In order to implement the President’s instructions issued following a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Local Self-Government Development on January 31, 2013, the Ministry of Regional Development has prepared and submitted to the Government a draft law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation with Regard to the Legal Regulation of Executing State Control (Oversight) over the Activity of Local Self-Government Bodies.
The draft law includes the introduction of amendments to the federal laws On Basic Principles of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation and On Access to Information on Activities of State Authorities and Bodies of Local Self-Government, in order to regulate certain aspects of state control (oversight) in terms of conducting inspections of the activities of local self-government bodies and officials. Under the provisions of the draft law, the indicated measures can consist of scheduled and unscheduled inspections. Scheduled inspections must be complex and be carried out by state control (oversight) agencies on the basis of an annual plan no more than once every three years. Unscheduled inspections can only be held in exceptional cases as stipulated by the draft law.
In addition, it is proposed to prohibit state control (oversight) agencies from requesting information from local self-government bodies and officials where this information has been published on the official website of the local self-government body or officially published in the mass media. In other cases, should the state control (oversight) agencies request information, the response should be provided within 10 days. The draft law also sets out a complete list of cases in which that period may be reduced.
The Government should submit the draft law to the State Duma by September 1, 2013.
Source: Ministry of Regional Development
