2001 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 37th Parliament
FIRST READING
The following electronic version is for informational
purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
HONOURABLE GEORGE ABBOTT
MINISTER OF COMMUNITY,
ABORIGINAL AND WOMEN'S SERVICES
Contents
| Section | ||
| Part 1 -- 2001 | ||
| 1 | Okanagan-Similkameen Naramata parcel taxes | |
| 2 | Validation of anti-smoking bylaws | |
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 (1) In this section:
"authorized borrowing" means amounts that, before this section comes into force,
(a) have been borrowed under B.C. Reg. 227/96 or section 36 (5) or (6) of the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No. 2), S.B.C. 1990, c. 61, or
(b) have been authorized to be borrowed by loan authorization bylaw under section 36 (5) or (6) of the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No.2);
"Naramata service area" means the service area described in the regional district bylaw cited as "Naramata Water System Local Service Establishment Bylaw No. 1620, 1995", as originally adopted;
"Naramata special debt financing service" means a service of the regional district under Part 24 of the Local Government Act
(a) that is established to recover the costs of authorized borrowing, and
(b) for which the service area is the Naramata service area;
"parcel tax" means a parcel tax referred to in subsection (4);
"regional district" means the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
(2) If the regional district proposes to establish a Naramata special debt financing service,
(a) despite section 800.1 (1) (e) of the Local Government Act, it is not necessary for the establishing bylaw to set the maximum amount that may be requisitioned for the service, and
(b) despite section 801 (1) (b) of the Local Government Act, the establishing bylaw does not require the approval of the electors but does require the approval of the Inspector of Municipalities.
(3) If a Naramata special debt financing service is established, any authorized borrowing is deemed to be borrowing done or authorized in relation to that service and any security issued in relation to the authorized borrowing is deemed to be security issued in relation to borrowing for that service.
(4) If all or part of the costs of the Naramata special debt financing service are to be recovered by means of a parcel tax under the Local Government Act, the assessment roll bylaw under section 360.1 of that Act may provide that, if the same person or persons own more than one parcel in the Naramata service area,
(a) unless circumstances referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) apply, the parcel tax is imposed only in relation to one of those parcels,
(b) in circumstances specified in the bylaw, the parcel tax is imposed in relation to some but not all of those parcels, and
(c) in circumstances specified in the bylaw, no parcel tax is imposed in relation to any of those parcels.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the bylaw referred to in that subsection must establish criteria for determining which of the parcels owned by the same person or persons is to be subject to the tax, which criteria may be based on one or more of the following:
(a) the nature of the interest of the owners in the parcels;
(b) the nature of improvements on the parcels;
(c) the assessed value of the parcels;
(d) the taxable area of the parcels.
(6) If applicable, the bylaw referred to in subsection (4) must establish circumstances in which the parcel tax is or is not imposed as referred to in subsection (4) (b) and (c).
(7) If the authority under subsection (4) has been exercised, in addition to the grounds specified in section 361.3 of the Local Government Act, the owner of a parcel that is to be subject to the parcel tax may make a complaint to the local court of revision on the ground that
(a) there is an error or omission in relation to the parcel respecting the application of criteria established under subsection (5), or
(b) there is an error or omission in relation to the parcel respecting the application of circumstances established under subsection (6).
(8) A complaint under subsection (7) is deemed,
(a) in the first year that the parcel tax is imposed, to be a complaint under section 361.3 of the Local Government Act, except that subsections (4) to (6) of that section do not apply, and
(b) in subsequent years, to be a request under section 361.8 of the Local Government Act.
(9) If
(a) the same person or persons own more than one parcel in the Naramata service area,
(b) the parcel tax is imposed in relation to only one of those parcels in accordance with subsection (4) (a), and
(c) that parcel tax is waived under section 360 (4) (b) [commutation by paying full amount at one time] of the Local Government Act in relation to that parcel,
that tax is deemed to be waived in relation to the parcels, owned at that time by the same person or persons, in relation to which, in accordance with subsection (4) (a), no parcel tax was imposed.
(10) If
(a) the same person or persons own more than one parcel in the Naramata service area,
(b) the parcel tax is imposed in relation to some but not all of those parcels in accordance with subsection (4) (b), and
(c) that parcel tax is waived under section 360 (4) (b) [commutation by paying full amount at one time] of the Local Government Act in relation to each of the parcels on which the tax was imposed,
that tax is deemed to be waived in relation to the parcels, owned at that time by the same person or persons, in relation to which, in accordance with subsection (4) (b), no parcel tax was imposed.
(11) Despite section 375 of the Local Government Act, the regional district may, by bylaw, establish how the parcel tax imposed under this section is to be dealt with if a parcel subject to the tax is subdivided, including establishing that the parcel tax is to be imposed on only one of the parcels created by subdivision or that the tax is to be apportioned in accordance with the bylaw.
(12) This section comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
2 (1) In this section:
"anti-smoking bylaw" means a bylaw adopted by a local government that
(a) prohibits or regulates or purports to prohibit or regulate the smoking or other use or consumption of tobacco products in classes of premises specified in the bylaw, and
(b) was approved or purported to be approved by a Provincial health officer during the period starting on April 1, 1996 and ending on August 9, 1996 pursuant to a delegation or a purported delegation under section 4 (2) of the Ministry of Health Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 273, as that section read in 1996;
"Provincial health officer" means the Provincial health officer within the meaning of the Health Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 273, as that Act read in 1996 and includes a deputy to the Provincial health officer.
(2) Despite section 692 (4) of the Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 290 as that section read in 1996, and despite any decision of a court to the contrary made before or after this section comes into force, anti-smoking bylaws are conclusively deemed to be valid for all purposes.
(3) An anti-smoking bylaw is conclusively deemed to have been validly adopted and to be valid and effective from the time a Provincial health officer approved or purported to approve the bylaw.
(4) All resolutions, bylaws and actions of a local government in relation to an anti-smoking bylaw are conclusively deemed to have been validly adopted or taken as of the date that they were adopted or taken, to the extent they would have been valid had this section been in force on the date they were adopted or taken.
(5) This section is retroactive to the extent necessary to give full force and effect to its provisions and must not be construed as lacking retroactive effect in relation to any matter because it makes no specific reference to that matter.
Explanatory Note
Following the format established by the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act (No. 2), this Bill will start such an Act for the coming decade.
The proposed section 1 is an enabling provision that will allow the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to establish a specialized parcel tax in relation to borrowings required to pay the costs related to legal proceedings against that regional district and the former Naramata Irrigation District.
The proposed section 2 validates retroactively every anti-smoking bylaw, as defined, from the time a Provincial health officer approved or purported to approve the bylaw.
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