Information about the legislative and parliamentary control activity of the 41st National Assembly in the period of 14 July 2009 – 6 July 2010

Legislative activity

The information, prepared by the Legislative Affairs and European Law Directorate shows that the 41st National Assembly has adopted 150 bills, 172 decisions and 3 declarations since the beginning of its mandate.

The Parliament has held 128 plenary sittings, including four extraordinary ones.

The 41st National Assembly has received a total of 277 draft bills, 166 of which moved by the Council of Ministers. The number of the rejected bills is 28 and of those withdrawn 23. To date, the present National Assembly has adopted 44 bills, introducing EU law into the domestic legislation.

In the period, between July 14, 2009 to July 6, 2010 the National Assembly has debated 215 draft decisions, 199 tabled by MPs. It has also considered 12 draft addresses and declarations.

The bills with priority in the work of the National Assembly during this period were aimed at crime prevention and termination of corruption practices with amendments passed to the Ministry of Interior and the National Security Agency Acts, to the Criminal and Criminal Procedures Codes, the Judiciary Act, the Electronic Communications Act. The National Assembly passed also legislative revisions aimed at overcoming the adverse effects of the economic crisis with amendments to the State Budget for 2010 Act , to the Political Parties Act, to the Social Security Code, etc.

The National Assembly adopted entirely new acts for the Consumer Credit, for the Provision of Services, for the Access to Spatial Data, for the Development of the Academic Staff in the Republic of Bulgaria. Important amendments were passed to the Genetically Modified Organisms Act, to the Defense and Armed Forces of the Republic Bulgaria Act and to the Health Act.

Parliamentary Control

Since the beginning of the 41st National Assembly cabinet members have answered questions of parliamentary members in the course of 96 hours.

Thus the account of the time used by parliament to exercise its monitoring function, up to now, totals 96 hours. The forms of parliamentary oversight used were questions, inquiries with consequent debates, and hearings.

The parliamentary control was performed during 37 plenary sittings. The total of 834 questions and 144 inquiries has been answered until July 5th, 2010. 372 questions and 12 inquiries have received written replies, while oral answers were given to 462 questions and 132 inquiries. So the summary of the questions answered becomes 684 and of the inquiries 119. 37 questions and 4 inquiries are yet to be answered. 41 questions and 6 inquiries were withdrawn.

Coalition for Bulgaria has submitted the 340 questions and 39 enquiries, followed by the Blue Coalition, 251 questions and 20 enquiries, and Ataka, 143 questions and 24 enquiries. MPs of the ruling right-wing GERB have submitted 23 questions and 21 enquiries, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, 19 questions and 9 enquiries. The parliamentary group of the Order, Lawfulness and Justice party submitted 21 questions and 5 interpellations before it got disbanded. Independent MPs have submitted 37 questions and 27 enquiries to cabinet members.

The biggest number of answered questions and inquiries- 92 belongs to the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works. Second with 90 answers comes the Deputy Prime and Finance Minister, followed by the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism - 84. The Minister of Health provided information on 82 questions and inquiries, the Minister of Agriculture and Food on 65, the Deputy Prime and Minister of Interior on 64, the Minister of Environment and Water on 50, the Minister of Labour and Social Policy on 49 . 41 questions and inqueries have been answered by the Minister of Education, Youth and Science, 31 by Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, 31 by the Foreign Minister, 28 by the Minister of Defense and the Transportation, Information Technology and Communications Minister, 26 by the Minister of Justice.

Members of the parliament, who have brought up a considerable number of questions and inquiries are: Ivan Nikolaev Ivanov - 93; Vanyo Sharkov - 62; Lachezar Toshev - 53; Yane Yanev - 52; Petar Korumbashev - 28; Kalina Krumova - 27; Dimitar Gorov - 24 ; Anton Koutev - 22; Cornelia Ninova, Penko Atanasov and Maya Manolova each 21, Ivan Kostov, Mihail Mikov, Tsveta Georgieva and Dimitar Chukarski each 20.
During the same period a debate was held over the inquiry of MP Ivan Alexiev addressed to the Minister of Environment and Water Nona Karadjova regarding the termination of the funding, provided to municipalities under the contracts with the state Enterprise for Management of Environmental Protection.

The National Assembly received eight motions for hearings and one was held with the Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov in regard to his media statements on the issue of the Government's intentions for the future construction of the Belene NPP.

Since its beginning, the 41st National Assembly has held 38 hearings of ministers within the different parliamentary committees.