Schillerová: The budgetary impacts of the construction amendment depend on its approved form

Prague – The specific economic and budgetary impacts of the amendment to the building law will depend on the form in which the proposed amendment is approved. Some parameters of the proposal may still change. This was stated by Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (ANO) in response to a written inquiry from STAN deputy Eliška Olšáková. The former chairwoman of the Association of Local Governments, Olšáková, asked the minister about the total costs of the reform of building law, including both one-time costs and annual operating expenses up to 2031.

The amendment to the building law, which also changes around forty other laws and aims to expedite the approval of buildings, is currently being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies in its third reading. On Friday, the deputies are expected to vote.

Deputy Olšáková also wanted to know whether the Ministry of Finance has its own economic analysis of the impacts of the building law reform on the state budget. She expressed concern that the entire extensive change is being prepared without a clear financial framework. She also pointed out that if the state is to take over building authorities, it must reflect these costs in the state budget.

"Regarding the individual questions concerning the financial impacts of the reform, it should be noted that their final amount will depend on the approved form of the legal regulation, the method of implementation of individual measures, and related decisions made within the budget process," said the Minister of Finance in her response. Following the approved form of the building amendment, the government will incorporate the budgetary impacts into the proposal for the state budget. "For this reason, it is not possible at this stage of the legislative process to anticipate the final values of all individual and revenue items that your inquiry refers to," wrote Minister Schillerová.

The minister also reminded that better construction management is expected to result in faster construction and support the economy. "Positive impacts can be expected not only in the functioning of public administration but also in a wider economic context," she stated.

According to Olšáková, for instance, it appears that the amendment does not take into account the pitfalls that were not considered even in 2021 during the discussion of the new building law. This mainly concerns the relocation of archives, buildings, leases, and the relocation of employees, including potential severance pay. The Association of Secretaries of Municipal and City Offices, according to her, has calculated that it will involve 350,000 linear meters of files according to the archives law.

The impact assessment, known as RIA, for the new building law from 2021 estimated one-time costs at 1.4 billion crowns. Annual wage and other costs were estimated at four billion crowns.