The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill seeks to align the terms of legislative assemblies of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir with other assemblies.
The three UTs have legislative assemblies. It is an “ordinary” bill requiring simple majority for passage.
Prior to the ‘one nation, one election ‘ bills, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was the last one to be referred to a joint committee for greater consultation.
In case one House decides to refer a Bill to a joint committee, it informs the other House to nominate members for the panel.
The select or joint committee considers the Bill clause by clause just as the two Houses do. Amendments can be moved to various clauses by members of the committee.
The committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the Bill.
After the Bill has been considered, the committee submits its report to the House. Members who do not agree with the majority report can give a dissent to it.
The bills referred to joint panels include the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill, 2015; the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2015; the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016; and the Bill to Amend The Citizenship Act, 1955.
Similar joint parliamentary panels were formed to scrutinise the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017, and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, was also referred to a joint panel.