The State Duma has fulfilled the message of the president by more than 80% and hopes to complete the rest in the fall

Of the 76 points of the State Duma plan for the implementation of the presidential address to the Federal Assembly, as of August 10, 62 have been completed, follows from the certificate provided by the Duma apparatus to Kommersant. The deputies plan to either adopt initiatives related to the remaining 14 points during the autumn session, or at least start considering them (some of them have not yet been introduced by the government). The expert notes that usually in such plans there are several topics that are considered until the end of the autumn session or even postponed to the next year.

President Vladimir Putin addressed the parliament with a message on February 21, 2023, and the Duma approved its plan for the implementation of this document at the end of March. In the Duma’s plan, special attention is paid to the integration of new territories into the Russian legal system, as well as social assistance to participants in a special military operation (SVO) and their families. For example, the words of the president “The family of each member of the NWO should be in the zone of constant attention, surrounded by care and honor; their needs must be responded to immediately, without red tape,” the deputies decided to translate into nine bills at once, eight of which have already gained the force of law.

“Most of the plan for the implementation by the Duma of the presidential address in terms of legislative support has been completed – 62 points out of 76 have been fulfilled,” said Alexander Zhukov (United Russia), the first vice speaker of the chamber, head of the Duma working group on implementing the provisions of the president’s messages (United Russia).— Laws have been adopted regarding the integration of newly entered territories into the legal field of the Russian Federation, support for NWO participants and their families. Thus, the children of SVO participants are enrolled in kindergartens and schools as a matter of priority, and for them benefits have been introduced for admission to state-funded places in universities and the opportunity to transfer from a paid place to a state-funded place has been provided. Mr. Zhukov referred to the “decisions aimed at strengthening sovereignty, developing the economy and social support for citizens” the government initiative to confiscate the assets of unscrupulous foreign investors who violated the law “On the Procedure for Making Foreign Investments in Business Companies of Strategic Importance for Ensuring the Defense of the Country and the Security of the State “. In addition, as part of the implementation of the message, the amount of social tax deductions was increased and changes were made to the Tax Code to stimulate the production of high-tech equipment, the deputy added.

Some bills written in the Duma plan are still under consideration, and the deputies plan to complete work on them in the autumn session. These include, in particular, the draft “On Employment in the Russian Federation”, which, according to Mr. Zhukov, is “in the final stage of preparation for consideration in the second reading.” In the second reading, it is also planned to discuss the government bill on optimizing the powers of the Cabinet of Ministers, introduced in September 2022. It involves the transfer of a number of government powers in the field of economy, health, environmental protection, education and culture to the level of federal ministries. Amendments by a group of deputies and senators on the provision of land plots to the heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia, as well as full holders of the Order of Glory, are awaiting the first reading.

Separate provisions of the message (for example, on raising the minimum wage) will be implemented within the framework of the law on the budget for 2024 and subsequent years or during the execution of the 2023 budget, Alexander Zhukov added: “In addition, we expect the government of the Russian Federation to introduce several draft federal laws, including amendments to the legislation regarding the improvement of the system of levels of higher education”. In his message, Vladimir Putin also proposed launching a special program of preferential rental housing for employees of enterprises in the military-industrial complex, instructing the government to work out the details. According to the Duma’s plan, this initiative is also expected from the government during the autumn session.

As a result of the Message-2023, 35 instructions were issued, addressed mainly to the government, governors who head the relevant commissions of the State Council, and the Central Bank, their implementation is monitored by the Presidential Control Department, recalls Pavel Sklyanchuk, a member of the RASO Committee on Political Technologies. “At the same time, the State Duma, on the proposals of the factions, approves its own plan: some of its points involve the adoption of legislative initiatives already under consideration, others require the development of new projects jointly with the government, since they often require additional budgetary expenditures,” the expert explains. In 2017, according to him, it was possible to fulfill such a plan by 100%, but, as a rule, every year there are several topics that are considered until the very end of the autumn session or are postponed to the next year. “However, it can be argued that if the bill was recognized as aimed at implementing the presidential message, then sooner or later it will be adopted. For example, this was the case with the law on extended producer responsibility, which Putin spoke about in his messages in 2021 and 2023, but it was adopted only at the end of July 2023,” concludes Mr. Sklyanchuk.

Ksenia Veretennikova