| There are three regular sessions a year in the Osaka City
Council, as well as extraordinary sessions, which are held whenever necessary.
The Mayor convokes council sessions. Extraordinary sessions must be convoked by
the Mayor when demanded by the President with a decision of Assembly Steering Committee or by a quarter or more of the councilors.
The period in which the City Council possesses the capacity to act is called
a session. The sessions are regulated as follows (the length of each session is decided by resolution according to necessity);
| Ordinary session for deliberating the ordinary budget
[usually held in February-March]
|
| Ordinary session for deliberating the account settlement
[usually held in September-December]
|
Other ordinary session
[usually held in May]
|
Structure
The City Council deliberates in a conference format, and its decisions are
made by majority vote, according to the basic principle of democracy.
Major sittings consist of the Plenary Session and committee meetings.
Plenary Session
Plenary Sessions must be attended by all city councilors. Final
decisions of the City Council are made during the Plenary Session. Adoption or
rejection of bills submitted and the council’s stance in relation to such bills
is ultimately decided at the Plenary Session.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is established by the resolution of the Plenary Session. The Steering Committee confers the proceedings of the Plenary Sessions and important matters regarding the City Council itself such as petitions and appeals.
Standing Committee
It is virtually impossible for each and every bill to be deliberated
on at length during the Plenary Session. For this reason, the committee system
was introduced to utilize the expertise and experience of councilors by allowing
them to efficiently examine various issues in small groups.
The Osaka City Council has six Standing Committees.
All councilors must be appointed by the President to one
of the Standing Committees.
The Standing Committees examine referred bills and other issues,
and possess the authority to investigate items within their jurisdiction.
| Standing Committees |
| Finance and General Affairs Committee |
| Education and Youth Committee |
| Public Welfare and Health Committee |
| City Planning and Economic Committee |
| City Administration Reform Committee |
| Public Works and Port & Harbor Committee |
Special Committee
Special Committees are established by resolution of the Plenary
Session for the examination of specific bills and investigation of various issues.
The committees are disbanded after completing their examination and investigation
of the referred issue. An Account Settlement Special Committee is established
twice a year.
Disaster Countermeasures Committee
The Disaster Countermeasures Committee was established to create
temporary and permanent countermeasures related to various disasters.
Session Outline
| Plenary Session |
 |
- Proposal of bills and other issues
- Explanation of proposals
|
| Committee Examination |
|
- Standing Committees
- Account Settlement Special Committees
|
| Plenary Session |
|
- Report by Committee Chairs
- Questions & answers and discussion
- Decision
|
|
