surrounding the Commencement of the Operation of the New Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok since 6 July 1998 and Related Issues.
- [76]
- An example is the procedure endorsed by the House Committee at its meeting on 21 November 2008 for the nomination of Members for appointment by the President to the Select Committee to Inquire into Matters relating to the Post-service Work of Mr LEUNG Chin-man. Another example is the procedure endorsed by the House Committee at its meeting on 7 November 2014 for nominating Members for appointment by the President to the select committee to study the delay in the construction of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
- [77]
- See Appendix 4-A.
- [78]
- Details of the election procedure are in Appendix 4-A.
- [79]
- The words in brackets were inserted into Rule 77(4) of the Rules of procedure to reinforce the important principle that Members should be free to join any Panels of their choice. The procedural rules relating to signification of membership decided by the House Committee should be limited to the manner and timing of signification.
- [80]
- Rule 22(c) of the House Rules.
- [81]
- Finance Committee paper FCR(2002-03)36 approved on 12 July 2002.
- [82]
- Paragraph 3 of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure; paragraph 4 of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure.
- [83]
- Rule 22(s) of the House Rules.
- [84]
- Para. 13.183 – 13.187.
- [85]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2003-June 2004), para. 3.9 – 3.14.
- [86]
- Rule 21(d) and Rule 22(c) of the House Rules.
- [87]
- The discussion at the House Committee meeting on 26 February 2010 was related to the Select Committee to Inquire into Matters Relating to the Post-service Work of Mr LEUNG Chin-man which commenced work in December 2008. Apart from deciding that it was not necessary to fill the vacancy arising from the resignation of one of its members, the House Committee also decided that there was no need to amend the membership size of the Select Committee. It agreed that the name of the Member who resigned and the duration of his service should be shown on the official records of the Select Committee.
- [88]
- The relevant provisions which are now provided in paragraph 4B of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure and paragraph 3B of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure were adopted by the Finance Committee on 2 July 1999.
- [89]
- In the 2013-2014 session, a members' application for late membership was negatived at the Establishment Subcommittee on 11 June 2014. In the 2014-2015 session, the Establishment Subcommittee and the Public Works Subcommittee rejected respectively applications for late membership from 16 and 9 Members. None of these cases were put to the Finance Committee for a decision.
- [90]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2001 to June 2002), para. 4.16 – 4.20.
- [91]
- Paragraphs 4 – 6A of the Finance Committee Procedure.
- [92]
- Paragraphs 5 – 7A of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure; Paragraphs 6 – 8A of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure.
- [93]
- For the first meeting of a committee at which an election of the chairman and deputy chairman is to take place, the meeting is called by the member who has the highest precedence in the Council. In the case of the Investigation Committee, no provision has been made for the chairman to determine the time and place of meeting but in practice, it was determined by the chairman after taking onto account the availability of members of the committee.
- [94]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (1 July 2005 to 12 July 2006), para. 3.20 – 3.26; also see paper submitted to the House Committee for its meeting on 7 July 2006 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr05-06/english/hc/papers/hc0707crop-45-e.pdf.
- [95]
- The regular time slots for the scheduling of meetings on a working day are: 8:30 am – 10:30 am; 10:45 am – 12:45 pm; 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm and 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm.
- [96]
- Rule 24A(c) of the House Rules.
- [97]
- Rule 24A(d) of the House Rules.
- [98]
- See Finance Committee Paper FCR(2005-2006)50 endorsed by the Finance Committee at its meeting on 24 March 2006.
- [99]
- Rule 24(c) of the House Rules.
- [100]
- Rule 24(l) of the House Rules.
- [101]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2009 to June 2010), para. 4.5 – 4.9.
- [102]
- Paragraphs 13.163, 13.173, and 13.175 – 178.
- [103]
- These designated public officers are the Financial Secretary, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury) or a Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury).
- [104]
- Rule 9(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [105]
- The advice of the Legal Adviser was summarized in a note to the Chairman of Public Works Subcommittee (LC Paper No. LS9/14-15) dated 31 October 2014 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr14-15/english/fc/pwsc/papers/pwscls-9-e.pdf.
