Government aims to head off filibuster
In a move condemned as "brutal interference" in Legislative Council affairs, the government has asked the Finance Committee chairman to cap the number of motions a lawmaker can move.
In a move condemned as "brutal interference" in Legislative Council affairs, the government has asked the Finance Committee chairman to cap the number of motions a lawmaker can move.
The call came in a letter from the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau aimed at heading off a filibuster planned by radical pan-democrats today.
In the letter dated May 22, the bureau also asked committee chairman Ng Leung-sing to make use of a meeting rule to kill members' motions.
The bureau warned the committee "would be failing to perform its statutory duties in a timely manner" in face of a "serious bunching" in the agenda.
"We believe a case can be made for [the committee] to consider reviewing the procedure regarding the handling of 37A motions, like whether or not a reasonable cap should be imposed on the total number of motions which can be moved by each member on each agenda item," the bureau wrote.
It was referring to paragraph 37A of the Finance Committee procedure which states that a lawmaker can move a motion without prior notice before an item is put to the vote.