2001 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 37th Parliament
FOR REPORT


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


Certified correct as amended in Committee of the Whole on the 21st day of August, 2001
Ian D. Izard, Law Clerk


HONOURABLE GEOFF PLANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER
RESPONSIBLE FOR TREATY NEGOTIATIONS

BILL 20 -- 2001

LOBBYISTS REGISTRATION ACT

Contents

Section  
1  Interpretation
2  Restrictions on application of Act
3  Requirement to file return
4  Form and content of return
5  Certification of documents and date of receipt
6  Submission of documents in electronic or other form
7  Designation and functions of registrar
8  Public access to registry
9  Storage of documents and use of documents as evidence
10  Offences and penalty
11  Power to make regulations
12-15  Consequential Amendments
16  Commencement

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Interpretation

1 (1) In this Act:

"client" means a person or organization on whose behalf a consultant lobbyist undertakes to lobby;

"consultant lobbyist" means an individual who, for payment, undertakes to lobby on behalf of a client;

"in-house lobbyist" means an individual who is employed by a person or organization and a significant part of whose duties as an employee is to lobby on behalf of

(a) the employer, or

(b) if the employer is a corporation, on behalf of any subsidiary of the employer or any corporation of which the employer is a subsidiary;

"lobby" means,

(a) in relation to either a consultant lobbyist or an in-house lobbyist, to communicate with a public office holder in an attempt to influence

(i) the development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia or by a member of the Legislative Assembly,

(ii) the introduction of any bill or resolution in the Legislative Assembly or the amendment, passage or defeat of any bill or resolution that is before the Legislative Assembly,

(iii) the making or amendment of any regulation as defined in the Regulation Act or any order in council,

(iv) the development or amendment of any program or policy of the government of British Columbia, or

(v) the awarding of any contract or financial benefit by or on behalf of the government of British Columbia, and

(b) in relation only to a consultant lobbyist, to arrange a meeting between a public office holder and any other person;

"organization" means

(a) a business, trade, industry, professional or voluntary organization,

(b) a trade union or labour organization,

(c) a chamber of commerce or board of trade,

(d) a charitable or non-profit organization, association, society, coalition or interest group, and

(e) a government, other than the government of British Columbia;

"payment" means money or anything of value and includes a contract, promise or agreement to pay money or anything of value;

"public office holder" means

(a) a member of the Legislative Assembly and any person on the member's staff,

(b) an officer or employee of the government of British Columbia,

(c) a person who is appointed to any office or body by or with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, other than a person appointed on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly,

(d) a person who is appointed to any office or body by or with the approval of a minister of the government of British Columbia, and

(e) an officer, director or employee of any government corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act,

but does not include a judge or a justice of the peace;

"registrar" means the person designated as registrar under section 7 (1);

"senior officer", in relation to an organization, means the most senior officer of the organization who is compensated for performing his or her duties;

"undertaking" means an undertaking by a consultant lobbyist to lobby on behalf of a client, but does not include an undertaking by an employee to do anything

(a) on the sole behalf of the employer, or

(b) if the employer is a corporation, at the direction of the employer on behalf of a subsidiary of the employer or any corporation of which the employer is a subsidiary.

(2) An officer who is compensated for performing his or her duties is considered to be an employee for the purposes of the definition of "in-house lobbyist" in subsection (1) and for the purposes of sections 3 and 4.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, the following are not considered to be in-house lobbyists:

(a) officers and employees of the Legislative Assembly appointed under section 39 of the Constitution Act;

(b) persons appointed under the Public Service Act;

(c) employees of prescribed government corporations as defined in the Financial Administration Act or of other prescribed government institutions.

