MPs pass 20 laws in 55 meetings during 3rd ordinary session

AMMAN — The Lower House has passed a total of 20 laws during its third ordinary session which ended on April 14.

Between October 14, 2018 and April 14, 2019, the Chamber convened in 55 sessions, of which 40 were for legislative purposes and 15 for monitoring of the government’s performance.

In its monthly report on achievements, the House said that among the major laws it passed during the third ordinary session, were the 2018 amendments to the Income Tax Law, the State Budget Law, the General Pardon Law, the Personal Status Law, the Illicit Gains Law, the Labour Law and the Arbitration Law.

The House referred a total of 40 laws to its permanent committees, with the Economy and Investment Committee receiving the majority of bills that reached 14, followed by the Administrative Committee, the Legal Committee and the Energy and Minerals Committee which received seven, six and five respectively.

The permanent committees held a total of 393 meetings, the majority of which were held by the financial and Palestine committees, with 46 meetings each, followed by the Legal Committee, the Administrative Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee which convened 40, 36 and 33 meetings respectively.

MPs submitted a total of 12 questions to the government, of which only four were answered while the remaining eight were transformed into queries, the report said.

During the third ordinary session, MPs organised a total of 56 field visits to various public institutions after a set of recommendations were submitted to the government on ways to improve public administration and services offered to citizens.

Lawmakers also submitted a total of 52 memoranda to the government, of which 29 were signed by a group of MPs, 19 by permanent committees and four by individual MPs. The government answered only 21 of the 52 memoranda submitted, the Chamber said.

MPs also suggested amendments to seven laws that include the Social Security Law, the domestic violence protection law and the Penal Code.

The House also held two general sessions during the third ordinary session on Al Aqsa Mosque, the Palestinian cause and the gas deal between Jordan’s National Electric Power Company and Israel.

In response to the Israeli violations in Al Aqsa Mosque, MPs called for expelling the Israeli ambassador to Jordan. The House also recommended a discussion with the Arab League to work towards putting an end to aggression against Al Aqsa and to protect the Palestinian people.

In light of the Dead Sea flooding incident, which claimed the lives of 21 people including children and injured 38 others, an investigative committee was formed demanding that the minister of education and higher education, and the minister of tourism and antiquities, be held accountable for the outcomes. They also requested that disciplinary action be taken against the director of technical and educational affairs at the Education Ministry’s department in the university district, for violating school-trip regulations.