Copyright (

c) Queen's Printer,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

License

Disclaimer

1997 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 36th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE UJJAL DOSANJH

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND

MINISTER RESPONSIBLE

FOR MULTICULTURALISM,

HUMAN RIGHTS AND

IMMIGRATION

BILL 7 – 1997

OFFENCE AMENDMENT ACT, 1997

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Section 1 of the Offence Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 338, is amended by adding the following

definition:

"ticketed amount" means, in relation to an alleged contravention of an enactment,

for which a violation ticket is issued under

section 14, the aggregate of the

following amounts:

(

a) the fine prescribed for the contravention of an enactment alleged by the

ticket;

(

b) the victim surcharge levy to be paid with that fine under

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act ; .

Section 14 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (4) (

b) and substituting the following:

(

b) a statement of the ticketed amount applicable to the alleged contravention; ,

(

b) in subsection (4) (

c) by striking out "or fine" and substituting "or the fine portion

of the ticketed amount" ,

(

c) in subsection (4) (d) (iii) by striking out "fine" and substituting "ticketed amount" ,

(

d) in subsection (9) (

a) by striking out "a fine" and substituting "the fine portion of the ticketed amount" ,

(

e) in subsection (9) (

b) by striking out "a fine indicated on the violation ticket" and

substituting "the ticketed amount indicated on the ticket" ,

(

f) in subsection (10) (

c) by striking out "a fine" and substituting "the fine portion of

the ticketed amount" ,

(

g) in subsection (10) (

d) by striking out "a fine indicated on the violation ticket" and

substituting "the ticketed amount indicated on the ticket" , and

(

h) by repealing subsection (11) and substituting the following:

(11) If a person pays all or a portion of the ticketed amount indicated on a violation

ticket in accordance with subsection (9) or (10), the person is deemed to have

pleaded guilty to the alleged contravention and the unpaid portion of that ticketed

amount is immediately payable to the government.

Section 15 (1) and (2) is amended by striking out "the amount of the fine contained in" and

substituting "the fine portion of the ticketed amount indicated on" .

Section 16 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) If a person who has been served with a violation ticket under

section 14 has not,

within 30 days after the ticket was served on the person, either paid all or a

portion of the ticketed amount or disputed the allegation or the fine portion of the

ticketed amount in accordance with

section 15,

(

a) the person is deemed to have pleaded guilty to the alleged contravention,

and

(

b) the ticketed amount indicated on the ticket is immediately payable to the

government.

Section 16 (2) is amended by striking out "the amount of the fine in accordance with

section 15." and substituting "the amount of the fine portion of the ticketed amount in

accordance with

section 15."

Section 16 (3) (d) (

i) is amended by striking out "the fine" and substituting "the fine

portion of the ticketed amount" .

Section 18 (3) is amended by striking out "the fine contained in that ticket" and substituting "all or a portion of the ticketed amount indicated on the ticket" .

Section 82 (2) and (3) (

c) is amended by striking out "that

the fine" and substituting "that the fine and the victim surcharge

levy that is, under

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act , to

be paid with that fine," .

Section 82 (3) (

a) is amended by striking out "pay the

fine" and substituting "pay the fine and the victim surcharge

levy that is, under

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act , to

be paid with that fine," .

Section 82 (6) (

a) is amended by striking out "a fine" and substituting "a fine and victim

surcharge levy" .

Section 82 (6) (

b) is amended by striking out "a fine payable as a result of the person" and

substituting "a ticketed amount payable as a result of the person being found guilty of or" .

Section 82 (6) (

c) is repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) the date of the conviction or the deemed guilty plea, as the case may be, and

the amount of the fine and victim surcharge levy or of the ticketed amount,

as the case may be, .

Section 82 (6) is amended

(

a) in paragraph (

d) by adding "and victim surcharge levy or the ticketed amount, as the

case may be" after "the fine" ,

(

b) in paragraph (

e) by adding "and victim surcharge levy or the ticketed amount, as the

case may be," after "the fine" ,

(

c) in paragraph (

f) by adding "and victim surcharge levy or of the ticketed amount, as

the case may be," after "the fine" , and

(

d) in paragraph (

g) by adding "and victim surcharge levy or of the ticketed amount, as

the case may be" after "the fine" .

Section 82 (8) (

a) is amended by adding "and victim surcharge levy" after "a fine" .

Section 82 (8) (

b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(

b) with respect to a ticketed amount referred to in subsection (6) (b), more than

10 years after the day on which the person is found guilty of or is deemed

to have pleaded guilty to the contravention of an enactment alleged in the

violation ticket.

Section 14 (4) (e) (v), as enacted by

section 2 (

b) of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

amended by striking out "fine" and substituting "ticketed amount" .

Section 14 (10.1) (c), as enacted by

section 6 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) the prescribed fine for that contravention and the victim surcharge levy that

is, under

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act, to be paid with that fine

are immediately payable to the government and sections 82 (6) to (8) and

82.1 of this Act apply to those amounts as if those amounts made up a

ticketed amount indicated on a violation ticket that had been issued to the

person in respect of that contravention.

Section 15 (2.1), as enacted by

section 8 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is amended

by striking out "the amount of the fine contained in" and substituting "the fine portion of

the ticketed amount indicated on" .

Section 16 (1) (c), as enacted by

section 12 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) does not pay all or a portion of the ticketed amount indicated on the ticket

or does not dispute the allegation or the fine portion of the ticketed amount

in accordance with

section 15, .

Section 16 (1), as enacted by

section 12 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is amended

by striking out "the fine indicated in the ticket is payable to the government as if it were a

fine imposed by the Provincial Court" and substituting "the ticketed amount indicated on

the ticket is immediately payable to the government" .

Section 82.1 (1), as enacted by

section 21 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

repealed and the following substituted:

(1) In this section:

"part payment" means an amount received by the government that is less than the

aggregate of the required payment and the interest that has accrued on that

amount under this section;

"required payment" means the payment referred to in paragraph (a), (

b) or (c), as

the case may be, of subsection (1.1).

(1.1) A person who does not pay all of

(

a) a fine and victim surcharge levy payable in accordance with an order under

section 82 (2) (a),

(

b) a payment, to be made of or in respect of a fine and victim surcharge levy,

payable in accordance with an order under

section 82 (2) (b), or

(

c) a ticketed amount payable as a result of the person being found guilty of or

being deemed to have pleaded guilty to the contravention of an enactment

alleged in a violation ticket

must pay to the government, in relation to the unpaid amount of the required

payment, an amount of interest at a rate set by the Attorney General under

subsection (2) and calculated in accordance with this section.

Section 82.1 (2), as enacted by

section 21 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

amended by striking out "subsection (1)." and substituting "subsection (1.1)."

Section 82.1 (4), as enacted by

section 21 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

repealed and the following substituted:

(4) Interest payable under this

section accrues on any unpaid balance of the required

amount and is to be calculated,

(

a) in the case of a fine and victim surcharge levy payable in accordance with

an order under

section 82 (2) (a), from the day on which the order is made,

(

b) in the case of a payment referred to in subsection (1.1) (

b) of this section,

from the day on which payment is due, and

(

c) in the case of a ticketed amount referred to in subsection (1.1) (

c) of this

section, from the day on which the person is found guilty of or is deemed to

have pleaded guilty to the contravention of an enactment alleged in a

violation ticket.

Section 82.1 (5), as enacted by

section 21 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is

repealed and the following substituted:

(5) Interest payable under this

section stops accruing on the day

(

a) there is deposited under

section 105 (2) (

c) the required payment and the

interest that has accrued on that amount to the date of the deposit,

(

b) the unpaid amount of the required payment is received by the government

along with the interest that has accrued on that amount to the date of

payment, or

(

c) a certificate is filed under

section 82 (6) in relation to the fine and victim

surcharge levy or the ticketed amount, as the case may be.

