Karnataka Assembly sat for highest number of days in 2020; Kerala tops ordinance list

Karnataka Assembly sat for the highest number of days and passed the highest number of laws in the country in 2020, a year that was marked by Covid-19 lockdown, while Kerala topped the list of state governments that issued the highest number of ordinances.

The 'Annual Review of State Laws for 2020' report by the PRS Legislative Research based on 19 states showed that Assemblies met for an average of 18 days, down from the average of 29 sittings a year between 2016-19.

Karnataka topped the list with 31 sittings last year followed by Rajasthan (29), Himachal Pradesh (25), Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat (23 each). Kerala Assembly sat for 20 days.

If one takes the average for 2016-19, Kerala is far ahead of other states with sitting 53 days a year, followed by Maharashtra at 41. Karnataka, in this case, scored 32 days.

The year 2020 saw Assemblies not able to convene meetings due to the Covid-19 situation and subsequent lockdown.

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When it comes to passing bills, the report said states passed an average of 22 Bills, excluding Appropriation Bills). Karnataka once again topped the list passing 61 Bills, while the lowest was Delhi, which passed one Bill, followed by West Bengal and Kerala, which passed two and three Bills, respectively.

On an average, the report said, the states issued 14 ordinances over the last year. This number was skewed by Kerala which promulgated 81 ordinances. Half of these 81 ordinances were ones that were re-promulgated, the report said.

Kerala was followed by Karnataka (24), Uttar Pradesh (23) and Maharashtra (21) in issuing ordinances.

Analysing the time taken for passing Bills, 59% of the legislations were passed on the same day that they were introduced while 14% were passed within a day of being introduced. Only 9% of the Bills were passed more than five days after introduction.

States that have passed most Bills on the same day as their introduction include Punjab (26 out of 26 Bills), Haryana (34 out of 35 Bills), and Uttar Pradesh (32 out of 37 Bills).

Karnataka and Rajasthan passed a majority of their Bills two or more days after their introduction in the legislature. In both states, 37% of Bills had a gap of at least five days between their introduction and passing.

The report said most states do not have committees to examine bills like the Parliamentary Standing Committees and in the absence of a robust committee system and fewer working days, state legislatures barely spend any time scrutinising legislative proposals brought before them.

It said that Kerala has constituted 14 subject committees for examining Bills. In 2020, in some states like Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, select committees (ad-hoc committees) were constituted for scrutinising important Bills.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Karnataka Assembly in March 2020 and immediately referred to a Joint Select Committee (of both Houses) for further examination, it said.