In July 2022, the Senate assembly approved a reform to its rules to adapt to a reduced number of MPs, with the number of senators decreasing from 315 to 200. The reform, initiated in September 2020, includes changes to the composition of parliamentary groups, a reduction in the number of committees, and procedures to streamline legislative processes. Additionally, challenges remain in the Chamber of Deputies, where new rules have yet to be established, potentially impacting smaller political formations and adequate representation.

1. THE NEW SENATE RULES
September 2022

2. A NECESSARY REFORM
27 July 2022 the Senate Assembly passed a reform
of its Rules with 210 votes in favour, 11 against and 2
abstained votes.
This initiative was necessary after Constitutional
Law no. 1/2020 reduced the number of MPs, starting
with the dissolution of the Houses after the entry
into force of the Law. This reduction was upheld by
the results of the 17 July 2020 referendum.
There will be only 200 Senators in the 19th
Legislature,
instead of 315, and in the Chamber, 400 Deputies
rather than 630.

3. A LENGTHY PROCESS
The process of amending the Senate Rules
began in September 2020 with the first of a
long series of meetings of the Select Committee
on Rules.
is based on the criteria of proportionality
in order to redefine the quorums and
numerical thresholds required
18 JANUARY 2022 the Select Committee
unanimously approved the basic text drafted
by the sub-Committee.
3 NOVEMBER 2021 a sub-Committee was formed
to prepare the first draft of the text, which was
later finalised on 21 December 2021.
Adapting to the reduction in the number of MPs
“

4. NEW COMPOSITION OF
THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS/1
The rules on Parliamentary Groups
were amended not only to adjust
them to the reduced number of
Senators but also, for example, to
curb Parliamentary mobility,
the s.c. turncoat.
The Groups will be made up of at
least 6 Senators instead of 10 and
must represent a political party
or movement that took part in the
elections under their own symbol
and obtained at least one seat in
the Senate.
New Groups may be constituted
during the legislature if they are
made up of at least 9 Senators
and represent parties or political
movements and if their candidates
were elected in political, regional or
European elections.

5. NEW COMPOSITION OF
THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS /2
Elected Senators may decide not to
join any Parliamentary Group. Until
now this had been the exclusive
prerogative of Senators by right and
life Senators.
If a Senator decides to leave their
Group, they cannot join the Group
of Non-Attached Members, unless
they are brought in by a political
component of that same Group.
Another tool to combat ‘transfugism’
(i.e. Group switching) consists in
reducing the financial contribution
each Parliamentary Group receives
from the Bureau for each Senator
by 50% in the event that a Senator
decides to leave the Group. 30% of
this contribution will be transferred
to the Group the Senator wishes to
join and the remaining 20% will be
returned to the Senate Budget.

6. FEWER PARLIAMENTARY
COMMITTEES
The number of Parliamentary Committees will
be cut from 14 to 10 and competences will be
regrouped based on two criteria:
› similarity of topics;
› ordinary work load.
This will lead to the creation of the Committees
for Foreign Affairs and Defence, the Environment
and Public Works, Labour and Healthcare,
Industry and Agriculture.
The Committees for Constitutional Affairs,
Justice, the Budget, Finance, Culture and EU
Affairs have maintained the same structure
and competences due to the large number of
measures normally assigned to them.

7. NEW PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
The Parliamentary Committees will be
organised as follows:
1ª Constitutional Affairs, the affairs
of the Prime Minister’s Office and
the Ministry of Interior, general state
and public administration legislation,
editorial
2ª Justice
3ª Foreign Affairs and Defence
4ª EU Affairs
5ª Economic planning, budget
6ª Finance and treasury
7ª Culture and cultural heritage, public
education, scientific research, sports
and entertainment
8ª Environment, ecological transition,
energy, public works, communications,
technological innovation
9ª Industry, commerce, tourism,
agriculture and agro-food production
10ª Social affairs, healthcare, public and
private works, social security

8. EU AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AND THE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
The members of the European Parliament elected in Italy
may be invited to participate, without voting rights, in the
sittings of the EU Affairs Committee in order to provide their
contribution on specific measures. They can also formulate
observations and proposals on the work of the Committee.
The Select Committee on Elections and Parliamentary
Immunity will be made up of 19 members, instead of 23.
What’s more, the President must be elected from among
the members of the opposition Parliamentary Groups.
This requirement must last for the duration of their
mandate, otherwise, they will lose their role as President
and another will be appointed.

