By: C.R.
On Wednesday, at the initiative of a group of councillors with Matjaž Gams as the first signatory, the State Council will decide on the veto of the government’s amendment to the Law on Radiotelevision Slovenia (RTVS). The law was approved by the National Assembly with 53 votes in favour already last week. If the Council of State votes to veto the law, the MPs will have to vote on the law again, and 46 votes will be needed for reconfirmation.
With an amendment to the law, the government proposes changes in the management of the institute by introducing the RTVS council, in which civil society and employees will play a decisive role. Instead of the existing programme and control council, the amendment to the law introduces a single management and control body – the RTVS council, which would have 17 members.
The employees would choose five members from among themselves, and the remaining 12 would be appointed based on public appeals by the Italian and Hungarian national communities, the President of the State, the National Assembly, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Council for Culture, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, the Information Commissioner, the Council for sustainable development and environmental protection and human rights ombudsman.
The proposal, as a consultative body of the RTVS council, envisages the introduction of a financial committee, which will consist of five members, professionally qualified and with work experience in the financial field. A four-member administrative body is also being introduced, in which there will also be a labour director.
Even before the meeting of the State Council, the State Council Commission for State Regulation will also meet on Wednesday, which will consider the initiative to veto the law to reduce inequality and harmful policy interventions and ensure respect for the rule of law, which was submitted to the State Council by the Chamber of Engineers of Slovenia.
The law, which was prepared at the March 8th Institute, would otherwise restore 11 laws that were changed during the government of Janez Janša.
The so-called omnibus law includes, among other things, the construction law, which entered into force at the end of last year and has been used since June 1st this year.
Already in the adoption process, this divided the architectural and engineering professions, especially with regard to project management, while the proposed law changes precisely this area. At the same time, the Chamber of Engineers warns that the law unjustifiably grants architects and landscape architects the authority to manage construction. In their opinion, the law illegally expands the area of work and business of architects and landscape architects into areas for which they are not professionally qualified.
Thus, an initiative for a suspensive veto was addressed to the Council of State. If the competent committee of the State Council gives the green light to such a proposal, the State Council could also decide on vetoing the said law on Wednesday, along with the veto of the government’s amendment to the law on RTVS.
The former was also approved by the National Assembly last week with 52 votes of MPs.