First

Session, 47th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2012

BILL 36

AN ACT RESPECTING

REGIONAL SERVICE

BOARDS IN THE PROVINCE

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

KEVIN O'BRIEN

Minister of Municipal Affairs

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would revise the law

respecting regional service boards in the province. The Bill would

provide consistency with

administrative provisions in the Municipalities

Act, 1999 , where practicable, with some variation given the geographic

distribution of members of a board;

extend the term of members;

enable the minister to

establish wards;

provide prescribed powers of a

board to include the operation of waste management systems; and

clarify the fees that may be

charged by a regional service board.

A BILL

AN ACT RESPECTING REGIONAL SERVICE BOARDS

IN THE PROVINCE

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Region and board

Corporate status

Chairperson and vice-chairperson

Board membership

Wards

Term

Board vacancies

Conflict of interest

Disclosure

Decision of board

Quorum

Presiding officer

Voting

Meetings

Privileged meetings

Committees

Powers of board

Authority of board

Staff

Financial year

Bank account

Expenses

Subsidy

Annual budgets

Budget

Contents of budget

Revised budget

Effect of budget

Partnership budgeting

Books of account

Financial statement

Appointment of auditor

Appointment by minister

Waiving of audit

Auditors powers

Auditors report

Time of completion and interim report

Current account borrowing

Long-term borrowing

Currency

Unauthorized expenditure

Powers of expenditure

Guaranteed loans expenditures

Remuneration and expenses

Regulations

Forms

Transitional

RSNL1990 cR-8 Rep.

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This

Act may be cited as the Regional Service

Boards Act, 2012

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "board" means a regional service

board established or continued under this Act;

(b) "council", unless the context

indicates otherwise, includes the Corner Brook City Council, Mount Pearl City

Council, St. John's Municipal Council and a council as defined in the Municipalities Act, 1999 ;

(c) "councillor" includes a mayor,

deputy mayor, chairperson, vice-chairperson and councillor of a council;

(d) "department" means the department

presided over by the minister;

(e) "member" means a member of a board

appointed under

section 6 and includes a

chairperson of a board;

(f) "minister" means the minister

appointed under the Executive Council Act

to administer this Act;

(g) "monetary interest" means an

interest or benefit

(

i) consisting of money, exacted in money,

relating to money or of which money is the object,

(ii) capable of being measured by its financial

value, cost, benefit, advantage or disadvantage, or

(iii) affecting or potentially affecting a person's

financial position or worth, his or her assets or asset value but does not

include remuneration or a benefit to which a member is entitled under this Act;

(h) "municipal authority" means

(

i) the City of Corner Brook ,

(ii) the City of Mount Pearl ,

(iii) the City of St. John's , and

(iv) a local service district committee or a

council constituted or continued under the Municipalities

Act, 1999 ;

(i) "region" means a portion of the

province delineated or continued as a region by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council under this Act; and

(j) "waste management system" means

facilities, equipment and operations for the management of waste, including the

collection, handling, transportation, storing, processing, use and disposal of

waste.

Region and board

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the minister, by

order, create a region and establish for that region a regional service board

for the purpose of providing regional services in accordance with this Act.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall

designate the boundaries and select a name for the region to be administered by

the board established under this section.

(3) A region created and a board established for

that region under the Regional Service

Boards Act is continued under this Act.

Corporate status

4. A

board established or continued under this Act is a corporation.

Chairperson and

vice-chairperson

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a chairperson to each board.

(2) The members of a board shall elect a

vice-chairperson of the board.

(3) In the absence or incapacity of the

chairperson, or where the office of the chairperson is vacant, the

vice-chairperson has the powers and shall exercise the duties of the

chairperson.

Board membership

(1) The

minister shall appoint to a board members from among the councillors and persons

serving on local service district committees who represent municipal

authorities in a region.

(2) The minister shall determine the number of

members, other than the chairperson, to be appointed to a board.

