Italian cabinet issued a constitutional reform draft bill on Monday to convert the Upper House of the Parliament into a smaller and non-elected assembly.

The reform bill focused on depriving the Senate of its current law-making equal status with the Lower House, in order to speed up legislative procedures and reduce the costs of politics.

According to the draft bill, the 315-member Upper House would be stripped of the power to approve budget and hold no-confidence votes on the cabinet.

It would become a non-elected entity comprised of 148 mayors, regional governors and other representatives from the regions, and 21 more members of president's choice.

It will be called "Senate of Autonomies" and its legislative powers would be limited to issues related to local and regional affairs.

"This is a decisive turning point. With this reform, we put an end to a 30-year long debate about the bicameral parliamentary system," Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said at the press conference after the cabinet's meeting.

Italian Minister for Constitutional Reforms Maria Elena Boschi explained that the new assembly would keep an equal status with the Chamber of Deputies in voting on constitution's changes and in the election of president of the Republic.

The demotion of the Senate would couple with an electoral reform that was passed by the Lower House on March 12, and is yet to be approved by senators. If approved, this new electoral law would apply to the Chamber of Deputies only.

Both reforms are seen as crucial in order to introduce more stability in the country's political system, plagued by shaky parliamentary majorities and frail cabinets for decades.

The draft bill will be presented next week to the Parliament for discussion. The final approval of the reform will require amending the Constitution, in a long and complicate procedure that entails two readings in each House of the Parliament.