March 13, 2019
House of Assembly Management Commission
No. 72
The
Management Commission met at 5:30 p.m. in House of Assembly.
MR. SPEAKER (Trimper):
Well, good evening.
I'd
like to welcome the Members of the Management Commission to our meeting on the
13th day of March, 2019. Also, I'd like to welcome those viewing at home.
First
of all, my name is Perry Trimper, I am the Speaker of the House of Assembly and
I am the Chair of the Management Commission.
I will
turn to my left and ask each of the Members to introduce themselves and the
district they represent.
MR. DINN:
Thank you.
Paul
Dinn, I'm the MHA for the Topsail - Paradise District.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Keith Hutchings, MHA,
Ferryland.
MS. MICHAEL:
Lorraine Michael, MHA, St.
John's East - Quidi Vidi.
MR. BROWNE:
Mark Browne, MHA, Placentia
West - Bellevue.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Andrew Parsons, Burgeo - La
Poile.
MS. COADY:
Siobhan Coady, St. John's
West.
MR. SPEAKER:
And to the support team here
at the Table.
MS. RUSSELL:
Bobbi Russell, Policy & Communications Officer.
CLERK (Barnes):
Sandra Barnes, Clerk.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you everyone.
Now
that I've introduced everyone, welcomed everyone, I am going to read some
previous decisions from in camera meetings into the record, if I may, so please
bear with me. These were held prior to this meeting today.
As
required by the House of Assembly
Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act, I am reporting decisions
made at in camera meetings held on January 23 and February 20. The decisions
from the in camera meeting held on January 23 were as follows: Number one, the
Commission approved reimbursement of legal expenses only incurred up to November
6, 2018 as a result of the Members' participation in the reviews of the
Commissioner for Legislative Standards under the Code of Conduct for Members as
follows: the Member for Fortune Bay - Cape La Hune, the sum of $12,502.80; the
Member for Harbour Grace - Port de Grave, a sum of $2,219.51; for the Member for
Placentia - St. Mary's the sum of $14,559 and, finally, the Member for Mount
Scio the sum of $26,277.50.
The
Commission directed that this decision will not be considered by the Commission
to be a precedent in similar matters and that the future policy direction of the
Management Commission on reimbursement of legal fees will not be constrained by
the Commission's decision in this matter.
The
Commission directed that the Member for Humber - Bay of Islands has to submit
details of his legal expenses by January 31, 2019 in order to be considered for
reimbursement by the Management Commission, and the Commission directed that the
two-day waiting period to give effect to these Commission decisions be waived.
Number
two: The Commission approved the creation of Professional Services as a
sub-object of the Members' Resources activity and the following transfer of
funds: from subdivision 1.1.04.09, Members' Resources – Allowances and
Assistance the sum of $56,000 to subdivision 1.1.04.02, Members' Resources –
Professional Services that same amount of $56,000.
At the
in camera meeting held on February 20, the Commission made the following
decision: The Commission approved the 2019-2020 estimates to be forwarded to the
Minister of Finance for inclusion in the 2019 Estimates and voted on in the
Legislature.
Number
two: The Commission approved a pre-commitment of funds of fiscal year 2020 to
2021 for the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer related to estimated
subsidies for the 2019 general election.
Number
three: The Commission approved a pre-commitment of funds for fiscal year
2020-2021 for the purpose of hosting the 2020 Canadian Association of
Parliamentary Administration Conference.
That
concludes the previous decisions read into the record.
MR. A. PARSONS:
(Inaudible) word brought up
there: illegal.
MR. SPEAKER:
Which word did I
mispronounce?
MR. A. PARSONS:
I think instead of legal,
you said illegal expenses.
MR. SPEAKER:
Oh, let's correct that.
MR. A. PARSONS:
That rings in my ears, so I
just wanted to make sure –
MR. SPEAKER:
Perhaps a drink of water is
in order (inaudible).
Okay,
let the record show it was legal expenses.
Thank
you.
Over to
Tab 2, this is the approval of the minutes for December 19, 2018 and January 23,
2019.
So I
need a motion to approve those minutes.
The
Members have been provided.
It was
moved by Mr. Browne.
MR. HUTCHINGS:
Seconded.
MR. SPEAKER:
Seconded by Mr. Hutchings.
All in
favour?
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
No contra-minded?
The
minutes are approved.
On
motion, minutes adopted as circulated.
MR. SPEAKER:
Turning to Tab 3, the
Speaker's report. There are two reports of yours truly included. One related to
the rulings on allowance use and other related to an approval under the
delegated authority of the Speaker respecting urgent financial matters. They are
provided for your information under Tab 3. There is no decision required.
Over to
Tab 4, Financial Reports. For those who have been with the Commission – and Mr.
