**Bernese Jura Council (BJR)** (SSTV)

1. The Bernese Jura Council (BJR) establishes the location of its General Secretariat in its organizational regulations.

1. The term of office begins on June 1 and ends on May 31 of the following year.

2. Vacancies arising during the term of office shall be filled for the remaining duration.

1. The BJR may submit a budget request to the State Chancellery each year.

1. The Council for Francophone Affairs of the Biel/Bienne Administrative District (RFB) may submit a budget request to the State Chancellery each year.

1. The municipalities of the administrative district of Biel/Bienne shall inform the State Chancellery when they intend to assign municipal tasks to the RFB.

2. The exercise of political participation at the municipal level (Art. 47 SStG) is a municipal task in the sense of paragraph 1, and its costs are to be borne by the respective municipality.

3. The municipal contribution pursuant to Article 44 paragraph 1 SStG covers the costs incurred by the RFB for opinions it drafts within the framework of municipal consultations.

4. The State Chancellery calculates each municipality's contribution once a year and invoices them accordingly.

1. The cantonal contribution according to Article 35 paragraph 4 of the SStG to the association seeland.biel/bienne amounts to 4,000 Swiss Francs.

2. It is transferred at the end of the first half of the election year.

1. Applications originating from the Bernese Jura for contributions from the Lottery and Sports Fund must be submitted to the General Secretariat of the Security Directorate.

2. The General Secretariat of the Security Directorate registers and manages the applications and transfers them to the BJR.

The BJR conducts the procedure in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Security Directorate, which can submit applications.

If the amount of the anticipated contribution exceeds the spending authority of the BJR, it forwards the matter with an application to the General Secretariat of the Security Directorate. The General Secretariat of the Security Directorate prepares the corresponding proposal for the Security Directorate to the competent authority and comments on the application of the BJR.

The rejection of contribution applications from the Bernese Jura is issued and justified by the BJR.

1. The General Secretariat of the Security Directorate disburses the contributions.

2. The amounts of contributions granted by the BJR and the Government Council are shown separately in the fund accounts.

3. If the financial framework pursuant to Article 20 of the SStG[[2]] is not exhausted in a given year, the remaining amount may be used in the following years.

1. Applications for state contributions from the Cultural Promotion Fund for cultural activities in the Bernese Jura or with a special connection to the Bernese Jura must be submitted to the BJR, unless the contribution serves projects of national, inter-cantonal, or cantonal-wide importance, with the exception of inter-Jura projects.

1a The BJR confirms receipt and forwards the application to the Cultural Office.

2. The Cultural Office registers and manages the applications and forwards them, if necessary, with a recommendation from the French-speaking Commission for General Cultural Affairs to the BJR.

**1. The BJR conducts the procedure in collaboration with the Office for Culture, which may submit applications.**

2. If the amount of the proposed grant exceeds the BJR's expenditure authority, it forwards the matter with an application to the Office for Culture. The Office for Culture prepares the corresponding proposal for the Education and Culture Directorate for the attention of the competent authority and comments on the BJR's application.

3. The rejection of grant applications from the Bernese Jura is decided and justified by the BJR.

1. The Office of Culture disburses the contributions.

2. The total amount of contributions granted by the BJR and the Government Council is separately indicated in the fund statement.

3. If the financial framework according to Article 17 SStG is not fully utilized in one year, the remaining amount may be used in the following years.

1. The BJR develops its concept of general cultural policy in collaboration with the Office of Culture and the French-speaking Commission for General Cultural Issues.

2. In doing so, it takes into account the cultural policy established for the entire canton and consults the RFB.

1. The French-Speaking Commission for General Cultural Affairs is an advisory body for the BJR. In this capacity, it fulfills the tasks specified in Articles 25 and 26 of the Cantonal Cultural Promotion Ordinance of November 13, 2013 (KKFV) 4.

2. The French-Speaking Coordination Conference (FRAKO) coordinates the relationships between the relevant organizational units and participates in the administrative management of affairs.

1. The FRAKO is the point of contact for the BJR and the RFB for handling matters in accordance with Article 24 of the SStG.

2. It coordinates the relationships between the two councils and the competent authorities of the Directorate of Education and Culture and participates in the administrative management of affairs.

