Bavarian State Parliament - Kiff-Ban and Police Software: Laws in Haste
A Kiff-ban for Folk Festivals, new tools for the Bavarian Police, closer cooperation between universities and state schools with the Federal Army: The Bavarian Landtag made these decisions and more just before the parliamentary summer break. Several new laws or amendments passed the parliament on a Wednesday. Here are the key decisions:
No Kiffing at Folk Festivals and in Beer Gardens:
Kiffing at Folk Festivals, particularly the Wiesn, is now completely banned in Bavaria. Additionally, Cannabis products are covered by the general smoking ban in the Free State, which already applies to public buildings, restaurants, and cultural and leisure facilities. A new state law, the Cannabis Consequences Limitation Law, regulates this and more.
Furthermore, the consumption of Cannabis in designated smoking rooms and smoking areas, as well as in outdoor areas of restaurants and cafes, and in beer gardens, is prohibited. The ban applies to the burning, heating, and vaporizing of Cannabis products - other forms of consumption are not regulated by the law.
Moreover, municipalities in Bavaria will have the ability to issue a Cannabis ban on specific public spaces through their own ordinance.
New Tools for the Police:
The Bavarian Police will receive new tools to fight criminals. A key point: The Police can now request the handover of surveillance camera recordings in certain cases in the Free State. The operators of the cameras are then obliged to provide the material to investigators. A second focal point is that the Police can now work with the cross-procedure research and analysis platform (VeRA). This platform should be able to access data from all police databases in Bavaria, allowing investigators to search through it. The goal: Recognize connections and gather information about the same person from various sources.
The program only has access to data that the Bavarian Police already has. It should only be used in specific cases: According to the Criminal Police, it concerns cases of serious and most serious criminality - and only in scenarios where the Police want to prevent possible further crimes. However, the new regulations are controversial. The SPD is considering filing a constitutional complaint.
A separate Bavarian Federal Army Law:
Universities and state schools in Bavaria are to work more closely with the Federal Army in the future. This is a key point of a new Bavarian Federal Army Law. In addition to the CSU and Free Voters, the SPD also voted in favor of the draft - but criticized that the coalition had not taken into account many amendment requests and therefore would bear sole responsibility for any legal errors or inaccuracies in the event of a possible constitutional complaint. The Greens raised serious constitutional concerns.
From the perspective of critics, particularly questionable and possibly unconstitutional: The law aims to prevent universities and universities from prohibiting military use of their research - even though such so-called civil clauses are nowhere to be found in the free state. Instead, a cooperation requirement is prescribed for universities and the Bundeswehr, and in matters of national security, even a cooperation duty. In addition, state schools are supposed to work closely with youth officers. Provision is also made for simplifications for the Bundeswehr in building law on military grounds.
Critics complain that the law unjustly interferes with the autonomy of universities, research and academic freedom, and conscience at schools.
New electoral procedure for honorary constitutional judges:
For the election of honorary judges for the Bavarian Constitutional Court by the Landtag, new rules apply in the future. The AfD is not mentioned in the legislative text, but: Effectively, this legislative change prevents quasi-automatically nominated candidates from the AfD from being elected to the highest Bavarian Court, as recently in January.
According to the planned electoral procedure, there will be two proposal lists in the future: one for the government factions, one for all factions in the opposition. The number of candidates elected from each list depends on the strength of both sides in the parliament. For the opposition list, each opposition faction can nominate as many candidates as there are persons to be elected over this list. In the end, the persons with the most votes are elected. There are therefore more proposal lists than judge positions to be filled. The AfD strongly protested against the legislative change.
University clinic merger in Munich:
Internationally recognized university clinics and research institutions at the Munich medical campus are to be better networked. This concrete step has now been decided by the Landtag: The Klinikum Rechts der Isar of the Technical University Munich and the German Heart Center will be merged into a university clinic. The name: "University Clinic of the Technical University Munich".
Enquiry commission in the Landtag on bureaucracy reduction:
With bureaucracy reduction, a so-called Enquiry Commission will be concerned in the Landtag in the future. Such a commission consists of deputies and external experts. The setting up of which was agreed upon by CSU, Free Voters, Greens and SPD across factions, it was already decided on Tuesday.
- The banned activities in Bavarian beer gardens, due to the Kiff-ban, also extend to the use of Cannabis products, as per the regulations of the Cannabis Consequences Limitation Law passed in the Bavarian State Parliament.
- The Bavarian State Parliament, in its cooperation with the Federal Military, has passed a new law requiring closer collaboration between universities and state schools in Bavaria with the Federal Army, as outlined in the new Bavarian Federal Army Law.
- The Controversial Bavarian Federal Army Law has faced criticism from the SPD for potential constitutional violations, with the party considering filing a constitutional complaint.
- The California State University might take note of the new electoral procedure for honorary constitutional judges in the Bavarian Constitutional Court, as the legislation effectively bars quasi-automatic nominations from the AfD.
- The Bavarian Police will receive additional tools for fighting crimes, including the authority to request surveillance camera recordings in certain cases and access to the cross-procedure research and analysis platform (VeRA) for investigative purposes.
- The Bavarian Landtag has decided to merge the Klinikum Rechts der Isar of the Technical University Munich with the German Heart Center to form a single university clinic named "University Clinic of the Technical University Munich," promoting better research collaborations and networking between international institutions.
