1993 Legislative Session: 2nd Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


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


MR. DAVID MITCHELL

BILL M 225 -- 1993

PARLIAMENTARY CALENDAR ACT

Preamble

Whereas the Members of the Legislative Assembly and the people of British Columbia are entitled to know when the House shall sit and to know in advance the duration of legislative sessions without interference from the Executive Council;

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

Fixed Parliamentary Calendar

1 Section 22 of the Constitution Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 62 is repealed and the following substituted therefor:

Semi-annual sessions

22 (a) There shall be two sessions of the Legislative Assembly each year, the first being a maximum of four months duration commencing the first Monday in March and the second being a maximum of two months duration commencing the second Tuesday in October.

(b) Except as provided herein, where a statutory holiday or any other holiday declared by Her Majesty, by the Government of Canada, by the Legislative Assembly, or by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in Council, which falls on a day during which the Legislative Assembly would normally sit, such sitting shall be adjourned on the day immediately preceding the statutory or other holiday, and shall not reconvene until the second day immediately following the statutory or other declared holiday provided that such day be one during which the Legislative Assembly normally sits.

(c) Where a statutory or declared holiday falls on a Saturday, the Legislative Assembly shall adjourn on the preceding Thursday and reconvene on the following Monday.

(d) Where a statutory or declared holiday falls on a Sunday, the Legislative Assembly shall adjourn on the preceding Friday and reconvene on the following Tuesday.

(e) Where a statutory or declared holiday falls on a Monday, the Legislative Assembly shall adjourn on the preceding Friday and reconvene on the following Wednesday.

(f) Nothing in this section precludes the Lieutenant Governor or the Lieutenant Governor in Council from summoning the Legislative Assembly to deal with an emergency related to the health, safety or economic well-being of the people of British Columbia.

2 The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Parliamentary Calendar

50.1 (a) The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall, immediately following the first meeting of a new session of Parliament, with the advice of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, establish a Parliamentary Calendar not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

(b) Nothing in this section prevents the Legislative Assembly from amending the calendar from time to time, provided reasonable notice of such amendments is given.

(c) Notwithstanding this section and section 22, when a provincial general election occurs within 60 days of the dates fixed for the commencement of a legislative session, the requirement for a session to begin on said date may be waived.


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