Executive branch more active than Assembly members in law-making

The Government Legislative Agency on Wednesday revealed that the government had submitted 200 bills to the National Assembly last year and that 60.5% (121 bills) had been passed. On the other hand, the number of bills composed by National Assembly assemblymen was 258 but only 29 (11.2%) were passed.

A Legislation Office official explained that due to the lack of specialization and information, bills composed by individual lawmakers are not as readily passed as government-submitted bills. He added that as the lawmaking functions at administrative agencies have been bolstered, the transformation of national assemblies into little more than a law-passing body is quickly become a characteristic of modern nations.

Of the 121 government-submitted bills that were passed by the National Assembly, 19 related to reform of the four core sectors (including the deposit assurance bill), 9 related to enhancement of living standards (national pension bill, optimal wage bill), 12 related to knowledge and information (basic law on science and technology), 13 concerned the budget (income tax law, corporate tax law) and 68 related to public welfare.