Commentaries: Art. 74

Each council shall consider and decide first of all whether it wishes to approve the introduction of a bill (introductory debate).
If it approves the introduction of a bill, it must thereafter examine the enactment article by article (detailed consideration).
Introduction shall be mandatory in the case of popular initiatives, budgets, annual reports, accounts, objections to treaties between cantons or between cantons and foreign states, the guarantee of cantonal constitutions, and in relation to the legislature plan and the financial plan.¹
After the conclusion of the first detailed consideration, a vote is taken in each council on the text in its entirety. If approval of introduction is mandatory, no vote is taken on the text in its entirety other than in the case of budgets and accounts.
If a bill is rejected by a council in the vote on the entire text, this is equivalent to non-approval of introduction. The rejection of a budget or of accounts in the vote on the entire text is equivalent to a referral back to the Federal Council.
If a bill is approved for introduction, it may be abandoned at the request of the committee responsible for the preliminary examination or the Federal Council if it has become unnecessary.²

Amended by Annex No 1 of the FA of 26 Sept. 2014 (New Management Model for the Federal Administration), in force since 1 Jan. 2016 (AS 2015 1583;BBl 2014 767). ↩
Inserted by No I of the FA of 21 June 2013 (Improvements in the Organisation and Procedures of Parliament), in force since 25 Nov. 2013 (AS 2013 3687;BBl 2011 6793,6829). ↩

Art. 74