Changes to local law regulations

The state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia voted on a bill from the government factions of the CDU and ALLIANCE 90/THE GREENS, which changes a total of nine state laws and three legal ordinances. With the law, the state wants to reduce administrative costs by around 400,000 euros per year and make the work of municipalities simpler and more modern. Among other things, an administrative subsidy to the Lippe regional association and the obligation to use De-Mail - an encrypted email service - will no longer apply. Children and young people should be able to have a say more easily in decisions in the communities. In addition, municipalities should be given more freedom to collaborate and award contracts, which should result in less bureaucracy. The responsible committee for home and local affairs recommended adopting the draft law unchanged. Two amendments were also submitted: The amendment submitted by the government groups was adopted. However, another amendment from the FDP parliamentary group was rejected. The bill was approved with 101 votes in favor and 22 against. There were 46 abstentions from the SPD parliamentary group.