Section 82.1, as enacted by

section 21 of the Supplement to the Offence Act, is amended

by adding the following subsection:

(5.1) Unless the person providing a part payment otherwise directs, a part payment

must be applied

(

a) first to the interest that has accrued on the required payment to the date of

the receipt of the part payment,

(

b) second to the unpaid amount of the victim surcharge levy portion of the

required payment, and

(

c) last to the unpaid amount of the fine portion of the required payment.

Section 11 of the Supplement to the Offence Act is repealed.

Consequential Amendments

Victims of Crime Act

Section 10 of the Victims of Crime Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 478,

is amended by striking out "No cause of action," and substituting

"Subject to

section 82 (7) of the Offence Act , no cause of action," .

Section 8.1 (2), as enacted by

section 1 of the Supplement to the Victims of Crime Act, is

amended by striking out "If a person pays a fine in accordance with

section 14 of" and

substituting "Without limiting subsection (1), if a person pays or is obligated to pay a fine

under" .

Section 8.1 (3) to (6), as enacted by

section 1 of the Supplement to the Victims of Crime

Act, is repealed.

Commencement

30 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Explanatory Notes

[This Bill amends the Revised Statutes of British Columbia,

1996. The Revised Statutes of British Columbia, 1996 come into force on April

21, 1997.]

SECTION 1: [Offence Act, amends

section 1] defines "ticketed amount" to comprise both

the fine prescribed for the offence alleged by a violation ticket and the victim

surcharge levy to be paid with that fine.

SECTION 2: [Offence Act, amends

section 14]

provides that a violation ticket must include the amount of the victim

surcharge levy that is to be paid with the fine prescribed for the offence

alleged by the ticket and that the ticket must require the payment of both the

fine and the victim surcharge levy if the allegation or fine is not disputed as

required by the Offence Act ;

confirms that only the fine portion of the ticketed amount may be disputed;

confirms that payment of all or a portion of the ticketed amount is deemed

to be a guilty plea to the alleged offence;

clarifies that, with a deemed guilty plea, the unpaid portion of the ticketed

amount becomes immediately payable to the Crown.

SECTION 3: [Offence Act, amends

section 15 (1) and (2)] confirms that only the fine

portion of a "ticketed amount", as that term is enacted under

section 1 of this

Bill, may be disputed.

SECTION 4: [Offence Act, amends

section 16] confirms that if a person on whom a

violation ticket is served does not, within 30 days after service, pay all or a

portion of the "ticketed amount", as that term is enacted under

section 1 of this

Bill, or dispute the fine or the allegation, a deemed guilty plea results and the

ticketed amount is immediately payable to the Crown.

SECTIONS 5 and 6: [Offence Act, amend

section 16 (2) and (3)] harmonize the wording of

section

16 (2) and (3) of the Offence Act with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill and confirm that only the fine portion of a ticketed amount

may be disputed.

SECTION 7: [Offence Act, amends

section 18 (3)] harmonizes the wording of

section 18 (3)

of the Offence Act with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this

Bill and with

section 14 (11) of the Offence Act enacted by

section 2 of this Bill.

SECTIONS 8 and 9: [Offence Act, amend

section 82] include victim surcharge levies within the

discretionary powers of a judge, under

section 82 of the Offence Act , relative

to the timing of payment.

SECTIONS 10 and 11: [Offence Act, amend

section 82] allow for filing a certificate to enforce

payment in relation to a person who does not pay the fine and victim surcharge

levy imposed on that person.

SECTION 12: [Offence Act, amends

section 82 (6) (c)] requires the inclusion in a certificate

filed under

section 82 a reference to the date of a deemed guilty plea as well as

to the date of a conviction and of a reference to the victim surcharge levy

payable by the person named in the certificate.

SECTION 13: [Offence Act, amends

section 82 (6)] harmonizes the wording of

section 82 (6)

with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill and requires

that a certificate filed under that

section refers to both the applicable fine and

the applicable victim surcharge levy.

SECTION 14: [Offence Act, amends

section 82 (8)] harmonizes the wording of

section 82 (8)

with the wording of

section 82 (2) as enacted by

section 8 of this Bill.

SECTION 15: [Offence Act, amends

section 82 (8)] harmonizes the wording of

section 82 (8)

with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill and confirms

that a certificate under

section 82 (6) may not be filed more than 10 years after

a finding of guilt or a deemed guilty plea.

SECTION 16: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 14 (4)] harmonizes the wording of

section 14 (4) (e) (

v) of the Offence

Act with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill.

SECTION 17: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement of the Offence Act, amends

section 14 (10.1)] requires the payment of both a fine and the related victim

surcharge levy by a person who, under

section 14 (10.1) of the Offence Act, is

deemed to have pleaded guilty to a contravention of an enactment and harmonizes the wording of that

section with

section 82 of the Offence Act .

SECTION 18: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 15 (2.1)] confirms that only the fine portion of a "ticketed amount", as

that term is enacted under

section 1 of this Bill, may be disputed.

SECTIONS 19 and 20: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amend

section

16 (1)] harmonize the wording of

section 16 (1) of the Offence Act with the

term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill.

SECTION 21: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 82.1]

adds to

section 82.1 of the Offence Act the

definitions of "part payment" and "required payment";

harmonizes the wording of that

section with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill;

provides for interest as a result of a deemed guilty plea as well as a conviction;

provides for interest to be paid on the unpaid portion of any payment required under an order made under

section 82 (2) (b).

SECTION 22: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 82.1 (2)] reflects the new subsection numbering in

section 82.1 of the

Offence Act arising from the amendments enacted by

section 21 of this Bill.

SECTION 23: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 82.1] harmonizes the wording of

section 82.1 (4) of the Offence Act

with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill, provides for

interest to be calculated from the date of a deemed guilty plea as well as from

the date of a conviction and provides for interest to be calculated on the unpaid

portion of any payment required under an order made under

section 82 (2) (

b) of the Offence Act from the date on which payment was due.

SECTION 24: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, amends

section 82.1 (5)] harmonizes the wording of

section 82.1 (5) of the Offence Act

with the term "ticketed amount" enacted by

section 1 of this Bill and provides

that interest will continue to accrue until the Crown receives the outstanding

payment and the interest owing on it.

SECTION 25: [Offence Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Offence Act, adds

section 82.1 (5.1)] provides for the application of part payments.

SECTION 26: [Supplement to the Offence Act, repeals

section 11] repeals a provision made

unnecessary by sections 4, 19 and 20 of this Bill.

Victims of Crime Act

SECTION 27: [Victims of Crime Act, amends

section 10] clarifies that action may be taken

to collect an unpaid victim surcharge levy under

section 82 (7) of the Offence

Act .

SECTION 28: [Victims of Crime Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Victims of Crime

Act, amends

section 8.1 (2)] clarifies that the obligation to pay a victim

surcharge levy arises both on payment of and on becoming obligated to pay a

fine.

SECTION 29: [Victims of Crime Act as enacted by the Supplement to the Victims of Crime

Act, amends

section 8.1]

repeals subsection (3) of

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act that would otherwise allow relief from payment of a victim surcharge levy on a person under the Young Offenders (British Columbia) Act ;

repeals subsections (4) and (5) of

section 8.1 of the Victims of Crime Act that would otherwise allow relief from payment of the levy on the basis of hardship;

repeals subsection (6) of

section 8.1 that is made unnecessary by the amendments to the Offence Act enacted by this Bill.

Copyright © 1997: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada