Bangkok –
The House of Representatives yesterday, February 9th, has forwarded two proposed draft bills, the ‘progressive’ liquor bill and the same-sex marriage bill, to the Cabinet Committee for review.
The Cabinet review essentially means that the bills’ first readings would be delayed for another two months.
The ‘progressive’ liquor bill was first proposed to the parliament by the members of the Move Forward Party on February 2nd, seeking the amendment of Section 153 of the Excise Tax Act B.E.2560 and highlighting the end of what bill proponents call the liquor production oligopoly and the opportunity for small-to-medium-sized breweries to enter the liquor market.
The Act has prevented local alcoholic entrepreneurs from producing their products in Thailand for years as they had to go through several strict requirements and high-cost standards under the Ministry of Finance.
About 227 of the 394 MPs had voted in favor of the draft for the Cabinet review at the meeting yesterday afternoon, February 9th, while 157 of them disagreed, resulting in the delay of the reading process by 60 days.
Meanwhile, the same-sex marriage draft amendment, which was also proposed at the council meeting by the Move Forward Party seeking the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, was voted by the majority to be taken into consideration by the cabinet instead of voting to proceed in a first reading in the House.
The votes had prompted heavy online feedback and public attention last night, expressing their disappointment and anger towards the parliament’s decision and the delay of the readings.
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