Competences (legislative and non-legislative), legal bases and policy areas where the regional parliament is active  

Legislative: The legislative competences of the Federation and the Regions (Länder) are regulated in detail by the Basic Law (Grundgesetz). Articles 70-74 govern the distribution of legislative powers between the Länder and the Federation.

• In the fields subject to the exclusive legislative power of the Federation (Article 73 Basic Law), the Länder shall have power to legislate only when and to the extent that they are expressly authorised to do so by a federal law. The Federation holds exclusive legislative competence inter alia in the following fields: all foreign policy issues, defense, civil protection, citizenship, currency and monetary system, customs duties and foreign trade, and cooperation between the Federation and the Länder concerning criminal police work.
• In fields subject to concurrent legislative powers (Articles 72 and 74 Basic Law), the Länder shall have power to legislate so long as and to the extent that the Federation has not exercised its legislative power by enacting a law (Article 72 (1) Basic Law). Yet, a difference has to be made between areas concerned by the necessity clause (Erforderlichkeitsklausel) or not. Indeed, Article 72 (2) Basic Law states that '[t]he Federation shall have the right to legislate on matters falling within clauses 4, 7, 11, 13, 15, 19a, 20, 22, 25 and 26 of paragraph (1) of Article 74, if and to the extent that the establishment of equivalent living conditions throughout the federal territory or the maintenance of legal or economic unity renders federal regulation necessary in the national interest.' These matters requiring necessity include inter alia the public welfare, the promotion of research and the transfer of land. Those that are not concerned by this necessity clause include inter alia civil law, criminal law, registration of birth, death and marriages, law of association, land distribution and labour law. Finally, Article 72 (3) Basic Law indicates that Länder may enact laws at variance with federal legislation for matters listed in this provision. Hunting, protection of nature and management of water resources are all among these fields.
• The Länder shall have the right to legislate insofar as the Basic Law does not confer legislative powers on the Federation (Article 70 Basic Law). Therefore the State Parliament holds the sole right of legislation in the areas not addressed in Articles 70-74 of the Basic Law. These matters include inter alia culture, schools and education, local authorities, police, right of assembly, public service law, nursing home law, hotel and catering law, press, broadcasting and new media.
• Furthermore, the State Parliament is responsible for adopting the regional budget.

Non-legislative: Pursuant to Article 20, para. 1 of the Constitution of the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the main non-legislative competences of its Parliament are the election of the Minister President, and the control over the activities of the State Government and the State administration. Electoral oversight is another task of the parliament (Article 21 para. 1). It is also competent to appoint the members of the Constitutional Court of the Land (Article 52, para. 3). A particular policy field in which the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament is very active is the transnational cooperation in the Baltic Sea Area, a field that is explicitly referred to in Article 11 of the Constitution of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. For further information, see here (DE).

List of committees/sub-committees or working groups in the regional parliament
There are nine Standing Committees:

• Committee on Petitions;
• Committee on Internal Affairs;
• Committee on European and Legal Affairs;
• Financial Committee;
• Economic Committee;
• Agricultural Committee;
• Committee on Education;
• Committee on Energy;
• Welfare Committee.

For further information, see here (DE).

Committees in charge of scrutinising subsidiarity   
The Committee on European and Legal Affairs.

Staff in charge of subsidiarity scrutiny  
The legal staff of the Committee on European and Legal Affairs, International Secretariat of the Parliament (composed of two staff members) is in charge of subsidiarity scrutiny.

Subsidiarity check  
Nature (selective/systematic): Systematic.
Procedure: The Department on European and International Affairs of the State Government (Staatskanzlei) and the Committee on European and Legal Affairs of the State Parliament have reached an informal (oral) agreement under which all European draft legislation is transmitted by the Staatskanzlei to the State Parliament without any further examination. The Staatskanzlei simultaneously informs the Parliament's Committee on European and Legal Affairs of the beginning and the end of the eight-weeks-time limit for a subsidiarity query as well as the future Federal Council (Bundesrat) plenary assemblies which could deal with the legislative initiative. The Secretariat of the Committee on European and Legal Affairs will subsequently describe in brief - in the form of a cover sheet - the deadline, legal basis and the subject-matter of the European draft legislation. On the basis of this cover sheet, the representatives or fractions within the Parliament may decide to debate the legislative initiative in a Committee meeting. Depending on the subject-matter of the legislative proposal, the cover sheet may also be forwarded by the Chairman to the Chairs of other Parliament Committees. At the next Parliament Committee meeting, a decision may be taken as to whether the European draft legislation is deemed to infringe the principle of subsidiarity. In the affirmative, a reasoned opinion to this end can be adopted by the plenary assembly .

• a network between the Chairmen of the Committees on European Affairs of all 16 state parliaments in Germany and
• a network between the legal officers of all 16 state parliaments in Germany and representatives of the administration of the nine Austrian regional parliaments (to exchange information and experiences, notably on subsidiarity issues).