Despite a 90-minute break called due to the lack of a quorum, two legislative committees yesterday jointly approved a draft bill detailing the structure of the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, while the Executive Yuan was still reviewing another version for legislative review.
The Organic Laws and Statutes Committee and the Economy and Energy Committee yesterday approved a proposal initiated by the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU) concerning the structure of the bureau under the Council of Agriculture (COA) and sent it to the plenary legislative session for deliberation.
The legislature is expected to pass the committee-approved amendment, although the COA is determined to send its own version to the legislature for review.
The Executive Yuan approved the COA's version in its weekly meeting yesterday morning, when the legislative committee was reviewing the NPSU version.
People First Party Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (
While 10 committee members were required to be present to start the meeting, the deliberation did not begin until 10:30am because a quorum could not be reached.
COA Deputy Chairman Lee Jen-chuyan (
Lee said the council would like nothing better than to see the legislature pass the bill, but that it would like to see the committees review the versions proposed by the council and the NPSU together.
NPSU Legislator May Chin (
The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau inherited the operations of its predecessor at the provincial government but the legislation concerning the bureau's structure has never been enacted.
Chin said the legislature should pass the bill during the current session or she would ask the NPSU caucus to refuse to endorse bills proposed by the council during interparty negotiations.
She also requested that an inquiry be launched into the council's alleged attempt to boycott the committee meeting yesterday.
PFP Legislator Tsai Sheng-chia (
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Wang Tuoh (
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