Restrictions on application of Act

2 (1) This Act does not apply to any of the following persons when acting in their official capacity:

(a) members of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada or persons on their staff;

(b) members of the Legislative Assembly of another province or persons on their staff;

(c) employees of the government of Canada or of the government of another province or territory;

(d) members of a municipal council, regional district board, improvement district board, school district board or other local government authority, persons on the staff of those members, or employees of a municipality, regional district, improvement district, school district or other local government authority;

(e) members of an aboriginal governing body, however organized and established by aboriginal people within their traditional territory in British Columbia, persons on the staff of those members, or employees of that governing body;

(f) diplomatic agents, consular officers or official representatives in Canada of a foreign government;

(g) officials of a specialized agency of the United Nations in Canada or officials of any other international organization to whom privileges and immunities are granted by or under an Act of the Parliament of Canada.

(2) This Act does not apply in respect of an oral or written submission made as follows:

(a) made in proceedings that are a matter of public record to a committee of the Legislative Assembly or to any body or person having jurisdiction or powers conferred by or under an Act;

(b) made to a public office holder by an individual on behalf of a person or organization concerning

(i) the enforcement, interpretation or application of any Act or regulation by the public office holder with respect to the person or organization, or

(ii) the implementation or administration of any program, policy, directive or guideline by the public office holder with respect to the person or organization;

(c) made to a public office holder by an individual on behalf of a person or organization in direct response to a written request from a public office holder for advice or comment on any matter referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of "lobby" in section 1 (1);

(d) made to a member of the Legislative Assembly by or on behalf of a constituent of the member with respect to any personal matter of the constituent.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) (d), a submission made to a member of the Legislative Assembly concerning the introduction in the Legislative Assembly or the passage or amendment of a private bill for the special benefit of a constituent of the member is not considered to be a personal matter of the constituent.

(4) This Act does not require the disclosure of any identifying information about an individual if the registrar is satisfied that disclosure of that information could reasonably be expected to threaten the individual's safety.

Requirement to file return

3 (1) A return in the prescribed form and containing the information required by section 4 must be filed with the registrar as follows:

(a) by a consultant lobbyist, within 10 days after entering into an undertaking to lobby on behalf of a client;

(b) by the senior officer of any organization that employs any in-house lobbyist,

(i) if the organization employs one or more in-house lobbyists on the date this section comes into force,

(A) within 2 months after that date, and

(B) within 2 months of the end of each 6 month period after the date of filing the previous return, and

(ii) in any other case,

(A) within 2 months after the date the organization first employs an in-house lobbyist or the date an employee becomes an in-house lobbyist, and

(B) within 2 months after the end of each 6 month period after the date of filing the previous return;

(c) by each in-house lobbyist who is employed by a person other than an organization,

(i) if he or she is an in-house lobbyist on the date this section comes into force,

(A) within 2 months after that date, and

(B) within 2 months after the end of each financial year of the employer or, if the employer does not have a financial year, within 2 months after the end of each calendar year, beginning with the financial year or calendar year, as the case may be, in which the in-house lobbyist is required to file a return under clause (A), and

(ii) in any other case,

(A) within 2 months after becoming an in-house lobbyist, and

(B) within 2 months after the end of each financial year of the employer or, if the employer does not have a financial year, within 2 months after the end of each calendar year, beginning with the financial year or calendar year, as the case may be, in which the in-house lobbyist is required to file a return under clause (A).

(2) Only one return need be filed under subsection (1) (a) for each undertaking even though the consultant lobbyist may, in connection with the undertaking,

(a) communicate with one or more public office holders on one or more occasions, or

(b) arrange one or more meetings between a public office holder and any other person.

Form and content of return

4 (1) Each return filed under section 3 must include the following information as applicable:

(a) the name and business address of the consultant lobbyist, in-house lobbyist or senior officer required to file the return;

(b) if the return is filed by a consultant lobbyist,

(i) the name and business address of the firm, if any, where the consultant lobbyist is engaged in business,

(ii) the name and business address of the client and of any person or organization that, to the consultant lobbyist's knowledge, controls or directs the client's activities and has a direct interest in the outcome of the consultant lobbyist's activities on the client's behalf,

(iii) the date of the undertaking entered into by the consultant lobbyist, and

(iv) the name of any government or government agency that funds or partly funds the client and the amount of the funding;

(c) if the return is filed by an in-house lobbyist,

(i) the name and business address of the employer,

(ii) a description in summary form of the employer's business or activities and any other information that is required by the regulations to identify its business or activities,

