House committee OKs Constitutional bill

(ANSA) - Rome, November 19 - The Lower House constitutional affairs committee on Wednesday approved a Constitutional reform bill that would, among other things, transform the Senate into a leaner assembly with limited lawmaking powers.
    Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD), the New Center Right (NCD) of Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) voted in favor, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the opposition Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) voted against while the anti-immigrant Northern League abstained. The deadline for filing amendments to the text now going to the floor of the Lower House is November 24, sources said.
    The Constitutional reform bill completed its first parliamentary reading in August, clearing the Senate with 183 votes in favour, four abstentions and no votes against, after parties opposed to the package snubbed the final vote.
    The bill is designed to overhaul Italy's slow, costly political machinery, responding to dissatisfaction at the ruling class's ineffectiveness in solving the country's economic woes, in fighting corruption and in curbing its many privileges.
    The central part of the package is the transformation of the Senate into a leaner assembly of local government representatives with minimal lawmaking powers to save and make passing legislation easier.
    At the moment the Senate and the Lower House are equally powerful and every piece of legislation has to be approved in both, which can make it difficult for governments to get laws through parliament.
    The revamped Senate's responsibilities are to be largely restricted to Constitutional matters and its members will not get extra salaries on top of their earnings for the local level jobs.
    The new Senate will be made up of 100 members, compared to the present figure of 315, plus several life Senators.