Rasi: As Few Laws as Possible Should Be Passed via Fast-Track Procedures

Bratislava, 24 July (TASR) – House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice–SD) believes that Parliament should pass as few laws as possible through the fast-track legislative procedure, arguing that the standard legislative process allows more room to correct errors, he told TASR on Thursday. Rasi also said that he plans to make greater use of the parliamentary institute to help avoid legislative mistakes. "When something is done in a hurry, mistakes are made. We cannot fully restrict the duration of the legislative process because when the government submits a proposal under the shortened procedure, we are required to debate it that way. And then we have to fix errors, which naturally occur, on the fly. That's why we support using the shortened procedure for as few laws as possible," he explained. Rasi also commented on so-called 'riders' – amendments that modify or supplement a law unrelated to the bill being debated. "When there is a so-called rider – something unrelated to the bill – I automatically exclude it from the vote. However, Parliament can override this and still discuss the proposal," he added. He also announced that more extensive use of the parliamentary institute is planned to prevent legislative errors. "It's an excellent institution that can tell us how a legislative proposal has been handled in other countries and what it covers, and sometimes we can learn from mistakes made elsewhere," said Rasi. mf/df