BILL 6 — 2013
LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATUTES
AMENDMENT ACT, 2013

Community Charter

1 The Community Charter, S.B.C. 2003, c. 26, is amended by adding the following section to Division 10 of Part 7:

Definition and application of section 160

232.1  (1) In this Division and Division 12 [Payment of Taxes] of this Part, "electronic transmission" means

(a) the transmission of a record by electronic means, or

(b) the provision of access to a record by electronic means.

(2) Section 160 [notice by municipality: obligation satisfied if reasonable effort made] applies, in respect of electronic transmission, to this Division and Division 12 of this Part.

2 Section 237 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "mail" and substituting "deliver",

(b) by repealing subsections (3) and (5) and substituting the following:

(3) A municipality must include with the tax notice an application for a grant under the Home Owner Grant Act.

(5) For the purposes of this section, the tax notice must be delivered to an owner or a holder of a registered charge

(a) by mail at the address on the assessment roll, or

(b) by electronic transmission, if the owner or the holder of a registered charge provides authorization under subsection (5.1), using the email address provided under subsection (5.2).

(5.1) An owner or a holder of a registered charge who is entitled to a tax notice under this section may,

(a) if the municipality provides for electronic transmission, authorize, in writing, a municipality to electronically transmit a tax notice under this section and any statement under section 248 [statement of outstanding taxes] to the owner or the holder of a registered charge, as applicable, and

(b) at any time, withdraw, in writing, the authorization made under paragraph (a).

(5.2) If a person provides an authorization under subsection (5.1), the person must provide to the municipality an email address for the purposes of electronic transmission. , and

(c) in subsection (4) by striking out "mailed" and substituting "delivered".

3 Section 238 is repealed and the following substituted:

Persons may request copies of tax notices

238  (1) The collector must deliver

(a) by mail, or

(b) by electronic transmission, if authorized under subsection (2) (c),

a copy of a tax notice under section 237 [general tax notices] and a copy of any statement under section 248 [statement of outstanding taxes] to all persons who have requested a copy in accordance with subsection (2) during the current year.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person

(a) must make a written request to the municipality,

(b) must include in the request a description, sufficient to allow the property to be identified, of the property for which the tax notice or statement is requested, and

(c) may, if the municipality provides for electronic transmission, include in the request an authorization for the municipality to electronically transmit the tax notice or statement.

(3) If a person includes an authorization under subsection (2) (c), the person must provide to the municipality an email address for the purposes of electronic transmission.

4 Section 248 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out everything before paragraph (a) and substituting "No later than the date on which the tax notice under section 237 [general tax notices] is delivered, the collector must, in accordance with this section, deliver a statement of the amount of the taxes in arrear and of delinquent taxes to each assessed owner of",

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "mailed" and substituting "delivered", and

(c) by adding the following subsection:

(4) For the purposes of this section, a statement under this section must be delivered to an owner or a holder of a registered charge

(a) by mail at the address on the assessment roll, or

(b) by electronic transmission, if the owner or the holder of a registered charge provides authorization under section 237 (5.1), using the email address provided under section 237 (5.2).

Vancouver Charter

5 Section 279A.1 of the Vancouver Charter, S.B.C. 1953, c. 55, is repealed and the following substituted:

Hours of business: licensed establishments and prescribed business premises

279A.1 (1) In this section:

"licensed establishment" means

(a) a licensed restaurant, or

(b) a prescribed business premises for which a licence under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act, other than a food primary licence, has been issued;

"licensed restaurant" means an establishment for which a food primary licence under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act has been issued, including, for certainty, such an establishment that is a prescribed business premises;

"prescribed business premises" means a business premises that is of a class prescribed by regulation under subsection (5).

(2) The Council may, by by-law,

(a) regulate the hours and days during which

(i) licensed establishments, or

(ii) prescribed business premises

may remain open or must be closed for business, and

(b) in relation to licensed establishments, regulate the hours and days during which licensed establishments may serve liquor or allow liquor to be consumed on their premises.

(3) A by-law under subsection (2) may establish different regulations for

(a) different areas of the city,

(b) different classes of licensed establishments, as those classes are established by the by-law, and

(c) different classes of business premises, as those classes are established by regulation under subsection (5).

(4) The authority under this section applies in relation to licensed establishments despite the restriction under section 272 (1) (f) [extent of regulation].

(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing classes of business premises for the purposes of this section.

(6) To the extent of any conflict between a by-law under section 279A [shops regulation] and a by-law under this section, the by-law under this section prevails.

6 Section 317 (1) (aa) is repealed and the following substituted:

Fees for on-street parking

(aa) in relation to on-street parking spaces for vehicles, for

(i) establishing fees to be paid for use of a parking space,

(ii) prohibiting persons from using a parking space for a vehicle unless the applicable fee is paid, and

(iii) the installation, operation and maintenance of meters or other systems for determining and collecting applicable fees; .

7 Section 374.4 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by repealing the description of "averaged land value" and substituting the following:

(b) in subsection (4) (e) by adding "in the case of a by-law under subsection (1)," before "the by-law establishes",

(c) in subsections (5), (7), (8) (b) and (11) (a) by striking out "a by-law under this section" and substituting "a by-law under subsection (1)",

(d) in subsection (10) by striking out "the by-law" and substituting "a by-law under subsection (1)",

(e) in subsection (11) (c) by striking out "from the by-law" and substituting "from a by-law under subsection (1)", and

(f) by adding the following subsections:

(12) The Council may, by by-law, establish 1, 2, 3 or 4 years as the number of preceding years that are to be applied in determining the averaged land value for the purposes of subsection (2).

(13) For the 5 years following the adoption of a by-law under subsection (12), the by-law may not be amended to change the number of preceding years established by the by-law and the by-law may not be repealed.

8 Section 374.4 (7) (a) (v) is repealed and the following substituted:

(v) section 26 of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act; .

9 The following section is added after the heading "Collection of Real-Property Taxes":

Definition

399.1 (1) For the purposes of sections 401A and 403 to 405 and subject to subsection (2) of this section, "mail" includes

(a) to transmit by electronic means, and

(b) to make accessible by electronic means.

(2) The definition in subsection (1) applies only if

(a) the Collector provides for using electronic means, and

(b) authorization is provided by a person in accordance with section 401 (2).

10 Section 401 is repealed and the following substituted:

Content of tax roll

401. (1) The Collector must enter on the real-property tax roll the following information, in addition to any other particulars that the Council directs, with respect to each parcel appearing on the real-property assessment roll as being liable to taxation:

(a) a short description of the parcel as it appears on the assessment roll;

(b) the name of the person entered on the assessment roll with respect to the parcel, showing if the person is owner, owner under agreement or occupier;

(c) subject to subsection (2), the person's address taken from the assessment roll;

(d) the assessed value of the land as it appears on the assessment roll, exclusive of exemptions, if any;

(e) the assessed value of the improvements, if any, as it appears on the assessment roll, exclusive of exemptions, if any;

(f) the real-property taxes for the year as levied by a rating by-law, to the extent that the person is not exempt as shown by the assessment roll or otherwise;

(g) any charge imposed under this Act, other than real-property taxes levied by a rating by-law;

(h) any delinquent real-property taxes.

(2) If a person has, in writing, authorized the Collector to use

(a) an address other than the address that appears on the assessment roll, the Collector must substitute that address on the real-property tax roll, or

(b) an email address, the Collector must add the email address on the real-property tax roll and may use that email address for the purpose of transmitting by electronic means or making accessible by electronic means

(i) a notice under section 401A (3), and

(ii) a tax statement under section 403

until the Collector receives written notice of the termination of the authorization.

(3) Despite subsection (1) (b) and (c), if the Collector is advised by the British Columbia Assessment Authority of a change in the name or address of a person entered on the assessment roll, the Collector must enter the change on the real-property tax roll.

11 Section 401A (3) is amended by striking out "has been sent" and substituting "has been mailed".

12 Section 403 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out ", at the address appearing on the tax roll, a tax statement in the like form as is prescribed by the Local Government Act." and substituting ", at the address or email address, as applicable, appearing on the tax roll, a tax statement.", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Section 237 (2) and (3) of the Community Charter applies to a tax statement under subsection (1) of this section.

13 Section 405 is repealed and the following substituted:

Request for copies of tax statement

405. (1) The Collector must mail a copy of a tax statement to a person who has requested a copy in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person

(a) must apply in writing for a copy of a tax statement,

(b) must pay for each parcel the fee established by the Council, and

(c) may, if the Collector provides for using electronic means, include in the request an authorization for the Collector to transmit by electronic means or make accessible by electronic means the tax statement.

(3) If a person includes an authorization under subsection (2) (c), the person must provide an email address to the Collector for the purpose of transmission by electronic means or provision of access by electronic means.