(3) The members appointed by the minister under

this

section shall be nominated by their respective municipal authorities, or

where no nomination is made by a municipal authority, may be selected by the

minister from among persons who reside within the boundaries of that municipal

authority.

(4) The minister may appoint alternate members to

serve on a board in the absence of regular members and those alternate members

shall be nominated or selected in the same manner as those regular members in

accordance with subsection (3).

Wards

7. The

minister may, by regulation, divide a region into wards, establish and change

the number and boundaries of those wards, and fix the number of members to be

appointed for each ward.

Term

(1) Where

a councillor is appointed to a board, the councillor shall remain in office on

the board until the date of the next general election of councils under the Municipal Elections Act .

(2) Where a person who serves on a local service

district committee is appointed to a board, the person shall remain in office

on the board until the earlier of

(

a) the expiration of his or her term of office as

member of the local service district committee; or

(

b) the date of the next general election of

councils under the Municipal Elections

Act .

(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), a

member shall continue to be a member until he or she is reappointed or

replaced.

Board vacancies

(1) The

office of a member becomes vacant where

(

a) he or she resigns, in writing, from the date

specified in his or her resignation, or, where a date is not specified, from

the date when he or she files his or her resignation with the board or, where

he or she resigns at a meeting of the board, from the time of that resignation;

(

b) he or she ceases to be a member of a municipal

authority prior to the end of his or her term under subsection 8 (1) or (2);

(

c) he or she is dismissed under the Municipal Affairs Act , or the municipal

authority or board, in which he or she is a member, is dismissed under that Act;

(

d) he or she fails to vote on a matter before the

board when required to vote; or

(

e) the board declares the member's office vacant

under subsection (2).

(2) A board shall, by resolution, declare vacant a

member's office where that member

(

a) fails to disclose that he or she has a

conflict of interest in a matter being discussed by the board; or

(

b) discusses or votes on a matter on which he or

she has a conflict of interest.

(3) A member in respect of whom a resolution is

made under subsection (2) shall not vote on that resolution.

(4) A member shall not sit or act as a member

after his or her office becomes vacant.

Conflict of

interest

(1) A

member shall not vote on or speak to a matter before the board or a committee

of the board where

(

a) the member has a monetary interest in the

matter distinct from an interest arising from his or her functions as a member;

(

b) the member has a monetary interest directly or

indirectly in the matter;

(

c) a relative of the member has a monetary

interest in the matter; or

(

d) the member is an officer, employee or agent of

an incorporated or unincorporated company, or other association of persons,

that has a monetary interest in the matter.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1) a relative

of a member means a father, mother, spouse, cohabiting partner, sister,

brother, child, step-child, ward, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law

or brother-in-law of the member.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2)

(a) "cohabiting partner" means a person

with whom a member is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage; and

(b) "spouse" means a person to whom a

member is married, unless the person and the member have made a separation

agreement or their support obligations and family property have been dealt with

by a court order.

(4) In order for an interest to be considered as

one falling within the prohibition set out in subsection (1) it shall be an

interest distinct from an interest held in common with the other citizens or

classes of citizens of the region.

Disclosure

(1) Where

a member has an interest described in subsection 10 (1),

the member shall

(

a) state that he or she has that interest; and

(

b) state the nature of the interest at the

beginning of discussion on the matter in which he or she has that interest,

and that statement respecting his or her

interest shall be recorded in the minutes of the board, or a committee of the

board, where that statement was made at a committee meeting.

(2) Where a member declaring a conflict of

interest under subsection (1) is the presiding officer, he or she shall vacate

the chair.

(3) Where a member declares a conflict of interest

under subsection (1), he or she shall immediately leave the meeting while the

matter on which he or she has a conflict of interest is being discussed.

(4) Where one or more members have declared a

conflict of interest under subsection (1) and there is no longer a quorum to

vote on a matter, the minister may direct that the remaining members make a

decision on the matter as if those remaining members constituted a quorum.