1. The BJR and the RFB exercise their competencies in accordance with Article 23, Paragraph 1 and Article 45, Paragraph 1 SStG in cooperation with the FRAKO.

2. They appoint one or more delegations from among their members to represent them in matters related to inter-cantonal relations. The delegations of the RFB consist exclusively of members from the municipalities of Biel and Leubringen.

1. The members of the FRAKO represent the canton within the conferences and permanent commissions of the Intercantonal Conference of Education Directors of Western Switzerland and Ticino (EDK/SR+TI).

2. They regularly consult with the delegations of the BJR and RFB in preparation for and follow-up to the meetings of the conferences and permanent commissions.

The delegations or individual members of these delegations designated by the BJR and the RFB, together with the members of the FRAKO, form the delegation of the French-speaking cantonal part in the non-permanent commissions as well as in the inter-cantonal working groups of the EDK/SR+TI.

1. The political participation provided for in Article 31, paragraph 1, letter g of the SStG concerns the following matters from the directorates and state chancellery

a Decisions that particularly affect the Bernese Jura and which are of general significance to it or hold great political importance;

b Decisions that particularly and as a whole affect the French-speaking staff of the Cantonal administration;

c Decisions related to joint institutions according to Articles 27 and 28 of the SStG.

2. The political participation provided for in Article 31, paragraph 1, letter h of the SStG concerns the appointment orders for the following positions

a **\*** French-speaking Vice State Secretary,

b **\*** French-speaking Secretary-General and French-speaking Deputy Secretary-General of the Directorate of Education and Culture,

c **\*** Land Registrar of the Bernese Jura administrative region,

d **\*** ...

e **\*** Head and Deputy Head of the Regional Office for Debt Collection and Bankruptcy of Bernese Jura,

f **\*** ...

g **\*** Chief Engineer of the Bernese Jura department of the Chief Engineer District III,

g1 **\*** Head of the Regional Police Seeland-Bernese Jura,

h **\*** Head of the stationed and mobile police of the Bernese Jura,

i **\*** Head of the French-speaking administrative office of the Department for Municipalities and Spatial Planning (AGR),

k **\*** President of the Child and Adult Protection Authority Bernese Jura (KESB Bernese Jura),

l **\*** Head of the Bernese Jura office of the Department for Civil Protection, Sports and Military Affairs (BSM),

l1 **\*** Deputy District Commander of the Canton of Bern,

l2 **\*** Head of the Vehicle Inspection Center Seeland/Bernese Jura of the Office for Road Traffic and Shipping (SVSA),

m **\*** Officer for French-speaking and bilingual matters of the Department for Culture (AK) as well as Culture Officer of the BJR,

n **\*** Head of the French-speaking Division of the Department for Kindergarten, Primary School, and Counseling (AKVB),

o **\*** Head of the French-speaking Division of the Secondary and Vocational Education Office (MBA),

p **\*** Head of the French-speaking Division of the Higher Education Office (AH),

q **\*** School Inspectors of the regional school inspectorate Welschbiel-Bernese Jura,

r **\*** Regional Head and Deputy Regional Head of the Career Guidance and Information Center of the French-speaking region (BIZ of the French-speaking region),

s **\*** Deputy Government Commissioner of the administrative district Bernese Jura,

t **\*** ...

u **\*** Deputy Head of the Department for Communication (KomBE) responsible for communication in French,

v **\*** Head of the Forestry Division Bernese Jura.

1. The political participation provided for in Article 46 paragraph 1 SStG concerns the following matters from the directorates and the State Chancellery

a) Decisions that particularly affect the French-speaking population of the administrative district of Biel/Bienne and that are of general significance to them or hold considerable political importance;

b) Decisions that particularly and collectively affect the French-speaking staff of the cantonal administration.

2. The political participation provided for in Article 46 paragraph 1 letter b SStG concerns the applications for state contributions for cultural activities from the administrative district of Biel/Bienne.

