1995 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING


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


MR. GORDON CAMPBELL

BILL M 215 -- 1995

RECALL AND INITIATIVE AMENDMENT ACT

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

Preamble

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

Definitions

1 Section 1 (1) of the Recall and Initiative Act, S.B.C. 1994 c. 56 is amended by the deletion of the definition of "inducement" and replacing it with the following:

"inducement" includes money, gift, valuable consideration, placement, employment and any other benefit of value;

Initiative Petition

2 Section 3 (4) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

3 (4) The draft Bill must comply with section 2 and be drafted in such a way as to be capable of being implemented.

Issue of initiative petition

3 Section 4 (2) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

4 (2) An initiative must be signed within one year from the date on which it is issued by the chief electoral officer.

Requirements for initiative petition

4 Section 7 (1) (a) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

7 (1) An initiative must comply with the following requirements:

(a) the petition must be submitted to the chief electoral officer within one year from the date on which the petition was issued under section 4;

Ibid.

5 Section 7 (1) (b) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

7 (1) An initiative must comply with the following requirements:

. . .

(b) the petition must be signed by at least 5% of the total number of voters registered to vote in British Columbia, including at least 5% of the voters from at least 50% of the electoral districts in British Columbia;

Select standing committee

6 Section 9 (1) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

9 (1) At the commencement of the first session of each Parliament, the committee of selection appointed under the Standing Orders of the Legislature shall appoint an existing standing committee to be the responsible committee for the purposes of the Act.

Effect of report of select standing committee

7 Section 14 of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

14 If required, initiative votes shall be called for a date not later than one year after the select standing committee refers the initiative petition and draft Bill to the chief electoral officer. In any event, the government shall make every effort to hold initiatives concurrently with municipal, provincial or federal elections.

Determination of successful initiative vote

8 Section 15 (1) (a) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

15 (1) The chief electoral officer must declare an initiative vote to be successful if:

(a) more than 50% of the voters who voted in the initiative vote in favour of the initiative;

Ibid.

9 Section 15 (1) (b) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

15 (1) The chief electoral officer must declare an initiative vote to be successful if:

. . .

(b) more than 50% of the voters who voted in the initiative in each of at least 2/3 of the electoral districts in British Columbia vote in favour of the initiative;

General election before submission of completed petition

10 Section 17 (5) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

17 (5) Despite any other provision of this Act, when an initiative petition is re-issued under this section, the petition may be signed during a period consisting of one year in total, including

(a) the number of days in the initiative petition period before the general election was called, and

(b) the number of days after the petition was re-issued equal to the number of days that remained in the initiative petition period when the general election was called.

General election after petition sent to select standing committee

11 Section 18 of the Act is amended by the inclusion of Section 18. (3) as follows:

18 (3) If a general election is called after the select standing committee has referred the initiative petition and draft Bill to the chief electoral officer under section 11 (2) (b), the chief electoral officer shall hold the initiative vote simultaneously with the general election.

Application for recall petition

12 Section 19 (4) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

19 (4) No application for the issuance of a recall petition may be made during the 6 months following the last election of the member.

Issue of recall petition

13 Section 20 (2) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

20 (2) A recall petition must be signed within 6 months from the date on which it is issued by the chief electoral officer.

Requirements for recall petition

14 Section 23 (a) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

23 A recall petition must comply with the following requirements:

(a) the petition must be submitted to the chief electoral officer within 6 months from the date on which the petition was issued under section 20;

Requirements for recall petition

15 Section 23 (b) of the Act is deleted and replaced with the following:

23 A recall petition must comply with the following requirements:

. . .

(b) the petition must be signed by at least the same number of voters as the number of votes the Member received in the last election, plus one;

Result of successful recall petition

16 Section 25 is amended by the deletion of Section 25 (1) (b) in its entirety.

Regulations for initiative and recall financing

17 Section 29 is amended by the deletion of subsections 29 (2), (3), (4) and (5) in their entirety.

Regulations for initiative and recall advertising

18 Section 30 is amended by the deletion of subsections 30 (2) in its entirety.

Proclamation

19 This Act shall come into force upon proclamation.

 
Explanatory Notes

This bill would amend the Recall and Initiative Act to make recall and referenda really work in the Province of British Columbia, by lowering the hurdles facing citizens seeking to use recall and referenda.


[ Return to: Legislative Assembly Home Page ]

Copyright © 2002: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada