BILL 12 – 2004
EDUCATION STATUTES AMENDMENT ACT, 2004

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Independent School Act

1 Section 12 (1) of the Independent School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 216, is amended by striking out "The Minister of Finance" and substituting "The minister".

2 Section 13 (1) is amended by striking out "On the recommendation of the minister, the Minister of Finance" and substituting "The minister".

School Act

3 Section 1 (1) of the School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 412, is amended

(a) by repealing the definitions of "annual capital expense", "annual capital grant", "annual capital project", "capital plan expense" and "local capital expense" and substituting the following:

"annual facility expenditure" means an expenditure with respect to a project that is financed from the board's annual facility grant;

"annual facility grant" means a grant to a board under section 115.1;

"annual facility project" means an undertaking to maintain or improve

(a) a site, or

(b) a building

that is owned or leased by a board;

"capital plan expenditure" means a capital expenditure with respect to a project that is included in a board's capital plan bylaw, and includes a capital expenditure that was a capital plan expense under this Act, as it read immediately before this definition was enacted, and was included in a capital plan;

"local capital expenditure" means a capital expenditure with respect to a project that is

(a) financed from the board's local capital reserve, or

(b) included in the annual budget of a board and financed from

(i) local revenue,

(ii) school referendum taxes, or

(iii) the board's operating grant or other grants designated by the minister,

and includes a capital expenditure that was a local capital expense under this Act as it read immediately before this definition was enacted; ,

(b) by repealing the definitions of "capital expenses" and "operating expenses",

(c) in the definitions of "capital plan project" and "local capital project" by striking out "expense" and substituting "expenditure", and

(d) in the definition of "capital project" by striking out "expenses" and substituting "expenditures".

4 Section 98 (3) is repealed.

5 Section 100 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) in the definitions of "board's contribution" and "minister's contribution" by striking out "expense" wherever it appears and substituting "expenditure",

(b) in subsection (1) by repealing the definition of "capital expense" and substituting the following:

"capital expenditure" does not include an annual facility expenditure; ,

(c) in subsections (2) and (3) by striking out "expense" wherever it appears and substituting "expenditure", and

(d) by repealing subsections (4) and (5) and substituting the following:

(4) Money allocated to the minister must be used by the board only

(a) for capital projects, and

(b) with the minister's approval.

(5) Money allocated to the board must be used by the board only for capital projects.

6 Section 100.1 is amended by striking out "to a capital reserve or for operating expenses" and substituting "to either operating or capital expenditures".

7 Sections 101 (1) and (2) and 103 are repealed.

8 Section 105 is amended

(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (4), and

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) If a board provides housing accommodation for employees, the board must determine and set the rent to be charged in respect of each unit of housing accommodation by dividing the total estimated expenditures of the housing accommodation, including

(a) amounts payable by the board for interest and principal,

(b) taxes and other levies,

(c) service charges,

(d) repairs and maintenance, and

(e) other expenditures,

by the number of units of housing accommodation, whether occupied or not.

9 Section 111 is repealed and the following substituted:

Preparation of annual budget

111 (1) In this section:

"estimated expenditures" means the estimated expenditures plus any operating deficit that the board must fund in the fiscal year;

"estimated revenues" means the estimated revenues plus appropriated operating reserves.

(2) The board must prepare an annual budget in the form and containing the content specified by the minister.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), estimated expenditures in the annual budget must not exceed estimated revenues.

(4) The estimated expenditures in the annual budget, other than the debt service expenses estimate referred to in section 110, may exceed the estimated revenues if the board has held a referendum under section 112 and the referendum approved the amount in excess of the estimated revenues.

10 Section 112 (2) is amended by striking out "referred to in section 111 (1) (f)".

11 Sections 114, 115 (2) and 116 are amended by striking out "the minister of finance" wherever it appears and substituting "the minister".

12 Sections 115 (1), 115.1 and 117 (1) are amended by striking out "On the recommendation of the minister, the minister of finance" and substituting "The minister".