14 Section 445 is repealed and the following substituted:

Cancellation of sale for manifest error

445. (1) If, during the period of redemption, the Council is satisfied that a manifest error has taken place in the sale or in the proceedings leading to the sale, the Council may, by resolution and after giving notice to the purchaser, cancel the sale to that purchaser.

(2) If a sale is cancelled under subsection (1),

(a) the city shall return to the purchaser the upset price together with interest at the rate of 6% per year, and

(b) the taxes, as they appeared on the real-property tax roll before the sale, shall be restored to the roll as delinquent taxes.

 
Consequential Amendments

British Columbia Transit Act

15 Section 19 of the British Columbia Transit Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 38, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(5.1) Despite subsection (2), the collector of each municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, may provide a notice to a taxpayer other than by mail, in accordance with any applicable legislation.

Police Act

16 Section 66.81 of the Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(5.1) Despite subsection (2), the collector of each municipality may provide a notice to a taxpayer other than by mail, in accordance with any applicable legislation.

School Act

17 Section 128 of the School Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 412, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(5.1) Despite subsection (2), the collector of each municipality may provide a notice to a taxpayer other than by mail, in accordance with any applicable legislation.

South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act

18 Section 27 of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Act, S.B.C. 1998, c. 30, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(7.1) Despite subsection (4), the collector of each municipality or the Surveyor of Taxes, as the case may be, may provide a notice to a taxpayer other than by mail, in accordance with any applicable legislation.

Commencement

19 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:

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Community Charter, section 232.1]

• adds a definition of “electronic transmission” for the purposes of Divisions 10 and 12 of Part 7 of the Act, and
• provides that section 160 of the Act applies, in respect of electronic transmission, to those Divisions.

SECTION 2: [Community Charter, section 237] adds that a municipality may electronically transmit a tax notice to an owner or a holder of a registered charge if the owner or the holder of a registered charge provides authorization and an email address for that purpose.

SECTION 3: [Community Charter, section 238] adds that a municipality may electronically transmit a tax notice under section 237 of the Act or a statement under section 248 of the Act to a person who requests it if the person provides authorization and an email address for that purpose.

SECTION 4: [Community Charter, section 248] adds that a municipality may electronically transmit a statement to an owner or a holder of a registered charge if the owner or the holder of a registered charge provides authorization and an email address for that purpose.

SECTION 5: [Vancouver Charter, section 279A.1] provides authority for the city to regulate hours of business for licensed establishments generally and for other businesses prescribed by regulation.

SECTION 6: [Vancouver Charter, section 317] replaces the current authority for parking meters with a more general authority for determining and collecting amounts to be paid for on-street parking.

SECTION 7: [Vancouver Charter, section 374.4] provides authority for by-laws changing the assessment averaging period that may be used for determining tax rates on land and improvements in the city.

SECTION 8: [Vancouver Charter, section 374.4] updates a reference to the current provision respecting taxes for transit purposes.

SECTION 9: [Vancouver Charter, section 399.1] provides that the definition of “mail” includes, for specified sections, to transmit by electronic means and to make accessible by electronic means.

SECTION 10: [Vancouver Charter, section 401] provides that

• a person may authorize the Collector to use an email address on the real-property tax roll, and
• the Collector may use that email address for the purpose of transmitting by electronic means or making accessible by electronic means a notice under section 401A (3) of the Act and a tax statement under section 403 of the Act.

SECTION 11: [Vancouver Charter, section 401A] is self-explanatory.

SECTION 12: [Vancouver Charter, section 403] provides that the Collector may use an email address, if applicable, and updates a statute reference.

SECTION 13: [Vancouver Charter, section 405] adds that the Collector may provide a tax statement to a person by transmitting by electronic means or making accessible by electronic means the tax statement.

SECTION 14: [Vancouver Charter, section 445] provides that the amount to be repaid to the purchaser if a sale is cancelled under this section is based on the upset price paid by that purchaser.

SECTION 15: [British Columbia Transit Act, section 19] is consequential to amendments made by this Bill to the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter, which amendments provide that tax notices may be provided electronically.

SECTION 16: [Police Act, section 66.81] is consequential to amendments made by this Bill to the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter, which amendments provide that tax notices may be provided electronically.

SECTION 17: [School Act, section 128] is consequential to amendments made by this Bill to the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter, which amendments provide that tax notices may be provided electronically.

SECTION 18: [South Coast British Columbia Transportation Act, section 27] is consequential to amendments made by this Bill to the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter, which amendments provide that tax notices may be provided electronically.