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{
    "id": 861300,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/861300/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 171,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Assembly and the Clerk of the Senate. Without that level of specificity in the Bills that we are passing, then we end up finding ourselves in the kind of situations where laws have been passed in the National Assembly and just the same is transmitted to the President for assent without concurrence from the Senate. You find that such Bills are signed into law and they become operational. It is unfortunate that we only have to rely on data of this world to remind us on many occasions that this particular Bill was supposed to have been transmitted to the Senate but the same was not done but sometimes even we, as Senators, are not aware. Article 110 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 clearly stipulates there has to be concurrence of you, as the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the National Assembly, before any particular Bill can be processed. I do not imagine or want to believe that, that law has been tested to its full limits. On many occasions, you find Bills that are before the National Assembly over which we, as a Senate, have not given concurrence through our Speaker that these laws do not concern counties. The truth of the matter is that the day we decide to put our foot down and ask the country to tell us any matter that does not concern counties, there will be none. That is the truth of the matter. All these issues that they are discussing even if it is the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, their application will be within counties. Therefore, if you look at many other jurisdictions like our own that have a bicameral Parliament like ours, the understanding is that both Houses concur to Bills so that you can have double scrutiny of what is being proposed before the country. But, somebody has mischievously thought and found a way that the only laws as a Senate we are supposed to consider are what is friendly to them and they are considered to be within the ambit of counties. Therefore, I want to say that I support this specific amendment that once enacted, as has been said by Sen. (Eng.) Hargura in his seconding notes, will make it mandatory for us, as we inspect the statutory instruments that accompany many of these laws, the concurrence of the House of Senate will now be felt because it is specifically directed. Nobody can mischievously hide under the law and just say, we consulted a particular clerk. It has to be the Clerk of the Senate. With those few remarks, I support."
}