With the Works Constitution Act [Betriebsverfassungsgesetz] of January 15, 1972, the participation rights of works councils in the Federal Republic were considerably expanded, especially in “social matters.” On January 18, 1973, Chancellor Brandt announced in his government declaration a further expansion of codetermination based on the “principle of equal rights and balance between employees and shareholders.” On February 22, 1974, the Brandt government introduced a bill to this effect in the Bundestag; however, the planned law was the subject of controversial debate, so that the government bill had to be revised several times. Finally, the Codetermination Act [Mitbestimmungsgesetz] was passed by the Bundestag on March 18, 1976. It provided for equal representation of employer and employee representatives on supervisory boards of companies with more than 2,000 employees.