WHEN IS A DRAFT BILL A TABLED BILL?

WHEN IS A DRAFT BILL A TABLED BILL?

• 24 July 2023
• Parliament
• SA Legal Academy

The steps followed when a Bill is sent Parliament for processing may seem inconsequential – but they do have implications for anyone writing about proposed new legislation.

When Cabinet approves a Bill for tabling in Parliament and its explanatory summary has been gazetted, one of two steps is eventually taken:

• either an unpublished draft of the approved Bill is submitted to the National Assembly, NCOP and their committees, allowing members more time to familiarise themselves with its contents and slot the Bill into their programme,
• or the published certified Bill is introduced/tabled (usually in the National Assembly) and sent to the committees concerned.

The Bill is then classified by Parliament's Joint Tagging Mechanism as ordinary legislation (with or without implications for the provinces and respectively tagged as section 76 and section 75), a money Bill (section 77) or a Bill proposing amendments to the Constitution (section 74).

Before the certified version of a Bill is published, ideally, commentary on its proposals should be underpinned by official documentation, which could include:

• the gazetted explanatory summary of its contents (which can be sparse and often is) and
• any references to the Bill in an official media statement on the Cabinet meeting at which it was approved.

A draft version of the Bill is usually released several months earlier for public comment. It is then revised to reflect some of the input received (and considered relevant) before being submitted to Cabinet for approval. The draft released for public comment is therefore not necessarily an accurate reflection of proposals in the version approved for tabling.

Most importantly, a Bill’s provisions are simply proposals until adopted by both Houses and signed into law. Which is why some commentators use the term ‘seeks to’ when describing what is intended by the Bill once passed and operationalised.

And, of course, what is intended may not necessarily come to fruition.

A Bill approved by Cabinet is not a fait accompli. It is a draft that may be (but not necessarily is) submitted to Parliament before being certified. Once certified, it is then formally introduced or tabled for processing – at which point it becomes available.

Page 2 of parliamentary papers circulated on 21 July 2023 announces that:

• a draft Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill has been submitted and referred to the National Assembly and NCOP committees for information
• the Public Procurement Bill and Children’s Amendment Bill have been classified (they were tabled as certified Bills on 30 June and 13 July 2023 respectively, as SA Legal Academy reported at the time), and
• the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Amendment Bill has been formally introduced/tabled (as SA Legal Academy has already reported).

Please click the link below to access the papers:

• parliamentary papers

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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