Overview
- The Left Party said it cannot support the draft as written, calling it a threat to wages, social standards, and open government.
- State chancellery chief Stefan Gruhner urged the Left to seek a deal and warned against blocking the bill.
- One change would make publishing official documents on the state transparency website optional, which the data protection chief Tino Melzer called a step back for access to information.
- Another change would drop the routine proof that bidders on public contracts pay their workers properly, which the Left says weakens checks against low pay.
- The draft would also let municipalities apply to deviate from some state rules, and Gruhner said a second deregulation package is planned for later this year.