First

Session, 45th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2004

BILL 60

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

NO. 2

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

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

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

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

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

HONOURABLE

LOYOLA SULLIVAN

Minister

of Finance and President of Treasury Board

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clause 1 of the Bill would repeal and

substitute

section 17 of the Financial

Administration Act to provide for 2 additional levels of authority to

settle debts due to and claims made by the province.

The minister of each department would

be able to settle matters where the deficit to the province is $5,000 or less,

while deputy ministers would be authorized to settle matters in accordance with

Treasury Board guidelines where the deficit is $1,000 or less.

Clause 2 of the Bill would amend

section 18 to provide that it applies to all types of debts and taxes that are

covered by sections 17 and 19.

Clause 3 of the Bill would provide

levels of authority corresponding to those in

section 17 to settle accounts in

relation to duties, taxes and fines.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE FINANCIAL

ADMINISTRATION ACT NO. 2

Analysis

S.17 R&S

Settlement of debt

2. S.18 Amdt.

Write-offs

S.19 Amdt.

Remission of forfeitures, etc.

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cF-8

as amended

Section 17 of the Financial Administration Act is repealed and the following

substituted:

Settlement of

debt

(1) In

this section, "debt" and "claim" do not include an amount

which may be remitted under

section 19.

(2) The minister may, subject to the approval of

the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and to another Act, negotiate and accept a

settlement of a debt or claim due or made by or on behalf of the province in

full settlement of that debt or claim.

(3) The minister of a department may, upon the

recommendation of the board, negotiate and accept a settlement of a debt or

claim due or made by or on behalf of the minister in right of the province in

full settlement of that debt or claim where the settlement results in a deficit

of $5,000 or less.

(4) The board may authorize a deputy minister of a

department, in accordance with rules that the board may establish, to negotiate

and accept settlements of debts or claims due or made by or on behalf of the

province in full settlement of those debts or claims where each settlement

results in a deficit of $1,000 or less.

2. Subsection 18(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Write-offs

(1) Where

it appears unlikely that an amount due to the Crown will be paid, but the

amount has not been settled under

section 17 or remitted under

section 19, the

board may direct that the deficit be written off.

3. (1) Subsection 19(1.1) of the Act is repealed

and the following substituted:

(1.1) The minister may, upon the recommendation of

the board, remit a duty, tax, toll, fine, forfeiture or pecuniary penalty

referred to in subsection (1) or approve a settlement in relation to the duty,

tax, toll, fine, forfeiture or pecuniary penalty where the remission is in an

amount of $5,000 or less or the settlement results in a deficit of $5,000 or

less.

(2) Section 19 of the Act is amended by adding

immediately after subsection (1.1) the following:

(1.2) The board may authorize a deputy minister of a

department, in accordance with rules that the board may establish, to remit a

duty, tax, toll, fine, forfeiture or pecuniary penalty referred to in

subsection (1) and approve a settlement in relation to the duty, tax, toll,

fine, forfeiture or pecuniary penalty where the remission is in an amount of

$1,000 or less or the settlement results in a deficit of $1,000 or less.

(3) Subsections 19(5) and (6) of the Act are

repealed.

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer