British Columbia to Implement all 31 Recommendations of the Local Government Elections Task Force
8 July 2010 | Municipal Government
The British Columbia Minister of Community and Rural Development announced yesterday that the B.C. Government will implement all of the recommendations of the task force in time for next year's municipal elections.
The key recommendations in the task force report included:
- establishing expense limits for all campaign participants;
- regulation of third party advertisers;
- a ban on anonymous contributions;
- requiring sponsorship information on all election advertising; and
- establishing a central role for Elections BC in enforcement of campaign finance rules and in making campaign finance disclosure statements electronically accessible.
Candidates, organizers, campaigners and advertisers should prepare for the new rules before they go into effect in time for the November 2011 elections.
I will produce a legal bulletin to summarize the new laws when the legislation is introduced in the B.C. Legislature.
The new rules will be similar to those in effect for provincial elections in B.C. and those contained in the Local Authorities Election Act (Alberta). Being prepared early will allow for more time campaigning and less time on compliance, and will reduce the risk of failing to comply with the new election laws.