77th Sejm session - third, fourth and fifth day

February 25, 2019
10:54 am

During the continuation of the 77th Sejm session (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) the Sejm:

amended the Law on Real Estate Management
amended the Law on Inland Navigation
decided to support the Senate's amendments to the amendment of the Industrial Property Law Act
adopted a resolution on commemorating Jan Olszewski
commemorated by resolution the Secret Military Organization "Gryf Pomorski"
passed a law on ratifying the Agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the Baltic Pipe project
amended the Act on health care services financed from public funds and certain other acts
adopted the law on digital accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public entities
passed the Law on Łukasiewicz Research Network
passed a law on the Medical Research Agency
passed a law on ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the delimitation of sea areas in the Baltic Sea
amended the law on supporting rural development with the participation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the Rural Development Programme for 2014-2020
passed an amendment to the Act on reimbursement of excise tax contained in the price of diesel fuel used for agricultural production
amended the Telecommunications Law
passed an amendment to the law on principles of state property management
passed amendments to the Act - the Executive Penal Code
amended the Act amending the Excise Duty Act and certain other acts
passed an act amending the act on bio-components and liquid bio-fuels and some other acts
passed the Law - Environmental Protection Law
passed a law on the system of managing emissions of greenhouse gases and other substances
passed the law on promoting electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration
enacted the amendment of certain laws in connection with ensuring the application of Regulation 2016/679
amended the law on road transport
passed a law on the denunciation of the Agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and the Republic of Finland
passed a law on the ratification of Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018.
adopted amendments to the Act on Health Protection from the Effects of Tobacco and Tobacco Products
amended the Act - Construction Law
amended the Law on Subscription Fees
The Sejm amended the act on the establishment of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development

Sejm amended the Law on Real Estate ManagementThe new law changes the rules for restitution of expropriated real estate, bringing them in line with the Constitutional Tribunal's decisions. The legislation allows each previous owner or his heir to return expropriated real estate - regardless of whether the rest of previous co-owners or their heirs have applied for return. The amendment also envisages enabling each previous owner or his heir to claim restitution of the expropriated property - regardless of the form of acquiring the right to the property. According to the proposed regulations, it will be possible to recover the property for 20 years.

Amendment to the Act on Inland waterway transport is the implementation of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of the EUThe amendments concern the issuance of EU inland navigation certificates, including for certain categories of seagoing vessels and vessels exclusively intended for sports or leisure activities. Another amendment concerns the replacement of the Community inland navigation certificates and provisional Community inland navigation certificates by, respectively, EU inland navigation certificates or provisional EU inland navigation certificates.

Sejm decided to support the Senate's amendments to the amendment of the Industrial Property Law Act. The new regulations bring existing standards in line with EU standards. In accordance with the EU directive, for example, the definition of a trademark has been changed. Now it will be able to be, for example, sound. Another important change concerns the mode of renewal of trademark protection rights. After the changes, payment of a fee for the next protection period is to be sufficient to extend a trademark protection right. Under the new regulations, "the Patent Office will have to inform the public of the impending deadline for payment of the fee for the next trademark protection period."

Other decisions of the Chamber

Sejm rejected a motion of no confidence in the Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobra, by a vote of 233 to 177, with 23 abstentions.

Sejm adopted the government's information "Charter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities." The document contains a description of activities implemented, continued or undertaken in 2017 by ministries and central offices, within their substantive competence and statutory powers.
The Parliament has adopted reports on the implementation of the "National Program for Counteracting Family Violence" for 2014-2020. The reports cover the period 2015-2017.

The Sejm decided in a vote to proceed with the bill on subscription fees, which provides for financial compensation to public broadcasting for subscription fees lost in 2018-2019. The bill was a contentious item on the agenda.

Resolution on commemorating former Prime Minister Jan Olszewski

The Sejm adopted a resolution on commemorating Jan Olszewski - The President of the Council of Ministers. "Prime Minister Jan Olszewski remained faithful to the ideals of an independent, law-abiding and democratic Poland until the end of his life. He was a man of honor, full of dignity, modesty and integrity. He went down in the history of the Polish nation as a patriot, statesman and role model. The Sejm of the Republic of Poland pays him due homage. Honour to his memory! - is written in the document adopted by the deputies.

