LEGISLATION WATCH- Tenders and Auctions Act gets renamed as Public Contracts Act, gets preliminary nod from House GA: Parliament preliminarily approved the Tenders and Auctions Act during a plenary session yesterday, Al Shorouk reports. Discussion of the law quickly hit a snag, however, after the general assembly decided to rename the bill to become the Public Contracts Act, Youm7 reports. The change required the general assembly to send the legislation back to the Planning and Budgeting Committee to be reworded accordingly before returning to the general assembly for a final debate and vote, according to the newspaper.

Amendments to the tax code on affecting real estate also got initial approval yesterday, Youm7 reports. The amendments would impose a 2.5% levy on the disposition or quick sale value of real estate assets — whether in the form of a building or unoccupied land. Under the new stipulations, property owners would not have access to basic services such as power and water until they are able to present proof that they have paid the necessary taxes.

Meanwhile, the final vote on the second part of the Press and Media Act has been pushed to October, when the House convenes for its next legislative session, Ahram Gate reports. The legislation will likely breeze through the vote, House Culture and Media Committee member Nader Mostafa said yesterday. Parliament had sent the legislation back to Maglis El Dawla last month after deciding to split the act into three separate bills that would each regulate work at different types of media organizations.

Finally, three pieces of law with implications for the war on terror got preliminary approval yesterday, Al Mal reports, including amendments to the recently passed Anti-Terrorism Act that toughen penalties for harboring suspected terrorists. An article of the Tourism and Hotel Facilities Act requiring hotels to provide up-to-date information on their guests also got an update.

The third piece? You will almost certainly need a GPS tracker installed on your 4×4 if you want to license it after the House gave an initial nod to amendments to the Traffic Act. Other amendments to the traffic law will include new rules for licensing and fines, according to Rep. Khaled Hanafi, who said the act will come up for a vote this fall. The GPS requirement was first proposed by the Ismail cabinet back in February.