The Executive Yuan today said it has decided not to request the legislature to reconsider the special act bill which includes a universal cash handout of NT$10,000 (US$333.79), but is to ask the Constitutional Court to review the provision.
At a news briefing in Taipei, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the cash handout provision contravenes the Constitution, without specifying when the Cabinet would file the petition.
Photo: Taipei Times
The cash handout provision, backed by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), risks infringing on executive powers, the Cabinet said.
Today is the deadline for the Cabinet to request the legislature to reconsider the special act bill, which it received on Tuesday last week.
President William Lai (賴清德) is to promulgate the act tomorrow, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) was cited by Lee as saying.
The Cabinet would propose amendments to the special act if necessary, after the US and Taiwan complete their tariff negotiation and the final tariff rate is publicized, Cho said.
The legislature earlier this month passed the third reading of the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及國土安全韌性特別條例), which was proposed in April to counter the impacts of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The proposal of a cash handout made by the KMT raised the package’s total ceiling from NT$410 billion to NT$545 billion.
Cho said the Cabinet still believes that the act is flawed legally and constitutionally, as it was not consulted by the legislature despite it constituting a huge increase in government spending.
The Cabinet cited Article 91 of the Budget Act (預算法), which requires lawmakers proposing bills involving significant government spending to first consult the executive branch.
The Cabinet is to seek a constitutional judgement when appropriate, it said.
Even if the Cabinet brings the case to the Constitutional Court, it may not move forward as hoped.
The eight-member court is currently unable to hear cases after opposition lawmakers passed a measure in December last year requiring at least 10 justices for adjudication, while repeatedly blocking Lai's nominees to fill seven vacant seats.
The Cabinet's latest move signals its intent to keep pushing back against measures passed by opposition lawmakers from the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party, which together hold a majority in the legislature.
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