LC Paper No. LS184/98-99

Members will recall that the Legal Service Division made a report to the House Committee on 8 January 1999 on the Bill (LegCo Paper No. LS77/98-99). Annex A and B of the report are attached for ease of reference.

2. The House Committee agreed then to defer the consideration of the Bill until the Bills Committees on the Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998 and the Adaptation of Laws (No. 2) Bill 1998 had completed their work.

3. Those 2 other Bills were passed by the Legislative Council on 28 April 1999 and 31 March 1999 respectively. Prior to their passage, the Administration agreed with the Bills Committees that where power to make subsidiary legislation is delegated, the "Governor" as the delegatee should be adapted simply as "Chief Executive" instead of as "Chief Executive in Council" as proposed in the Bills. Accordingly, Committee Stage amendments have been made to that effect to the Bills.

4. The Administration has now proposed to make a similar Committee Stage amendment to this Bill, which also contains a proposed adaptation in similar circumstances of "Governor" to "Chief Executive in Council". The draft amendment is attached.

5. Unless Members have other views, the Bill as proposed to be amended should now be ready for resumption of Second Reading debate.


Prepared by


CHEUNG Ping-Kam, Arthur
Assistant Legal Adviser
Legislative Council Secretariat
11 May 1999