From the first reading of the bill on Tuesday 21st April. Photo: Storting.
Corona Act extended until late May
The Corona Act has been extended by a further month. The temporary legislation was initially passed in March for the duration of one month, but it will now continue to be in force until 27th May 2020.
The Corona Act is a piece of temporary legislation that aims to mitigate the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. It gives the Government the authority to add to or depart from certain legislation as far as is necessary to safeguard the intention of the law. It was passed unanimously in the Storting on Saturday 21st March, and was approved after a second reading on Tuesday 24th March.
On 24th March, the Storting also passed a new provision in the Rules of Procedure. The new section (50a.) determines how announcements about such legislation may be considered quickly and effectively. Among other things, it states that the Presidium must make the announcement “available to the Members as soon as possible and in a suitable way. The announcement shall be referred to the Storting in the first sitting after it has been received. The same procedure shall be followed for announcements by the Government concerning the annulment of such regulations.”
Furthermore, the new provision specifies that if the Presidium receives a written declaration from at least one-third of the total number of MPs stating that they do not support all or parts of a regulation laid down in accordance with the Corona Act, it must immediately notify the Government about this in writing.
Extending the Corona Act until 27th May 2020
The Government bill to extend the Corona Act was tabled to the Storting on Friday 17th April, and was dealt with in the Coronavirus Special Committee. After the committee submitted its recommendation, the first reading of the bill took place on Tuesday 21st April. Here, the decision to extend the Corona Act was made with a number of amendments. The Storting approved it after a second reading 72 hours later.
Background
The Government’s reason for putting forward the Corona Bill was that there is not always enough time during the current coronavirus crisis to follow the provisions in the Norwegian Constitution for enacting legislation.
The Corona Bill was the first matter dealt with by the Coronavirus Special Committee, which was constituted in the Storting on Monday 16th March.