This article is about the lower form of legislation of the National Assembly for Wales between 1999 and 2011. For the higher form of primary legislation, known as Acts of the Assembly, and later of the Senedd from 2020, see Act of Senedd Cymru.
It is a lower form of primary legislation as it did not contain a large bulk of powers compared to the power to make acts. In Wales each Assembly Measure had to be accompanied with a matter which was transferred using the Legislative Competence Order (LCO) system. Each Assembly Measure, like an Act of Parliament, had to have made provision for a matter within the remit of the legislative competency of the Assembly.
Similar to Acts, Assembly Measures faced the same style and level of scrutiny. There were around four stages where the proposed legislation was scrutinised.[4] The first stage was the agreement of the principles of the Assembly Measure, which meant the first approval of the legislation for it to be scrutinised, then it would have been scrutinized at committee level, where a committee of Assembly Members could have debated and proposed amendments to the Measure which is then accompanied with debates in 'plenary', which would have been required to approve the amendments.
Once everything above was completed, the Assembly would then have started the final scrutinising before the Assembly Measure would be passed and becomes law. As in other legislative systems, some laws failed, or were withdrawn.[5]
Royal approval
Assembly Measures, like other types of legislation, had to be approved by a head of state, that head of state being Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II. After the Assembly Measure was passed by the National Assembly for Wales the Measure still had to be taken to the Queen in Council who approved the Measure via an Order in Council. The approval would later be added to the Assembly Measure as proof of the approval. The approving order in council is not approved by both Houses of Parliament like the Orders in Council conferring power to the Assembly.
Proposals
Like in other legislatures, the National Assembly for Wales members could have proposed Assembly Measures. The name for an Assembly Measure proposed by a person not in the Welsh Assembly Government was called a "Members Proposed Assembly Measure" [6] Meanwhile, according to the same source there were also "Government Proposed Assembly Measures" and "Emergency Proposed Assembly Measures". The First Welsh Legislative Counsel, a new post which commenced April 2007, working within the Office of the First Welsh Legislative Counsel, part of the Legal Services Department of the Welsh Assembly Government has responsibility for the drafting of the Welsh Assembly Government's legislative programme following the implementation of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Professor Thomas Glyn Watkin is the first person to be appointed to this post.
English: "This Measure, passed by the National Assembly for Wales on [Date] and approved by Her Majesty in Council on [Date], enacts the following provisions:-"
Welsh: "Mae'r Mesur hwn, a basiwyd gan Gynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru ar [Dyddiad] ac a gymeradwywyd gan Ei Mawrhydi yn ei Chyngor ar [Dyddiad], yn deddfu'r darpariaethau a ganlyn:-"
Subjects of measures
Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the Assembly legislative competence in the following 20 "Subjects" outlined on schedule 7 of that act in relation to Measures. (The Assembly does not have competence with respect to all aspects of these subjects.) Since the Assembly gained the competence to pass Acts, these have not been used, but they still apply in relation to previously passed Measures.[7]
