BILL NO. 31

(as introduced)

5th Session, 61st General Assembly
Nova Scotia
62 Elizabeth II, 2013

Private Member's Bill

Full Disclosure of Accounting Changes Act

The Honourable Jamie Baillie
Cumberland South

First Reading: April 2, 2013

(Explanatory Note)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

This Bill requires that the Minister of Finance

(a) in any fiscal year in which the Minister adopts new accounting policies, table Estimates for that fiscal year prepared under both the new and the old rules and a report specifying the difference between the Estimates documents in respect of the calculation of the net deficit or surplus and any change in the net debt of Nova Scotia; and

(b) where the Minister has tabled Estimates for the 2013-14 fiscal year prepared under newly adopted accounting policies, prepare and table in the House of Assembly (or file with the Clerk of the Assembly), within thirty days of the coming into force of this Act or not later than ten days before the next general election, whichever is sooner, the Estimates as prepared under the old accounting policies and a report specifying the difference between the Estimates documents in respect of the calculation of the net deficit or surplus and any change in the net debt of Nova Scotia.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Full Disclosure of Accounting Changes Act.

2 Section 54 of Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2010, the Finance Act, is amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following subsections:

(4) Where, in any fiscal year, the Minister adopts accounting policies that differ from those used in the previous fiscal year, the Minister shall table in the House of Assembly, in addition to the Estimates as prepared under the newly adopted accounting policies,

(a) the Estimates as prepared under the previously used accounting policies; and

(b) a report specifying the difference between the two sets of Estimates in respect of

(i) the net deficit or surplus, and

(ii) any change in the net debt of the Province.

(5) Where, before the coming into force of this subsection, the Minister has tabled in the House of Assembly the Estimates for the 2013-14 fiscal year as prepared under newly adopted accounting policies, the Minister shall, within thirty days of the coming into force of this subsection or not later than ten days before the next general election, whichever is sooner, table the Estimates and report referred to in clauses (4)(a) and (b) in the Assembly if the Assembly is then sitting or, if it is not then sitting, file the documents with the Clerk of the Assembly.