BILL NO. 30. An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act

Transcription

1 HOUSE USE ONLY CHAIR: WITH / WITHOUT 2nd SESSION, 65th GENERAL ASSEMBLY Province of Prince Edward Island 65 ELIZABETH II, 2016 BILL NO. 30 An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General GOVERNMENT BILL MICHAEL D. FAGAN Queen s Printer Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

2 For House Use Only Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly AMENDMENTS ASSEMBLY / SESSION / YEAR 65th General / 2nd / 2016 BILL NUMBER: 30 PAGE No. of PAGES TITLE: AN ACT TO AMEND THE PLEBISCITES ACT # SECTION AMENDMENT DATE NOTED: CERTIFIED CORRECT: COMMITTEE CLERK CHAIRMAN, IN COMMITTEE

3 BILL NO An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act BE IT ENACTED by the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Prince Edward Island as follows: 1. The Plebiscites Act R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. P-10, is amended by the addition of the following after section 5: 6. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where it appears to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to be appropriate with respect to a plebiscite, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by order in council, direct that (a) the plebiscite be conducted in a manner that is different than that set out in this Act; (b) voting at the plebiscite shall occur as set out in the order or the regulations; or (c) persons in a group or class of persons who would not otherwise be qualified to vote are, subject to the regulations, qualified to vote at the plebiscite. (2) Where an order in council is made under subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purpose of implementing the order, including regulations (a) respecting how the plebiscite is to be conducted; (b) respecting the use of a process, procedure, equipment or technology that is different than that required by this Act, if the process, procedure, equipment or technology relates to any of the following: (i) voter registration, (ii) the content or form of the ballot, (iii) voting, (iv) the determination of eligibility to vote, (v) the counting of the ballots and the votes, (vi) the determination and reporting of the results of the voting; (c) respecting voter qualifications and any requirements that are required to be met in order to be eligible to vote; (d) respecting the application of provisions of the Election Act R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. E-1.1, with respect to the plebiscite; (e) delegating the decision-making authority with respect to any of the matters set out in clause (b) to the Chief Electoral Officer appointed under the Election Act; (f) prescribing offences and penalties for failure to comply with the regulations; and Order re conduct of a plebiscite Regulations re order 1

4 2 Bill No. 30 An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act 2016 (g) respecting anything the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers advisable with respect to the implementation of the order. Conflict between enactments (3) Where a provision of the regulations made under subsection (2) is inconsistent or in conflict with a provision of another enactment, the provision of the regulations prevails unless the regulations or the other provision specifically provides that the provision or the enactment applies notwithstanding the regulations. 2

5 2016 An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act Bill No EXPLANATORY NOTES SECTION 1 adds to the Act a section that authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to direct, by order in council, that a plebiscite be conducted in a manner that is different than that used for elections, that voting occur differently than in elections or other plebiscites and that a class or group of persons not qualified to vote in an election be qualified to vote at the plebiscite. The new section also sets out regulation-making powers related to the order in council and includes a provision to deal with any conflicts between the regulations and other enactments so that, generally, the regulations will prevail. 3

6 BILL NO. 30 An Act to Amend the Plebiscites Act STAGE: DATE: 1st Reading: May 11, nd Reading: To Committee: Reported: 3rd Reading and Pass: Assent: SIGNATURES: Honourable H. Frank Lewis, Lieutenant Governor Honourable Francis (Buck) Watts, Speaker Clerk Honourable H. Wade MacLauchlan Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General GOVERNMENT BILL nd SESSION, 65th GENERAL ASSEMBLY