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The rivalry between the Senate and the National Assembly will be a thing of the past if a new bill is passed.

The Houses of Parliament (Bicameral Relations) Bill, 2023 sponsored by National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi) seeks to foster the relationship between the two Houses by prescribing procedures for ensuring seamless consideration of the legislative business of each of them.

All Bills passed by the National Assembly and which affect devolution must also be debated and passed in the Senate before they can be signed into law. In the past, conflict between the two Houses has affected, among other things, the amount of money that counties get as shareable revenue from the national government.

Now, the proposed law outlines matters relating to the publication and the enacting of formula Bills and Acts of Parliament so as to standardise the practice between the Houses.

“The Bill provides for the seamless processing of matters of a bicameral nature by the Houses of Parliament and a mode of resolving any disputes that may arise between the Houses. The bill shall be considered by both Houses,” reads part of the Bill.

The bill further provides a framework for determining bills that do not require a joint resolution by the Speakers, those to be exclusively considered only by the National Assembly, bills not concerning county governments and those concerning county governments.

“The bill provides for the publication of Bills originating from either Houses of Parliament, the enacting formula and imposes timelines for such publication to cure scenarios where government printer at times delays in the printing of the Bill requests,” it reads.The bill also provides for the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes in keeping with the judicial principles outlined under article 159 (2) (c) of the Constitution.

“Where a dispute arises between the House relating to the discharge of their respective functions, the House shall use alternative forms of dispute resolution in seeking to resolve the dispute and shall before seeking redress in a court on any dispute relating to the discharge of their respective functions, first exhaust the alternative dispute resolution mechanism,” reads part of the bill.

The National Assembly and the Senate shall, upon commencement of this Act prescribe under their respective Standing Orders joint rules for the conduct of the joint sittings.