The debate and voting on the construction law may stretch until Friday

Prague – On Wednesday, the approval of the long-prepared new building law should come up in the Chamber of Deputies. However, it is likely that the final approval will not be completed by the deputies on Wednesday and will be pushed to Friday. Only regarding the building law, the deputies may face more than 60 votes on dozens of amendments. After that, they will also decide on a related amendment law that changes other laws. About fifty proposals have been collected for this law. Last week, the economic committee sat down to review all the amendments and provided its recommendations. Among other things, it did not recommend the rejection proposal put forward by the Pirates.

"We will propose it (the building law) as the first item on both Wednesday and Friday. As the rapporteur, I believe that after the final debate, we will manage the whole voting procedure without unnecessary stress, so that the law leaves for the Senate at the end of next week and at the same time at the end of this session," said Martin Kolovratník, the rapporteur for the law, in response to a CTK inquiry.

"We will not block it," said Martin Kupka, deputy chairman of the opposition ODS, to CTK. However, he wants to explain the reasons that led the opposition to its alternative proposal for changes to the building law, as opposed to the one that the Chamber adopted as the basis for discussion. "The impacts on the building permit process could be extremely serious. The creation of an office with 13,000 bureaucrats could paralyze and very likely will paralyze the building process," warns Kupka.

The Chamber has already previously adopted a comprehensive amendment proposal from the economic committee as the basis for discussion, where it was presented by other deputies along with Kolovratník, and which anticipates that the entire building administration will come under the state. Part of the opposition, on the other hand, prefers that some offices remain under local governments. Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) stated in the committee that her office supported the committee's proposal and therefore the transition of building administration under the state. According to her, this proposal also appeared acceptable for other departments.

The law, in the form in which it was presented to deputies by the government, was supposed to bring a so-called hybrid model and maintain building offices at the local level. It was created based on last year's agreement between the Ministry for Regional Development and the Union of Towns and Municipalities. The union's chairman, František Lukl, therefore criticized the change of the proposal during its discussion and called it disgraceful.

According to the proposal from the economic committee, the head of the building administration would be the Supreme Building Authority as a central administrative authority with national jurisdiction, not subordinate to any ministry, which would ensure not only decision-making practices but also personnel, economic, and property operations of the state building administration and the electronic processing of building documentation. In addition to it, the system would consist of a specialized and appellate building authority and regional building authorities.

On the other hand, the committee did not recommend the joint opposition proposal from deputies Kupka, Pirate chairman Ivan Bartoš, Christian Democrat Marek Výborný, Věra Kovářová (STAN), and Dominik Feri (TOP 09). This proposal maintains building authorities within the jurisdiction of municipalities and the capital city of Prague. Its proponents want to preserve the current structure of building authorities. Reserved buildings would be permitted in the first instance by a Specialized Building Authority, with the Supreme Building Authority serving as the appellate body against it as the central administrative authority. The appellate body for the first instance building authorities, i.e., in municipalities, would still be the regional authority as before.

Among other recommendations, the economic committee suggested accepting the proposal from a group of SPD deputies, who want authorities to consider who is being fined in the case of penalties. For individuals, authorities should take their personal circumstances into account, and for legal entities and entrepreneurs, the nature of their activities. For example, this could concern whether it is a construction company or a company whose business is only distantly related to construction.

The committee also supported Kolovratník's proposal that first-class roads fall among reserved buildings. They would be permitted at the first level by the Specialized Building Authority and appellate building authority.

An earlier proposal from the economic committee also stipulates that property owners must ensure the installation of at least one electric vehicle charging station no later than January 1, 2025. This will pertain to buildings other than residential ones, provided they have more than 20 parking spaces.