Union of Municipalities: The Building Act is controversial, concentrating the power of the state administration
The Building Act, which was approved Wednesday by the Chamber of Deputies, is one of the most controversial standards in recent years. The combination of amendments centralizes the state administration and concentrates power in its hands. Members could only comment to a limited extent according to the Union of Towns and Municipalities (SMO) of the Czech Republic. The new law is intended to speed up and simplify construction proceedings. Among other things, the Ministry of Regional Development (MRD) promises to ensure that the set deadlines are met.
The Chamber of Deputies approved the law against the original government proposal by transferring all building authorities to the state. They will fall under the Supreme Building Authority and will be organized similarly to, for example, the tax authorities. However, part of the opposition rejects this principle, claiming that it will cripple the construction process. The opposition parties ODS, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL, Pirátů and STAN, which pushed for some authorities to stay with the municipalities and cities, failed.
“We can say unequivocally that the developers won, as evidenced, for example, by the new possibility of converting cellars into apartments. This is a return to the Middle Ages. Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic František Lukl.
As he further stated, although the law was approved by a narrow ratio, the deputies voting for the norm did not take into account the union’s comments regarding the enormous financial demands of the implementation of the law. “The state will spend tens of billions of crowns from taxpayers’ pockets, money that is nowhere clearly confirmed that it will ever return to the state coffers. If institutional change is stalled, we also see a great threat to drawing money from the European Union. the state will not have time to obtain a building permit for its projects at a given time for drawing these subsidies, “Lukl added.
At the same time, the president of the union believes that the law will be returned to the Chamber of Deputies for further discussion by the Senate. In the event that the upper house returns it to the Chamber of Deputies, it will require 101 votes, ie an absolute majority of all deputies. Today, 92 deputies voted for the new law, 88 of them were needed. A majority of the legislators present were enough. Members of the YES, the SPD and three Social Democrats voted for the law. Some Social Democrats voted against the law, as did other MPs. The law resisted a rejection by the Pirates. KSČM deputies refused to support the law. They were annoyed that the proposal, which abolishes the requirement for direct lighting and ventilation in living rooms, had passed.
Source: CTK
