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Bill 31, Red Tape and Regulatory Review Act, 2011

Hillier, Randy

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Original

[40] Bill 31 Original (PDF)

Bill 31 2011

Act to establish political oversight over legislation and regulations to reduce

red tape and unjustified regulatory burdens

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1. In

this Act,

"Committee"

means the Standing Committee on Red Tape and Regulatory Review established

under subsection 2 (1); ("comit é ")

"public sector" has the same meaning as in subsection 2 (1) of the Public Sector Salary Disclosure

Act, 1996 ; ("secteur public")

"regulation-maker", with respect to a regulation made under

an Act,

means the person or body, including the Lieutenant Governor in Council, that is

authorized to make the regulation. (" autorité réglementaire ")

Standing

Committee established

(1) A

standing committee of the Legislative Assembly is established to be known as

formalités administratives et des dispositions réglementaires in French.

Members

(2) Within the first 10 sitting days after the beginning

of the first session of the Legislature after a general election, the Assembly

shall, on motion with notice, appoint members of the Assembly to serve as members

of the Committee for the duration of that Legislature.

Review

of public bills

(1) Despite

anything in the Standing Orders of the Assembly, every public bill shall be

referred to the Committee after it receives second reading and before it is

ordered for third reading except if it has been ordered for third reading

before the day this Act comes into force.

Report

(2) The Committee shall review the bill and report to the

Assembly on,

(

a) whether

the bill is necessary to achieve its purposes or whether an existing law

adequately achieves the purposes of the bill;

(

b) whether

the bill imposes a regulatory burden on persons or bodies, other than the

public sector;

(

c) whether

the bill infringes on the freedom of persons or bodies, other than the public

sector, to own and use property and the right to not be deprived of that

freedom except upon receiving full, fair and timely compensation;

(

d) taking

into account the purposes of the bill, whether the regulatory burden that the

bill imposes on persons or bodies, other than the public sector, constitutes an

unjustified burden and red tape for those persons and bodies; and

(

e) taking

into account the purposes of the bill, whether the person or body that

administers the provisions of the bill that impose a regulatory burden is best

suited to administer those provisions or whether another person or body is

better suited to administer those provisions.

Amendments

(3) In its report to the Assembly, the Committee may amend

the bill to,

(

a) better

achieve the purposes of the bill;

(

b) avoid

having the bill,

(

i) infringe

on the freedom of persons or bodies, other than the public sector, to own and

use property and the right to not be deprived of that freedom except upon

receiving full, fair and timely compensation, or

(ii) constitute

an unjustified burden and red tape for the persons or bodies, other than the

public sector, on which the bill imposes a regulatory burden; or

(

c) transfer

the administration of the provisions of the bill that impose a regulatory

burden to a person or body that is better suited to administer those

provisions.

Consequence

(4) No public bill shall be enacted unless,

(

a) the

Assembly has received the report on it from the Committee under subsection (2),

if required; or

(

b) it

includes a provision stating that it applies despite this Act.

Repeal

after 90 days

(5) A public bill that is enacted and that includes a

provision described in clause (4) (

b) is deemed to include a provision that the

Act is repealed on the 90th day after the day on which the first provision of

it to come into force comes into force, unless the Act is repealed before that

90th day.

Review

of draft regulations

(1) No

regulation-maker shall make a regulation under

an Act after this Act comes into

force unless,

(

a) it

has given notice of the proposed regulation to the Committee;

(

b) the

notice complies with the requirements of this section;

(

c) the

time period specified in the notice, during which the Committee may comment on

the proposed regulation, has expired; and

(

d) the

regulation-maker has considered whatever comments that the Committee has made

on the proposed regulation in accordance with clause (2) (

b) and has reported

to the Committee on what, if any, changes to the proposed regulation the regulation-maker

considers appropriate.

Contents

of notice

(2) The notice mentioned in clause (1) (

a) shall contain,

(

a) a

description of the proposed regulation and the text of it; and

(

b) a

statement of the time period during which the Committee may submit written

comments on the proposed regulation to the regulation-maker and the manner in

which and the address to which the comments must be submitted.

Time

period for comments

(3) The time period mentioned in clause (2)

(

b) shall be at least 60 days after the regulation-maker gives the notice

mentioned in clause (1) (a).

Extent

of comments

(4) In commenting on the proposed regulation, the

Committee shall address the matters described in clauses 3 (2) (

a) to (e),

reading the references in those clauses to the bill as references to the

proposed regulation.

