Lawmakers discuss legislative agenda - Highest-ever number of petition signatures gathered
Last year, the Petitions Committee of the Thuringian Parliament received a whopping 539 petitions. The majority of these petitions, numbering 98, were centered around work, social affairs, health, women, and family matters. This was revealed in the annual report for 2023, which the committee's chairperson, Anja Müller (from the Left party), presented to the Landtag's President, Birgit Pommer, on Tuesday. These public petitions garnered a remarkable 58,690 signatures - a new record.
According to Müller, this was the first time the committee exercised its right to gain access to administrative files. This was prompted by a petition about the Upgrading Bafög program, which provides financial aid for further education or training. The petitioner was aggrieved by the prolonged processing period of his application.
Upgrading Bafög is a financial assistance program available for individuals who wish to pursue further education or training. In response to the discovered issue with the lengthy application processing times, Müller stated that committee members had personally visited the administrative office to determine the cause. It was found that an interface program was to blame for the delay. "The processing time for Upgrading Bafög has significantly decreased," Müller noted.
Over the years, the committee has observed that people are increasingly motivated to induce changes in their local communities, nation, or communities. These individuals seek to be actively involved in decision-making and policymaking processes. However, Müller lamented that they often face numerous obstacles in achieving this.
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The record-breaking 58,690 petition signatures for the Upgrading Bafög program came from residents of Thuringia, seeking improvements to the financial aid program for further education or training. Due to these concerns, the Petitions Committee of the Thuringian Parliament, led by chairperson Anja Müller, decided to exercise their right to access administrative files related to the program. This action resulted in the identification of an interface program causing application processing delays, leading to improved processing times for Upgrading Bafögr petitions in Erfurt.
