Rules of Procedure of the Government and the State Chancellery (GeschR) - Number and Designation of Departments (GeschR)

1. For the preparation of government business and for the independent execution of the tasks assigned to them by legislation or by special delegation of the government, the following departments exist

a) Department of Economic Affairs;

b) Department of the Interior;

c) Department of Education;

d) ...

e) Department of Finance;

f)* Department of Construction and Environment;

g) Department of Security and Justice;

h) Department of Health.

1. The business scope of the Department of Economic Affairs includes

a) Promotion of agriculture (in particular agricultural education, measures for the preservation of agricultural land ownership, tenant protection, agricultural real estate brokerage, crop production, animal husbandry, dairy farming, alpine farming, hail and livestock insurance);

b) Forestry;

bbis) Nature and landscape conservation;

bter) Hunting and fishing;

c) Land improvements;

cbis) …

cter) Trade police (in particular traveling trades, price disclosure, supervision of the cinema industry, rest days, and store opening hours);

cquater) Employee protection, labor law, conciliation authority;

cquinquies) Unemployment insurance and welfare, employment placement;

d) Promotion of trade, commerce, industry, and transport, economic cross-border traffic, air traffic;

e) …

f) Hospitality businesses, retail trade with distilled spirits;

g) Measurement and weight;

h) Market regulation;

i) …

k) Consulates;

l) Statistics;

m)* Consumer credit;

n)* Gambling legislation.

1. The responsibilities of the Department of the Interior include

a)* Handling complaints related to the exercise of political rights;

b)* Supervision of the lawful status of authorities (excluding the organs of civil and criminal justice);

c) Supervision of political municipalities and special municipalities, insofar as other departments are not responsible;

cbis) Changes in the composition of the municipalities;

cter) Implementation of legislation on financial equalization;

d) ...

dbis) Official notary services, commercial register, land registry, guardianship, and child law, cantonal legislation, and administrative application of debt enforcement and bankruptcy law;

e) Religious matters;

f) Burial services;

g) Citizenship and civil status;

gbis) Foster care affairs;

gter) Facilities for people with disabilities (excluding special schools);

gquater)* ...

gquinquies) Mixed institutions according to the social assistance law;

gsexies)* Adoption and origin search;

h)* Social assistance, insofar as other departments are not responsible, as well as the social security of the population, particularly families, children, adolescents, single individuals, the elderly and disabled;

i) Social insurances, insofar as other departments are not responsible;

ibis) Gender equality;

iter) Promotion of integration;

j)* Prevention and combat of violence against women and domestic violence as well as human trafficking;

k) State and abbey archives as well as libraries;

l)* Cultural promotion and cultural heritage including monument conservation and archaeology;

lbis) Lottery fund contribution system;

m) Official bonding cooperatives;

n) ...

nbis) ...

o) ...

p) ...

q) ...

r) ...

s) ...

t) ...

1. The responsibilities of the Department of Education include

a)* Schools of all levels (with the exception of agricultural schools);

b)* ...

c) Supervisory authority over the political municipalities and the school municipalities in the execution of the legislation on public schools;

d) Apprenticeship system and career counseling;

e) ...

f) ...

g) ...

h) Promotion of physical education, sports, and preparatory instruction.

1. The responsibilities of the Department of Finance include

a) Management and supervision of the cash and accounting systems of the general state administration and the special administrations;

b) Collection of state revenues, insofar as they are not assigned to other departments;

c) Taxes;

d) Administration of state assets (insofar as they are not assigned to other departments), capital investments of the general state administration, state funds, and the special administrations, as well as state debts;

e) Salt administration and stamp administration;

f)* Execution of real estate appraisal;

g) Personnel office, insurance for state personnel;

gbis) Supervision of occupational benefits and foundations;

h) ...

i) Cantonal relief fund;

k) Supervision of the cantonal bank;

l)* ...

m) ...

n)* Public procurement;

o)* Insurance and risk management;

p)* Service for IT planning;

q)* Public corporate governance.

2. In the area of insurance and risk management, the Department of Finance makes decisions regarding the risk management of insurable property, personal, and financial damages affecting the state administration. The responsibilities according to the Financial Budget Ordinance of December 17, 1996, remain reserved.

1. The responsibilities of the Department of Construction and Environment include

a) public roads and public waters;

abis) local, regional, and cantonal planning;

ater) ...

aquater) geoinformation and surveying;

b) building regulations;

c) water policing, river corrections, and torrent control;

d) water rights;

dbis) environmental protection, including water protection;

dter) energy law;

e) real estate management;

f) railways, cableways and ski lifts, water utilization facilities (concessions, construction plans, etc.);

g) administration of the beach areas on lake shores;

h) construction and maintenance of shipping facilities;

i) public baths in Bad Ragaz and Pfäfers;

k) mining;

l) ...

m) expropriations in favor of the canton;

n) energy supply and utilization;

o) ...

p) completion and execution of land registry transactions for the government and departments in the area of financial and administrative assets;

q) climate and sustainability.

