After-work parliament

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A part-time parliament or colloquially after-work parliament (also called half-day parliament or militia parliament ) is a parliament whose members either work on a voluntary basis or pursue another main occupation for the purpose of making a living. Plenary sessions usually take place in the afternoons or evenings. The remuneration of MPs is usually significantly lower than in full-time parliaments.

Germany

In the Federal Republic of Germany there are two part-time parliaments at state level : the Bremen and Hamburg citizenships . Until 1996 the citizenship in Hamburg only had honorary members. Since an amendment to the constitution, voluntary work and expense allowances have been abolished and replaced by remuneration and regulations regarding the compatibility of mandate and professional activity. Instead of the monthly expense allowance of DM 1,920, the MPs received a fee of DM 4,000 plus an allowance of DM 600. Until 1990, the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein was an after-work parliament, just like the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg until the change was made in the 15th legislative period 2011. The Berlin House of Representatives was a part-time parliament until December 31, 2019.

After the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany, this type of parliament appeared more frequently at the state level. Today there are repeated calls for a return to honorary MPs. The Taxpayers' Association spoke out in favor of this in Lower Saxony in 2005 and justified this with the reduced importance of the state parliaments, cost savings and distortions in political competition.

Switzerland

Most of the members in both chambers of the Swiss parliament ( Federal Assembly , consisting of the National Council and the Council of States ) as well as in the parliaments at cantonal and communal level have a job in addition to their council work. In Switzerland these legislatures are known as the militia parliament . After-work parliaments are only parliaments of municipalities and small cantons. The designation of the Federal Assembly as a militia parliament is today largely based on a fiction; The term semi-professional parliament is more appropriate. Recent studies show that only a little more than 10% of the members of the National Council spend less than a third of their working time on parliamentary mandate and could therefore be described as "militia parliamentarians" in the narrow sense. This category has now completely disappeared in the Council of States.

Greece

Until the introduction of the incompatibility with further employment in 2001, the Greek national parliament Vouli ton Ellinon was also an after-work parliament. In return, MPs' diets were increased and free offices were made available.

United States

In the United States , many state parliaments are designed as after-work parliaments. The conferences are concentrated in a few weeks a year. This mainly applies to less populous states. The federal congress as well as the parliaments of more populous states like California , Michigan or New York are not after-work but full-time parliaments.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Uwe Andersen, Wichard Woyke: Concise Dictionary of the Political System of the Federal Republic of Germany , p. 317
  2. ↑ Report of the board of the Bremen citizenship (PDF; 74 kB), December 2, 2008, p. 6
  3. ^ Oskar Niedermayer et al. 2008: Parties and party systems in the German states , p. 233
  4. ^ Uwe Bahnsen: Farewell for a Hamburgensie , in Die Welt, May 22, 1996
  5. ↑ Bdst: Return to the honorary MdL - Landtag no longer as professional parliaments ( Memento of the original of August 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 23, 2005 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.steuerzahler-niedersachsen-bremen.de
  6. ↑ Parliamentary Dictionary . Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
  7. ^ Sarah Bütikofer: Myth of the militia parliament - from office to profession. In: Parlament / Parlement / Parlamento 3/13. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Peter A. Zerkavis / Gustav Auernheimer 2009: The political system of Greece , in: Wolfgang Ismayr: The political systems of West Europe , p. 826
  9. ↑ Birgitt Oldopp 2005: The political system of the USA , p. 33f
  10. ↑ Full- and Part-Time Legislatures at ncs.org