New Brunswick.

• Author: Brouillette, Martine
• Position: Legislative Reports

Sitting Days and Standings

The Second Session of the 59th Legislature adjourned on June 14 after 40 sitting days and is scheduled to resume sitting on November 19, 2019. The current standings in the House are 22 Progressive Conservatives, 21 Liberals, three Greens and three People's Alliance.

Committees

The Standing Committee on Estimates and Fiscal Policy, chaired by Glen Savoie, met in the Legislative Assembly Chamber for three weeks in April and May to review and approve the budgetary estimates of various government departments.

Kimberly Poffenroth, the Chief Electoral Officer, tabled a discussion paper on June 4 before members of the Standing Committee on Procedure, Privileges and Legislative Officers, chaired by Stewart Fairgrieve. With a goal of enhancing and modernizing voting procedures, the recommendations contained in the discussion paper entitled "Modernizing New Brunswick's Electoral Legislation" include amendments to the Elections Act, the Political Process Financing Act and the Municipal Elections Act. Initiatives included such items as: eliminating the political appointment of the returning officers who manage provincial and municipal elections and establishing a competitive, competency-based hiring process; eliminating the restrictions on advertising on election day and the day preceding; and introducing vote-by-mail for any municipal byelection or local service district plebiscite held between general elections. Elections New Brunswick invited all interested individuals, including stakeholders with direct ties to the electoral processes administered by the organization, to review the recommendations and offer feedback before September 30. The feedback received will help to form the final recommendations that will be submitted to the government for modernizing the various pieces of legislation.

On June 11, the Standing Committees on Public Accounts and Crown Corporations, chaired by Roger Melanson and Glen Savoie respectively, met with Auditor General Kim MacPherson, who presented three performance audits of government programs and a special review. The performance audits were in relation to Medicare cards, outsourcing of highway maintenance and construction work, and the collection and forgiveness of overdue property taxes. The special review was in relation to the City of Saint John funding agreement and found that the $22.8 million agreement to address the city's anticipated budget deficits created several risks and...