Grüne on democracy and the state

The Greens want to give state and regional planning more staff and realign it in content and structure. The Landesentwicklungsprogramm (state development program) is to be completely revised, and a new state institute is to handle spatial research.

State planning decides how Bavaria develops. For example: where to build and where nature stays. The Greens want to strengthen this planning. It should get more staff. The big plan for Bavaria should be made new. Citizens should have a say.

According to the platform, state planning has been weakened over decades. It is to set clear guidelines for spatial development, become more transparent and democratic, and align with the Paris climate goals and the United Nations' 2030 Agenda. A Bavarian state institute for spatial research is to link concepts with regional characteristics and build a monitoring system for equal living conditions. The state development program (LEP) is to be fully rewritten with input from municipalities, researchers, civil society and the public. Its guiding principles are protecting natural resources, using land sparingly, public services and equal living conditions in all regions.

The Greens want to restructure municipal fiscal equalization and give cities and towns better base funding instead of many separate grant programs. Climate protection and climate adaptation are to become mandatory municipal tasks, backed by the necessary money and staff.

Cities and towns have more and more tasks. The Greens want to give them more steady money. In return there should be fewer separate grant programs. Climate protection should become a duty for towns. They should get enough money and staff for it.

The platform points to municipalities' large investment needs, for example for roads, water pipes, schools and swimming pools, and to their growing responsibilities. The large number of state grant programs is to shrink significantly, while base funding rises through a redesigned fiscal equalization system. Cooperation between municipalities is to be supported with little red tape and allowed in new forms. Following the principle of developing inner areas before outer ones, the Greens focus on lively town centers and affordable housing and want to simplify the tools for infill development. Administrations are to receive training for this.

The Greens want to make volunteer positions in local politics more attractive so that more women in particular can get involved. They plan substitute rules, reimbursement of care costs and a legal right to time off from work.

People serve on local councils as volunteers. The Greens want to make this easier. Women especially should be able to take part more. Anyone who is away for a long time should get a substitute. Childcare costs during meetings should be paid back.

Substitute arrangements are to be introduced for absences of three months or more. During committee meetings, the costs of caring for children and relatives in need of care are to be reimbursed. In addition, a legal entitlement to be released from work by the employer for council duties is to be created. The platform argues that everyone should be able to take part in democratic processes where they live.

The Greens want to digitize the state administration, streamline procedures and expand online services. The civil service is to become more permeable and attractive to career changers. They also plan a modernized right of petition and an independent citizens' ombudsperson.

The Greens want to make Bavaria's government offices more modern. People should be able to do many things online from home. Offices should write in plain language. People should be able to move more easily between companies and government jobs. An independent person should mediate when people have problems with offices.

The plan includes open government and e-government, shared standards beyond Bavaria, and remote work for employees where possible. The administration is to be well staffed and equipped, foster a positive attitude toward mistakes and communicate in plain language. Moving between the private sector and government agencies is to become normal. Civil servant training will be reformed, and the university for the public service will get a competence center for administrative modernization. Municipalities are to receive support with digital tools, such as one app for all modes of transport and sensors that detect pipe leaks. The ombudsperson is to resolve citizens' concerns as a mediator.

The Greens want to make Bavaria's petition system more citizen-friendly, transparent and modern. At its core is an independent office at the state parliament that resolves complaints about public agencies through mediation and involves those affected in finding a solution.

A petition is a request or complaint sent to the state parliament. The Greens want to make this process easier and more open. An independent person should help settle disputes with public offices. People should be able to watch petition meetings online.

Petition hearings in the state parliament would be streamed live online on a permanent basis, and petitioners could join by video. They would get an appropriate right to speak in committee and receive the state government's statement before the hearing. Anyone unable to write their petition themselves would have a legal right to assistance. Petitions could also be filed in English, and concerns could be handled anonymously.

The Greens want to lower the voting age in Bavaria to 16 for local, district and state elections as well as for referendums and local ballot measures. They also plan a few constitutional changes and want to write young people's participation rights into municipal law.

The Greens want young people to vote at age 16. This would apply to local, district and state elections. They could also vote in referendums. Children and teenagers should have more say in their towns.

The program calls the lower voting age a first step in a careful update of the constitution. From age 14, students would decide for themselves whether to attend ethics class or which religion class. The minimum age for the office of Minister-President would be dropped. Youth parliaments and youth councils would be supported, and young people's participation rights would be set out in the Bavarian municipal code. Election documents would generally be provided in plain language.

The Greens want a transparency law that gives citizens a broad right to information and to inspect government files. The program says this would let people help shape and decide more in Bavaria.

The Greens want a transparency law. Transparency means the state shows openly what it does. People could ask for information and look at files. Private data stays protected.

The law would make information held by public bodies accessible as a rule, while private matters stay protected. Information for the public is to become easier to understand. Local council members would get a broad right in the municipal code to obtain information from their local administration. The Greens also want stronger corruption prevention in public procurement.

The Greens want to make petitions for referendums easier and allow referendums even on questions that cost money or concern a single measure. New forms of citizen participation are to be tested across Bavaria.

The Greens want more direct say for citizens. Starting a referendum should get easier. People should also vote on things that cost money. The party wants to try new ways for people to take part.

Local ballot decisions would be binding for two years. Citizens' assemblies, planning cells, citizens' reports and digital participation platforms are to be tried out. The party wants Bavaria's right of petition to become the most citizen-friendly in Germany.

The Greens want considerably more staff for courts and prosecutors' offices and better equipment. To protect judicial independence, the state government's power to give instructions to prosecutors is to be limited.

The Greens want to hire more judges and prosecutors. Courts should be better equipped. The government should give prosecutors fewer orders. The justice system should work digitally.

Senior judges would in future be appointed by election committees. A round-the-clock on-call service of judges is meant to prevent people from waiting for hours in police custody for a decision on pretrial detention. Court administration would go fully digital and use plain language. For legal training, the plans include a computer-based first state exam and an integrated bachelor's degree. Campaigns would recruit people from marginalized groups for the justice service.