(iii) if the employer is a corporation, the name and business address of each subsidiary of the corporation that, to the in-house lobbyist's knowledge, has a direct interest in the outcome of the in-house lobbyist's activities on the employer's behalf,

(iv) if the employer is a corporation that is a subsidiary of another corporation, the name and business address of that other corporation, and

(v) the name of any government or government agency that funds or partly funds the employer and the amount of the funding;

(d) if the return is filed by the senior officer of an organization,

(i) the name of the organization,

(ii) a description in summary form of the organization's business or activities and any other information that is prescribed by the regulations to identify its business or activities,

(iii) the name of each in-house lobbyist employed by the organization, and

(iv) the name of any government or government agency that funds or partly funds the organization and the amount of the funding;

(e) particulars to identify the subject matter concerning which

(i) a consultant lobbyist named in the return has undertaken to lobby, or

(ii) any in-house lobbyist named in the return has lobbied or expects to lobby during the relevant period;

(f) particulars to identify any relevant legislative proposal, bill, resolution, regulation, program, policy, contract or financial benefit;

(f.1) the name of any public office holder whom a consultant lobbyist or in-house lobbyist named in the return has lobbied or expects to lobby during the relevant period;

(g) the name of any ministry of the government of British Columbia or other government institution in which is employed or serves any public office holder whom a consultant lobbyist or in-house lobbyist named in the return has lobbied or expects to lobby during the relevant period;

(h) any other information that is prescribed by the regulations respecting the identity of a consultant lobbyist, a client, an in-house lobbyist, an employer of an in-house lobbyist or the senior officer of an organization or respecting the identity of any ministry or institution referred to in paragraph (g).

(2) An individual who files a return must supply the registrar with the following information within the applicable period:

(a) particulars of any change to the information in the return, within 30 days after the change occurs;

(b) any information required to be supplied under subsection (1) the knowledge of which the individual acquired only after the return was filed, within 30 days after the knowledge is acquired;

(c) any information requested by the registrar to clarify any information supplied by the individual under this section, within 30 days after the request is made.

(3) Within 30 days after the completion or termination of an undertaking for which a return was filed, the consultant lobbyist who filed the return must inform the registrar of the completion or termination of the undertaking.

(4) Within 30 days after an individual named in a return as an in-house lobbyist ceases to be an in-house lobbyist or ceases to be an employee of the employer named in the return, the individual who filed the return must inform the registrar of the event.

(5) Any information required under subsections (2) to (4) must be supplied to the registrar in the prescribed form and manner.

(6) In this section, "relevant period" means,

(a) in relation to a return filed by a consultant lobbyist, the period beginning on the date of the undertaking for which the return was filed and ending on the date of completion or termination of the undertaking, and

(b) in relation to a return filed by an in-house lobbyist or by the senior officer of an organization that employs an in-house lobbyist, the financial year of the employer in which the return is filed or, if the employer does not have a financial year, the calendar year in which the return is filed.

Certification of documents and date of receipt

5 (1) An individual who submits a document, including a return, to the registrar under this Act must certify,

(a) on the document, or

(b) in the manner specified by the registrar, if the document is submitted in electronic or other form under section 6,

that, to the best of the individual's knowledge and belief, the information contained in the document is true.

(2) Subject to sections 6 (2) and 7 (6), for the purposes of this Act,

(a) the date on which a return is received by the registrar is the date on which the return is considered to have been filed, and

(b) the date on which information or a document other than a return is received by the registrar is the date on which the information is considered to have been supplied or the document is considered to have been submitted to the registrar.

Submission of documents in electronic or other form

6 (1) Subject to the regulations, any return or other document that is required to be submitted to the registrar under this Act may be submitted in electronic or other form by the means and in the manner specified by the registrar.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, any return or other document that is submitted in accordance with subsection (1) is deemed to be received by the registrar at the time provided for in the regulations.

