30.06.11. L Session of the Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast

The Duma Speaker Boris Maltsev opened the session with his traditional speech (Full text of the Speaker's speech).

In his speech the Speaker drew the deputies’ attention to the on-going crisis in the construction industry.

On behalf of the United Russia Aleksander Kupriyanets addressed the deputies on the People’s Front creation. It was created to attract a broad spectrum of public organizations and citizens to discuss those issues which currently exist in the society and resolve them as quickly as possible.

The People’s Front Coordination Council was created in Tomsk Oblast based at the instigation of the United Russia Party. It elaborates the People’s Program, draws up the People’s Budget, develops a list of people’s candidates for the forthcoming elections to the regional and federal legislative bodies.

Aleksander Kupriyanets claimed that the faction was going to announce the official start of the People’s Budget Project. The People’s Budget is an essential part of the People’s Program.

Deputies’ statements

The Duma deputies put out statements regarding the problems of children whose fathers died in the line of duty in the military service; leveled a blast at the general education system development.

Home care for senior citizens

In the short term the regional legislation is going to be contributed with a term ‘foster family for the seniors'. The deputies passed amendments to the law on the social service for citizens in the first reading. These amendments imply the possibility to provide home care for the seniors and disabled at the social workers’ families like in foster families. Those wishing to take care of the seniors will be employed as social workers, which means they will be paid for their work.

Welfare for people affected by emergency situations

The upper limit of welfare for the people affected by the emergency situations will be 50,000 rubles. Amendments to the law on social service ensuring material aid to the families affected by the emergency situations, natural disasters including natural fires were passed in two readings. The limit of this welfare will be fixed by the commission on a case by case basis: specific situation, family composition, damaged property. Earlier the money was allocated from the contingency fund. From now on the aid will be provided regardless the fund capacities.

Sport for the people

Any citizen of the Oblast can easily find out information about the work of sport instructors in one's community on the Internet. The deputies passed the corresponding amendment to the Law “On granting subsidies to the local budgets to provide conditions for development of physical education and popular sports” in two readings at once.

Housing for orphans

Vladimir Samokish, Deputy Governor for Social Policy, informed that there are currently 868 orphans on a waiting list for permanent dwelling. In 2010 102 orphans were provided with flats, this year 130 leavers of the orphanages will be provided with their own housing.

100,000 rubles from the regional budget for the third and fourth child.

The Oblast deputies unanimously backed the introduction of the regional maternity capital (subsidies for multiple-child families): 100,000 rubles for the third and the fourth child born (adopted) in Tomsk Oblast starting from July 01, 2012.

Regional maternity capital is suggested to be spent for the following options: for housing improvement; for education of a child (children) or mother; additional remedial, rehabilitation and resort treatment.

Wage pool for state-financed organizations will be increased.

From September 01, financed from the federal budget the wage pool for school teachers, school librarians will be increased by 30 per cent. Besides, the Oblast budget considers the wage pool increase for doctors and nursing staff in the healthcare institutions under Compulsory Health Insurance system. Its average increase by 20-30 per cent will be funded from the federal budget within the scope of the national healthcare sector modernization program.

Medical aid under Compulsory Health Insurance

The deputies learned about the budget execution by the Tomsk Territorial Compulsory Health Insurance Fund in the previous year.

The budget execution for the reported period totaled over 4.7bn rubles, which makes up 101.4 per cent of the target performance. Those include revenue of the territorial Compulsory Health Insurance program – 4.5bn rubles – with evident 49.7m rubles surplus.

The 2010 Fund expenditure budget was performed with 4.6bn rubles (99.7 per cent of the target), meaning 0.3 per cent underperformance.

Expenses for the Territorial Compulsory Health Insurance Program totaled 4.4bn rubles (100 per cent of the target).

The 2010 Fund budget was performed with 49.7m rubles surplus. However, the Fund residual budget was 83.3m rubles as for 01 January 2011.

Politics in favor of children Organization of recreation and health rehabilitation for children, except for holiday period, from now on falls within the responsibilities if the Tomsk Oblast state authorities. This represents one of the amendments to the regional law on basic guarantees of the children’s rights adopted by the Oblast deputies in two readings.

The second amendment relates to the right of the child to be protected from the harmful information. Thus, the age limit was increased from 16 to 18 years for children who should fall under restriction with norms and points of sales of the printed, audio and video goods unadvisable for a child’s use.

Wooden Tomsk to be preserved

Extra 20m rubles will be allocated this year in Tomsk Oblast to preserve the wooden architecture objects. The Oblast deputies passed the amendment to the law on provision of interbudgetary transfers. The money is allocated for implementation of measures to preserve and develop the wooden architecture sector in Tomsk Oblast.

Health services shall be on high quality level

Another adopted amendment to the Oblast law on provision of interbudgetary transfers is aimed to provide the Oblast citizens with qualified health services.

This amendment will help the citizens to receive this aid not only in the regional specialized healthcare providers but also in the healthcare organizations of other ownership forms which provide this medical aid (Cancer Research Institute, Gastroenterology Research Institute, etc.).

The point is that the regional healthcare providers are not always capable to manage the flow of patients referred to treatment from the municipal providers of Tomsk Oblast. In some cases the regional healthcare providers fall short of specialists for various specializations.

Budget amendments were passed

Revenue and expenditure budgets of Tomsk Oblast for 2011 will be increased by 1.3bn rubles. 184.6m rubles come from the federal budget and 1.1bn rubles are extra revenues of the Oblast budget. The Oblast budget deficit stays unchanged.

Press conference by the Speaker

The Legislative Duma Speaker Boris Maltsev held a traditional press conference during the break.

‘Considerable part of the session issues referred to the controlling functions of the Duma’ said the Speaker. ‘These are: control for performance 2010 Oblast budget and Compulsory Health Insurance budget, implementation of the state property privatization program and reporting on the activity of the regional state unitary enterprises. Amendments to this year budget are aimed at extra revenues making up 1.32bn rubles. This sum includes 370m rubles to be allocated for social aid measures (welfares to large families, compensation of housing and utility costs for the labor veterans, etc.). A lot of attention will be paid to emergency prevention and management, rectification of the consequences of natural disasters, wild fires. We are going to allocate extra 265m rubles to fulfill the above.

The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast

30.06.11. L Session of the Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast