Member's Bill

_________________________________________________________________________________
Fifth Session, Fortieth Parliament
64 Elizabeth II, 2016
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
_________________________________________________________________________________

BILL M 211
ELECTION FINANCE AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

_________________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Vicki Huntington

_________________________________________________________________________________

Explanatory Note

This Act amends the Election Act and the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act by
restricting political contributions to donations made by individual residents of British
Columbia. It also introduces contribution limits of $1,500 for both provincial and
municipal elections. It reduces the perception of a conflict of interest or preferential
treatment by candidates or political parties toward large financial supporters by setting
donation limits and eliminating corporate, union, and out-of-province donations.

MS. VICKI HUNTINGTON

BILL M 211 2016
ELECTION FINANCE AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
Election Act
1 Section 182 of the Election Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 106, is amended in subsection (2) (a) by
striking out a political contribution and substituting prohibited
2 Section 186 is amended in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out individual or
organization and substituting individual
3 By adding the following section:
Ineligible contributors
186.1 (1) No person or entity other than an individual who is a resident of British
Columbia in accordance with section 32 of this Act shall make a political
contribution as defined in section 180 of this Act.
4 By adding the following section:
Limits on contributions
187.1 (1) No individual shall make contributions that exceed:
(a) $1,500 in total in any calendar year to a particular registered political party;
(b) $1,500 in total in any calendar year to the registered constituency associations,
nomination contestants and candidates of a particular registered political party;
(c) $1,500 in total in any calendar year to a candidate who is not the candidate of a
registered political party, or to a registered constituency association of an independent
member of the Legislative Assembly.
(d) $1,500 in total to the leadership contestants in a particular leadership contest.
(2) The following contributions shall not be taken into account in calculating
contributions for the purposes of subsection (1):
(a) contributions that do not exceed $1,500 in total by a nomination contestant or
candidate of a registered party out of his or her own funds to his or her own campaign
as a nomination contestant or candidate;

(b) contributions that do not exceed $1,500 in total by a candidate for a particular
election who is not the candidate of a registered party out of his or her own funds to
his or her own campaign; and
(c) contributions that do not exceed $1,500 in total by a leadership contestant in a
particular leadership contest out of his or her own funds to his or her own campaign.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, contributions made to a leadership contestant within
18 months after a leadership contest are deemed to be contributions for that contest.
5 Section 190 is amended:
(a) in subsection (1) by repealing items (d) and (e); and
(b) by repealing subsection (2).
Income Tax Act
6 Section 20 of the Income Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 215, is amended by repealing
subsection (4).
Local Elections Campaign Financing Act
7 The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, S.B.C. 2014, c. 18, is amended by
repealing Section 26 and substituting the following:
Restrictions on making campaign conributions
26 (1) An individual must not do any of the following:
(a) make a campaign contribution to a candidate or elector organization other than by
making it to the financial agent or an individual authorized in writing by the financial
agent to receive such contributions;
(b) make contributions that exceed $1,500 in a calendar year to an elector
organization or candidate;
(c) make an anonymous campaign contribution that has a value of more than $50;
(d) make a number of anonymous campaign contributions to the same candidate in
relation to one or more election campaigns of the candidate for elections that are
being held at the same time if, in total, the campaign contributions would be equal in
value to more than $50;
(e) make a number of anonymous campaign contributions to the same elector
organization in relation to one or more election campaigns of the elector organization
for elections that are being held at the same time if, in total, the campaign
contributions would be equal in value to more than $50;
(f) make a campaign contribution, other than an anonymous campaign contribution
that is permitted under this Act, without disclosing to the individual receiving the
campaign contribution the information required to be recorded under
section 29 [campaign contribution information that must be recorded];

(g) make a campaign contribution with money, non-monetary property or services of

another individual or organization;
(h) make a campaign contribution indirectly by giving money, non-monetary property
or services to an individual
(i) for the individual to make as a campaign contribution, or
(ii) as consideration for that individual making a campaign contribution.
(2) Except as permitted by regulation, an elector organization must not make a campaign
contribution of money to its own campaign or to the campaign of a candidate who is or is
intended to be endorsed by the elector organization.
(3) Only individuals who are residents of British Columbia as defined under section 26.1
may make campaign contributions.
(4) For greater certainty, contributor classes (b) to (g) are prohibited from making
campaign contributions.
(5) An individual or organization that contravenes this section commits an offence.
8 By adding the following section:
Rules for determining where an individual is resident
26.1 (1) The following rules apply to determine for the purposes of this Act the place
where an individual is resident:
(a) an individual is a resident of the place where the individual lives and to which,
whenever absent, the individual intends to return;
(b) an individual may be the resident of only one place at a time for the purposes of
this Act;
(c) an individual does not change the place where the individual is a resident until the
individual has a new place where the individual is a resident;
(d) an individual does not cease being a resident of a place by leaving the place for
temporary purposes only.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1) (d), a temporary purpose within the meaning of that
subsection includes being absent from British Columbia
(a) while the individual is engaged in the service of the government of British
Columbia or Canada,
(b) as the spouse of an individual referred to in paragraph (a), or
(c) as an individual who is in a child-parent relationship with an individual referred to
in paragraph (a) or (b) and who is accompanying that individual for this reason.

(3) As an exception to subsection (1), if for the purposes of attending an educational

institution an individual establishes a new place where the individual is a resident that is
away from the usual place where the individual is a resident, the individual may choose
for the purposes of this Act either the usual place or the new place as the place where the
individual is a resident.
(4) As an exception to subsection (1), an individual who is imprisoned in a penal
institution is not by that imprisonment a resident of the place where the penal institution
is located, but instead is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a resident of
whichever of the following the individual chooses:
(a) the place where the individual was a resident before being imprisoned;
(b) the place where a spouse, parent or dependant of the individual is a resident within
the meaning of subsection (1).
(5) Temporary residential quarters are considered to be an individual's place of residence
only if the individual has no other place that the individual considers to be his or her
residence.
(6) For the purposes of this Act, an individual who has no dwelling place may consider a
shelter, hostel or similar institution that provides food, lodging or other social services to
be his or her residence.
9 The schedule is amended by repealing subsection (a) of the definition for contributor
class and substituting the following:
(a) individuals who are residents of British Columbia as defined under section 26.1;
Commencement
10 (1) Sections 4, 6 and 7 of this Act come into force on January 1, 2017.
(2) All other sections come into force on Royal Assent.