New lawmakers have 30 bills to start considering
The Parliament Buildings in Nairobi.
Upon swearing-in and election of the Speakers, newly elected lawmakers have 30 bills that they can start considering unlike in the past when they had to wait for the Executive to be set up before conducting business.
The 12th Parliament reviewed Standing Orders exempting a number of bills from the pre-publication period which is normally six months.
This means that as the House which normally heavily relies on government bills at formative stages can start considering bills as the Executive puts its structures in place.
The move that informed the review of the Standing Order exempting bills that were not considered upon the expiry of the House term from pre-publication was meant to scrap unnecessary procedures that slow down legislative process especially when a new parliament kicks off.
In the review of the Standing Orders, bills that were sponsored by MPs who did not make it back also still have a lifeline as any member is at liberty to pick any of them though they will have to start the process afresh since the exemption on pre-publication is not extended to new members.
Already, the MPs elect have been called for a pre-swearing ceremony next week on Thursday and Friday.
After the sitting as has been the norm, the new MPs will go for induction where those who have have made it to parliament for the first time will be taken through the legislative process such as how to sponsor bills, bring petitions and issue personal statement among others.
Among the bills already considered by the National Assembly and sent to the Senate include the National Blood Transfusion Service Bill, 2020 sponsored by the government.
The bill passed by the National Assembly in July last year imposes a three-year prison term on entities that sell blood without the express authority of the CS.
"Any person who collects, stores, issues, distributes or otherwise trades in blood and blood products in contravention of provisions of this Act commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or imprisonment to a term not exceeding three years or to both," reads the bill.
Another bill at the Senate is the Sugar Bill, 2019 by Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi which seeks to revive the Kenya Sugar Board to solve the woes in the sugarcane sector.
The bill also seeks to give farmers more say in the management of sugar factories by apportioning them a 51 per cent shareholding in privatised sugar firms.
Mr Wamunyinyi, however, did not make it back as he was trounced in the elections, meaning another member will have to pick them up.
Also awaiting the nod of the Senate is the Election Campaign Financing (Amendment) Bill, 2021 sponsored by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni who was also floored in the election.
The bill provides that there is no obligation for candidates and political parties to tell the public how they have spent their campaign cash.
It also provides that disclosures may only be made to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and the same would not be made public.
The Senate is also yet to consider the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by Kesses MP Swarup Mishra which bars doctors from referring patients for treatment abroad without consulting the government.
The bill compels any public health facility that refers a patient to an institution outside the country to ensure that adequate consultations are undertaken with the Kenyan mission in the country in which the referral is made to establish its credibility.
The bill amends the Health Act in a bid to protect Kenyans seeking medical treatment abroad from abuse and exploitation by agents and doctors.
Unfortunately, he also did not survive the UDA wave in Rift Valley meaning his bill will have to undergo the pre-publication period should a member pick it up.
Other bills that the new MPs can start considering are the Government Contracts Bill, Crops (Amendment) Bill, 2019 sponsored by Matuga MP Mwangaza Kassim, The Land (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by Simon King’ara (Ruiru) and the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2019 by Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate)
The Irrigation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2021, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, 2019 and the National Disaster Management Authority Bill, 2019 are the others.
