The Legislative Council of the Government returned the construction law to the MMR for further processing

Publisher
ČTK
30.06.2020 12:15

Prague - The Legislative Council of the Government returned the new construction law to the Ministry for Regional Development (MMR) for further refinement. This mainly concerns certain institutes, procedural and other adjustments. The council announced this on its website. MMR wants to present the law to the council again in early August. The Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported today that the approval schedule should not be jeopardized. It should go to the Chamber of Deputies in September and is expected to come into effect from spring 2021. The law aims to significantly accelerate and simplify building permits. Its effectiveness should gradually ramp up by mid-2023.

"The Legislative Council of the Government decided to suspend the discussion of the bill for the purpose of refining their adjustments, particularly some institutes and procedural and other amendments that could not be resolved or specifically formulated directly during the discussion," said the council.

Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) told ČTK today that she is very satisfied with the progress of the discussion on the construction law. "We agree with the opinions and recommendations of the legislative council, as they primarily concern the clarification of the new regulation or proposals to resolve certain ambiguities, for which we thank the council. During the discussion, there was no point where we were categorically at odds with the council and could not find a consensus," said Dostálová.

According to her, the ministry expected the suspension of the discussion of the law. She further stated that the legislative council has recently proceeded similarly with all basic adjustments of a similar type and did not recommend that the government discuss them right in the first round. "We perceive very positively that we will meet with the legislative council regarding the new construction law already on August 6 and 7, which we see as a strong sign of trust that we will be able to quickly eliminate the law's shortcomings and that no extensive revision is necessary," added the minister.

Dostálová previously stated that it is not possible for investors to wait five years for the approval of their projects, and in the case of transport infrastructure, even 13 years or more. "That way, we would never get out of the crisis. Within a year, companies must know whether they can build or not. The main principle is to accelerate the construction process, remove the excessive bureaucracy that accompanies it, and ensure compliance with deadlines by the state," added Dostálová.

According to her, the problem with the current construction legislation is primarily the fragmentation of regulations and building authorities. Today, there are almost 20 types of construction proceedings and ten types of various approval processes in the Czech Republic. "The new construction law will resolve this by establishing a single administrative procedure in the future, and the entire construction permit process will be led by one building authority. The result of the entire process will thus be a single stamp for ordinary constructions. Moreover, the entire process will be digitalized," said Dostálová.

Non-integrated parties will only remain partially as heritage conservationists, and that for cultural and national monuments and heritage reservations. "However, the final word of the conservators is definitive in this matter. Similarly, in the area of the environment, where the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection will retain its independent position, especially in specially protected areas. In the case of any constructions in national parks and similarly significant areas, the environmental authority must have the final say," added Dostálová.

According to representatives of business chambers and unions, the law, after incorporating comments, has deviated from its original form, and instead of simplifying the situation in construction, it has significantly worsened it. The current version of the proposal, according to the president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic Vladimír Dlouhý, has almost nothing to do with the substantive intention and proposal submitted at the end of last year before the comment process. The original proposal also had many critics. Among the most common criticisms was that it favored developers and did not protect public interests.

The Legislative Council of the Government returned the construction law to the MMR for further processing

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