(5) Where all members have declared a conflict of

interest under subsection (1), the minister may require that an official of his

or her department prepare a report respecting the matter and where the report

indicates that the members should proceed with making a decision, the minister

may exempt the board from the application of

section 10 ,

and the members may vote on the matter.

Decision of board

(1) Where

a member is in doubt as to whether or not he or she has a monetary interest

that is a conflict of interest under

section 10 ,

he or she shall make a disclosure and the board may decide the question by

majority vote and its decision on the matter is final.

(2) A member whose possible conflict of interest

is being voted on is not entitled to vote.

Quorum

(1) A

majority of the number of members that may be appointed to a board constitutes

a quorum for the purpose of a meeting of the board.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where the

number of members available to attend meetings is less than a quorum, the

minister may authorize the members who are available to attend meetings to

perform the functions of the board that he or she may prescribe.

Presiding officer

(1) The

chairperson, and in his or her absence, the vice-chairperson, shall preside at

all meetings of the board.

(2) Where both the chairperson and the

vice-chairperson are absent from a meeting, the other members shall appoint a

temporary chairperson who has and may exercise the powers and carry out the duties

of the chairperson at the meeting.

Voting

(1) A

motion or resolution before a board shall be decided by a majority vote of the

members in attendance at the meeting except where a 2/3 vote of the members in

office is required.

(2) A member shall not abstain from voting on a

motion or resolution before the board unless he or she is required to abstain

from voting because of a conflict of interest under

section 10 or he or she has been permitted to abstain by a

majority vote of the other members in attendance at the meeting.

(3) Where a member abstains from voting on a

motion or resolution, a decision shall not be made on that motion or resolution

unless the number of members in favour of the motion or resolution is equivalent

to or more than a majority of the members in attendance at the meeting.

(4) The minutes of a board meeting shall indicate

the names of the members who vote for and against and who abstain from voting

on a motion or resolution.

(5) Where there is a tie vote on a motion or resolution,

that motion or resolution shall be considered to be defeated.

Meetings

(1) A

board shall hold a meeting no fewer than 6 times a year to which the public

shall be admitted.

(2) A meeting held under subsection (1) shall be

for the disposition of general business.

(3) A board shall adopt rules of procedure for its

meetings.

Privileged

meetings

(1) A

meeting of a board shall be open to the public unless it is held as a

privileged meeting or declared by vote of the members present at the meeting to

be a privileged meeting.

(2) Where a meeting is held as a privileged

meeting or declared to be a privileged meeting, all members of the public

present at the meeting shall leave.

(3) A decision of the members made at a privileged

meeting shall not be valid until that decision has been ratified by a vote of

the members at a public meeting.

Committees

(1) A

board may establish the standing or special committees that it considers

desirable to consider and make recommendations on matters referred to them by

the board.

(2) A board may appoint persons to serve on a

committee established under subsection (1), and where a board does not appoint

persons to a committee, the chairperson shall appoint those persons.

Powers of board

19. The

minister may, by regulation, prescribe the powers that a board may have for the

region or a portion of the region governed by the board, including powers

regarding

(

a) the construction and operation of regional

water supply systems, regional sewage disposal systems, regional storm drainage

systems, regional waste management systems and including a facility designated

in the regulations as a regional facility;

(

b) the provision of regional police services,

ambulance services, animal and dog control, and other similar services within a

region;

(

c) the operation of a regional public

transportation system;

(

d) the determination and change of street and

road names in a region so as to avoid a duplication of those names within a

region;

(

e) the provision of regional recreational

facilities;

(

f) the provision of regional fire protection

services;

(

g) the provision of other facilities or services

of a regional nature; and

(

h) the charging of fees in accordance with

section 24.

Authority of

board

20. A

chairperson, vice-chairperson and other members are subject to the direction

and control of the board and shall abide by the decisions of the board.

Staff

21. A

board may appoint those officers, clerks and employees that it considers

necessary for the conduct of its business and may fix their remuneration.

Financial year

(1) The

financial year of a board is from January 1 to December 31.

(2) In the first year that a board is established,

the financial year is from the date the board takes office until December 31.

