County officials will no longer have to queue at the Government Printer to push for publication of county bills, gazette notices and other crucial documents if a new Senate bill is enacted.
The Office of County Printer Bill, 2021 gives the devolved units the mandate to publish their own gazette.
“This bill seeks to establish a legal framework for the independent publishing of laws and other official documents by the 47 counties,” reads the bill sponsored by nominated Senator Petronilla Were.
The bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate for the First Reading next week.
Currently, the counties rely the Government Printer which also grapples with huge workload of publishing national government documents.
County government bills cannot become law unless published in a Gazette seven days after assent.
Were argued that her bill is anchored on the provisions of the County Governments Act, 2012 which makes reference to publication of Bills, Acts and other documentation in a “county gazette“.
The Act, however, does not provide for the establishment of the Office of a County Printer that would publish such gazettes thus need for the new bill.
The proposed law establishes the office of the county printer as an office in the office of the county executive.
The office shall be responsible for the printing and publication of the county gazette and shall publish in the county gazette such documents and information as are approved by an authorised officer within seven days of such authorisation, the bill says.
The office holder shall be competitively recruited by the county public service board based on the possession of a relevant degree experience and compliance with the requirements of integrity under Chapter 6 of the Constitution.
“The Bill proposes that a county gazette be published at least once every week and at any other authorised time. It further proposes to proscribe the publishing of documents for purposes of advertising or for any other commercial gain,” she said.
In performing its functions, the bill reads, the office of the county printer shall coordinate and liaise with the office of the government printer and shall ensure that there is no duplication in the printing and publication of documents.
The county printer shall publish the county gazette at least once in every week.
“A publication of a county gazette shall not contain an advertisement inserted by or for a private individual, firm, or corporation or contain any information or material which implies that the county government endorses or favours a specific commercial product, commodity or service,” it adds. BY THE STAR