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"id": 1559025,
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"content": "It is, therefore, evident that the current provisions of the Standing Orders do not contemplate the withdrawal of a Bill other than by the sponsor. In this instance, the Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulation) Bill (Senate Bill No.38 of 2023) is not co-sponsored by any Member of the National Assembly. In this regard, and noting the request for withdrawal is from a Member other than a Member of this House, I have invoked the provisions of Standing Order 1, which provides a basis for determining matters not expressly provided for in the Standing Orders. Standing Order 1 provides, and I quote: 1) In all cases where matters are not expressly provided for by these Standing Orders or by other Orders of the House, any procedural question shall be decided by the Speaker. 2) The decisions made in paragraph (1) shall be based on the Constitution of Kenya, statute law and the usages, forms, precedents, customs, procedures, traditions and practices of the Parliament of Kenya and other jurisdictions to the extent that these are applicable to Kenya. I have considered the parliamentary practice in other comparable jurisdictions to guide on the procedure to be followed. In the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament, once a Bill has been passed in the originating House and forwarded to the other House, the sponsor of the Bill cannot unilaterally withdraw the Bill in the second House. Instead, where a Bill is to be withdrawn, a Motion to discharge the next stage of the Bill is moved for consideration by the House. This parliamentary procedure removes the scheduled consideration of the Bill in the next stage of the legislative process. Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (25th Edition) notes, and I quote: “By an old parliamentary rule, …a bill brought from the other House should not be withdrawn. The proper course of action in this case is for the Member in charge of the Bill in the second House to have the order for the Bill’s next stage discharged.” The Motion, “That the order for Second or Third Reading be discharged” is moved by the sponsor of the Bill in the second House. Upon passage of the Motion, the Bill is dropped, and its further legislative processing ceases. In the Parliament of India, once an individual Member’s Bill has been passed in the originating House and is pending in the other House, the sponsor cannot directly withdraw it. The second House must consider a Motion for its withdrawal. If the Bill is already committed to a Committee, the Motion for withdrawal is referred to the Committee to report back on the request for withdrawal. After tabling of the Committee report on the Motion, the House then considers the request for withdrawal. Once the House passes the Motion, it is then considered in the other House. It is observed that in India, the principle of bicameral consideration during withdrawal of a Bill is observed, where both Houses must put a Motion seeking the withdrawal of the said Bill. The Speaker’s role is, majorly, to ensure that the necessary procedures are followed in withdrawing the Bill. Having considered the various practices in other jurisdictions, I hereby guide as follows with regards to the request for withdrawal of the Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulation) Bill, 2023 as submitted by the Senator for Kakamega County, Sen. (Dr) Boni Khalwale, through the Speaker of the Senate: 1. THAT, to ensure order and predictability in the bicameral processing of Bills, the matter shall be considered by the House by way of a Motion to discharge the particular Bill from Second Reading, notice of which will be given, and the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}