Alberta.

• Author: Rempel, Jody
• Position: Legislative Reports

2nd Session of the 30th Legislature

Lois E. Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Alberta, opened the Second Session of the 30lh Legislature on February 25, 2020. In the Throne Speech, Her Honour highlighted the Government's plans for job creation, a three per cent overall reduction in government spending, protection of critical infrastructure, and democratic reforms including recall legislation.

Bills

In the first two weeks of session, the government introduced six Bills:

* Bill 1, Critical Infrastructure Defence Act--provides for new offences related to trespassing, damaging or obstructing the use of essential infrastructure.

* Bill 2, Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Amendment Act, 2020--intention is to simplify and modernize existing legislation.

* Bill 3, Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Amendment Act, 2020--permits tenants and landlords of mobile home sites to use the dispute resolution service available to renters and landlords of apartments.

* Bill 4, Fiscal Planning and Transparency (Fixed Budget Period) Amendment Act, 2020--proposes a fixed budget period to occur in February of each year.

* Bill 5, Fiscal Measures and Taxation Act, 2020 implements amendments from Budget 2020, including changes to education funding and the application of the tourism levy to online hospitality services such as AirBnB.

* Bill 6, Appropriation Act, 2020--authorizes funding for the Legislative Assembly, independent Officers of the Legislature, and the Government of Alberta for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

At the time of writing, of these six Bills, only Bill 5 and Bill 6 have completed the legislative process and received Royal Assent.

Two Private Members' Public Bills have also been introduced and referred to the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills for review. Bill 201, Strategic Aviation Advisory Council Act, 2020 was reviewed on March 3, 2020, and the Committee has reported its recommendation that the Bill proceed. Bill 202, Conflicts of Interest (Protecting the Rule of Law) Amendment Act, 2020, has been referred to the Committee; however, the deadline for the Committee to report back to the Assembly on the Bill has been postponed until October 2020 pursuant to the provisions of a Government Motion passed on March 17, 2020.

Legislative Offices

On February 14, 2020, the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices released its report on the review of the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, 2018-2019 Annual Report. This...