Grand Council BE Grand Council corrects the government's course on the BLS Act

On Monday, the Bernese Grand Council passed the BLS Act almost unanimously at first reading. This regulates the canton's participation in the railroad company. The amendments proposed by the Audit Committee (GPK) met with great approval in parliament.

The cantonal parliament clearly approved the law with 151 votes in favor and three abstentions. The government must now go back to the books. Parliament will then discuss the law again at a second reading. At that time, the range of the amount of the canton's participation and how this is to be defined in the law is likely to be the main topic of discussion.

"The law is catchy, it is modern," said Regina Fuhrer-Wyss (SP), President of the GPK. Manuel C. Widmer from the Green parliamentary group even saw the law as a template for other similar laws. "We were able to put down markers that could point the way for future participation laws."

The law now passed by the Council demands that the canton undertakes to exhaust its options under company law as majority shareholder and to sharpen its objectives.

In addition, BLS should only be allowed to operate in other areas if these are related to its core task. Other tasks must be outsourced to subsidiaries.

The Council also added an article to the law in which BLS's duty to cooperate with the relevant bodies of the Grand Council is enshrined. In future, the Government Council will be obliged to inform these bodies "of incidents of particular significance".

The law should also regulate the remuneration of BLS management, avoid distortion of competition and prevent conflicts of interest.

Cantonal shareholdings require mandatory legislation

In July, the Audit Committee called for a more precise BLS Act. It saw a need for improvement in many areas. The law presented by the government was "too vague and "a missed opportunity", said GPK spokesman Samuel Leuenberger (SVP) during last week's entry debate.

According to the cantonal constitution, the type and scope of significant cantonal shareholdings must be regulated in a law. No such law has yet been passed for the canton's shareholdings in BLS AG and BLS Netz AG. The Government Council presented the BLS Act in April.

The Canton of Berne holds a stake of just under 56 percent in BLS AG. Another major shareholder is the federal government with a stake of just under 22 percent. Other cantons and municipalities also have a stake in BLS, as do private individuals. BLS AG shares are traded over the counter.

The canton holds a 16.5 percent stake in BLS Netz AG. The remaining shares belong to the majority shareholder, the federal government, BLS and SBB.

Subsidy affair not so long ago

In 2020, the then BLS CEO Bernard Guillelmon resigned. The resignation was the result of a subsidy affair: BLS had received excessive compensation from the federal government and cantons for years and later had to repay CHF 43.6 million in subsidies to the Federal Office of Transport. The new BLS law is also a consequence of these incidents.

SDA