Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill on magisterial inquiries to the next stage of the legislative procedure.
It also voted in favour of a motion praising the government's work to tackle inflation and the final reading of a bill on drug reform.
The magisterial inquiry bill, which will now move on to the committee stage, has faced backlash over two issues.
Should the bill become law, citizens will no longer be able to directly request a magistrate to open an inquiry but will first have to approach the police. If the police do not take action, citizens can then take their case to a judge, who will decide if an investigation is merited.
Secondly, the amendments will require more proof to open an inquiry.
31 PN MPs vote against drug reform law
Meanwhile, parliament on Wednesday greenlighted a drug reform law despite the 31 Opposition MPs voting against it.
Under new legislation spearheaded by the justice ministry, former inmates caught in minor drug possession while incarcerated will not have to return to prison if found guilty.
The reform also proposes the possibility of having trials without a jury for those accused of drug trafficking.
Any case that carries the possibility of a life sentence - which drug trafficking does - is required to be heard before a jury. However, in practice, a life sentence has never been handed down for trafficking charges.
Cost of living motion
A third parliamentary vote considered a motion first put forward by the Opposition on the cost of living.
The motion originally stated that inflation in Malta was the government’s fault.
The motion also demanded several measures to curb the cost of living, including not taxing Cost of Living Adjustments, tax credits for small and medium-sized businesses, and a national fund to support import-export businesses.
The PN motion also called for a change in the country’s economic model “that is not based on uncontrolled increases in the population but on fostering new and innovative economic sectors that offer better-paid jobs for Maltese and Gozitan workers”.
The government, however, presented an amendment that completely removed the Opposition's text and instead praised government policies on inflation.
It was the government's amendment that received 40 votes in favour on Wednesday. The PN's 31 deputies voted against it.