PRS’s Annual Review of State Laws for 2022 has come out with some startling conclusion. The report looks at the functioning of State Assemblies in 2022 across indicators like sitting days, time taken to pass Bills and Ordinances promulgated. The report also examines some of the key laws passed by states. Some highlights:
- In 2022, state legislatures met for an average of 21 days, with each sitting lasting for an average of 5 hours. During this time, they passed more than 500 Bills and their respective state budgets.
- Only 7 states met for more than 30 days in 2022. Karnataka met for the highest number of days (45), followed by West Bengal (42), and Kerala (41).
- Of the total sittings, 61% of sittings were held during budget sessions. Tamil Nadu held more than 90% of its sittings in the budget session. Gujarat, and Rajasthan, held more than 80% of sittings in the budget session.
- 9 states including Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, and West Bengal passed all Bills within a day of introduction. These states passed all Bills within a day in 2021 as well. Four states took more than five days to pass the majority of their Bills. These are Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, and Rajasthan.
- States promulgated 79 Ordinances in 2022. Kerala, which issued 81 ordinances in 2020, and 144 in 2021, issued 15 ordinances in 2022. Meghalaya, promulgated no Ordinance in 2020, four in 2021, and ten in 2022.
- On average, 20 states discussed budgets for eight days in 2022. Tamil Nadu spent 26 days followed by Karnataka (15), Kerala (14), and Odisha (14). Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab discussed their budgets for two days each. Nagaland discussed and passed its budget in a day.
