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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (December 14) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on franchised bus fares. The motion, to be moved by Hon Andrew CHENG Kar-foo, says: "That, in anticipation of the implementation of the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upward and downward in January 2006, which will apply to franchised bus companies, this Council urges the Government to discuss with various franchised bus companies:
(a) cancelling the proposed arrangements for advance payment of the return journey fares, and providing fare reduction initiatives that are more reasonable, including reducing the single journey fares by at least 10% so as to benefit all passengers;
(b) offering more comprehensive bus-bus interchange concessions;
(c) improving the existing fare structures, expeditiously revising the scale of fares under the Public Bus Services Ordinance as well as the route groupings under the scale, reformulating the existing guidelines on the setting of fares, and determining the full and sectional fares of each bus route according to the distance of the journey on condition that the burden on long-haul passengers will not be increased, so that the fare structures become more transparent and reasonable and the fares paid by each passenger are as fair as possible; and
(d) introducing one-day and one-week travel pass as well as monthly ticket schemes for buses, so as to allow choices for local passengers and tourists;
and to expeditiously reach a consensus with them on these fare arrangements to facilitate the implementation of the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upward and downward."
Hon Miriam LAU Kin-yee and Hon WONG Kwok-hing will move amendments to Hon Andrew CHENG Kar-foo's motion separately.
Members will also debate a motion on conservation of energy. The motion, to be moved by Hon CHOY So-yuk, says: ¡¨That, in order to more effectively promote energy conservation and enhance energy efficiently so as to achieve the objectives of protecting the environment and conserving the resources on the earth, this Council urges the Government to:
(a) formulate a comprehensive and effective energy conservation policy;
(b) establish an energy conservation committee which is independent of the Government to coordinate the Government's and the two companies' resources and initiatives for promoting energy conservation;
(c) take the lead in drawing up internal energy conservation programmes within various departments, to appoint an energy manager to oversee the implementation of energy conservation initiatives, and to provide annual reports reviewing the effectiveness of the initiatives;
(d) make it mandatory for proposed government buildings to pass the energy efficiency assessment prior to construction in order to ensure that the designs, materials and facilities of such buildings meet the energy conservation requirements;
(e) actively promote the implementation of green roof projects on buildings, especially government buildings such as hospitals and schools, etc, throughout the territory;
(f) expeditiously implement the mandatory energy efficiency labelling scheme;
(g) promote the provision of economic incentives by the two power companies with a view to encouraging their customers to use energy-saving electrical appliances;
(h) promote the introduction of an effective mechanism, including the provision of economic incentives, by commercial properties with a view to encouraging commercial tenants to reduce electricity consumption; and
(i) actively enhance, through publicity and education, the public's knowledge and awareness of energy conservation."
Hon SIN Chung-kai and Hon Vicent FANG Kang will move amendments to Hon CHOY So-yuk's motion separately.
Meanwhile, Hon Tsang Yok-sing will propose a resolution under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China to amend the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In addition, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury will move a resolution under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance to amend Schedule 1 to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap.109).
On bill, Members will resume Second Reading debate on the Revenue (Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks) Bill 2005. If the bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the third time.
The Employment (Increase in Penalty for Offences under Section 63C) Bill 2005 will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Second Reading debate on the bill will be adjourned.
During the meeting, Members will ask the Government 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (http://www.legco.gov.hk).
Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ends/Monday, December 12, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:16
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