Streamlining the Legislative Decision-Making Process (LT0033)

Brief description of the action The objective is to establish well-structured and high-quality legislative processes that facilitate public consultation and evidence-based decision-making

Key challenge addressed

Absence of systematic, coherent, evidence-based, and transparent legislative processes. Despite the adoption of all necessary regulatory measures, their practical implementation remains scarce. This context offers minimal opportunities for the engagement and participation of civil society and NGOs. Stakeholders are involved either belatedly or not at all in project preparation, often due to tight deadlines, limited communication channels, and unclear drafting stages. Furthermore, the means for citizen involvement and their tangible impact 21 on decision-making remain ambiguous. Engagement continues as insufficient, ineffective, and often superficial.

The root causes for the problem

The causes manifest themselves across various dimensions:

Inconsistent legislative processes | As per the 2018 National Audit Office audit report, approximately 50% of draft legislation is rushed through or adopted with urgency.13 Although the proportion of such documents has nearly halved during the 2020-2024 parliamentary term (29.14% in 2016-2020 to compare with 15.96% in 2020-2024), stakeholders argue that the legislative process continues to operate in an ad hoc manner. Public consultations in the pre-legislative phases are rare, as solutions are often predetermined without comprehensive engagement.14 It is also important that other legislation, including regulatory orders of ministers and bodies subordinate to ministries, are not properly and consistently coordinated with the authorities concerned. Where the authorities concerned have not been identified, the draft order is not published on the Draft Legislation Information System of the Seimas (TAIS) and the public is not given the opportunity to react to it. In this scenario, documents are signed without public consultation, and legislative procedures fail to adhere to the principles of openness and transparency, neglecting to guarantee public input in the absence of alternative forms of consultation. In practice, the draft of any regulatory act (order) should ideally be published in the TAIS before adoption, allowing for consultations and feedback.

The legislative initiative institute is practically unimplementable | The legislative initiative institute is seldom put to practice, even though the Law on Legislative Framework provides for it. It remains underutilized and often misunderstood by institutions, resulting in missed opportunities for obtaining pertinent legislative information and preparing for further meaningful public consultations. Stakeholder institutions, particularly in the non- governmental sector, struggle to anticipate when legislative initiatives will be enacted, hindering their ability to prepare and respond effectively.

Lack of data utilisation in public sector decision-making | The public sector is still facing challenges related to the lack of open data sets, data quality, and lack of expertise among public sector personnel. Considering these factors, data-driven decisions may still rely on erroneous information and result in incorrect solutions.

Action description

Previous solution: In 2021, attempts were made to regulate and standardize ministerial legislative process by making the provisions of the Government’s Rules of Procedure apply mutatis mutandis to legislation, but there has been no support from the ministries.

Planned solution/action:

Regulatory changes to the ministerial legislative process | The aim is to ensure that the legislative standard, procedures, and deadlines set out in the Government’s Rules of Procedure are also applied at the level of ministries, government agencies and bodies subordinate to ministries in the drafting and collaborative consensus-building of legislation they adopt. Strengthened controls would ensure that drafts that lack proper consensus do not surface on a Government meeting agenda.

Publication of the legislative plan | An upgrade of the TAIS is currently under preparation,. It will enable integrated monitoring of the entire drafting process from an initial idea to a final outcome. Until the TAIS is upgraded, the action will enable the publication and monitoring of the planned work of the Seimas session, and the drafting process of other key legislation (either on TAIS or on the My Government portal; the My Government portal operates on a different principle and it would not duplicate TAIS in essence, and the formats for presenting information on these two channels would also differ).

Methodological guidance and education to ensure the practical implementation of a quality legislative process |The methodological guidance is a set of guidelines for public authorities and their staff who initiate and draft legislation. The methodological guidance would cover the whole legislative process: it would highlight the importance of each stage (including public consultation) for quality legislation and its sustainability, thereby structuring and synthesising the knowledge needed by drafters and other actors involved in the legislative process. The education campaign would focus on developing competences for data-driven and evidence-based decision-making.

Stakeholder education | This action aims to facilitate meaningful involvement of stakeholders in legislative processes. It encompasses education initiatives, communication campaigns, and other activities designed to enhance awareness of the legislative process and opportunities for stakeholder engagement. A strong emphasis will be placed on equipping stakeholders with the skills to utilize available data for making well-informed recommendations for improved legislation.

Intended outcomes

The overarching goal is to ensure a systematic, cohesive, and transparent legislative process. Key deliverables: • Enhanced civic engagement in decision-making (measured by both the quantity and quality of legislative proposals). • Practical application of Methodological guidelines and exchange of best practices. • To measure the impact of this action, a monitoring indicator will be developed to show the proportion of correctly or incorrectly drafted legislation. It is also important to note that the actions will partially contribute to the intended outcomes for the development of the justice system under the 2022-2030 Development Programme run by the Ministry of Justice: • The proportion of laws subjected to ex-post evaluation out of the total number of laws adopted in 2020 and beyond (a deliverable for 2030: 3%)

The role of the action in advancing openness

How will the action contribute to increasing transparency, accountability, and public participation in decision- making? The Model for monitoring legislative process will enhance the transparency of legislative processes, enabling the public to follow the actual decision-making in progress. The data-driven legislative process will bolster the quality and clarity of decision-making. Education campaigns will empower civil society to engage meaningfully in legislative processes. The action will pave the way for more transparent communication of ongoing processes.

Action implementation plan (Implementation step | Expected practical outcome | End date | Stakeholders)

Regulatory changes to the ministerial legislative process | Established requirements for the ministerial legislative process: | Q1 2024 | Responsible body – the Ministry of Justice Stakeholders – the Office of the Government, ministries

Publication of the legislative plan | Ensured publication of the legislative plan | Q3 2024 | Responsible body – the Office of the Government Stakeholders – the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Seimas

Methodological guidance and education to ensure the practical implementation of a quality legislative process | The methodological guidance developed for public authorities and their staff to improve the quality of legislation; Training/consultation cycle for public authorities involved in drafting legislation | Q1 2024; Q3 2024 | Responsible body – the Ministry of Justice Stakeholders – the Office of the Government, ministries

Stakeholder education | Education campaign on legislative participation held for stakeholder representatives | Q4 2025 | Responsible body – the Office of the Government Stakeholders – the Ministry of Justice, NGO and business organisations involved in legislative processes