Parliament reconvened on 10 September and completed work on 49 bills. The national legislature enacted a total of 69 bills during the year. On 30 October, the Minister of Finance presented the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement to parliament indicating a real increase in spending on social services--education, health, welfare.

The official opening of the next session of Parliament will take place on 8 February 2001. However, some parliamentary committees will be operating from 14 January 2001. Budget Day is scheduled for 20 February.

This update lists all legislation enacted during the session, as well as bills still pending. See below, for an explanation of bill numbering and tagging and information on how to obtain copies of bills.

Legislation Enacted This Session

Highlights

Unemployment Insurance Act

Provides for the extension of unemployment insurance benefits to domestic and seasonal workers, delinks unemployment and maternity benefits (so that women do not draw down their unemployment benefit while on maternity leave), introduces a progressive scale of benefits.

Legislation Awaiting Consideration by Second House

Highlights

Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill

The draft version of this Bill would have made Sunday an ordinary work day, eliminating disincentives to requiring employees to work on Sunday. These changes have been removed from the current version of the Bill following intervention by churches and others.

Legislation Awaiting Consideration by First House

Highlights

Conventional Arms Control Bill

In 1995 Cabinet decided that the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) should be established to oversee arms transfers and that legislation should be enacted to give effect to this decision. The Conventional Arms Control Bill is meant to fulfill this mandate. It defines conventional arms, establishes the NCACC appointed by the President, explains objectives of the NCACC and deals with export and import permits. An earlier version, tabled in July 2000, was rejected by the Portfolio Committee on Defence, in part because it failed to codify criteria for regulating arms exports. A revised version of the Bill was introduced this year.

Notes on Bill Numbering and Tagging

Bill numbers

Bills are numbered in order of tabling within each year. Thus, bill number B75-97 was the seventy-fifth bill tabled in 1997. A letter following a bill number specifies a revision of the original bill, usually indicating that it has been amended by Parliament. For example, B54D-97 denotes the second revision of bill B54-97 (where B54B-97 would have been the first revision). Intermediate documents (in this case, versions A and C) usually list the amendments made.

Bill tagging

In terms of the Constitution, different types of legislation must be handled differently by Parliament. Consequently, all bills must be "tagged" to indicate the section of the Constitution that regulates their consideration and adoption. The State Law Advisors recommend a tag for each bill prior to introduction, but the four presiding officers of Parliament (the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chair and Deputy Chair of the NCOP) make a final determination. The categories of legislation are:

• Section 74 (Bills amending the Constitution) - Must be introduced in the National Assembly and must receive the support of at least two-thirds of the members of that House (or, in certain cases, a 75% majority). Amendments to Section 1 (preamble), Chapter 2 (Bill of Rights), or any amendment that affects the provinces must also receive the support of at least six provinces in the NCOP.
• Section 75 (Ordinary Bills not affecting provinces) - Must be introduced in the National Assembly and must be passed by both Houses.
• Section 76 (Ordinary Bills affecting provinces) - Most Section 76 bills may be introduced either in the National Assembly [Section 76(1)] or in the NCOP [Section 76(2)]. Certain types of bills (such as those which, due to exceptional circumstances, would intervene in affairs normally considered the exclusive responsibility of the provinces) must be introduced in the National Assembly. All Section 76 bills must be passed by both Houses.
• Section 77 (Money Bills) - Must be introduced in the National Assembly and be considered in accordance with Section 75. Parliament is required to specify a procedure for the amendment of money bills.

Obtaining copies of bills

You should be able to get a copy of any of the tabled bills mentioned above on the Parliament web site or on the government document server. (Note: You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view most bills. If you do not have it, it can be downloaded for free.)

Alternatively, contact your local constituency office and ask for help in obtaining the bills you desire. Or you can order bills directly from the Government Printer. Printed copies cost R5 each. Send a check or postal order to: The Government Printer, Private Bag X85, Pretoria 0001. Be sure to specify each bill number and title and include your name and address.