- [106]
- Mr Alan LEONG's letter to members of the Public Works Subcommittee is at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr14-15/english/fc/pwsc/papers/pwscpwsc-33-1-e.pdf.
- [107]
- Chapter 8, para. 8.73 – 8.75.
- [108]
- Rule 24(m) of the House Rules.
- [109]
- Progress report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (October 2013 to June 2014), para. 3.2 – 3.6. Also see Chapter 16, para. 16.12.
- [110]
- Rule 87 of the Rules of Procedure.
- [111]
- Paragraph 46 of the Finance Committee Procedure, Paragraph 39 of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure and Paragraph 40 of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure.
- [112]
- An example is the procedure adopted for the financial proposals in relation to the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project in January 2010. The Chairman of Finance Committee, Ms Emily LAU, adopted a progressive reduction in speaking time for members to raise questions on the financial proposal, starting from 5 minutes in the first 2 rounds of questions and answers, to 4 minutes in the 3rd round, 3 minutes in the 4th round and to 2 minutes in the 5th and all subsequent rounds. A total of 13 rounds of questions were asked and responded to.
- [113]
- The speaking time limit was progressively reduced from 4 minutes for the 1st time of speaking, 3 minutes for the 2nd time, 2 minutes for the 3rd and 4th times, and 1 minute for the 5th and subsequent times. There were a total of 26 members who had spoken 146 times accumulatively, with four of them speaking for over 10 times and one speaking 16 times.
- [114]
- See Legal Adviser's replies to Mr Fernando CHEUNG's questions at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/fc/fc/papers/fcfc-96-2-e.pdf and http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/fc/fc/papers/ fc0613fc-105-2-e.pdf.
- [115]
- See Chapter 6, para. 6.34.
- [116]
- Rule 24(g) of the House Rules.
- [117]
- Rule 24(h) of the House Rules was amended by the House Committee on 12 July 2013 to make it clear that only committee members may draw the attention of the chairman of a committee to the absence of a quorum during meeting.
- [118]
- See Committee on Rules of Procedure's paper LC Paper No. CB(1) 1264/98-99 presented to the House Committee for its meeting on 7 May 1999.
- [119]
- The composition of the Legislative Council from 1991 to 1995 was 60 which did not include the Governor who was President of the Legislative Council. A Deputy President was appointed from among Members of the Council in October 1991 to preside at Council meetings.
- [120]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (May 1999 to June 2000), para. 4.6 – 4.12.
- [121]
- Rule 72(3A) and Rule 73(2A) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [122]
- Rule 74(2A) and Rule 74A(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [123]
- Rule 73A(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [124]
- Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure.
- [125]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2003- June 2004), para. 3.22 – 3.29.
- [126]
- See paragraph 13.77 – 13.79.
- [127]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (12 July 2007 – 9 July 2008), para. 3.8 – 3.10.
- [128]
- Chapter 12, para. 12.77 – 12.78.
- [129]
- Paragraph 22 of the Finance Committee Procedure states that "A Finance Committee agenda item is a discussion paper seeking approval for changes to the approved Estimates of expenditure, financial implications of new proposals where no immediate change to the approved Estimates of Expenditure is necessary, delegation of posers to the Financial Secretary, or other proposals from the Administration, as well as motion from any member of the Finance Committee."
- [130]
- Paragraph 27 of the Finance Committee Procedure.
- [131]
- At the Establishment Subcommittee meeting on 13 June 2007, members passed a motion moved by Mr Raymond HO in relation to the application of the findings of the 2006 Starting Salaries Survey to the civil service that "This Subcommittee requests that the Government, when implementing the revised benchmark pay for the nine Qualification Groups ("QGs"), should link the pay of the civil servants in these QGs who were appointed on or after 1 April 2000 to the pay of those in the same QGs but appointed after 1 August 2007 in accordance with their years of service."
- [132]
- See Finance Committee Paper FCR(2007-2008)33 endorsed by the Finance Committee at its meeting on 2 November 2007 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr07-08/english/fc/fc/papers/f07-33e.pdf.