Bank account

(1) A

board shall open accounts in a financial institution approved by the board and

shall deposit to its credit all money received by it.

(2) Cheques or orders withdrawing money from an

account of a board shall be signed by the chairperson or vice-chairperson or in

the absence or incapacity of both of them, by a member designated for that

purpose by the board, and countersigned by another member or an officer, clerk

or employee of the board designated for that purpose by the board.

(3) In this section, "financial

institution" means a trust company approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in

Council, a bank within the meaning of the Bank

Act ( Canada )

and a credit union registered under the Credit

Union Act .

Expenses

(1) The

expenses of a board may be defrayed out of revenue generated by the assessment

of fees from

(

a) municipal authorities governed by that board

or persons who occupy real property, either as owners or tenants of the

property, in municipal authorities governed by that board;

(

b) persons who occupy real property, either as

owners or tenants of the property, in unincorporated areas governed by that

board; and

(

c) users of facilities and services.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), a tenant

does not include a lodger or a boarder.

(3) The methods of raising revenue referred to in

subsection (1), as well as the date when the money being raised as revenue is

due and payable, shall be imposed or varied by a resolution of the board.

(4) Fees referred to in subsection (1) remain in

effect and are due according to the nature of the fee and its method of

payment, until the resolution of the board imposing it has been cancelled.

Subsidy

25. The

minister may annually, out of funds provided by the Legislature for that

purpose grant to a board an amount of money to assist that board in the

repayment of capital debt.

Annual budgets

(1) A

board shall, not later than 90 days after the day on which the board takes

office, in the first financial year and not later than October 31 in each

succeeding year, prepare and adopt a budget in the required form containing

estimates of the revenue and expenditures of the board for the next financial

year and a statement showing the rate of assessment under

section 24 that will be imposed during that year.

(2) Copies of the budget shall be sent to the

municipal authorities in the region governed by the board immediately after its

adoption.

(3) A copy of the budget shall be sent to the

minister within 30 days of its adoption.

(4) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (2) and (3),

the minister may approve and authorize the postponement of the preparation, adoption

and submission of a budget to a date that he or she may determine.

Budget

27. In

a budget proposed expenditures shall not exceed anticipated revenues.

Contents of

budget

(1) A

budget shall only include

(

a) revenue; and

(

b) federal and provincial revenue for which

written authorization has been received.

(2) Expenditures shall not be provided in a budget

for capital reserves except where a board has considered it necessary to set

aside in the financial statements a reserve from the accumulated surplus to

invest for specific purposes of a capital nature.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a board may

provide for an expenditure in its budget for a capital reserve where the board

considers it necessary to establish a capital reserve for a specific capital

project and that reserve shall appear in its audited financial statement.

(4) The unappropriated accumulated surplus or

accumulated deficit, appearing in the audited financial statements at the end

of the previous financial year, shall be credited or debited as items of

revenue or expenditure in the budget of the next financial year.

(5) Where the amounts of unappropriated

accumulated surplus or accumulated deficit, referred to in subsection (4) are,

in the opinion of the minister, substantial they may be credited or debited in

future budgets over a period of years that may be determined by the minister.

(6) An operating reserve fund may be provided for

in a budget, subject to the prior written approval of the minister, for a

specific purpose, a specified annual amount and over a specified period of

years that the board shall approve.

(7) A reserve fund under subsections (3) and

(6) may be invested by the board.

Revised budget

(1) Where,

during a financial year, it appears that the actual revenue and expenditure is

likely to be substantially greater or less than estimated, the board shall

prepare and adopt a revised budget in the required form.

(2) A copy of the revised budget shall be sent to

the minister and to the municipal authorities within the region within 2 weeks

of its adoption.

(3) A revised budget shall take effect on the

first day of the month following the date of its adoption by the board.

Effect of budget

30. A

board shall not, without the prior approval of the minister, incur, enter into,

contract, or become liable for an expenditure or indebtedness exceeding the

total estimated expenditure or indebtedness approved in the annual or revised

budget.