Other commemorative resolutions adopted by the Sejm

Chamber commemorated by resolution the Secret Military Organization "Gryf Pomorski", an underground independence formation in Pomerania, on the 80th anniversary of its establishment and the 75th anniversary of the death of its founder and commander, Capt. Józef Dambek. The Sejm also commemorated the 145th anniversary of Wincenty Witos' birth and the 100th anniversary of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's cabinet. Moreover, the House commemorated the 30th anniversary of the death of priests Stefan Niedzielak and Stanisław Suchowolc, who were persecuted by the security forces of the People's Republic of Poland for supporting democratic opposition and who were murdered in unclear circumstances. Members commemorated the 100th anniversary of the debut and 50th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest Polish poets of the 20th century. - Kazimierz Wierzyński.

Sejm passed a law on ratifying the Agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the Baltic Pipe project, signed in Katowice on December 11, 2018. The bill authorizes the President's ratification of the Polish-Danish agreement. This strategic investment will enable the transportation of natural gas from Norway via Denmark to Poland and other countries. Baltic Pipe will strengthen the country's energy security and ensure diversification of gas supply.

The Act on health care services financed from public funds and some other acts have been amended. The purpose of the amendment is to reform the functioning of the control services of the National Health Fund (NFZ), to improve the availability and quality of night and holiday medical care services as well as to improve the performance of hospital emergency departments. Thanks to the introduced regulations, the NFZ will be able to function and perform its control functions much more effectively.

The House passed the Digital Accessibility of Public Entities' Websites and Mobile Applications Act. The effect of its adoption is to improve the competitiveness of entities engaged in programming and designing websites or mobile applications, and to reduce costs incurred by public sector bodies related to digital and mobile accessibility. The act is also in line with the government's Accessibility Plus program.

The House passed the Lukasiewicz Research Network Act. The main objective of the SBŁ operation will be to conduct scientific research and development works, and, in justified cases, also fundamental research, including research for the purposes of national defence and security, which is particularly important for the implementation of economic, scientific, scientific-technical and innovative policies of the state. The network's tasks will also include knowledge transfer and implementation of scientific research and development results into the economy.

The Sejm has passed a bill on the Medical Research AgencyThe ABM will support the development of medicine and health sciences. The tasks of the ABM will include the organization of non-commercial clinical trials, conducting analyses and initiating the development of medical science. ABM will be a specialized unit associating domestic and foreign experts who will work on innovativeness of Polish medicine. The money obtained from the Agency's activities will be allocated for research whose results will be beneficial to patients, e.g. in the form of access to the latest drug therapies.

The Sejm has passed a law on the ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the demarcation of maritime areas in the Baltic Sea, signed in Brussels on 19 November 2018. This marks the statutory approval of the President's ratification of the Polish-Danish agreement on the delimitation of maritime areas in the Baltic Sea. The agreement defines the line dividing the continental shelves and exclusive economic zones of Poland and Denmark in the part of the Baltic Sea south of Bornholm.

The law on supporting rural development with the participation of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 was amended and certain other acts. The Act introduces new forms of support, i.e. loan guarantees to be used by farmers and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises from the agri-food processing sector. The implementation of financial instruments under RDP 2014-2020 should be seen as a pilot activity aimed at working out the shape of the institutional system and building competence on the supply and demand side. In the future, based on this experience, it will be reasonable to expand the catalog of financial instruments and increase the financial resources allocated to this form of support.

Sejm passed an amendment to the Act on reimbursement of excise tax contained in the price of diesel fuel used for agricultural production. The project relates to the possibility of obtaining partial reimbursement of excise tax purchased and used for agricultural production from all types of diesel fuel offered on the market by adding to the catalog diesel fuel classified under CN code 2710 20 11. The envisaged solution is beneficial for agricultural producers, primarily due to the possibility of obtaining partial reimbursement of excise tax purchased and used for agricultural production from all types of diesel fuel offered on the market falling within the codes specified in the current law.

The Sejm amended the Telecommunications Law. This means changes to regulations in the areas of frequency management, radio equipment and frequency fees.

The Sejm has passed an amendment to the Act on the Principles of State Property Management. The amendments are intended to allow the removal of interpretative doubts that have arisen since the entry into force of the Law on the Principles of State Property Management, clarifying some of its provisions and supplementing them with new solutions, which will allow the ordering of the competencies and tasks of government administration bodies after the introduction of the reform of state property management on January 1, 2017 and making the application of the provisions of the Law more flexible.

The Sejm has passed an amendment to the Act - the Executive Penal Code. The changes are related to the adjustment of the legal system to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of March 22, 2017. (SK 13/14).

The Sejm amended the Act on Amending the Act on Excise Tax and Certain Other Acts, the Act on Amending the Act on Bio-components and Liquid Biofuels and Certain Other Acts, the Environmental Protection Law, the Act on the Greenhouse Gas and Other Substance Emission Management System, and the Act on Promoting Electricity from High Efficiency Cogeneration.

The Sejm passed an amendment to certain laws in connection with ensuring the application of Regulation 2016/679. The amendment aligns the Polish legal order with the EU Regulation of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data and on the free flow of such data (RODO). In particular, it is about removing provisions that contradict or duplicate solutions contained in RODO. Amendments have been proposed to 167 laws, covering many sectors, including insurance, banking, culture, health, family and labour, sport and tourism, internal affairs and administration, national education, investment and development.

The Law on Road Transport was amended. The new regulations bring Polish law into line with the EU Regulation, which provides for the establishment of common rules concerning the interconnection of national electronic registers of road transport undertakings. Under the draft, relevant data held in the National Electronic Register of Road Transport Undertakings (KREPTD), maintained by the Chief Inspector of Road Transport, will be available to all competent authorities of other Member States.

The Sejm passed a law on the termination of the Agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and the Republic of Finland, all provisions of which have lost their relevance due to their replacement by new cooperation instruments or their non-application in practice. In connection with the accession of the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Finland to the Council of Europe (in 1991 and 1989, respectively) and the adoption of a number of international agreements developed under its auspices, as well as the accession to the European Union (in 2004 and 1995, respectively), almost all provisions of the Polish-Finnish bilateral agreement have been replaced by provisions of other treaties or provisions of EU law.

The Sejm passed a law on the ratification of Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018. amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976 The purpose of the draft is to give consent to the ratification by the President of the Republic of Poland of Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018 amending the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976. The Council Decision is intended to incorporate into electoral law provisions permitting the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage in accordance with a special procedure. The amendments to the electoral procedure are designed to ensure that information about the candidates standing for election to the EP and the respective national political party are communicated well in advance of EP elections.

Amendments to the Law on Protection of Health from the Effects of Tobacco and Tobacco Products were adopted. The document aligns national law with Directive 2014/40/EU. Among other things, the amendment concerns the introduction of provisions specifying the need for a unique identifier on tobacco packages to enable the tracking of tobacco packages.

The Sejm amended the Construction Law. The amendments relate to the adjustment of the legal system to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal (K 39/15) and consist in the transfer of the provisions contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development of 11 September 2014 on independent technical functions in the construction industry, concerning the limitation of the scope of construction rights to the Act - Construction Law.

The Law on Subscription Fees was amended. The need to pass the act was caused by the lack of adequate, stable, predictable and long-term public financing of public media in Poland - say the proposers and point to the growing number of people exempted from the obligation of paying the rtv licence fee. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), more than half of households with a registered radio or TV receiver are exempt from the obligation. The bill is to provide compensation for the loss resulting from the non-payment of subscription fees by persons statutorily exempted from the obligation in 2018 and 2019 and is modelled on a similar solution for the years 2010-2017.

The Sejm amended the Environmental Protection Law. The amendment extends the time limit for filing a claim for purchase of real property or its part or for compensation for damage in case of restriction of the use of real property in connection with environmental protection from 2 to 3 years and aims to adjust the law to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal (case ref. K 2/17).

The Sejm amended the act on the establishment of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. The amendment adjusts the currently binding legal acts regulating the principles of functioning of institutions involved in the implementation of operational programs for the years 2014-2020 (PARP) to the new rules arising from EU regulations.

Other decisions of the Chamber

The Sejm adopted the Senate's amendment to amend the Act on Restrictions on Conduct of Business Activities by Persons Performing Public Functions and the Act on the National Bank of Poland.

The House also adopted Senate amendments to amend the Aliens Act and certain other laws.

On Friday, the House concluded a total of five days of session. On the last day of the session, the deputies dealt with the parliamentary draft amendment to the Code of Conduct in Misdemeanor Cases.