Designation and functions of registrar

7 (1) The person holding the office of, or acting as, Information and Privacy Commissioner under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is designated as registrar for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The registrar must establish and maintain a registry in which a record of all returns and other documents submitted to the registrar under this Act are to be kept.

(3) The registry must be organized in the manner and kept in the form that the registrar may determine.

(4) The registrar may do one or more of the following:

(a) verify the information contained in any return or other document submitted under this Act;

(b) subject to subsection (5), refuse to accept a return or other document that does not comply with the requirements of this Act or the regulations or that contains information not required to be supplied or disclosed under this Act;

(c) remove a return from the registry if the individual who filed the return does not comply with section 4 (2) (c);

(d) delegate, in writing, to a person employed in the registrar's office any of the registrar's functions under this Act;

(e) authorize a person to whom functions are delegated under paragraph (d) to subdelegate those functions to another person employed in the registrar's office.

(5) On refusing to accept a return or other document under subsection (4) (b), the registrar must

(a) inform the individual who submitted it of the refusal and the reason, and

(b) allow a reasonable extension of the time set under this Act for filing the return or submitting the document if that individual cannot reasonably be expected to file another return or submit another document within the set time.

(6) A return that is filed or a document that is submitted within the time allowed under subsection (5) (b) and is accepted by the registrar in place of one refused under subsection (4) (b) is deemed to have been filed or submitted, as the case may be, on the date the registrar received the one that was refused.

(7) If a return is removed from the registry under subsection (4) (c),

(a) the registrar must inform the individual who filed the return of its removal and the reason, and

(b) that individual is deemed not to have filed the return.

Public access to registry

8 The registry established under section 7 (2) must be available for public inspection in the manner and at the times that the registrar may determine.

Storage of documents and use of documents as evidence

9 (1) Subject to the regulations, any return or other document that is received by the registrar under this Act may be entered or recorded by any information storage device, including any system of mechanical or electronic data processing, that is capable of reproducing the stored return or other document in intelligible form within a reasonable time.

(2) In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, a copy of a return or other document that is reproduced as permitted by subsection (1) and certified under the registrar's signature as a true copy

(a) is admissible in evidence without proof of the official character of the person appearing to have signed the copy, and

(b) has, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the same evidentiary value as the original would have if it were proved in the ordinary way.

Offences and penalty

10 (1) A person who contravenes section 3 (1) or 4 commits an offence.

(2) A person who supplies false or misleading information in a return or other document submitted to the registrar under this Act commits an offence.

(3) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (2) if, at the time the information was supplied, the person did not know that it was false or misleading and, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, could not have known that it was false or misleading.

(4) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable to a fine of not more than $25 000.

(5) Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply in respect of this Act or the regulations.

Power to make regulations

11 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) prescribing government corporations and government institutions for the purposes of section 1 (3) (c);

(b) requiring a fee to be paid on the filing of a return or a class of return under section 3 or for any service performed or the use of any facility provided by the registrar;

(c) prescribing any fee required to be paid under paragraph (b) or the manner of determining the fee and providing for different fees or for the waiver of a fee based on the manner in which a return is submitted to the registrar;

(d) prescribing information for the purpose of section 4 (1) (d) (ii) or (h) and the form and manner in which information required by the registrar under section 4 (2) to (4) is to be supplied;

(e) respecting the submission of returns and other documents to the registrar under this Act, including the time at which returns and other documents submitted in electronic or other form under section 6 are deemed to be received by the registrar;

(f) respecting the entering or recording of any return or other document under section 9;

(g) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act.


Consequential Amendments


Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

12 Section 52 (1) and (2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165, is amended by striking out ", other than the commissioner" and substituting ", other than the commissioner or the registrar under the Lobbyist Registration Act".

13 The heading before section 60 is repealed and the following substituted:

Division 2 -- Investigations and Reviews by Adjudicator .

14 The following section is added in Division 2:

References to commissioner

59.1 In this Division, "commissioner" includes the registrar under the Lobbyist Registration Act.

15 Schedule 2 is amended by adding the following:

  Public Body:  Office of the Registrar under the Lobbyist Registration Act
  Head: Registrar .

Commencement

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


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