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STATES OF JERSEY
REQUIREMENT FOR SECONDER AT TIME OF LODGING A PROPOSITION
Lodged au Greffe on 14th December 2023 by Deputy M.R. Ferey of St. Saviour Earliest date for debate: 16th January 2024
STATES GREFFE
2023 P.102
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
to request the Privileges and Procedures Committee to bring forward, before June 2024, the necessary amendments to the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey to require that any proposition brought by a Member of the States in his or her own right be seconded at the time of lodging and to remove the requirement for the Bailiff to ask for a seconder from the Assembly floor in such instances.
DEPUTY M.R. FEREY OF ST. SAVIOUR
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P.102/2023
REPORT
The Standing Orders of the States of Jersey ("SO") require every proposition, proposal or nomination to be seconded by a Member of the States after the proposer has moved it or made it, unless standing orders provide otherwise (SO102). A proposition of no confidence, for example, has the additional requirement that it cannot be lodged unless it is signed by at least 3 members of the States in addition to the proposer and has an accompanying report saying why the proposer considers it should be adopted (SO22)
The purpose of this proposition is to ensure that a seconder is seen to be making a more formal statement of support for a proposition i.e. one that they believe in strongly enough for it to be debated and are, therefore, prepared to put their name to it before it is lodged.
It is anticipated that the proposer will have had discussions with any potential seconder at a relatively early stage regarding the idea behind the proposition - perhaps as a sounding board in the first instance. This involvement is likely to assist in making a proposition more robust by providing a second pair of eyes and ears.
SO19 states who can lodge a proposition which includes a number of bodies e.g. the Council of Ministers, scrutiny panels and the Comité des Connétable s. Any proposition brought by anyone of these bodies will already have the support of other members and, therefore, negates the need for a seconder to be in place at the time of lodging.
It is, of course, for the Privileges and Procedures Committee to determine the detail around the implementation of this proposition should it be adopted. Such detail might involve consideration as to whether the seconder's name should appear on the face of the proposition or whether there should be specific wording (i.e. a template) for the seconder to send to the States Greffe confirming their support for a proposition and their agreement to be the seconder.
By adopting this proposition, it is anticipated that the quality of propositions going forward will improve and, by default, produce better debates in the Assembly. It is extremely important to ensure that members make the best use of their time both in preparation for Assembly debates and in the Assembly itself and I believe that this proposition can only assist in making this a reality.
Financial and staffing implications
There will be staffing implications in relation to the drafting of the necessary amendments to standing orders which should be accommodated within the existing budget.
Child Rights Impact Assessment
A Child Rights Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to this proposition and will be accessible for review on the States Assembly website.
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P.102/2023