What Is the Legislative Process of the NPC Standing Committee?

The Meeting of the Chairmen may introduce a bill to the Standing Committee for deliberation during a current session.

The State Council, the Central Military Committee, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and various special committees of the NPC, can introduce a bill to the Standing Committee. The Meeting of the Chairmen can make a decision to put the bill on the agenda of the next session of the Standing Committee or refer it to a relevant special committee, and submit a report, whereupon the Meeting of the Chairmen can then decide to put it on the agenda of the next session of the Standing Committee. If the Chairmen are of the opinion that there are outstanding issues in respect of the bill, which require further study, it may advise that the sponsor revise and improve the bill before it is introduced to the Standing Committee.

More than ten members of the Standing Committee, acting together, may introduce a bill to the Standing Committee, and the Meeting of the Chairmen may then decide if it will be put on the agenda of the Standing Committee's session or if it should be referred to a special committee. Where such a bill is not to be put on the agenda for the Standing Committee, the Meeting of the Chairmen will make a report to the Standing Committee or explain its reasons to the bill sponsor.

In the course of the deliberations, the committee may invite the sponsor to the session to comment further.

For a bill that has been put on the agenda for a session of the Standing Committee, members must first be provided with a copy of the draft law seven days prior to the session of the Standing Committee.

Such a bill is in general deliberated three times in a current session before being put to the vote.

In the first deliberation, the bill sponsor will brief the plenary session, and thereafter, deliberation will be conducted at group sessions.

In the second deliberation of the bill at the Standing Committee session, the Law Committee will brief the plenary session on the status of amendments and major issues in respect of the draft law, and thereafter, deliberation will be conducted at group sessions.

In the third deliberation of the bill, the Law Committee will report to the plenary session on the result of the deliberations on the draft law, and thereafter, deliberations will be conducted at group sessions.