13 Section 115.1 is amended by striking out "of a school district an annual capital grant to be used for annual capital projects to maintain sites and buildings owned or leased by the board." and substituting "an annual facility grant to be used for annual facility projects."

14 Sections 116, 140 and 147 (3) are amended by striking out "expenses" wherever it appears and substituting "expenditures".

15 Section 121 is amended by striking out "Minister of Finance." and substituting "minister of revenue."

16 Sections 124 (2), (3) and (4), 125 (1) to (3) and 138 (1) (e) are amended by striking out "the minister of revenue" wherever it appears and substituting "the minister of finance".

17 Section 141 (1) (b) (ii) is repealed and the following substituted:

(ii) for an annual facility project, and .

18 Section 142 (3) (c) (ii) is repealed and the following substituted:

(ii) annual facility projects, .

19 Section 144 is amended

(a) in subsections (1) and (5) by striking out "expense" wherever it appears and substituting "expenditure", and

(b) by repealing subsection (6) and substituting the following:

(6) A board must not borrow money for capital expenditures unless the minister has, in writing, authorized the borrowing.

20 Section 156 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "trust accounts," and substituting "special purpose accounts,",

(b) by repealing subsections (3) and (7) to (9),

(c) in subsection (4) by striking out "trust fund" and "trust" and substituting "special purpose account" in both places,

(d) by repealing subsection (5) and substituting the following:

(5) A board that establishes a special purpose account under subsection (4) must spend and account for the money in the special purpose account in accordance with

(a) the terms of the special purpose account, and

(b) the directions of the minister. ,

(e) by repealing subsection (10) and substituting the following:

(10) A surplus in respect of a capital plan project may be spent only

(a) on capital expenditures, and

(b) with the minister's approval. , and

(f) by repealing subsection (12) and substituting the following:

(12) A board must not incur a deficit of any kind unless the board

(a) has the approval of the minister, or

(b) meets criteria prescribed by order of the minister.

21 Section 157 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) The financial statements required under subsection (1) must be prepared on or before September 15 of each year, in accordance with

(a) subject to paragraph (b), generally accepted accounting principles, and

(b) the directions of the minister.

22 The following section is added:

Financial information

157.1 Without limiting section 81, at the times and in the form required by the minister, a board must submit to the minister financial information necessary for the purpose of incorporating the financial information into the financial reports of the government reporting entity.

23 Section 161 (1) (d) is repealed and the following substituted:

(d) must submit a report to the board respecting the annual financial statements referred to in section 157.

24 Section 166.29 (1) is amended by striking out "sections 97 to 100 apply" and substituting "sections 97 to 100.1 apply".

25 Section 166.31 is amended by striking out "111 (1), (2) and (4)" and substituting "111 (1) to (3)".

26 Section 168 (2) (o) is amended by striking out "section 156 (1)," and substituting "sections 156 (1), 157 (2) and 157.1,".

Transitional -- application of provisions

27 (1) Words used in this section have the same meaning as given to them in the School Act.

(2) Despite this Act,

(a) sections 3 to 10, 13 to 21 and 25 of this Act do not apply to a board or a francophone education authority for the purposes of

(i) preparing or amending an annual budget,

(ii) accounting, and

(iii) having an audit conducted,

in respect of the 2003-2004 fiscal year, and

(b) sections 1, 98 (3), 100, 100.1, 101 (1) and (2), 103, 105 (1), (2) and (4), 111, 112 (2), 115.1, 116, 140, 141 (1) (b) (ii), 142 (3) (c) (ii), 144 (1), (5) and (6), 147 (3), 156 (2) to (5), (7) to (10) and (12), 157 (2) and 166.31 of the School Act, as those sections read on January 31, 2004, continue to apply to a board or a francophone education authority for the purposes of

(i) preparing or amending an annual budget,

(ii) accounting, and

(iii) having an audit conducted,

in respect of the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

Commencement

28 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table: