The Sicilian Regional Assembly (Assemblea Regionale Siciliana) was established on 25 May 1946.
Competences (legislative and non-legislative), legal bases and policy areas where the regional parliament is active
Legislative:Sicily is one of the five Italian regions having special status. As stated in Article 14 of the Region's Special Statute, the Regional Assembly has exclusive legislative competences inter alia for agriculture and forestry, industry and trade, urban planning, public works, fishing and hunting, primary education and tourism.
Furthermore, the Assembly has shared competences, within the meaning of Article 17 of the Special Statute, in the following areas: regional communications and transport, public health and safety, healthcare, secondary and higher education and social affairs. Moreover, the Assembly has financial and accounting autonomy, which it implements through the annual adoption of its own initial budget and financial statement
As a result of the 2001 constitutional reform (Constitutional Act no 3/2001), which extended the areas in which the Italian regions hold concurrent legislative competence and which gave the regions greater legislative autonomy in other fields, the State holds (exclusive or concurrent) legislative powers only in expressly defined areas. The regions have legislative powers in all other areas (exclusive-residual power). The reform also applies to the 'special regions' (regioni a statuto speciale), inasmuch as it extends their autonomy until the adjustment of the special statutes (which has not yet taken place).
For further information, see the Special Statute (link above).
Non-legislative: The Sicilian Regional Assembly steers and controls the Regional Government by means of parliamentary questions, interpellations, motions, resolutions and business papers. These instruments are governed by the rules of procedure of the Sicilian Regional Assembly (Articles 137-160) (available here (IT).
Moreover, the Assembly has organisational and managerial autonomy, which is exercised through internal administrative acts, in accordance with the guidelines established by the Italian Court of Auditors' Council of Presidency.
List of committees/sub-committees or working groups in the regional parliament
The Regional Assembly includes six Permanent Legislative Committees on
- Institutional Affairs;
- Budget and Finance;
- Productive Activities;
- Environment and Planning;
- Culture, Education and Labour;
- Health.
Furthermore, the Regional Assembly includes an EU Scrutiny Committee as well as a number of Permanent Non-legislative Committees and Special Committees.
For further information, see here (IT).
Committees in charge of scrutinising subsidiarity
The EU Scrutiny Committee.
Staff in charge of subsidiarity scrutiny
One staff member is permanently assigned to the work of the EU Scrutiny Committee. The subsidiarity scrutiny is moreover supported by the Assembly's Department for Research and European Affairs.
Subsidiarity check
Nature (selective/systematic): Selective.
Procedure: Article 2(4) of Regional Act No. 10/2010 on the Region's participation in the development and implementation of acts and the determination of EU policies and the exercise of foreign policy states that the Sicilian Regional Assembly shall provide the National Parliament with its own subsidiarity assessments on EU legislative proposals and acts concerning areas of regional competence.
In practice, all EU draft legislation is transmitted on a regular basis by the Regional Government to the Regional Assembly's EU Scrutiny Committee, which selects those that are particularly relevant to Sicily and puts them on the agenda of its own subsidiarity monitoring activities. If this Committee considers that the subsidiarity principle has been breached it can decide to submit its comments to the Assembly, which may adopt a decision and submit it to the National Parliament.
For further information, see the Regional Act No. 10/2010, available here (IT).
Cooperation/coordination at the regional level
The Sicilian Regional Government transmits EU draft legislation on a regular basis to the Regional Assembly.
Cooperation/coordination at the central level
The mechanism for forwarding EU legislative proposals is laid down at the central level and has two separate channels for regional executives and assemblies.
Twice a week, the Regional Assembly receives EU laws, EU draft legislative acts and preparatory acts from the Prime Minister's office via the europ@ database system, through the Conference of Presidents of Legislative Assemblies of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces. This forwarding mechanism was established by an agreement signed on 20 July 2009 between the Central Government and the Conference of Presidents of Legislative Assemblies of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, implementing the provisions of Law No. 11 of 4 February 2005. The europ@ system is part of the Department for Community Policies portal, which can be accessed by institutions in order to make comments and assessments on all EU acts and documents, including those not forwarded via the lists.
As for the relations between national and regional parliaments, there is no regulated procedure for cooperation yet. Nevertheless, a system has recently been introduced by the Senate's 14th Committee for forwarding lists of EU proposals requiring a subsidiarity check via the Conference of the Presidents of the Legislative Assemblies of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces with a detailed schedule of the work of the parliamentary committees involved in the procedure.
The comments made by regional parliaments are sent to the committees in the Italian Parliament that are responsible for the subject-matter concerned by the European draft legislation and for European Affairs. These committees draft an opinion, which may refer to the position adopted by the regions.
Cooperation/coordination at the cross-regional level
The Regional Assembly cooperates with other regional parliaments via the Conference of Presidents of the Legislative Assemblies of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, a body that promotes the institutional role of the assemblies of the regions and autonomous provinces, and acts as a hub for coordination and exchange of experiences regarding the legislative assemblies' areas of interest. The cooperation exists both on a technical level - by participating in the working group on European affairs - and on a political level - through the participation of one Member of Parliament per regional parliament in the coordinating Committee of Chairs of European Affairs Committees. For further information, see here (IT).
The Italian national and regional legal framework includes instruments for coordination between the National Parliament and regional parliaments. These instruments are governed by Act No. 11 of 4 February 2005, and, in Sicily's case, by the Regional Act No. 10 of 26 April 2010 (see link above).
Cooperation/coordination at the EU level
The Regional Assembly participates in CALRE (Conference of European Regional Legislative Assemblies) and has regular contacts with EU institutions through Sicily's office in Brussels.