"Supply bill" redirects here. For bills on government spending, see Appropriation bill. For the Irish controversy of 1753–1756, see Money Bill dispute.
It is often a constitutional convention that the upper house may not block a money bill. There is often another requirement that non-money bill-type clauses may not be attached to a money bill. The rationale behind this convention is that the upper house, being appointed or indirectly elected, should not have any right to decide on taxation and public expenditure-related policies as may be framed by the directly elected representatives of the lower house. Therefore, money bills are an exception to the general rule that for a bill to be enacted into a law, it has to be approved by both the lower and upper Houses of Parliament.[1]
A supply bill in the Australian System is required to pass the House of Representatives, the Senate and be signed by the Governor-General. The Senate has no power or ability to introduce or modify a supply bill, but has the ability to block or defer the passing of a supply bill. The most famous instance where supply was blocked was during the 1975 constitutional crisis. This has resulted in agreements between political parties to prevent the blockage of supply bills through the Senate.
Bangladesh
A money bill is specifically defined by Article 81 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The President of Bangladesh can send back all bills passed by the Parliament for a review except a money bill. However, a money bill can be introduced to the Parliament only at the President's recommendation. Additionally, tax can only be levied by the Parliament.[2]
Canada
Although Parliament may pass money bills, under section 54 of the Constitution Act, 1867 funds can be appropriated only on the recommendation of the Governor-General. This has resulted in the convention that only ministers introduce money bills.[3]
India
Procedure for a Money Bill:
Money Bills can be introduced only in Lok Sabha (lower House).
Money bills passed by the Lok Sabha are sent to the Rajya Sabha (upper house). The Rajya Sabha may not amend money bills but can recommend amendments. To make sure that Rajya Sabha does not amend the bill by adding some non-money matters (known as Financial Bill), the Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies the bill as a money bill before sending it to the upper house, and the decision of the Speaker is binding on both the Houses.[4] A money bill must be returned to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, or the bill is deemed to have passed both houses in the form it was originally passed by the Lok Sabha.
When a Money Bill is returned to the Lok Sabha with the recommended amendments of the Rajya Sabha, it is open to the Lok Sabha to accept or reject any or all of the recommendations.
A money bill is deemed to have passed both houses with any recommended amendments the Lok Sabha chooses to accept, and without any that it chooses to decline.
The definition of "Money Bill" is given in Article 110 of The Constitution of India. A financial bill is not a Money Bill unless it fulfills the requirements of Article 110.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies if a financial bill is a Money Bill or not.[5]
Policy cut motion - disapproval of the given policy. Symbolically, the members demand that the amount of the demand be reduced to 1INR. They may also suggest an alternative policy.
Economy cut motion - it is demanded that the amount of the policy be reduced by a specified amount.
Token cut motion - used to show specific grievance against the government. Also states that the amount of the demand be reduced by Rs. 100.
A money bill can only be introduced in parliament with prior permission of the President of India.
Finance bill is supposed to be enacted within 75 days (including the Parliament voting and the President assenting).
Money bill cannot be returned by the President to the parliament for its reconsideration, as it is presented in the Lok Sabha with his permission.
The concept of money bills in India came to the forefront during the enactment of the Aadhar Act, 2016. In spite of resistance by the opposition, the Aadhaar Bill was certified as a 'money bill' by the Speaker of the Lower House. The Upper House proposed certain amendments, but ultimately the BJP-dominated Lower House rejected the amendments suggested by the Upper House and unilaterally enacted the Aadhar Act, 2016. Immediately thereafter, Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, challenged the speaker's decision to treat the Aadhar Bill as a 'money bill' before the Supreme Court of India. Article 110(3) of the Constitution of India categorically states that 'if any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final'. Therefore, one of the prime constitutional questions before the Supreme Court is whether it can review the speaker's certificate classifying a bill as a 'money bill'. In three prior cases, the Supreme Court of India has refused to review the Speaker's certificate. However, some commentators have argued that the Court's earlier judgements were incorrect and Article 110(3) made the Speaker's decision "final" for the purpose of the two Houses of the Parliament, not for the Supreme Court of India.[6] This argument is further supported by the fact that in Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu (AIR 1993 SC 412), the "final" decision of the speaker regarding disqualification of members of the House under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution was held to be a judicial decision subject to judicial review. This suggests that the "final" status given by the Indian constitution does not automatically immune the Indian speaker's decision or certificate from judicial review.[7] In view of this crucial constitutional question, it has been suggested that the Supreme Court in Jairam Ramesh v. Union of India should create a constitution bench of at least nine judges to settle the law on this issue.[8] The five judge bench decided that the Aadhar Bill was a Money Bill by a vote of 4–1.
