EC(1999-2000)16

For discussion
on 9 June 1999

ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE PROCEDURE

    Members are invited to recommend proposed amendments to the Establishment Subcommittee Procedure to the Finance Committee for endorsement.
PRESENT POSITION

Pursuant to Paragraph 25 of the Establishment Subcommittee (ESC) Procedure, the ESC determines its own practice and procedure subject to the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council and the procedure endorsed by the Finance Committee.

2. The current ESC Procedure was adopted on 10 July 1998. Since then, the Council has approved a number of amendments to the Rules of Procedure on 28 April 1999 as recommended by the Committee on Rules of Procedure, one of which relates to the establishment of an order of precedence of Members. The House Committee has subsequently agreed that the Member who has the highest precedence in the Council among those who have joined a committee will in future be responsible for calling the first meeting of a committee and also for presiding over the election of the committee chairman. Correspondingly, the Finance Committee has approved on 21 May 1999 an amendment to Paragraph 5 of the Finance Committee Procedure which provided for the calling of the first meeting and for election of the Committee Chairman.

3. The Committee on Rules of Procedure has also suggested that a Member*s request for late membership to a committee on grounds other than indisposition or absence from Hong Kong should be put to the relevant committee for consideration and that these arrangements should also apply to Bills Committees, Panels, subcommittees under the House Committee, as well as the two Subcommittees of the Finance Committee. Moreover, no re-election of the chairman or deputy chairman should be allowed on the ground that the Member who joins the committee after the membership deadline was not on the committee at the time when the election took place.

PROPOSAL

4. In view of the amendments made to the Finance Committee Procedure and the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure as described in foregoing paragraphs, it is proposed that the ESC Procedure be amended as follows:

  1. Paragraph 3 be amended to provide for the acceptance of late membership to the Subcommittee on grounds other than indisposition or absence from Hong Kong; and

  2. Paragraph 6 be amended to set out the new arrangements for calling and convening the first meeting of the Subcommittee in the first session of the term.
The relevant Paragraphs with the proposed amendments marked-up are in the Enclosure. It is also proposed that the said amendments will take effect on the date on which they are endorsed by the Finance Committee.Encl.


FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5. The proposal does not involve any financial implications.

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Legislative Council Secretariat
June 1999

Enclosure to EC(1999-2000)16

Establishment Subcommittee Procedure (Extract)

Membership

3. The ESC comprises those FC members who elect to join the ESC by informing the Clerk to the ESC (the Clerk) in writing not later than seven clear days1 before the first ESC meeting in a new legislative session. The ESC members2 elect from among themselves a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman. The Chairman may agree to accept late membership on grounds of indisposition or absence from Hong Kong. A request for late membership on grounds other than indisposition or absence from Hong Kong shall be put to the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee shall accept such applications only when sufficient grounds have been provided. Any member joining the Subcommittee after the election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman has taken place cannot seek a re-election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. Any Member whose application for late membership is turned down may put the case to the Finance Committee for a decision. New Members who join the Legislative Council in the middle of a session will be invited by the Legislative Council Secretariat to signify his wish to join the ESC within one month from the date at which he is declared elected as Member of the Council.

4. FC members who have not elected to join the ESC may attend ESC meetings and take part in the discussion but have no right to vote.

Chairman and Deputy Chairman

5. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman shall be elected by and from among its members at an open meeting and shall hold office until the election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the ESC in the session next following that for which they are elected. In the event of the temporary absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, the Subcommittee may elect a Chairman to act during such absence. Notwithstanding the provision in paragraph 39, the Chairman or the member presiding, as the case may be, shall have his original vote in addition to his casting vote in such elections [Rule 71(2)] 3.

6. The election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman for the first session of a term shall be conducted at the first meeting of the ESC in the session. The member who has the highest precedence in the Council [Rule 1A] shall be responsible for calling the first meeting of a term of the ESC, and shall preside at the election of the Chairman of the ESC . If the member who has the highest precedence in the Council is being nominated for the office of Chairman, the member who is next in the order of precedence of Members and who is not being nominated for the office shall be the presiding member. For the second and subsequent sessions in a term, the election may be conducted at a meeting held before the session commences.

7. At the meeting held for the purpose of the election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, the member presiding at the meeting shall call for nominations for the election for these two offices. All members may stand for election. Each nomination shall be made orally by a member, seconded by at least one other member present and accepted by the member being nominated. A member who nominates an absent member for an office shall state that the absent member*s acceptance of the nomination has been secured. If there is only one nomination, the member presiding shall declare the nominee elected. If more than one nomination is received for an office, the election shall be decided by secret ballot by the members present, including the presiding member, on the basis of a simple majority of votes. In case of a tie, the presiding member shall draw lots to give the casting vote to one of the nominees in accordance with the lot drawn, and shall forthwith declare that nominee elected to an office.

1.The term "clear days" excludes the day of the giving of a notice, the day of the meeting and intervening Sundays and public holidays.

2.The term "member" or "members" as used in the text refers to a member or members of the Establishment Subcommittee unless specified otherwise.

3.The term [Rule 71(2)] means reference is made to Rule 71(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council.