Who may submit an opinion on a legislative draft given advance public notice, and what must that notice state so that an opinion can reach the right body in time?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind, we read the public notice of the proposed legislative draft, checking the date it was announced and whether it carried the opinion-receiving body, the submission period and the other necessary matters, and we read the opinion itself, checking to whom it was sent, how, and on what date, so that it can be matched against what the notice announced.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the first paragraph at its widest: any person at all, with no qualification stated, may submit an opinion on a draft that has been publicly announced, and the draft's public announcement is what opens the door to doing so.
Another reading concentrates on the notice itself: the administrative agency must announce the opinion-receiving body, the opinion-submission period and any other necessary matters together with the announcement of the draft, so the file has to show what that notice actually stated, and the provision leaves open what an opinion must contain and what follows for one that arrives outside the announced body or period.
Your judgment
If the announced receiving body or period was unclear, what in the file could show which body should have received the opinion and when the period began and ended?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change what the public notice must state or to regulate opinions sent outside the announced period, or if a decision or implementing order explains how an opinion must be filed and what happens to one that is late.