Thiruvananthapuram: The Fifteenth Kerala Legislative Assembly, which is nearing the completion of its term, passed a total of 168 bills over 204 sitting days across 16 sessions. The Assembly was constituted on May 3, 2021 and held its first session on May 24. In terms of laws passed in proportion to sitting days, the Fifteenth Assembly has recorded the highest output so far. Of the 195 government bills published during the period, 168 were passed while the rest were legally dropped.

Traditionally, discussions on adjournment motions under Rule 50 were rare from the First to the Thirteenth Assembly. However, the present Assembly spent nearly 13.34% of its time on adjournment motions. It set a new precedent by taking up discussions on 18 such notices, according to a release from the Kerala Legislative Secretariat. However, the total number of sitting days saw a slight reduction due to the curtailment of some sessions for various reasons, falling short of the proposed annual average of at least 60 days.

Legislative achievements
The Assembly passed 168 bills, including 29 Appropriation Bills. Major legislations covered public health, digital science university, cooperative sector amendments, healthcare protection, animal feed regulation, senior citizens commission, private universities, land regularisation, forest amendments and the Malayalam Language Bill. However, the Chair noted that assent to 13 bills passed by the Assembly is pending with the Governor. Finance Minister N Balagopal presented six budgets during the term. The Assembly also passed the full state budget before the start of the financial year on three occasions – in 2023, 2025 and 2026.

Working hours and proceedings
Across its 204 sitting days, the Assembly functioned for a total of 1,192 hours and 23 minutes, averaging about six hours per day despite occasional disruptions. Notably, 107 hours and 51 minutes were spent on the admission of adjournment motions under Rule 50 and 51 hours and 11 minutes on related discussions, the highest ever in the Assembly’s history. Together, these proceedings accounted for about 13.34 per cent of the Assembly’s total working time.

However, only 14 hours and 11 minutes across 12 Fridays could be devoted to private members’ business, which the Chair termed a shortcoming.

Question Hour performance
A total of 69,086 notices were admitted as questions during the Assembly’s term. Of these, 5,160 were starred and 62,882 unstarred, with 67,832 questions printed. Four urgent questions were also permitted.

All urgent and starred questions have been answered, while replies to 2,992 unstarred questions remain pending. During Question Hour, 672 questions were taken up and members raised 5,126 supplementary questions.

Zero Hour and submissions
The House considered 313 Calling Attention notices under Rule 62 and 1,824 submissions under Rule 304 on matters of public importance. A total of 6,879 official documents were laid on the Table during the period.

Committee performance
Legislative committees recorded strong performance, with financial committees submitting 102 reports by the Public Accounts Committee, 36 by the Estimates Committee, 82 by the Local Fund Accounts Committee and 84 by the Public Undertakings Committee.

The Committee on the Welfare of Women, Transgender Persons, Children and the Differently Abled submitted 25 reports, while the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table submitted 22.

Governor's policy addresses
Former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan addressed the Assembly four times and the current Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar twice. On January 25, 2024, Arif Mohammed Khan read only the opening and concluding paragraphs, making it the shortest policy address in the Assembly’s history.

The Assembly also asserted its procedural position by rejecting the Governor’s constitutional message seeking to record only his version of the address and instead formally approving the Cabinet-cleared text.

Among the 140 members elected to the Fifteenth Assembly, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, P T Thomas, Vazhoor Soman and Kanathil Jameela died during the term. Minister K Radhakrishnan and MLA Shafi Parambil resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha, while P V Anvar resigned after joining another party. MLA Antony Raju was disqualified under the Representation of the People Act following a court verdict. Five members entered the Assembly through byelections during the term. At the close of the Assembly’s tenure, three seats – Peerumedu, Koyilandy and Thiruvananthapuram – remain vacant.

During the term, 42,260 visitors watched the proceedings from the galleries. Sabha TV expanded its technical capabilities and crossed 1.1 lakh subscribers on YouTube, besides launching a dedicated channel for exclusive content.