Partnership budgeting

(1) Where

a board has incurred major deficits in a financial year, the minister may,

where he or she considers it advisable, require the board to submit its budget

or revised budget to him or her for approval and the minister may approve or

disapprove that budget or revised budget.

(2) Where the minister has required the submission

of a budget or a revised budget under subsection (1), he or she may also assign

officials of his or her department to help the board in the preparation of its

budget or revised budget.

Books of account

32. A

board shall ensure that complete books of account are kept of the financial

dealings of the board.

Financial

statement

(1) A

board shall prepare and adopt, before June 1 of each year, a financial

statement in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting principles

established periodically by the Public Sector Accounting Board of the Canadian

Institute of Chartered Accountants.

(2) The chairperson and a member designated by the

board for that purpose, shall sign the financial statement and shall attach a

report that an auditor has made with respect to the financial statement.

(3) A board shall provide copies of the financial

statement and report of the auditor to the municipal authorities within the

region.

(4) A board shall make available to the public,

upon request, the financial statement together with the auditors report on

that statement.

Appointment of

auditor

(1) A

board shall appoint an auditor before August 1 in the year preceding the year

in which the audit is required to be reported on under

section 39 to audit the accounts of the board and report on

the financial statement prepared by the board.

(2) An auditor appointed under subsection

(1) shall be a member of

(

a) the Institute

of Chartered Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador ;

(

b) the Society of Management Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador ;

(

c) the Certified General Accountants Association

of Newfoundland and Labrador ;

(

d) the auditor general and the auditor general's

staff

licensed under the Public Accountants Act and his or her appointment remains in

effect until revoked by the board.

(3) The minister may, where he or she considers it

necessary, appoint an auditor to conduct a special audit and the cost of that

special audit shall be a cost of the board with respect to which that

appointment was made.

Appointment by

minister

(1) Where

a board does not appoint an auditor within the time set out in

section 34 or the auditor is not a qualified person under

that section, the minister shall appoint an auditor to audit the accounts of

the board and report on the financial statement prepared by the board.

(2) The costs of an audit prepared by a person

appointed under subsection (1) shall be a cost of the board for which that

appointment was made.

Waiving of audit

36. Notwithstanding

sections 34 and 35 ,

the minister may waive the requirement of an audit for a board where he or she

is satisfied that an inspection by the officials of his or her department is

sufficient to ensure adequate financial control and accountability with respect

to that board.

Auditors powers

37. An

auditor may request, and the board shall supply, all documents, books of

account and records of the board that the auditor considers necessary to enable

him or her to properly audit its accounts.

Auditors report

38. The

auditor shall examine and report on the annual financial statement of the board

and its books of account and in the report shall particularly direct his or her

attention to

(

a) an expenditure in excess of the total annual

budget of the board;

(

b) the financial position of the board with

regard to arrears of revenue;

(

c) the manner in which the accounts of the board

have been kept;

(

d) the extent of insurance carried with respect

to all property of the board;

(

e) the adequacy of the board safeguards against

fraud; and

(

f) other matters connected with the accounts that

the auditor may consider of sufficient interest or importance to mention.

Time of

completion and interim report

(1) The

auditor shall complete and submit the report on his or her audit to the board

before June 1 of the year immediately following the financial year that he or

she is auditing and, not more than 30 days later, the auditor shall submit a

copy of that report to the minister.

(2) The auditor shall, at the request of the board

or the minister, make an interim report on the accounts of the board and shall

send a copy of that report to the board and to the minister within 30 days of

its completion.

Current account

borrowing

(1) A

board may borrow sums of money for current account purposes.

(2) A board which borrows money in accordance with

this

section shall, within 30 days of borrowing the money, notify the minister

of that borrowing.

(3) The indebtedness of a board incurred as a

result of borrowing an amount under subsection (1) shall not exceed 20% of its

estimated assured revenue, other than subsidies paid by the province to the

board, in the financial year in which the borrowing takes place.

