Prior to Concluding Legislative Session, House of Representatives Adopts Eight Government Bills and One Parliamentary Bill Relating to Cultural, Social, and Economic Sectors
The House of Representatives adopted, on Wednesday, February 10th, 2021, eight Government Bills and one Parliamentary Bill relating to cultural, economic, and social sectors. The adoption took place during two plenary sittings held before the conclusion of the legislative session and chaired by the Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki. The sittings were attended by Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform Mohamed Benchaâboun; Minister of Equipment, Transportation, Logistics, and Water Abdelkader Aamara; Minister of National Territory Development, Urban Planning, Housing, and City Policy Nezha Bouchareb; Minister of Labor and Professional Integration Mohammed Amekraz; and Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports Othman El Ferdaous.
The deputies initiated the sitting by unanimously approving Government Bill 15.18 on crowdfunding in the second reading. The Bill is part of the efforts to mobilize and develop new funding resources for young entrepreneurs and small, micro, and medium enterprises.
The deputies also unanimously approved Government Bill 06.20 enacting the dissolution and liquidation of the Marketing and Export Office. The Bill implements the directives His Majesty the King set out in his latest speech on Throne Day. The directives included speeding up the launch of radical reform in the public sector to remedy the structural imbalances of public institutions and enterprises to achieve maximum complementarity and harmony in their tasks and upgrade their economic and social efficacy.
Besides, the deputies unanimously adopted Government Bill 69.18 on ship-source pollution in the second reading. The Bill aims to set out punitive provisions regarding ship-source pollution and include the ratified international legislation regarding fighting pollution in the national laws. It also aims to preserve the fish resources and protect the ocean and the marine ecosystems in Morocco.
Following that, the deputies unanimously approved Government Bill 71.18 on seaport police. The Bill intends to provide seaport police with an efficient legal framework to face the challenges emanating from international transformations, keep up with the new international criteria in the sector of seaport police, and contribute to advancing the competitiveness of Moroccan seaports by improving their positioning.
Later, the deputies approved by a majority of votes Government Bill 55.20 amending and supplementing Law 01.09 stipulating the establishment of the National Museums Foundation. The sitting was marked by a deep debate about introducing amendments to some articles and ameliorating the text. The latter comes nine years after enacting the law that stipulates the transfer of the tasks of the Administration of Museums and the management of their affairs and preservation to the said Foundation. Also, the Bill aims to advance and improve the action of the National Museums Foundation.
The sitting was also marked by the approval by a majority of votes of Government Bill 56.20 on museums. The Bill aims to reconsider the organization of museums and to give the museums that fulfill the technical, logistical, and human resources requirements the mark of excellence "Museum of Morocco." The latter enables the museums that have it to access several privileges, like tax discounts and inclusion in the touristic routes and trajectories, in addition to eligibility to the ranking of cultural and human national heritage.
After that, the participants unanimously adopted Government Bill 64.20 ratifying Decree-law 2.20.605 of September 15th, 2020 (Muharram 26th, 1442) enacting special measures in favor of some employers subscribing to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and their employees registered with the Fund, and some categories of independent workers and unemployed persons registered with the Fund and affected by the repercussions of COVID-19 propagation. The adoption comes following the enactment of the decree-law by the Government during the inter-session, a case where Article 81 of the Constitution stipulates that the text must be presented before the Parliament during its next regular session.
During the same sitting, the deputies unanimously adopted Government Bill 13.16 to establish and structure the Foundation for Social Works in the Ministry of National Territory Development, Urban Planning, Housing, and City Policy. The Bill aims to ameliorate and advance the social and cultural services to meet the aspirations and hopes of the officials, employees, and retirees of the Ministry.
During the sitting devoted to examining parliamentary bills, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted a Parliamentary Bill amending the third paragraph of Article 2.1 of the Code of Contracts and Obligations as amended by virtue of Law 53.05 on the electronic exchange of electronic data, issued on November 30th, 2007. According to the deputies who submitted the Bill, the latter aims to lift the ambiguity that prevailed over the third paragraph of the said law.