Great administrative reform in Berlin: This is how politics is changing!

Great administrative reform in Berlin: This is how politics is changing!

On June 26, 2025, a decisive vote on a comprehensive administrative reform took place in the Berlin House of Representatives. The four factions CDU, SPD, Greens and Leftists announced their support for the reform in a joint statement, which aims to improve the administrative structures between the country and the districts. The ruling mayor Kai Wegner declared the reform to his chief issue, while Digitization State Secretary Martina Klement (CSU) confirmed her support for the initiative.

The reform aims to achieve a change in the state constitution and to define the tasks of the Senate administrations and the districts more precisely. This includes the anchoring of the principle "Who ordered, pays" in the constitution. Furthermore, an arbitration board for conflicts between the Senate and the districts will be set up to promote cooperation. A catalog of jurisdiction is intended to help to organize the tasks within the authorities more clearly.

goals and challenges of the reform

A central element of the reform is the replacement of the General Responsibility Act (AZG) by a new state organization law. This is intended to help improve the overall city control by the Senate administrations and to strengthen the districts in their implementation tasks for citizens and business. The reform is understood as a continuous process that is not only implemented once, but should be continuously evaluated and adapted.

The Berlin administration faces challenges due to scarce health insurers and an impending lack of staff. Klement emphasizes that it could also be necessary to delete certain tasks in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the administration. The planned changes aim to make the administration in Berlin sustainable, even if they will not have any noticeable effects on the citizens at short notice. Topics such as housing benefit or appointments at the citizens' office initially remain unaffected.

outlook for the next steps

As early as December 17, 2024, the Berlin Senate decided to draft the administrative reform in the first reading. The reform data is to be sent to the mayor's advice for comment before they are treated again in the Senate and finally presented to the House of Representatives for coordination. The ruling mayor Wegner strives for a broad approval and sustainable acceptance for the new regulations across the entire legislative period.

Overall, the proposals for constitutional changes will also include a more strict formulation of the Senate's right to intervene in district tasks in order to ensure that the expertise of the districts flows into the decision -making process at an early stage. With the introduction of a uniform catalog of all the tasks of the Berlin administration, clear responsibilities should also be determined in order to improve efficiency and transparency.

Further information on the administrative reform can be read in the detailed reports: rbb24, berlin.de and Digital.zlb.de .