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Voters in Wales will go to the polls on 3 March in a referendum on whether the Welsh assembly should gain extra law-making powers. BBC Wales political reporter Daniel Davies explains what it's all about.
What is the referendum for?
Strictly speaking, the referendum will ask voters to decide whether the assembly should progress to part four of the 2006 Government of Wales Act.
The Act sets out the extent of the assembly's powers. It requires a referendum to take place before the assembly can make primary legislation in all devolved fields such as health, education and transport.
At present, made-in-Wales laws are being passed in Cardiff Bay, but only after law-making powers have been obtained from Westminster.
Those powers are transferred from parliament to the assembly through a system called legislative competence orders (LCO).
For example, AMs, MPs and the UK government are currently mulling over a law-making request about organ donation. The Labour-Plaid coalition wants the assembly to have the necessary powers to introduce presumed consent, but it first needs to seek parliament's agreement through an LCO.
A Yes vote on 3 March will scrap LCOs and grant the assembly primary legislative powers over all devolved policy areas.
The LCO system essentially allows the assembly to apply for law-making powers in specific fields on a case-by-case basis. No campaigners from True Wales say the LCO system gives Welsh MPs a say in law-making in devolved areas, but the All Wales Convention said most people it consulted thought LCOs were "cumbersome and slow".
Why is there a referendum on 3 March?
Put simply, because the assembly wants one. Cynics may not be surprised to learn that a group of politicians are in favour of a referendum to make them more powerful. However, Yes campaigners argue that this is less about empowering politicians and more to do with improving the way Wales is governed
The move towards a referendum began in 2007 after that year's inconclusive assembly election.
Labour and Plaid Cymru broke the deadlock with their One Wales coalition deal. One of the agreement's pledges, perhaps the most striking, was to hold a referendum on furthering the assembly's powers if there was sufficient public support.
The two parties' assembly government set up the All Wales Convention to probe the mood of the country towards devolution.
In November 2009 the convention, reflecting the findings of opinion polls, concluded that a Yes vote in favour of boosting the assembly's powers was obtainable but not guaranteed.
That verdict was the green light that ministers sought. They tabled a call for a referendum which AMs unanimously endorsed in a Senedd vote last February.
Does this mean more AMs?
No. The referendum is solely about part four of the Act, which says nothing about adding to the existing 60 AMs.
Will it give the assembly the same powers as the Scottish parliament?
Another no. The assembly will continue to have control over the existing 20 devolved subject areas. It may have more power in those areas, but it will not be able to stray into new terrain.
A Yes vote would not allow Welsh minister to change the criminal justice system or repeal fox hunting, for example.
And the assembly still won't be able to levy taxes.
How do I vote?
In the same way as an election. You must be 18 or over to take part and the deadline for registering is 11 days before referendum day.
Polling hours are 0700 to 2200 GMT on 3 March. Counting will start at 0930 GMT the following day, with results from the 22 local authorities collated at a central count in the Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
The Electoral Commission will produce a booklet on the referendum as part of its statutory duty to run a public information campaign.
_________________
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear"
-Mark Twain
What is the referendum for?
Strictly speaking, the referendum will ask voters to decide whether the assembly should progress to part four of the 2006 Government of Wales Act.
The Act sets out the extent of the assembly's powers. It requires a referendum to take place before the assembly can make primary legislation in all devolved fields such as health, education and transport.
At present, made-in-Wales laws are being passed in Cardiff Bay, but only after law-making powers have been obtained from Westminster.
Those powers are transferred from parliament to the assembly through a system called legislative competence orders (LCO).
For example, AMs, MPs and the UK government are currently mulling over a law-making request about organ donation. The Labour-Plaid coalition wants the assembly to have the necessary powers to introduce presumed consent, but it first needs to seek parliament's agreement through an LCO.
A Yes vote on 3 March will scrap LCOs and grant the assembly primary legislative powers over all devolved policy areas.
The LCO system essentially allows the assembly to apply for law-making powers in specific fields on a case-by-case basis. No campaigners from True Wales say the LCO system gives Welsh MPs a say in law-making in devolved areas, but the All Wales Convention said most people it consulted thought LCOs were "cumbersome and slow".
Why is there a referendum on 3 March?
Put simply, because the assembly wants one. Cynics may not be surprised to learn that a group of politicians are in favour of a referendum to make them more powerful. However, Yes campaigners argue that this is less about empowering politicians and more to do with improving the way Wales is governed
The move towards a referendum began in 2007 after that year's inconclusive assembly election.
Labour and Plaid Cymru broke the deadlock with their One Wales coalition deal. One of the agreement's pledges, perhaps the most striking, was to hold a referendum on furthering the assembly's powers if there was sufficient public support.
The two parties' assembly government set up the All Wales Convention to probe the mood of the country towards devolution.
In November 2009 the convention, reflecting the findings of opinion polls, concluded that a Yes vote in favour of boosting the assembly's powers was obtainable but not guaranteed.
That verdict was the green light that ministers sought. They tabled a call for a referendum which AMs unanimously endorsed in a Senedd vote last February.
Does this mean more AMs?
No. The referendum is solely about part four of the Act, which says nothing about adding to the existing 60 AMs.
Will it give the assembly the same powers as the Scottish parliament?
Another no. The assembly will continue to have control over the existing 20 devolved subject areas. It may have more power in those areas, but it will not be able to stray into new terrain.
A Yes vote would not allow Welsh minister to change the criminal justice system or repeal fox hunting, for example.
And the assembly still won't be able to levy taxes.
How do I vote?
In the same way as an election. You must be 18 or over to take part and the deadline for registering is 11 days before referendum day.
Polling hours are 0700 to 2200 GMT on 3 March. Counting will start at 0930 GMT the following day, with results from the 22 local authorities collated at a central count in the Senedd, Cardiff Bay.
The Electoral Commission will produce a booklet on the referendum as part of its statutory duty to run a public information campaign.
_________________
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear"
-Mark Twain
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