1. The jurisdiction of the Department of Security and Justice includes

a) Supervision of the lawful establishment of the authorities and officials entrusted with civil and criminal justice;

abis) ...

b) Cantonal legislation and administrative application: of civil law, insofar as no other departments are responsible; of criminal law; of civil and criminal procedural law; of expropriation law (with the exception of expropriations in favor of the state);

bbis) Cantonal legislation of administrative justice;

c) Cantonal legislation of liability law;

d)* Police corps, order and security police (in particular supervision of the handling of police in the municipalities, enforcement of federal weapons law);

dbis) Coordination of civil protection;

dter) Military administration and substitute military service tax;

dquater) Civil defense and protection of cultural property;

e) Residence, travel, and identity documents for Swiss citizens;

ebis) Cantonal duties in matters of foreign and asylum law;

eter) Social assistance for asylum seekers and temporarily admitted persons, excluding financial social assistance under cantonal law for temporarily admitted persons;

equater) Emergency assistance for persons present illegally;

f) Motor vehicle and bicycle traffic;

g) Shipping and port administration;

h) ...

hbis) Compensation and satisfaction under the Victim Assistance Act;

hter) Free legal aid before administrative authorities;

i) Correctional execution (execution of penalties and measures, execution facilities and prisons, probation services);

k) ...

l)* Cantonal building insurance and fire protection.

1. The responsibilities of the Department of Health include

a) Hospitals, psychiatric clinics, and inpatient facilities for addiction support;

abis)* Inpatient care facilities, insofar as they are not expressly assigned to the Department of the Interior;

b) Cantonal pharmacy, center for laboratory medicine;

c) Medical professions and other health care professions;

d) ...

dbis) Medical laboratories and medical institutes;

dter) Rescue and transport services;

e) Home care and assistance;

f) Health prevention;

fbis) Prevention and combating of alcohol abuse;

g) School medical and dental services;

h) Measures against communicable diseases;

i) Preparations against health damage;

ibis) Veterinary affairs;

iter) Animal protection;

iquater) Dog police;

k) Research in the service of health;

l) Pharmaceuticals, narcotics, and poisons;

m) Trade in food and consumer goods;

n) Forensic medicine;

o) Health insurance.

1. The allocation of business matters not listed in Articles 21 to 27 of this decree, as well as disputes over jurisdiction between departments, shall be decided by the government.

2. The government is at liberty, at any time and in deviation from the aforementioned distribution of business, to appoint committees from among its members to conduct preliminary discussions on a subject.

1. The State Chancellery supports the government and the cantonal council by fulfilling the tasks assigned to it by law as well as supplementary orders from the government and the competent bodies of the cantonal council.

2. It assists the president of the government in the performance of his duties.

1. The State Chancellery is responsible for, in particular

a) drafting the resolutions, messages, and proposals of the government based on departmental requests;

b) preparing the minutes of government meetings;

c) disseminating official information through press releases and media briefings, as well as via the canton’s website;

d) preparing and dispatching documents issued by the government or the President of the government;

e) publishing the collection of laws, the official gazette, the state calendar, and any other publications as necessary;

ebis)* participating in legislative projects in cooperation with the responsible department;

eter) preliminary examination of draft decrees from the departments;

eter1)* having professional responsibility for legislation in the areas of

1. general constitutional and state law;

2. official publications;

3. political rights;

4. data protection at the federal and cantonal levels;

equater) providing advice and knowledge transfer on legislative matters;

equinquies)* carrying out tasks in the area of political planning and controlling;

esexies)* managing the conference of the general secretaries;

esepties)* supporting the government in maintaining external relations and coordinating national, inter-cantonal, cross-border, and international cooperation of the canton;

f)* ...

fbis)* having professional responsibility for the introduction, maintenance, and care for the electronic business administration of departments, the government, and the cantonal council. Excluded are the responsibilities of the state archive in records management and archiving;

fter)* providing postal services for the departments, the State Chancellery, and the courts;

g) certifying signatures;

h)* ...

1. The State Chancellery is responsible for coordinating the procurement of office supplies and printed materials.

2. The departments of cantonal administration obtain office supplies and printed materials from the agency designated by the State Chancellery.

3. They submit orders for printed materials to the State Chancellery. The State Chancellery ensures their execution.

1. The State Chancellery implements the federal and cantonal legislation regarding political rights. It is specifically responsible for

a) the preparation and conduct of elections and referendums;

b) maintaining the cantonal voting register for Swiss citizens living abroad;

c) receiving and verifying the validity of cantonal referendum and initiative requests;

d) providing advice and disseminating knowledge in the area of political rights.

2. It fulfills the duties assigned by law to the canton or the competent department. Complaint procedures are excluded.

1. The departments and the state chancellery collect the fees of the government within their respective areas of responsibility.

1. The Collection of Government Fees in Proceedings in Which the Government's Decision Was Already Made at the Commencement of the Implementation of This Amendment Falls Under the Responsibility of the State Chancellery.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 1952. The rules of procedure of the Government Council and the State Chancellery dated August 7, 1942, are hereby repealed.