Meetings of the States in 2018

STATES OF JERSEY

MEETINGS OF THE STATES IN 2018

Presented to the States on 18th May 2017 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee

STATES GREFFE

2017  R.54 (re-issue)

REPORT

The Privileges and Procedures Committee is required to fix dates for States meetings for the following year no later than the end of September each year, but is pleased to present them earlier this year, for the convenience of Members and others who need to plan ahead, in view of the fact that 2018 will be an election year.

Standing Orders 3 and 4 read as follows –

"3  Sessions of the States

1. There shall be 2 sessions of the States in each year during which they shall meet.
2. The 1st session shall start on the 3rd Tuesday in January and end no later than the last Tuesday in July.
3. The 2nd session shall start on the 2nd Tuesday in September and end no later than the 3rd Tuesday in December.

4  Planning days for meetings of the States

1. The PPC shall, no later than the end of September in each year, present to the States a list of days for meetings of the States in the 1st and 2nd sessions in the following year.
2. Ordinarily, a meeting day is a Tuesday.
3. The list may include continuation days.".

The dates agreed by the Committee for 2018 are shown in the Appendix to this Report.

Following a decision taken by the then PPC a number of years ago, the dates in recent years have been drafted as far as possible to avoid meetings during any school holiday periods. The 2018 meeting dates attached all avoid school holiday periods, with the exception of Easter, which is due to the impending election.

In accordance with the requirements of Standing Orders, the first meeting of 2018 is on the third Tuesday of January, namely 16th January 2018. The normal fortnightly cycle is interrupted by a break to avoid the school half-term during the week of Monday 12th February. The fortnightly cycle then continues until the Easter recess.

Standing Order 7 states that the Assembly must not meet in the 21 day period ending on the day of the elections which, in 2018, will be held on Wednesday 16th May 2018. As the 21 day purdah' period prevents any States meeting from taking place after Wednesday 25th April 2018, it is proposed that the last meeting of the old' States should begin on Tuesday 10th April, before the election period cut-off'. This meeting will be held during the Easter school holidays.

With elections on 16th May 2018 it is proposed to allow just over 2 weeks for the initial induction programme of new Members before Members are sworn in and the new States meet on Monday 4th June 2018 to elect the Chief Minister. This period will also allow a period of discussion between Members in relation to the nomination of candidates for Chief Minister, and nominations for the position will need to be submitted to the Greffier of the States by Wednesday 30th May 2018 (2 weeks after the elections).

3

The proposed dates show the required meetings for the election of Ministers and Chairmen  of  Committees  and  Panels  (Thursday  7th  June,  with  continuation  on Friday 8th June if necessary), and for the election of Committee/Panel members on Tuesday 12th June 2018.

The first 2 meetings of the new States for normal' business are on 26th June and 10th July before the summer recess although, in practice, it is likely that there may be a relatively limited amount of business to debate during these 2 meetings.

The Autumn session begins on 11th September, the second Tuesday of September, as required by Standing Orders. The fortnightly cycle can then be followed until the last meeting of 2018. The first meeting on 2019 will be on 15th January.

 _____________________________________________________________________ Re-issue Note

This Report is re-issued to correct errors within the 3 paragraphs on page 2 which mention the dates of States Sittings around Easter, and the Easter recess. None of the planned States Sitting dates, as shown on page 4, have been changed.

R.54/2017 (re-issue)

APPENDIX

2018 SESSIONS

In accordance with Standing Order 38, I hereby give notice that

the Privileges and Procedures Committee has fixed the following days for the

holding of meetings of the States in 2018. FIRST SESSION

Tuesday 16th January Tuesday 30th January Tuesday 20th February Tuesday 6th March Tuesday 20th March Tuesday 10th April Wednesday 9th May

continuation, if required, 17th and 18th January continuation, if required, 31st January and 1st February continuation, if required, 21st and 22nd February continuation, if required, 7th and 8th March continuation, if required, 21st and 22nd March continuation, if required 11th and 12th April Liberation Day meeting

FIRST SESSION – NEW STATES ASSEMBLY

Monday 4th June Thursday 7th June

Tuesday 12th June Tuesday 26th June Tuesday 10th July

election of Chief Minister

election of Ministers and Scrutiny Chairmen (continuation, if required, Friday 8th June)

election of Scrutiny Panels and Committee members continuation, if required, 27th and 28th June continuation, if required, 11th and 12th July

SECOND SESSION

Tuesday 11th September  continuation, if required, 12th and 13th September Tuesday 25th September  continuation, if required, 26th and 27th September Tuesday 9th October  continuation, if required, 10th and 11th October Tuesday 23rd October  continuation, if required, 24th and 25th October Tuesday 6th November  continuation, if required, 7th and 8th November Tuesday 20th November  continuation, if required, 21st and 22nd November Tuesday 4th December  continuation, if required, 5th and 6th December

The first meeting of 2019 will be on 15th January 2019. Greffier of the States