I. – The National Council for the Assessment of Standards is consulted by the Government on the technical and financial impact, for local and regional authorities and their public establishments, of draft regulatory texts creating or amending standards applicable to them.
It is also consulted by the Government on the technical and financial impact of draft laws creating or amending standards applicable to local and regional authorities and their public establishments.
It issues, at the request of the Government, an opinion on draft European Union acts having a technical and financial impact on local authorities or their public establishments.
Excluded from the remit of the national council are standards directly justified by the protection of national security.
II. – The president of a parliamentary assembly may submit for the opinion of the national council a bill with a technical and financial impact on local authorities or their public establishments tabled by one of the members of this assembly, unless the latter objects.
III. – At the request of its Chairman or one third of its members, the commission examining draft federal regulations relating to sports facilities may, before giving its final opinion, submit a draft standard of a delegating federation to the National Council for its opinion.
IV. – The National Council may consider any draft technical standard resulting from standardisation or certification activities with a technical or financial impact for local authorities and their public bodies.
V. – The National Council may be asked by the Government, the standing committees of the National Assembly and the Senate and, under conditions set by decree in the Council of State, by the chairman of the standing committee of the National Mountain Council, local authorities and public establishments of inter-municipal cooperation with their own tax status, to assess regulatory standards in force applicable to local authorities and their public establishments.
It may examine these standards itself.
The national council examines changes in the regulations applicable to local authorities and their public establishments and assesses their implementation and their technical and financial impact with regard to the objectives pursued.
In its assessment opinion, the National Council may propose measures for adapting the regulatory standards in force that are in line with the objectives pursued if the application of the latter would entail material, technical or financial consequences for local authorities and their public establishments that are manifestly disproportionate with regard to these objectives.
The opinion issued by the National Council on regulatory provisions in force may propose ways of simplifying these provisions and repealing standards that have become obsolete.
VI. – The National Council has a period of six weeks from the transmission of a draft text mentioned in I or a request for an opinion formulated in application of II or III to give its opinion. This period may be extended once by decision of the Chairman. In exceptional circumstances and at the request of the Prime Minister or the president of the parliamentary assembly to which the matter has been referred, it may be reduced to two weeks.
By reasoned decision of the Prime Minister, this time limit may be reduced to seventy-two hours.
Failing to deliberate within the time limit, the opinion of the National Council is deemed to be favourable.
Where the National Council issues an unfavourable opinion on all or part of a draft text mentioned in the first paragraph of I, the Government shall forward an amended draft or, at the request of the National Council, justify the retention of the initial draft. Except in the case provided for in the second paragraph of this VI, a second deliberation is given by the National Council.
VII. – Opinions issued by the National Council pursuant to I, III, IV and V shall be made public.
Opinions issued on Bills pursuant to II shall be sent to the president of the parliamentary assembly that submitted them, for communication to the members of that assembly.
The work of the National Council shall be the subject of an annual public report submitted to the Prime Minister and the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate.