BILL NO. 191
(as introduced)
1st Session, 65th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
4 Charles III, 2026
Private Member's Public Bill
Legislative Budget Officer Act
Lisa Lachance
Halifax Citadel–Sable Island
First Reading: February 23, 2026
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act Respecting
the Office of the Legislative Budget Officer
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Legislative Budget Officer Act.
2 (1) Upon consultation with the leaders of the recognized parties of the House of Assembly and with the unanimous recommendation of all members of the Assembly’s Internal Affairs Committee, the Governor in Council shall appoint a person to be the Legislative Budget Officer.
(2) The Legislative Budget Officer is an officer of the House of Assembly.
(3) The Legislative Budget Officer is independent of Government direction and is not under the supervision of any minister of the Crown.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), the Legislative Budget Officer holds office for a term not exceeding seven years and may not be re-appointed.
(5) The Governor in Council may remove the Legislative Budget Officer only for cause or incapacity on the passing by the House of Assembly of a resolution carried by a vote of two thirds of the members voting thereon.
3 (1) Subject to subsection (2) and Section 11, the Legislative Budget Officer shall be paid remuneration within, but at or above the mid-point of, the annual salary rates for deputy ministers set out in the pay plan for deputy ministers together with any other remuneration payable to deputy ministers, which remuneration must be adjusted yearly by a percentage equal to the average increase for the remuneration of the deputy ministers.
(2) The salary of the Legislative Budget Officer may not be reduced except on the passing by the House of Assembly of a resolution carried by a vote of two thirds of the members voting thereon.
(3) The Legislative Budget Officer is entitled to all rights, privileges and benefits, including pension benefits, to which deputy ministers are entitled.
(4) The Legislative Budget Officer is an employee within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation Act.
4 (1) The Office of the Legislative Budget Officer is established.
(2) Subject to Section 11, the Office must be given the budget and resources necessary to fulfil the mandate of the Legislative Budget Officer.
5 (1) The Legislative Budget Officer shall
(a) at the request of any member or committee of the House of Assembly or on the Legislative Budget Officer’s own initiative, provide independent analysis to the Assembly on the state of the Province’s finances, the estimates submitted to the Assembly and economic trends affecting the Province;
(b) at the request of any member or committee of the Assembly or on the Legislative Budget Officer’s own initiative, undertake research into the fiscal sustainability of the Province and long-term economic and demographic trends;
(c) at the request of any member or committee of the Assembly or on the Legislative Budget Officer’s own initiative, prepare and publish reports on Government program spending or Provincial revenue tools;
(d) support the Assembly in its review of the Government’s Public Accounts, budget and estimates;
(e) prepare a pre-election economic and fiscal outlook;
(f) provide a fiscal or economic costing in accordance with Section 6; and
(g) provide a costing or a fiscal-track analysis in accordance with Section 7.
(2) The Legislative Budget Officer shall
(a) provide all commentary and analysis in a neutral, objective and non-partisan manner; and
(b) publish all reports, analyses and costings in a timely and transparent manner.
6 (1) The Legislative Budget Officer shall, at the request of any member or committee of the House of Assembly, prepare a fiscal or economic costing of
(a) proposed legislation, including proposed amendments to legislation and Private Member’s Public Bills;
(b) a motion or a proposed motion; or
(2) The Legislative Budget Officer shall not disclose to any person a request for a fiscal or economic costing or the methodologies or analysis involved in the costing unless such disclosure is authorized, in writing, by the member who or committee that requested the costing.
(3) The Legislative Budget Officer shall provide a report containing the results of the fiscal or economic costing to the member who or committee that requested the costing.
(4) The Legislative Budget Officer may make the report available to the public only if authorized to do so by the member who or committee that requested the fiscal or economic costing.
"authorized representative" means the leader of a recognized party in the House of Assembly immediately before the election period or a person authorized in writing by the leader for the purpose of this Section;
"costing" means an estimate of the financial cost of an election campaign proposal made by a political party or candidate or that a political party or candidate is considering making;
"election period" means the period commencing with the dissolution of the House of Assembly and ending at the close of polls on election day;
"fiscal-track analysis" means an analysis of a political party’s or a candidate’s election platform in relation to the platform’s projected Provincial fiscal outlook relative to the pre-election fiscal outlook;
"member" means a person who, immediately before the election period, is a member of the House of Assembly but not a member of a recognized party.
(2) During an election period, the Legislative Budget Officer shall, at the request of an authorized representative or a member, provide a costing or a fiscal-track analysis.
(3) The Legislative Budget Officer shall ensure that all political parties that were recognized by the House of Assembly immediately before the election period have equal access, consistent timelines and neutral treatment in submitting requests for a costing or a fiscal-track analysis.
(4) The Legislative Budget Officer shall not disclose to any person a request for a costing or a fiscal-track analysis or the methodologies or analysis involved in any costing or fiscal-track analysis unless such disclosure is authorized, in writing, by the authorized representative or member who requested the costing or fiscal-track analysis.
(5) The Legislative Budget Officer shall not
(a) infer, estimate or assume the financial cost of any election campaign proposal that has not been requested for costing; or
(b) certify that a fiscal-track analysis reflects the entirety of a candidate’s or a political party’s election platform.
(6) The Legislative Budget Officer shall provide a report containing the results of the costing or fiscal-track analysis to the authorized representative or member who requested the costing or fiscal-track analysis.
(7) A report containing a fiscal-track analysis must
(a) project the fiscal impact of the election campaign proposals contained in the election platform over the period requested by the authorized representative or member who requested the fiscal-track analysis;
(b) assess any resulting deficit or surplus and key fiscal indicators relative to the pre-election outlook; and
(c) state the election campaign proposals that were included in the analysis and that the report is conditional on the inclusion of those proposals only.
(8) The Legislative Budget Officer may make the report available to the public only if authorized to do so by the authorized representative or member who requested the costing or fiscal-track analysis.
8 (1) In this Section, "government agency" has the same meaning as in the Auditor General Act.
(2) The Legislative Budget Officer is entitled, on request, to free and timely access to any financial, economic, program or statistical information that is in the possession of any government agency that would enable the Legislative Budget Officer to fulfil the Officer’s mandate.
(3) Upon receiving a request for information under subsection (2), the government agency shall provide the information to the Legislative Budget Officer within 30 days.
(4) The government agency may extend the deadline referred to in subsection (3) if the government agency determines there are reasonable grounds for an extension and the government agency provides such reasons to the Officer in writing.
(5) The right of access referred to in subsection (2) does not apply to
(a) deliberations of the Executive Council or any of its committees, including any advice, recommendations, policy considerations or draft legislation or regulations submitted or prepared for submission to the Executive Council or any of its committees; or
(b) personal information protected under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, unless the information is reasonably required for analysis and the fulfilment of the Legislative Budget Officer’s mandate and any personal information is redacted to the greatest extent possible to maintain the privacy of any individuals identified in the information.
(6) Government agencies shall make reasonable efforts to assist the Legislative Budget Officer in obtaining, interpreting and clarifying information relevant to the Officer’s mandate.
9 The Legislative Budget Officer shall establish transparent criteria for prioritizing requests while taking into account
(a) dates or deadlines relating to the work of the House of Assembly or an election;
(c) the complexity of analysis;
(e) the equal and fair treatment of recognized parties and members of the Assembly.
10 The Legislative Budget Officer shall prepare an annual report on the activities of the Office and submit it to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, who shall table the report in the Assembly if the Assembly is then sitting or, where it is not then sitting, file it with the Clerk of the Assembly.
11 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
12 This Act has effect on and after January 1, 2027.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2026 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created February 23, 2026. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
