National Council of Provinces - Decisions

Decisions

The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation in the functional areas where Parliament and the provincial legislatures have concurrent legislative power ("Schedule 4 areas").

The NCOP has three decision-making mechanisms depending on the type of bill:

• "Section 74 bills" amend the Constitution; they may not deal with any matters other than constitutional amendments and matters related to the amendments. A bill that amends section 1 of the constitution (which defines South Africa as a constitutional democratic republic), or amends the Bill of Rights, or amends any constitutional provision affecting the NCOP itself, provincial boundaries or powers, or other specifically provincial matters, must be passed by the NCOP. Each delegation has one vote, and six of the nine delegations must approve the bill for it to pass. Other constitutional amendments do not have to be passed by the NCOP, but they must be debated publicly in the NCOP.
• "Section 76 bills" fall into any of the Schedule 4 areas, as well as various other laws specifically envisaged in the Constitution. In handling Section 76 bills, each delegation has one vote, and five of the nine delegations must approve the bill for it to pass.
• All other bills, specifically including money bills, are "Section 75 bills". In handling Section 75 bills, each delegate in the NCOP has a vote, and the bill must be approved by a majority of members present for it to pass.

In considering Section 74 and 76 bills, each delegation must vote in accordance with a mandate approved by the provincial legislature that it represents.