- [133]
- See advice of the Legal Adviser at the meeting of the Finance Committee at 1:15 pm on 16 January 2010 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr09-10/english/fc/fc/minutes/fc20100116b.pdf.
- [134]
- See LC Paper No. FC125/11-12 (01) at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/fc/fc/papers/fcfc-125-1-e.pdf.
- [135]
- An official request was made to the chairman of the Finance Committee in his letter dated 9 July 2012 which was circulated to members vide FC165/11-12(01).
- [136]
- In gist, of the 1 633 motions, the chairman of the Finance Committee had ruled 899 motions out of order and had asked a member to consolidate his 645 motions into 20 motions but the member refused. In total, the chairman had ruled 68 motions to be in order and referred all but 20 motions (for the reason of the absence of the member proposing the motions) to the committee for voting to decide whether they should be dealt with, and the committee's decision was that none of them should be proceeded forthwith.
- [137]
- http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr15-16/english/fc/fc/papers/fcfc-5-e.pdf.
- [138]
- Also Paragraph 32 of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure and Paragraph 33 of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure.
- [139]
- An example is the motion to adjourn the discussion on a financial proposal relating to Old Age Living Allowance at the Finance Committee meeting on 26 October 2012. The motion was carried and the matter was referred to the Welfare Services Panel which conducted a public hearing on 29 October 2012 to hear the views of the public. The financial proposal was brought back to the Finance Committee on 30 October 2012 and after discussion held at 14 meetings, it was approved on 7 December 2012.
- [140]
- See FC Paper FCR (96-97)72, para. 5.
- [141]
- An example is the motion moved by Mr Ronny TONG to adjourn the discussion of financial proposal in relation to the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project at the Finance Committee meeting on 18 December 2009.
- [142]
- http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/fc/fc/minutes/fc20140627a.pdf.
- [143]
- Chapter 10, para. 10.15 to 10.19.
- [144]
- Also see Finance Committee Paper FCR (2007-08)33 at http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr07-08/english/fc/fc/papers/f07-33e.pdf.
- [145]
- According to Erskine May (24th Edition) (p. 403), the Speaker has power under Standing Order No. 35, if he believes that any dilatory motion is an abuse of the rules of the House, to decline to propose the question on it to the House or to put the question thereon forthwith.
- [146]
- Rules 71(5B), 72(3C), 73(2C), 73A(2C), 74(2C), 74A(6), 75(12AA), 76(8) and 77(13) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [147]
- Chapter 7, para. 7.121 – 7.124.
- [148]
- Chapter 7, para. 7.122. There is no formal counting or record of abstentions in the UK House of Commons.
- [149]
- Paragraphs 46 and 47 of the Finance Committee Procedure; Paragraphs 39 and 39A of the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure and Paragraphs 40 and 40A of the Public Works Subcommittee Procedure.
- [150]
- Rule 29(a) of the House Rules.
- [151]
- Rule 29(b) of the House Rules.
- [152]
- Rule 29(c) and (d) of the House Rules.
- [153]
- Rule 29(e) of the House Rules.
- [154]
- Each Member is allocated an individual Overseas Duty Visit Account to fund any of his official duty visits during the term. This allocation is kept by the Secretariat. In the event that there is any unspent amount at the end of the term, the Secretariat will apportion the total unspent sum to cover the excess amounts incurred by other Members for such visits.
- [155]
- Rule 29A(a) of the House Rules.
- [156]
- Rule 29A(b) of the House Rules.
- [157]
- Rule 29A(c) and (d) of the House Rules.
- [158]
- Rule 29A(f) of the House Rules.
- [159]
- Rule 6(7) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [160]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2001 - June 2002), para. 3.5 – 3.10.
- [161]
- Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (July 2001 - June 2002), para. 3.5 – 3.10.
- [162]
- In accordance with section 12 of the Audit Ordinance (Cap. 122).
