The past year has shown that a bill can be passed in a matter of hours, without convening committees – after the first reading, a second follows immediately, and then a third. This is a novelty, because although the package of changes to the Constitutional Tribunal was also adopted at a rather rapid pace, parliamentary committees still debated it for a good dozen or so hours. Even regarding the initial version of the Supreme Court Act, a committee was convened for one session.

However, 2018 once again demonstrated that in the absence of political will to pass a given bill, it can be easily blocked at virtually any stage of parliamentary proceedings using various methods. The tightening of trade restrictions or the "lex Podlasie" bill were removed from the agenda at the very last minute, and opposition proposals for investigative committees are still not being considered.

Below are six selected examples – there are, of course, more, and one only needs to check the "submitted bills" tab (i.e., those that have not yet been assigned a print number) on the Sejm's website. However, the ones we are describing have been discussed in the media in the past and have had a greater or lesser impact on Polish politics. Interestingly, some of them were submitted at the initiative of the ruling camp.

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Tightening of Trade Restrictions. At the end of last year, PiS wanted to push through a bill amending the act on restrictions on trading on Sundays and holidays, which in practice would lead to a tightening of the system. The proposal was submitted on November 20, and a vote was scheduled for early December. Unexpectedly, the second reading was removed from the schedule, and the Sejm Marshal requested PiS MPs to assess the impact of this regulation, but the bill did not return to debate at the next session.

In Vitro and Abortion. When, in March, the parliamentary Committee for Justice and Human Rights positively opinioned the citizens' bill “Stop Abortion,” which abolished the possibility of terminating a pregnancy due to severe and irreversible fetal defects, the more liberal part of the opposition considered it a return to work on this proposal. After several months, it is clear that this has not happened – the bill has been stuck since March, and even the Constitutional Tribunal has not yet addressed the motion filed by a group of MPs. Similarly, a bill submitted in the autumn – by MPs from several clubs – restricting the use of the in vitro method, was sent for a constitutional opinion by the Polish Academy of Sciences on November 23. This is likely a way to "freeze" it.

Lex Podlasie. A political deadlock in the Podlaskie Voivodeship forced PiS to act. At the beginning of December, a bill was submitted to the Sejm requiring the consent of the provincial assembly to declare a break in sessions. This so-called anti-obstruction law was intended to be voted on in an express manner, in one session – this was even indicated by the official schedule. However, the election of the provincial board caused work to slow down, and the bill was referred to a parliamentary committee. PiS can, however, pass it to protect itself in the future against potential deadlock – although the situation theoretically could change one day.

Franc-Morten Loan Holders. President Duda is most keen on the procedure for this bill – after all, it was one of his election promises from 2015. However, the head of state has no way to speed up parliamentary work, and it is progressing at a snail's pace. At the end of December, the subcommittee – which deals with several bills – was first postponed, and then postponed again. Tadeusz Cymański explained that it would take place in the new year. PAD seems dissatisfied with the pace of work, as in one of his recent interviews, he listed the issue of franc-mortgage loan holders among the unfulfilled promises.

Timekeeper. At the first Sejm session of the year – on the morning of January 18 – a motion to supplement the agenda with the second reading of the PSL's bill on amending the official time act will be voted on. This is the so-called "timekeeper," a proposal to establish year-round daylight saving time in Poland. The PSL submitted the bill 1.5 years ago, and although the topic has resurfaced periodically, the bill has not been passed – perhaps because work is underway in the European Parliament to change the directive.

Investigative Committees. Practically nothing has changed here – last year we wrote that PiS was blocking opposition proposals regarding the establishment of investigative committees. In the meantime, in one case, a first reading took place, but in other cases, no consideration occurred. The ruling party decided that it was better to "freeze" bills than to lead to an inconvenient debate. In this way, at least a dozen or so initiatives have been buried. Although two investigative committees have been established in this term, they were only initiated by PiS.

Photo: *Sejm*