3. The political participation provided for in Article 46 paragraph 1 letter d SStG concerns appointment orders for the following positions

a) French-speaking Deputy State Secretary,

b) French-speaking Secretary General and French-speaking Deputy Secretary General of the Directorate of Education and Culture,

c) Registrar of Land Registry District II,

d) ...

e) Head and Deputy Head of the Regional Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Office Berner Jura-Seeland,

f) ...

g) Head of the French-speaking administrative office of the Office for Municipalities and Spatial Planning (AGR),

h) President of the Child and Adult Protection Authority Biel/Bienne (KESB Biel/Bienne),

i) Head of the Berner Jura Office of the Office for Civil Protection, Sports, and Military (BSM),

i1) Deputy Regional Commander of the Canton of Bern,

i2) Head of the Vehicle Testing Center Seeland/Berner Jura of the Office for Motor Vehicles and Navigation (SVSA),

k) Delegate for French-speaking and bilingual affairs of the Office for Culture (AK) and Cultural Delegate of the BJR,

l) Head of the French-speaking department of the Office for Kindergarten, Primary School, and Counseling (AKVB),

m) Head of the French-speaking department of the Secondary and Vocational Education Office (MBA),

n) Head of the French-speaking department of the Office for Higher Education (AH),

o) School Inspectors of the Regional School Inspectorate Welschbiel-Berner Jura,

p) Regional Head and Deputy Regional Head of the Career Guidance and Information Center of the French-speaking Canton Region (BIZ of the French-speaking Canton Region),

q) Deputy Government Prefect of the administrative district of Biel/Bienne, provided the Government Prefect is German-speaking,

r) ...

s) Chief of the Regional Police Seeland-Berner Jura,

t) Deputy Head of the Communications Office (KomBE), responsible for communication in French.

4. The political participation provided for in Article 46 paragraph 1 letter f SStG also includes receiving and reviewing applications for financial support that applicants from the administrative district of Biel/Bienne submit to the RFB.

1. The departments and the state chancellery consult the BJR and the RFB on matters that involve political participation, specifically

a) during consultation procedures simultaneously with the authorities, organizations, and interested parties, and

b) in all other cases, before the matter is presented to the competent authority for a decision.

1a If the matter concerns an appointment decision related to a function pursuant to Article 19, paragraph 2, or Article 20, paragraph 3, the BJR and the RFB exercise their political participation rights as follows

a) by the participation of one member in the interviews or

b) with a statement on the appointment application before it is submitted to the competent authority for a decision, ensuring the protection of the personality of the candidates.

2. If the matter is based on a parliamentary initiative, the responsible committee sends its draft during the consultation procedure provided for in Article 70, paragraph 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Grand Council of June 4, 2013 (GO)[[8]](#paragraphtext_content_fn_3506258_2_8_c) to the BJR and the RFB.

3. The BJR and the RFB have the same response deadline as the other participants in the consultation. If no consultation procedure takes place, they have a minimum response period of three weeks, except in urgent cases.

1. Article 15 and 19 JSSG[[9]] do not apply to funding requests submitted before the full establishment of the Bernese Jura Council.

2. The financial framework available to the BJC for the year 2006 (Art. 17 and 20 JSSG) will be reduced by the amount of the grants approved before the full establishment of the BJC.

1. The following ordinances shall be amended

1. Ordinance of December 10, 1980, on Political Rights (VPR)[[10]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135016_2_10_c);

2. Ordinance of October 18, 1995, on the Organization and Functions of the State Chancellery (Organization Ordinance STA, OrV STA)[[11]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135017_2_11_c);

3. Ordinance of November 27, 1995, on the Organization and Functions of the Directorate of Education (Organization Ordinance ERZ, OrV ERZ)[[12]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135018_2_12_c);

4. Ordinance of October 7, 1998, on Cultural Commissions (VKK)[[13]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135019_2_13_c);

5. Sports Fund Ordinance of October 29, 2003[[14]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135020_2_14_c);

6. Lottery Ordinance (LV) of October 20, 2004[[15]](#enumeration_itemtext_content_fn_2135021_2_15_c);

1. The Ordinance of 25 May 1994 on the Enhancement of Political Participation of the Bernese Jura and the French-speaking Population of the Biel Administrative District (Ordinance on Political Participation, MBJV) (BSG 104.111) is repealed.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 2006.