Country
1 = Austria
2 = Belgium
3 = Denmark
4 = Finland
5 = France
6 = Germany
7 = Greece
8 = Iceland
9 = Ireland
10 = Italy
11 = Luxemburg
12 = Netherlands
13 = Norway
14 = Portugal
15 = Spain
16 = Sweden
17 = Switzerland
18 = United Kingdom

Type of bill
1 = Working time/contract
2 = Benefits
3 = "Unsuccessful"

Bill mentioned in Blanpain's Encyclopaedia?
1 = Yes
2 = No

Was there a pre-parliamentary commission
1 = Yes, with a publicly accessible report.
2 = Committee apointed by the govt, but behind closed doors.
3 = No

Was the matter mentioned in vague or in precise terms?
1 = Yes, in precise and detailed terms
2 = Yes, in rather vague terms

Was a solution to the policy problem
1 = Yes
2 = Not at all

If yes, how much attention was paid to the policy problem
1 = One phrase or less
2 = A paragraph (= several sentences)
3 = A section (= several paragraphs)
4 = A chapter

Does the bill formulate a solution to the problem
1 = In (quite) a similar way
2 = Some parts in a similar way, others in a dissimilar way
3 = No, or very little similarity between the two formulations

In which House was the bill first introduced?
0 = Unicameral
1 = Lower House
2 = Upper House

Official initiator of bill
1 = Government/Individual minister (s)
2 = Parliamentary party (parties)
3 = Individual (or several individual) MP(s)
4 = Initiated by parliamentary committee
5 = popular initiative

Govt./Opposition status party1
1 = govt
2 = non- govt

Govt./Opposition status party9
1 = govt
2 = non-govt

Approximate result if vote was not recorded
0 = Recorded vote
1 = Near unanimous
2 = Approved
3 = Rejected

Name of first committee
1 = Social Affairs
2 = Finance
3 = Justice
4 = Other

Did chair belong to govt or non-govt?
1 = Government
2 = Non- government

If several committees, was their deliberation
1 = Simultaneous
2 = consecutive

Type(s) of subcommittees involved
1 = special (ad hoc) subcommittee was created
2 = permanent subcommittee

Method of appointment of members of main committee
1 = members fixed by rules
2 = some specifically selected for permanent committee
3 = ad hoc committee was formed

Number of substitutions
1 = None
2 = 1-10
3 = 11-20
4 = 21-30
5 = 31 or more

Type of hearing(s)
1 = public
2 = private
3 = both at several stages

Who testified at these hearings?
1 = Government ministers
2 = Civil servants
3 = Independent experts
4 = Interest group representatives
5 = other
6 = No data available

Which committee made the final report to the plenary?
1 = Social affairs
2 = Finance
3 = Justice
4 = Other

Who reported bill to plenary?
1 = Chair
2 = Rapporteur
3 = Committee as a whole

Govt./Opp. status of rapporteur (party1)
1 = govt.
2 = non-govt.

Efforts made by opposition to oppose bill's adoption
1 = None
2 = Demanding the verification of the quorum
3 = Demanding suspension of this debate
4 = Moving the bill to be returned to committee
5 = Other

Did govt. invoke restrictive procedures
1 = no restrictive procedures
2 = invoked procedures

Is there a synopsis on amendments suggested
1 = synopsis enclosed
2 = No synopsis

Consequences when other chamber disagreed
1 = Bill modified
2 = Bill dropped
3 = Vote of other House overturned
4 = Bill was sent to Conference Committee

Overall fate of bill
1 = Passed
2 = Rejected

Formal assent by head of state
1 = Given
2 = Refused

Challenge to bill in constitutional court?
1 = Challenged
2 = Unchallenged

Ad hoc committees
0 = No (permanent)
1 = Yes

Control of Plenary Agenda
1 = Government alone
2 = President's conference domin. by govt.
3 = President's conference with prop. rep.
4 = Consensual agreement in President's conference
5 = President's decision after consultation
6 = Fragmentation
7 = Chamber determines agenda

Cabinet Type
1 = coalition majority
2 = single-party majority
3 = coalition minority
4 = single-party minority

Dummy coalition majority
0 = other
1 = coalition majority

Dummy single party majority
0 = other
1 = single party majority

Dummy single party minority
0 = other
1 = single party minority

Are candidate votes possible?
1 = yes
2 = no

Allocation of committee chairs
1 = majority
2 = mainly majority
3 = proportional
4 = other, see comments in Mattson/Strom (1995:table 8.3)

Bill a question of confidence
1 = no
2 = yes

1 = Consensus
2 = Dissensus

Consociationalism
0 = Low
1 = High

Corporatism
0 = Lowest level
3 = Highest level

Was it a Govt bill?
0 = No
1 = Yes Govt bill

Initiation of legislation by committees
1 = no rights
2 = right to consolidate and split bills
3 = right to initiate legislation
4 = both (2+3)

Maximum life of a bill
1 = Bills die at the end of session (6-12 months)
2 = Bills lapse at the end of legislatigve term (4-5 years)
3 = Bills us. lapse at end of leg. term (carrying over possible)
4 = Bills never die

Committee minority reports
1 = right exists
2 = does not exist
3 = right exists but country specific limitations

Openness of committee meetings
1 = closed
2 = open to MP's
3 = open to public and mass media
4 = other, see comments in Mattson/Strom (1995:table 8.3)

Pure parliamentary system of govt.
0 = No
1 = Yes

Committee stage in deliberation
1 = before plenary stage
2 = after plenary stage