These councils deliberate on the needs of their province, work on the development budget, consider future development plans, and monitor ongoing projects.
The governor and deputy governor of each province serve as chairman and vice-chairman of their respective provincial council.
Each council consists of at least ten private citizens. As with the Majlis Al-Shura, members of the council participate in committees that focus on various issues of interest to the province. The councils issue reports that are submitted to the Minister of the Interior, and then passed on to the appropriate government ministries and agencies for consideration.
The provincial council system is the result of bylaws established by King Fahd in 1992. These bylaws divided the country into 13 provinces and defined their administrative structure, how they would be administered, and the responsibilities of the governors and other regional officers. In 1993, King Fahd named 210 members to the provincial councils.
In 2005, municipal elections were held for half of the members of each of the 178 municipal councils in the Kingdom. The remaining half of the council members and the mayor are appointed.