Abstract: The National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) formally established the notice-and-comment lawmaking in 2015. Since the focus of China’s legislative work is on pre-voting consultation and discussion, and the NPCSC and its bureaucracy play a more important role in legislation than National People’s Congress (NPC) deputies, the notice-and-comment process that allows citizens’ opinions to be directly conveyed to the real drafters of the law has unique value. The 2015 Legislation Law provides the Council of Chairpersons of the NPCSC with discretion to decide on exemptions, but does not set discretionary standards. In this context, this article presents an original empirical study of how the NPCSC applies and exempts the notice-and-comment procedure since 2015. By matching all the public consultation notices with laws enacted between 2015 and 2025, the study finds 56.1% of laws underwent public consultation, while 43.9% were exempted. The analysis shows that the Council of Chairpersons exercises broad discretion, granting exemptions not only for technical reasons such as time constraints or minor amendments, but also in response to political sensitivity and anticipated controversy. Simultaneously, legislative resolutions have been increasingly used to bypass both the three-reading procedure and public consultation, serving as an alternative form of exemption and raising concerns about transparency and constitutional principles. The article argues for codifying exemption criteria, introducing simplified consultation for minor amendments, clarifying legislative resolutions’ temporary nature, and mandating localized consultation within the SARs. By optimizing NPCSC discretion, the study seeks to balance legislative efficiency with public participation and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of Chinese lawmaking.