The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed the urban renewal regime and the law on the private education and pedagogical support center (study centers) in the final reading on Monday evening.
Both laws were passed unanimously by the lawmakers without many remarks.
On the urban renewal regime, some lawmakers have nonetheless expressed concerns regarding the proposed mandatory review of this law, due to take place once every five years. It was suggested instead that the law be evaluated and raised for review by a newly established department, should there be significant content to update or a good reason that justify amendment, rather than at fixed intervals.
On the topic, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, André Cheong, said that the government believes there is no need to establish another department to follow up on this matter. He pointed out the building reconstruction process is a complex matter that involves many legal procedures and different government departments. As such, any building reconstruction process is expected to take at least two to three years.
He hopes that in the upcoming law review time (in five years), there will be some practical cases of building reconstruction and other projects under the urban renewal regime that will serve as a reference point to prompt updates and improve the law.
The study center law was also passed on its final reading without significant remarks.
In the presentation of the final version to the plenary, the president of the First Standing Committee of the AL, Ella Lei, noted that the second version of the law, presented by the government on December 2, features several improvements as requested by the committee following analysis of the initial version of the bill. She concluded that this final version was satisfactory.
The new law will enter into force on May 1, 2023, as requested by the government, as there is still a need to create and adjust several administrative regulations affected by this work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