Republic of Ireland
The 1937 Constitution of Ireland defines a money bill (Irish: bille airgid) as one concerning only specified financial matters. The Seanad (upper house of the Oireachtas or parliament) has restricted powers over money bills, and the "only" restriction prevents the Government from tacking onto a money bill some non-financial provision which it would like to bypass Seanad scrutiny.[9] The specified financial matters are any of the following:[10][11]
the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration or regulation of taxation; the imposition for the payment of debt or other financial purposes of charges on public moneys or the variation or repeal of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody, issue or audit of accounts of public money; the raising or guarantee of any loan or the repayment thereof
The specification is based on that in the UK's Parliament Act 1911.[12] There is an exclusion for revenue and spending by local authorities.[13] The main annual money bills are the Finance Bill for implementing the budget and the Appropriation Bill for implementing the estimates.[14] The Constitution requires all appropriation of public funds to be pre-approved by the Government in the form of a "money message" signed by the Taoiseach.[15] Thus, if a bill extends the powers of a Department of State, it is not a money bill,[16] but if it also imposes a new charge on the public, it still requires a money message.[15][17]
In the Oireachtas, money bills must be introduced in the Dáil (lower house)[18] The Seanad has 90 days to process other Dáil bills but only 21 days for a money bill; it cannot amend the bill but only recommend amendments for the Dáil to accept or reject.[19] The President's power under Article 26 to refer bills to the Supreme Court does not apply to money bills.[20] The Ceann Comhairle (Dáil speaker) certifies whether a new bill is a money bill.[21] There is no judicial review of the Ceann Comhairle's ruling;[22] if the Seanad disagrees with it, the President may establish a Committee of Privileges to adjudicate, with equal membership from both houses and chaired by a Supreme Court judge.[23] No such committee has been established under the 1937 constitution,[9] but one was established for a 1935 bill under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State,[9][24] which contained similar provisions until the 1936 abolition of the Free State Seanad made the distinction of money bills moot since they were henceforth treated the same as other bills.[12]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, section 1(1) of the Parliament Act 1911 provides that the House of Lords may not delay a money bill more than a month. It is at the discretion of the Speaker of the House of Commons to certify which bills are money bills, and his decision is final and is not subject to challenge. Section 1(2) of the Act states:
A Money Bill means a Public Bill which in the opinion of the Speaker of the House of Commons contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following subjects, namely, the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration, or regulation of taxation; the imposition for the payment of debt or other financial purposes of charges on the Consolidated Fund, the National Loans Fund or on money provided by Parliament, or the variation or repeal of any such charges; supply; the appropriation, receipt, custody, issue or audit of accounts of public money; the raising or guarantee of any loan or the repayment thereof; or subordinate matters incidental to those subjects or any of them. In this subsection the expressions "taxation," "public money," and "loan" respectively do not include any taxation, money, or loan raised by local authorities or bodies for local purposes.[25]
The Parliament Act 1911 was the product of the political crisis of 1909. The People's Budget of 1909 proposed by the House of Commons was rejected by the House of Lords. A government whose budget (that is the Finance Bill) is rejected can only resign or dissolve Parliament, because without money it is impossible to govern. The rejection of the Finance Bill in 1909 by the Lords prompted the then British government to initiate steps to curtail the powers of the House of Lords in this regard. This is evident from the long title of the 1911 Act, which begins: "An Act to make provision with respect to the powers of the House of Lords in relation to those of the House of Commons...".[26]
For this purpose, the expression "Public Bill" does not include any bill for confirming a provisional order.
Bradley and Ewing said that the statutory definition of "Money Bill" is "strictly interpreted".[28] Most annual Finance Bills have not been certified to be money bills.[29][30][31]
Requirements in non-Westminster systems
United States
While the United States of America is not a parliamentary democracy, the Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires that all bills raising revenue originate in the House of Representatives, consistent with British constitutional practice; by convention, appropriation bills (bills that spend money) also originate in the House. Unlike in most Westminster systems, there are no limits on the Senate's ability to amend revenue bills or any requirement for the Senate to approve such bills within a certain timeframe. Both appropriations and revenue bills are often referred to as money bills to contrast them with authorization bills. The U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Munoz-Flores (1990) held that: "A law passed in violation of the Origination Clause would thus be no more immune from judicial scrutiny because it was passed by both Houses and signed by the President than would be a law passed in violation of the First Amendment".[32]
Bradley, A W; Ewing, K D (1997). Constitutional and Administrative Law (12thed.). Longman.
"Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book. Attorney-General of Ireland. January 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
Datta, Pratik; Malhotra, Shefali; Tyagi, Shivangi. "Judicial Review and Money Bills"(PDF). National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. Working paper No. 192. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
Government Accounting Unit (19 April 2022). "Public Financial Procedures". Dublin: Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction. In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament begin as a bill, which the legislature votes on. Depending on the structure of government, this text may then be subject to assent or approval from the executive branch.
The Oireachtas, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 250, of which 238 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019, the seats came down to 245. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Parliament House, New Delhi.
The Government of the 8th Dáil or the 7th Executive Council was the Executive Council of the Irish Free State formed after the general election held on 24 January 1933. It was led by Fianna Fáil leader Éamon de Valera as President of the Executive Council, who had first taken office in the Irish Free State after the 1932 general election. De Valera had previously served as President of Dáil Éireann, or President of the Republic, from April 1919 to January 1922 during the revolutionary period of the Irish Republic.
In many states with political systems derived from the Westminster system, a consolidated fund or consolidated revenue fund is the main bank account of the government. General taxation is taxation paid into the consolidated fund, and general spending is paid out of the consolidated fund.
Seanad Éireann was the upper house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. It has also been known simply as the Senate, First Seanad, Free State Senate or Free State Seanad. The Senate was established under the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State but a number of constitutional amendments were subsequently made to change the manner of its election and its powers. It was eventually abolished in 1936 when it attempted to obstruct constitutional reforms favoured by the government. It sat, like its modern successor, in Leinster House.
Dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assembly is chosen by a general election. Dissolution is distinct on the one hand from abolition of the assembly, and on the other hand from its adjournment or prorogation, or the ending of a legislative session, any of which begins a period of inactivity after which it is anticipated that the same members will reassemble. For example, the "second session of the fifth parliament" could be followed by the "third session of the fifth parliament" after a prorogation, but the "first session of the sixth parliament" after a dissolution.
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1984 is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland that allowed for the extension of the right to vote in elections to Dáil Éireann to non-Irish citizens. It was approved by referendum on 14 June 1984, the same day as the European Parliament election, and signed into law on 2 August of the same year.
In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government. All elections use proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) in constituencies returning three or more members, except that the presidential election and by-elections use the single-winner analogue of STV, elsewhere called instant-runoff voting or the alternative vote. Members of Seanad Éireann, the second house of the Oireachtas, are partly nominated, partly indirectly elected, and partly elected by graduates of particular universities.
The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State was the legislature of the Irish Free State from 1922 until 1937. It was established by the 1922 Constitution of Ireland which was based from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was the first independent Irish Parliament officially recognised outside Ireland since the historic Parliament of Ireland which was abolished with the Acts of Union 1800.
The speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of five years, the speaker is chosen from sitting members of the Lok Sabha.
The granting, reserving or withholding of royal assent was one of the key roles, and potentially one of the key powers, possessed by the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Until it was granted, no bill passed by the Oireachtas could complete its passage of enactment and become law.
This is a brief description of the lawmaking procedure in India.
A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature.
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is an act of Parliament of India to provide for the conduct of election of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections. It was introduced in Parliament by law minister Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The Act was enacted by the provisional parliament under Article 327 of Indian Constitution, before the first general election.
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas, which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann. It consists of 160 members, each known as a Teachta Dála. TDs represent 39 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach. Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.
The Parliament of India is bicameral. Concurrence of both houses are required to pass any bill. However, the framers of the Constitution of India anticipated situations of deadlock between the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Therefore, the Constitution of India provides for Joint sittings of both the Houses to break the deadlock.
The Constitution Act, 1936 was an act of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Irish Free State which abolished Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas, which thenceforth was unicameral, with Dáil Éireann as the sole house. The bill was introduced in 1934 by the Fianna Fáil government of Éamon de Valera, which was frustrated by the Seanad's repeated use of its power to delay legislation. In particular, Fianna Fáil favoured eliminating symbols of monarchy from the Free State, which the Seanad, with more Southern Unionist members, feared would antagonise the United Kingdom.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
