BILL NO. 161

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
51 Elizabeth II, 2002

Private Member's Bill

Members and Public Employees Disclosure Act
(amended)

Kevin Deveaux
Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage

First Reading: November 26, 2002

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Clause 1 deals with the annual disclosure by an official agent.

Clause 2 requires

(a) funds that have been inappropriately received to be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of the Province; and

(b) the individual sources of any funds received by a party from any trust fund or organization to be identified.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Section 14 of Chapter 4 of the Acts of 1991, the Members and Public Employees Disclosure Act, is repealed and the following Section substituted:

14 On or before the thirty-first day of March in each year, every official agent of a candidate, electoral district association and recognized party shall file with a designated person a disclosure statement showing

(a) the full name and residential or business address, other than a post office box unless that is the only address available, of each contributor whose contributions received by that official agent during the previous calendar year exceed fifty dollars in total and the amount of the total contributions by that contributor;

(b) the financial institutions and the account numbers used for contributions in money received in the previous calendar year and the financial institutions and the account numbers used for all money from any source held on December 31st, 2001, and each subsequent December 31st; and

(c) the financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles including, but not restricted to, income and expenses, transfers, assets and liabilities for the previous calendar year.

2 Chapter 4 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 18 the following Sections:

18A (1) Any anonymous contribution of more than ten dollars received at a meeting or otherwise by a recognized party, electoral district association or candidate shall not be used or expended, but shall be returned to the contributor if the contributor's identity can be established or, if the contributor's identity cannot be established, the contribution shall be turned over to the designated person to be paid into the Consolidated Fund of the Province.

(2) Any funds, whether or not they were received before the day that this Section came into effect, held by a recognized party or electoral district association that were obtained in an illegal manner or for which there is no record of the contributors or contributions shall be turned over to the designated person to be paid into the Consolidated Fund of the Province.

(3) A recognized party or electoral district association may appeal to the designated person within thirty days of a determination that the funds are subject to forfeiture to the Consolidated Fund of the Province under subsection (2) and the designated person may return the funds subject to forfeiture if the designated person is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the funds were collected legally or the records were not destroyed with an intention to deceive or evade investigation.

18B (1) Where the trustee of a trust fund or the senior officer of a fund to which this Act applies makes a contribution to a recognized party, electoral district association or candidate, the trustee, senior officer or organization shall provide to the recognized party, electoral district association or candidate a statement indicating the individual sources and amounts making up the contribution or the trust fund or other funds from which the contribution is made, and that statement shall be appended to the statement next made by the recognized party, electoral district association or candidate in accordance with Section 14.

(2) Where the trustee, senior officer or organization fails to provide a statement in accordance with subsection (1), the official agent of the recognized party, electoral district association or candidate shall not accept the contribution or shall forthwith return to the contributor an amount of money equal to the value of the contribution.

(3) Where money, goods or services are transferred within a recognized party or between a recognized party and an electoral district association, the official agent of the recognized party or electoral district association which is receiving the transfer shall record the transfer and shall ensure that, in accordance with this Act, there is a current record of contributions to the recognized party, electoral district association or candidate that sent the transfer.