Proposed

amendments

(5) In its comments, the Committee may propose amendments

to the proposed regulation if the amendments are for the purposes described in

clauses 3 (3) (

a) to (c), reading the references in those clauses to the bill

as references to the proposed regulation.

Discretion

to make regulations

(6) Upon receiving the Committee's comments

under clause (2) (b), the regulation-maker, without further notice under

subsection (1), may make the proposed regulation with the changes that the

regulation-maker considers appropriate, whether or not those changes are

mentioned in the Committee's comments.

Committee review

(7) The regulation-maker may decide that

subsections (1) to (6) should not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to

make a regulation if the regulation-maker is of the opinion that the urgency of

the situation requires it.

Temporary

regulation

(8) If the regulation-maker decides that

subsections (1) to (6) should not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to

make a regulation and makes a regulation,

(

a) those

subsections do not apply to the power of the regulation-maker to make the

regulation;

(

b) the

regulation-maker shall give notice of the decision to the Committee as soon as

is reasonably possible after making the decision;

(

c) the

regulation shall be identified as a temporary regulation in the text of the

regulation; and

(

d) unless

it is revoked before its expiry, the regulation is deemed to include a provision

that it is revoked on the 90th day after the day on which the first provision

of it to come into force comes into force, unless the regulation is revoked

before that 90th day.

Contents

of notice

(9) The notice mentioned in clause (8) (

b) shall include a statement of the reasons of the regulation-maker for making the

decision and all other information that the regulation-maker considers

appropriate.

review

(10) Subject to subsection (11), no

court shall review any action, decision, failure to take action or failure to

make a decision by the regulation-maker under this section.

Exception

(11) Any person resident in Ontario may make an application for judicial review under the Judicial Review Procedure Act on the

grounds that the regulation-maker has not taken a step required by this

section.

Time

for application

(12) No person shall make an

application under subsection (11) with respect to a regulation later than 21

days after the day on which,

(

a) the

regulation-maker gives a notice to the Committee with respect to the regulation

under clause (1) (a), if it is a regulation made under subsection (6); or

(

b) the

regulation is filed, if it is a regulation described in subsection (8).

Review

of Acts and regulations

(1) The

Committee may review and prepare a report on any public Act that it has not

reviewed under

section 3 before its enactment and any regulation made under any

Act on which it has not been allowed to submit written comments to the

regulation-maker under

section 4 before the regulation was made.

Report

(2) The report shall be on the matters described in

clauses 3 (2) (

a) to (e), reading the references in those clauses to the bill

as references to the Act or the regulation that the Committee is reviewing.

Proposed

amendments

(3) In its report, the Committee may propose amendments to

the Act or the regulation that the Committee is reviewing if the amendments are

for the purposes described in clauses 3 (3) (

a) to (c), reading the references

in those clauses to the bill as references to the Act or the regulation that

the Committee is reviewing.

Tabling

of reports

(4) As soon as the Committee completes a report under this

section, it shall table the report by,

(

a) submitting

a copy of the report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council;

(

b) submitting

a copy of the report to the regulation-maker at its last business address known

to the Committee, if the report relates to a regulation that is not made by the

Lieutenant Governor in Council;

(

c) laying

the report before the Assembly if it is in session; and

(

d) depositing

the report with the Clerk of the Assembly if the Assembly is not in session.

Commencement

6. This

Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

7. The

short title of this Act is the Red Tape and Regulatory Review Act, 2011 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill establishes a standing committee of the Legislative Assembly to be known

as the Standing Committee on Red Tape and Regulatory Review.

Every

public bill must be referred to the Committee for a review or include a

provision stating that it applies despite the requirement for a review. The

review deals with whether the bill imposes a regulatory burden on persons or

bodies, other than the public sector, whether the bill infringes on the freedom

of those persons or bodies to own and use property, whether the regulatory

burden constitutes an unjustified burden and red tape and whether the person or

body that administers the bill is best suited to do so. The Committee may amend

the bill before reporting it back to the Assembly.

person or body, including the Lieutenant Governor in Council, is allowed to

make a regulation under

an Act without giving the Committee at least 60 days

notice to review the regulation and to propose amendments to it, except if the

person or body gives notice to the Committee that the urgency of the situation

requires the making of an emergency regulation. An emergency regulation can

remain in force for no longer than 90 days.

The

Committee can also review Acts after they have been enacted and regulations

after they have been made and make a report on them to the Assembly.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

December 8, 2011

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

December 8, 2011

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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