Dinn this is your first time, and by the way, I should say welcome to the
Management Commission, formally – we do provide these on a regular basis.
The
House of Assembly Accountability,
Integrity and Administration Act states that the Commission must regularly,
and at least quarterly, review the financial performance of the House of
Assembly as well as the actual expenditures of Members compared with approved
allocations. So that's what's provided there. They are for reporting purposes
only. There is no decision required.
Also, I
want to note to all of you that the report for the Office of the Auditor General
has been updated. There were two footnotes that were missing. It was interesting
– the document was provided to us; my keen eyes did spot that the two footnotes
did not print for some reason, so we've just provided that there was no errors
other than a printing glitch of some kind. So, the correct version you've just
been provided.
Over to
Tab 5, this relates to amendment to Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy.
We've provided some background information for you. I'll just read a little bit
into the record so those watching can understand what we're dealing with: In
accordance with the Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy, each caucus in
this House is entitled to a fixed amount per month for each Member of that
caucus, with a minimum of $800, to fund miscellaneous operational purchases. The
Speaker and independent Members are also entitled to the same amount each per
month.
These
funds are paid to each caucus monthly by deposit into a bank account. It's
administered and overseen by the caucus. The accountability measures of the
policy require monthly bank reconciliations and reporting documentation that has
to be submitted to this Management Commission with an annual report detailing
those expenditures.
If the
grant for each month is not expended, especially for the larger caucuses, it
typically results in funds accumulating over the General Assembly.
We
encountered, upon the dissolution of the 47th General Assembly, prior to the
2015 General Election, each caucus was required to return accumulated funds to
the House of Assembly. While the Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy did
not address return of funds upon dissolution, each caucus was required to do so
following the advice of the Auditor General when consulted on the matter by
House officials.
In
anticipation of the dissolution of this 48th General Assembly, and to
make the policy consistent with past practice, House officials are recommending
an amendment to the Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy as outlined in BN
2019-003.
I open
the floor to any discussion.
People,
do they understand what we're dealing with here?
Ms.
Michael.
MS. MICHAEL:
Just to say, Mr. Chair, I
think it's good to have it put into the policy because it came as a bit of a
surprise the last time. So now it's in the policy and I think that's the way it
should be.
If
anybody has extra money, though, we'd be happy to have it.
MR. SPEAKER:
I think that's how everyone
felt, yeah.
MS. MICHAEL:
Well, us a little bit more.
MR. SPEAKER:
Yes, okay.
Any
further discussion to this?
Okay, I
have a recommended motion. I'll read it into the record and I'll ask someone to
support that: Pursuant to subparagraph 20(6)(b)(ii) of the
House of Assembly Accountability,
Integrity and Administration Act, the Commission approves the following
amendment to the Caucus Operational Funding Grants Policy:
The
policy is amended by adding immediately after section 7.0, the following: 8.0
Return of Accumulated Funds at Dissolution of General Assembly
Following the dissolution of a General Assembly, all caucuses must return to the
House of Assembly, all accumulated funds that were paid in accordance with this
policy.
The
annual report required under section 7.0, detailing expenditures from the start
of the fiscal year up to dissolution, must also be submitted upon return of the
funds.
So I
need a mover and a seconder for that.
Moved
by Ms. Michael; seconded by Mr. Dinn.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Motion is carried; no
dissenting votes.
One
final item is a budget transfer request. And we've added this since we added the
briefing materials. I'll just explain what this is. The Transfer of Funds Policy
requires Management Commission approval to transfer funds to or from the Grants
and Subsidies main object of expenditure.
The
Office of the Chief Electoral Officer requires funding due to the unbudgeted
cost of the Windsor Lake by-election.
So
we're looking for a transfer of funds of $17,400 that is required for the Office
of the Chief Electoral Officer to be placed under Grants and Subsidies to
provide the additional funding for the candidate and auditor subsidies.
Do I
have any discussion on this matter?
Seeing
no discussion, I will read into the record the recommended motion:
The Commission approves the following
transfer of funds from Subdivision 1.1.04.09 Members' Resources – Allowances and
Assistance, the sum of $17,400, to Subdivision 3.1.01.10 Office of the Chief
Electoral Officer – Grants and Subsidies, the amount of $17,400.
Do I
have a mover and a seconder?
Moved
by Mr. Browne; seconded by Mr. Hutchings.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, 'nay.'
The
motion is carried.
Looking
for any further discussion from Management Commission Members.
Seeing
none, I seek a move to adjourn.
Moved
by Mr. Parsons; seconded by Mr. Hutchings.
All
those in favour, 'aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
No contra-minded.
Thank
you very much, and thank you very much for tuning in to the meeting of the
Management Commission.
On motion, meeting adjourned.