- [163]
- Rule 72(9) and (10) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [164]
- Rule 73(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [165]
- Rule 73A(12) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [166]
- Rule 74(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [167]
- Rule 74A(10) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [168]
- Rule 75(13) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [169]
- Rule 76(9) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [170]
- Rule 77(14) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [171]
- Rule 78(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [172]
- On 6 June 2012, when the report of the Subcommittee to Study Issues Arising from Lehman Brothers-related Minibonds and Structured Financial Products was tabled in the Council, Dr Philip WONG, then Deputy Chairman of the Subcommittee presented a "minority report" to the Council on certain issues related to the distribution of Lehman Brothers-related Minibonds and structured financial products. See Hansard pp. 14349 – 14350.
- [173]
- Rule 76(9) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [174]
- Rule 20(k) of the House Rules.
- [175]
- Rule 22(u) of the House Rules.
- [176]
- Chapter 1, para. 1.48.
- [177]
- Rule 75(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [178]
- Rule 7(d), Rule 10 and Rule 13(a) of the House Rules.
- [179]
- Rule 75(11) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [180]
- Rule 75(8) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [181]
- Rules 23(4), 37(2), 37(3), 78(2) of the Rules of Procedure. Rule 13(a), 17(b) and (c), 22(a) and 34 of the House Rules.
- [182]
- Rule 20(f) of the House Rules. Where the Tuesday falls on a public holiday, the deadline for proposing agenda items is normally 5:00 pm on Monday, subject to the chairman of House Committee's concurrence.
- [183]
- The Legislative Council Commission is not a committee of the Council. It is a statutory body established in 1994 to provide, among other things, administrative support and services to the Council through the Legislative Council Secretariat and to supervise the operation of the Secretariat. See Chapter 4, para. 4.3 to 4.38.
- [184]
- Rule 20(e) of the House Rules.
- [185]
- Subsequent to the special meeting, a select committee was set up to inquire into the involvement of Mr LEUNG Chun-ying, then a candidate for the Chief Executive Election, in the West Kowloon Reclamation Concept Plan Competition.
- [186]
- The special meeting on population policy was held on 22 March 2013.
- [187]
- See Chapter 11, para. 11.143.
- [188]
- Rule 75(12) of the Rules of Procedure and Rule 20(j) of the House Rules.
- [189]
- Rule 26(a) of the House Rules.
- [190]
- Chapter 4, para. 4.61 – 4.62 and Appendix 4-E.
- [191]
- It has been an established practice that the Member in charge of a bill would not seek to serve as chairman or deputy chairman of the relevant Bills Committee as he may be perceived as being unable to act in a fair manner in chairing meetings or in steering the Bills Committee's deliberations on opposing views or proposed Committee Stage amendments which he opposes. See Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure (October 2012 to July 2013), para. 3.8 – 3.16.
- [192]
- In practice, as most Bills Committees are not able to complete their work within 3 months, the clerk to the Bills Committee, after consultation with the chairman, will put down in the Position Report on Bills Committees and subcommittees the need of any Bills Committee which needs to work beyond 3 months for the attention of the House Committee. No verbal report will be called by the chairman.
- [193]
- Rule 76(7) of the Rules of Procedure.
- [194]
- A resolution was passed by the Council at its meeting of 11 July 2007 to re-align the policy areas of the 18 Panels based on the new schedule of responsibilities of the Directors of Bureaux in the Government Secretariat. See http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr06-07/english/counmtg/papers/cm0711cb3-804-e.pdf.
- [195]
- The practice of bringing important legislative proposals to Panels for preliminary discussion started in 1996, as explained in para. 6.27.
- [196]
- Rule 22(k) and (l) of the House Rules.
- [197]
- Rule 22(m) of the House Rules.
- [198]
- Rule 22(n) of the House Rules.
- [199]
- Rule 22(s) and (t) of the House Rules.
- [200]
- Rule 22(u) of the House Rules.
- [201]
- Rule 22(v) and Rule 26(c) of the House Rules.
- [202]
- Rule 26(a) of the House Rules.
- [203]
- Rule 26(b) of the House Rules.
- [204]
- Rule 26(c) of the House Rules.
- [205]
- Rule 26 of the House Rules.