Fourteen Bills passed by Kerala Assembly awaiting assent, says Speaker A.N. Shamseer

As the 15th Kerala Assembly is set to open its final session on January 20, 14 Bills passed by the House are still awaiting assent.

The 14 Bills are pending with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar while the Assembly has yet to pass four Bills, Speaker A.N. Shamseer told a press conference held here in connection with the 32-day session.

The delay in giving assent for the Bills remains a sore issue between the State government and the Lok Bhavan. “You know as well as I do why they are pending. You should ask him (the Governor) why assent has not been given yet,” Mr. Shamseer told the reporters in response to questions on the issue.

Of the 14 Bills,three pertaining to the university law amendments and one related to the motor transport workers were passed during the earlier sessions of the current Assembly, according to Assembly officials.

Mr. Arlekar had referred a number of Bills to the President. These include the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, and the Kerala University Laws (Amendment) Bills, 2025, which were forwarded to the President in September last year.

A majority of the remaining Bills had been passed by the House during the September-October session last year. These include two Bills that sought to amend Central Acts: the Wildlife Protection (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Kerala Amendment) Bill, 2025. The latter Bill sought to give permission to resume agriculture-related cattle race events variously known as ‘Maramadi,’ ‘Kaalapoottu’ and ‘Kannupoottu.’ Amendments to a Central Act by the State, as permitted by Article 254 (2) of the Constitution, requires the assent of the President. Other Bills pending assent include two amendments related to the Municipalities Act and the Panchayat Raj Act and one related to the regularisation of privately-held surplus land, the officials said.

The 15th Kerala Assembly, which had sittings on 192 days so far, has passed 158 Bills, Mr. Shamseer said. Kerala continues to remain a model in the context of legislation, he said.

Policy address

The Budget session, which is the 16th of the 15th Kerala Assembly, will begin on January 20 with a policy address by the Governor. The 2026-27 State Budget will be presented on January 29. January 22, 27 and 28 have been earmarked for the discussion on the thanksgiving motion to the Governor’s address.

The general discussion on the Budget will take place from February 2 to 4. There will be no sittings from February 6 to 22, during which the various subject committees will meet to scrutinise the demands for grants. As per the current schedule, the session will last till March 26. If the Election Commission of India (EC) notifies the Assembly elections in-between, the schedule will be amended.