Article 104c of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

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The Article 104c of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is a provision from the financial constitutional law , which was amended with effect April 4 of 2019. With the change, the federal government's options for supporting federal states and municipalities in investing in municipal educational infrastructure, in particular all-day schools and childcare, digitalization and vocational schools, have been expanded.

meaning

Art. 104c GG in the version valid before April 4, 2019 read: "The federal government can grant the federal states financial aid for nationally significant investments of the financially weak municipalities (municipal associations) in the area of ​​municipal educational infrastructure." This, since the constitutional amendment of 2017 on investments in Financially weak municipalities limited financial aid competence did not meet the increasing investment requirements in the education sector in all areas. In Art. 104c of the new version of the Basic Law, the need of the municipality is no longer in the foreground, but the mastering of central structural challenges for Germany as an educational location .

In the legislative process it was emphasized that this is an exception regulation that enables the federal states and the municipalities to increase the efficiency of the municipal educational infrastructure. The funds are distributed through the Municipal Investment Promotion Fund. Under constitutional law, this does not represent a direct relationship between the federal government and the municipalities. The law, based on a proposal by the then Minister of Economics, Gabriel , is primarily intended to strengthen the tight budgets of the municipalities with high investment backlogs.

The most important application example is the administrative agreement on the granting of financial aid from the federal government to the states to promote the municipal educational infrastructure ( DigitalPakt Schule ).

criticism

With Article 104c of the Basic Law, the federal government creates an opportunity to exert direct influence on the municipalities ( municipalization ) and thus to circumvent the prohibition of cooperation . This represents a twofold encroachment on the autonomy of the states. On the one hand, in the constitutionally guaranteed cultural sovereignty of the states , on the other hand in the financial responsibility of the states and the self-government of the municipalities. The principle of connectivity between the federal government and the federal states or between the federal states and local authorities is also being circumvented by the federal government having stepped up budgetary control over the federal states. The federal states are under observation by the federal government, especially in connection with the ailing budgets of the federal states and the debt brake introduced in 2011 .

In addition to the constitutional issues, there are also procedural issues that can be regulated individually. The determination of financial weakness differs from state to state and is mostly limited to budgetary indicators. Social spatial indicators are left out.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law amending the Basic Law (Art. 104b, 104c, 104d, 125c143e) of March 28, 2019, Federal Law Gazette I p. 404
  2. ↑ Law amending the Basic Law (Articles 104b, 104c, 104d, 125c, 143e) Documentation and information system for parliamentary processes , accessed on June 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ cf. buzer.de
  4. ↑ Act amending the Basic Law (Articles 90, 91c, 104b, 104c, 107, 108, 109a, 114, 125c, 143d, 143e, 143f, 143g) of July 13, 2017, Federal Law Gazette I p. 2347
  5. ↑ cf. Individual question on Art. 104c GG Scientific Services of the German Bundestag , status of December 12, 2018.
  6. ^ Draft of a law amending the Basic Law (Articles 104c, 104d, 125c, 143e) BT-Drs. 19/3440 of July 18, 2018, p. 8.
  7. ↑ BMBF Internet editorial office: Cooperation between the federal and state governments - BMBF. Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Municipal Investment Promotion Fund . Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Federal Ministry of Education and Research : Announcement of the administrative agreement on the granting of federal financial aid to the states in accordance with Article 104c of the Basic Law for the Promotion of Municipal Education Infrastructure (Administrative Agreement DigitalPakt Schule 2019-2024) Berlin, May 16, 2019.
  10. ^ Henrik Scheller: Der deutsche Bildungsföderalismus: Seismograph German federal statehood in times of growing cooperation requirements . In: European Center for Research on Federalism Tübingen (ed.): Yearbook of Federalism 2017 . tape 18 . Nomos, S. 238-251 .