9. ORGANISATION OF THE AGENDAS
To prevent Committee sittings from
overlapping and Senators from having
to attend more than one meeting at
the same time, the Presidents of the
Committees, including the Special
Committees, may coordinate the sittings
schedule.
For bills that have already been put on
the work schedule, the Conference of the
Parliamentary Group Presidents can set a
deadline for these bills to be voted on in
the Assembly.
Depending on how far along the bill is in
the legislative process, the Assembly will
vote on:
› the original version of the text submitted
to the Senate by the signatory Senators;
› the version approved by the Chamber
and transmitted to the Senate;
› the version approved by the
competent Parliamentary Committee.

10. THE OPINIONS OF THE
‘FILTER’ COMMITTEES/1
To speed up the legislative process, the
opinions of Committees 1a
(Constitutional
Affairs) and 5a
(Budget Committee) and the
‘Filter’ Committees will only be provided
on the amendments approved during
examination by the competent Committee.
What is more, if the Budget Committee has
not provided its opinion, the Rapporteur
cannot be given the task of reporting to the
Assembly any earlier than 15 days from the
opinion of the competent Committee on the
matter.

11. THE OPINIONS OF THE
‘FILTER’ COMMITTEES/2 P
In order to prevent the Budget Committee from
making a contrary opinion automatic without
the quantification of the cost burden of the
amendments submitted, it will be mandatory for
the Government to send their technical report
within 5 days of the submission of the amendment.
However, if the government does not submit
a report, it is automatically presumed that the
legislative proposal doesn’t imply any cost to the
State. According to the explanatory report, the
intention is to do away with something which is
now established practice [and]
not adequate because the amendments in question
may not actually represent an actual cost burden […]
“

12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Committees can acquire news and
information from the Administrations
or the competent Public Agencies by
formulating an ad hoc request not only
regarding the themes and measures they
are examining but also in general on issues
falling within their competence.
In this way, the Select Committee intends to
‘revitalise’ a provision that has existed for a
long time by simultaneously broadening the
scope of application of the rule that
has so far been limited to the bills and
affairs already formally assigned
“

13. THEEXAMINATIONOFDECREE-LAWS
Amendments approved and adopted by the
Committee in a reporting capacity can no longer
be re-proposed in the Assembly for a vote
in order to prevent excessive changes from
interfering with the comprehensiveness of the
text and to streamline the process of converting
Decree-Laws into Laws: the text that the
Rapporteur presents in the Assembly will be the
text that has been amended and approved by
the competent Committee.
The legislator’s goal is to help
considerably rationalise the process of examining
decree-laws in the Senate
“

14. RESOLUTION PROPOSALS
After Government Communications, each
Senator will continue to have the power to
propose a Resolution, which will be discussed
and voted on according to its submission
order. However, if the Government states that
it agrees with one or more of the Resolutions
submitted, those will be voted on first.
This corrective measure should balance the
examination regime for the Resolutions that
follow Government Communications with
respect to the regime of the Economy and
Financial Document and the Reports on Italy’s
participation in the EU.

15. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND
THE COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL AFFAIRS
A Legislative Committee will be
instituted, with 8 Senators who will
alternate in the role of President.
This Committee will be called to
express its opinion on bills as well as
on impact assessment and the quality
of legislative texts.
Starting with the next legislature, the
Parliamentary Committee on Regional
Affairs (Art. 126 Cost. and L. 62/1953),
which is made up of 20 Deputies
and 20 Senators appointed by the
presidents of the respective houses
and expresses preliminary opinions
on the dissolution of regional
councils by the prime minister
and other matters, may invite
representatives from the Regions,
the Autonomous Provinces and city
governments to take part in their
sittings and formulate observations
on specific measures.

16. ...AND IN THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
The 19th Legislature will begin without new Rules.
The reform of the Rules hasn’t even arrived
in the Assembly. During the last sitting of the
Select Committee on the Rules on 9 August
2022, President Roberto Fico noticed a lack of
convergence in even the basic text limited to
the corrective measures required for the next
legislature.
The Groups have not been willing to proceed with
their work on the proposals under discussion and
have stressed the difficulty of coming to agreement
with the other political forces on a reform which
requires an absolute majority.

17. The fact that the Rules have not been revised
creates a series of issues:
› smaller political formations will be penalised
and have greater difficultly in constituting
autonomous Groups;
› the number and competences of the
Committees must necessarily be revised
to ensure all the political components are
adequately represented in each of them, in
addition to ensuring their operability.
The Deputies elected in the next legislature will
have to deal with this issuee.
QUESTIONI
THE ISSUESCONCORRENZA

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