Privileges and Procedures Committee 16th March 2016

KS/SC/082

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE (30th Meeting)

16th March 2016

PART A (Non-exempt)

All members were present, with the exception of Deputy S.M. Brée of St. Clement , from whom apologies had been received.

Connétable L. Norman of St. Clement , Chairman Senator P.F.C. Ozouf (present for items A5 and B1-B4) Connétable D.W. Mezbourian of St. Lawrence Connétable C.H. Taylor of St. John

Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier

Deputy S.Y. Mézec of St. Helier

In attendance -

L.M. Hart , Deputy Greffier of the States

A.C. Goodyear, Assistant Greffier of the States (present for items A1-A6) M. Waddington, Assistant Law Draftsman (present for item B2) K.L. Slack, Clerk to the Privileges and Procedures Committee

Note:  The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A and Part B.

Minutes  A1.  The Minutes of the meetings of 11th January 2016 (Part A) and 9th February

2016 (Parts A and B), having previously been circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Web-streaming  A2.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. B1 of 9th February 2016, of meetings of  received an oral update from the Assistant Greffier in connexion with web-streaming the States.  of meetings of the States.

465/4(13)

The  Assistant  Greffier  advised  the  Committee  that,  having  liaised  with  the Department for the Environment in respect of the works necessary to install the cameras  in  the  States  Chamber,  she  had  met  on  16th  March  2016,  with  a representative from the Historic Environment Team and that an application for planning permission was likely to be required, which would be progressed by the Property Holdings Department on behalf of the States Greffe.

It was anticipated that a decision on the application could be made within 3 weeks of receipt thereof, and the Assistant Greffier undertook to keep the Committee updated on progress.

The Committee noted the position accordingly.

Installation of  A3.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. B2 of 9th February 2016, digital clocks  received an oral update from the Assistant Greffier in connexion with the installation in the  of digital clocks in the States Chamber.

Chamber.

465/4(14)

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30th Meeting 16.03.16

The Assistant Greffier advised the Committee that it had proved difficult to find a company that was able to provide clocks with the requisite functionality, namely that they could record the length of each debate, the duration of each member's speech and have the ability to count both up and down. However, one company was potentially still interested and work was underway with staff from the Ports of Jersey (formerly the Department of Electronics) to firm up the price.

The Committee agreed that if it was necessary to simplify the specification for the clocks, it would be prepared to do so, mindful that both the House of Commons and the House of Lords had very basic clocks, but would require a definitive answer at its next meeting as to whether or not the desired functionality could be achieved.

States  A4.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 8th December 2015, procedures:  received an oral update from the Assistant Greffier on the activities of the Standing review.  Orders and Internal Procedures Sub-Committee.

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The Committee recalled that States members had participated in an interesting workshop arranged by the Sub-Committee on 8th March 2016, and had discussed various matters, including question time, the nomination and election of ministerial candidates and the possible introduction of a Business Committee for the scheduling of business in the Assembly. The Sub-Committee had invited States Members to prepare feedback thereafter. The Assistant Greffier reported that she had received approximately 12 responses to date and would send a reminder via electronic mail to States Members. It was noted that the Council of Ministers would be considering the matter and was likely to submit its responses after its next meeting.

The Committee indicated that it would like to be in a position to lodge an amended version of Standing Orders by September 2016.

Public  A5. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A1 of 11 March 2016, recalled elections:  that it had lodged an amendment to the proposition of Deputy G.P. Southern of electronic   St. Helier , entitled "Public elections: electronic voting" (P.10/2016).

voting.

424/99(1)  Senator P.F.C. Ozouf expressed concern that the proposition could have the effect

of  raising  expectation  amongst  the  electorate  that  electronic  voting  in  an uncontrolled place, such as one's own home, would be introduced. It was noted that very few governments supported online voting, primarily for security reasons, as there was a significant risk of coercion. The Committee was informed that Estonia, and some of the Canadian provinces, had introduced electronic voting. However, in 2013, an international team of security experts had examined the Estonian system in detail and in 2014 published their results, which highlighted serious design issues and cast considerable doubt on the integrity of the system. Senator Ozouf notified the Committee that the Advisor to the Estonian Prime Minister in respect of matters relating to electronic government (e-government) would be in the Island on 21st March 2016, and it would be opportune for the Committee to meet with him to discuss electronic voting.

The  Committee  indicated  its  support  for  electronic  voter  registration  and  the introduction of electronic voting in controlled places, such as polling booths. It recalled that work to compare the registrable facts' recorded under the Register of Names and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012, with the information recorded in electoral registers, was underway and would need to be finalised before electronic voter registration could be introduced. It was hoped that this would be in place for use in the general election in 2018.

The Committee noted the position accordingly.

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Composition  A6.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A2 of 9th February 2016, and election of  received an oral update from the Deputy Greffier of the States on the activities of the States  the Sub-Committee on the Composition and Election of the States Assembly. Assembly.

465/1(201)  The Committee was advised that officers were still working on new proposals, as

the Sub-Committee had not favoured the options put forward at its last meeting. The Chairman requested that officers meet with the Sub-Committee within the next 4 weeks.