FCR(1999-2000)15

For discussion
on 21 May 1999

FINANCE COMMITTEE PROCEDURE

Members are invited to approve the proposed amendments to Paragraph 5 of the Finance Committee Procedure with effect from 21 May 1999.

PRESENT POSITION

Under Rule 71(13) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council, the Finance Committee shall determine its own practice and procedure subject to the Rules of Procedure. To facilitate the conduct of its business and to examine financial proposals put forward by the Financial Secretary, the Finance Committee approved the existing Finance Committee Procedure at its meeting on 10 July 1998.

2. On the recommendation of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, the Legislative Council approved a number of amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Council on 28 April 1999, one of which relates to the establishment of an order of precedence of Members. The House Committee subsequently agreed that the Member who has the highest precedence in the Council among those who have joined a committee will in future be responsible for calling the first meeting of a committee and also for presiding over the election of committee chairman.

3. As far as the Finance Committee is concerned, the provision for the Clerk to Finance Committee to call the first meeting of the Committee has already been deleted from Rule 71 of the Rules of Procedure. Correspondingly, the existing Paragraph 5 of the Finance Committee Procedure should also be amended to the effect that the member who has the highest precedence in the Council among members of the Finance Committee will be responsible for calling the first meeting of the Committee in a new term of the Council and for presiding over the election of the Chairman of the Committee.

PROPOSAL

4. It is proposed that Paragraph 5 of the Finance Committee Procedure be amended as set out in the Enclosure.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5. The proposal does not involve any financial implications.

Legislative Council Secretariat
May 1999

Enclosure to FCR(1999-2000)15

Finance Committee Procedure (Extract)

Chairman and Deputy Chairman

4. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Committee shall be elected by and from among its members¹ at an open meeting and shall hold office until the election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Committee in the session next following that for which they are elected. In the event of the temporary absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, the Committee may elect a chairman to act during such absence. Notwithstanding the provision in paragraph 45, the Chairman or the member presiding, as the case may be, shall have his original vote in addition to his casting vote in such elections [Rule 71(2)].

5. The election of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the first session in a term shall be conducted at the first meeting of the Committee in the session. The Clerk The member who has the highest precedence in the Council [Rule 1A] shall be responsible for calling the first meeting of a term of the Committee, and shall preside at the beginning of that meeting for the purpose of electing a presiding member for the election of the Chairman of the Committee [Rule 71(3)]. If the member who has the highest precedence is being nominated for the office of Chairman, the member who is next in the order of precedence of Members and who is not being nominated for the office shall be the presiding member. For the second or subsequent sessions in a term, the election may be conducted at a meeting held before the session commences.

6. At the meeting held for the purpose of the election, the member presiding at the meeting shall call for nominations for these two offices. All members of the Committee may stand for election. Each nomination shall be made orally by a member, seconded by at least one other member present, and accepted by the member being nominated. A member who nominates an absent member for an office shall state that the absent member's acceptance of the nomination has been secured. If there is only one nomination, the member presiding shall declare the nominee elected. If more than one nomination is received for an office, the election shall be decided by secret ballot by the members present, including the presiding member, on the basis of a simple majority of the votes. In case of a tie, the presiding member shall draw lots to give the casting vote to one of the nominees in accordance with the lot drawn, and shall forthwith declare that nominee elected to an office.


1. The term "members" or "member" as used in the text refers to members or a member of the Finance Committee unless specified otherwise.