The Chamber of Deputies is set to vote on the new building law on May 26

Prague – The Chamber of Deputies is expected to vote on the new construction law at its regular session on Wednesday, May 26. In response to a query from ČTK, the reporter for the law, Martin Kolovratník (ANO), stated today that this is an agreement among parliamentary clubs and the law should be voted on that day. The date of the vote was confirmed by MP and Deputy Chair of the Mayors Věra Kovářová. The previous three attempts to complete the third reading and vote on the law were unsuccessful. These attempts were accompanied by extensive critical speeches from opposition MPs, who earned accusations of obstruction for their actions. The dispute mainly revolves around whether the building authorities should be completely under the state.

Kolovratník did not want to comment on the question of possible concessions from the government coalition. According to MP Kovářová, the conflicting parties did not agree on a conciliatory solution or any possible concessions.

While the government originally proposed a plan in which part of the building authorities would remain with the municipalities, the Chamber later took as a basis for discussion a proposal from the economic committee, which calls for the establishment of a Supreme Building Authority under which the building authorities would fall. This is not favored by part of the opposition, which wants to keep the authorities under the municipalities. "It is a conflict of two perspectives. The coalition wants the authorities to be under the state, one mega building authority, while we want part of the authorities to remain in the municipalities and regions, close to the citizens,” Kovářová described.

Deputy Chair of ODS Martin Kupka told ČTK that no agreement on a possible conciliatory step from the government coalition was mentioned in the discussions. He warned that the Senate could return the construction law if the variant favored by the Minister for Regional Development Klára Dostálová (for ANO) passes. "The Senate cannot deal with it in any other way than to return it because several senators were directly involved in our proposal,” he said. A group of opposition parties, ODS, TOP 09, KDU-ČSL, Pirates, and STAN, presented their alternative proposal, which leaves part of the authorities with the municipalities. According to them, senators will not be willing to expose the state to the risk of paralyzing the issuance of building permits for several years.

Minister Dostálová said in the Chamber on Wednesday that thanks to the simplification of the agenda, the state will no longer need as many officials as are currently required. According to her, a clean state building administration will be faster because the deadlines will be enforceable, and officials will also be able to assist each other in areas with a higher volume of applications. She previously assured that the state would not build new official buildings and that it would try to negotiate with mayors to keep the officials in the existing local offices. Opposition politicians, however, argue that municipalities and cities often do not have enough space for the state building authorities to operate.

In the explanatory report, the government stated that it would be possible to use facilities such as those of the Railway Administration, which has about 1,200 station buildings at its disposal. The government also points out that the state will save money on contributions to regions for transferring responsibilities, namely for the building authorities that carry out the construction agenda for the state under the municipalities.