(4) All amounts borrowed under subsection

(1) shall be repaid before the end of the fiscal year in which the borrowing takes

place.

(5) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and (4), a

board may, with the prior written approval of the minister,

(

a) borrow money for current account purposes in

an amount which is greater than 20% of its estimated assured revenue; and

(

b) finance the repayment of money borrowed under

this subsection and subsection (3) beyond the year in which it is borrowed.

Long-term borrowing

(1) Subject

to the prior written approval of the minister, a board may

(

a) borrow money for capital purposes and issue

securities for the repayment of money borrowed; and

(

b) enter into a financing agreement as lessee

with respect to the lease of personal or real property where the lease is for a

term of 3 years of more.

(2) A board shall, before the end of each year,

submit to the department a 5 year forecast of its anticipated capital

expenditure requirements.

Currency

42. Where

a board borrows money under

section 40 or 41 , the money shall be stated in Canadian currency.

Unauthorized

expenditure

(1) Where,

without the prior approval of the minister, a board uses money borrowed under

section 41 for a purpose other than the purpose

for which the minister approved the raising of the loan, the members who voted

for the use of the money are personally, jointly and individually, liable for

the restoration of that money to the board, and the board or the Crown may

recover the money as a civil debt due to the board.

(2) Where a person who is subject to a fee under this

Act or the regulations files a written request with the board asking it to

bring an action against members who incur liability under subsection (1) for

the recovery of the money referred to in that subsection and the board refuses

or neglects to do so for one month, the person who filed the request may bring

the action on behalf of himself or herself and other persons in the region or

may ask the minister to commence an action in right of the Crown to recover the

money.

Powers of expenditure

(1) A

board may, out of funds at its disposal, pay salaries or remuneration to the members,

officers, auditors and employees of the board, and all the other expenditures

incurred in the execution of the powers and duties vested by this or another

Act in that board, subject to there being a provision for the expenditure in

the adopted budget or revised budget.

(2) Expenditures made under subsection (1) shall

not exceed the total approved budget or revised budget of the board and shall

be supported by appropriate documentation.

Guaranteed loans

expenditures

(1) Where

a board has raised money by a loan advanced or guaranteed by the Crown or under

a charge or mortgage on property of the board, with its repayment guaranteed by

the Crown, the board shall not invite tenders, award a contract or undertake

obligations in respect of the execution of work, the performance of services or

the purchase of materials or goods that is to be financed in whole or in part

by that money without the prior written approval of the minister.

(2) Except with the consent of the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council, money described in subsection (1) shall not be

attached, held or otherwise taken under a power of law to satisfy an obligation

of a board arising out of a contract entered into without the prior approval of

the minister.

Remuneration and

expenses

46. A

board may, subject to regulations made under

section 47 ,

(

a) pay to the chairperson and other members an

annual salary or other remuneration that may be agreed upon by the board and

determined by a 2/3 vote of all the members; and

(

b) by a vote of a majority of the members

reimburse the chairperson and other members for reasonable expenses incurred by

them in the conduct of board business.

Regulations

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(

a) setting out a scale of remuneration for

chairpersons and other members or officers of a board; and

(

b) setting out rules as to the amount of

reimbursement for expenses that may be paid out under paragraph 46 (b).

(2) Payments made under subsection (1) shall be

made out of the funds of the board.

Forms

48. The

minister may establish forms for the purpose and administration of this Act.

Transitional

(1) The

members of a board on the day before this Act comes into force are continued as

members of the board until the next general election of councils under the Municipal Elections Act .

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a member of a

board on the day before this Act comes into force who serves on a local service

district committee is continued as a member of the board until the earlier of

(

a) the expiration of his or her term of office as

member of the local service district committee; or

(

b) the date of the next general election of

councils under the Municipal Elections

Act .

(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the

members of a board on the day before this Act comes into force shall continue

to be members until reappointed or replaced.

RSNL1990 cR-8

Rep.

50. The Regional

Service Boards Act is repealed.

William E. Parsons, Queen's Printer