Senate endorses final three bills of extraordinary session agenda
AMMAN — The Senate on Monday approved amendments to laws on local administration, real estate ownership, and the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission as received from the Lower House.
With the endorsement of these three bills, during a session chaired by Senate President Faisal Fayez, in the presence of Prime Minister Jafar Hassan and Cabinet members, the Parliament completed all six draft laws listed on the extraordinary session’s agenda, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
The full package covered local administration, vocational work regulation, higher education accreditation, the repeal of the Civil Service Consumer Corporation law, and amendments to real estate ownership and university laws.
Accompanying the passage of the bills, the Senate submitted several key recommendations to the government regarding local administration.
Senators called for governorate service maps to set development priorities and a new governance system to resolve authority overlaps between mayors and executive directors.
They also urged allocating 16 per cent of capital expenditures to municipalities and directing funds from the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority to local councils.
The Upper House stressed the importance of accommodating persons with disabilities, selecting appointed members based on competence, evaluating indirect governorate council elections, and delegating ministry powers to local directors to advance decentralisation.
Regarding the real estate ownership bill, the Senate recommended conducting prior community dialogues and establishing a precise fair value system for expropriation compensations.
Senators urged avoiding private land expropriation for railway projects by rerouting tracks through state lands, particularly in Wadi Rum, while ensuring fair compensation for Ghor Al Safi farmers and facilitating land transfers to majority state owned entities.
On the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission draft law, the Senate advocated transparent criteria for selecting council members.
Senators urged a shift towards outcome based accreditation that links institutional licensing and renewal directly to graduate employment indicators, labor market demands, and employer satisfaction.
