May 29, 2012. 9th Session of the Duma of the fifth convocation

The 9th session of the Legislative Duma of the Tomsk Oblast of the fifth convocation took place on May 29. The session was broadcast online.

The agenda of the session and the bills submitted for consideration by the deputies were published on the Duma website beforehand.

The session was attended by Ludmila Ogorodova, Deputy of the Russian State Duma, Vladimir Zhidkikh, Member of the Russian Federation Council and Representative of Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast, and Natalia Kuskova, Speaker of the Bakcharsky District Duma.

Oksana Kozlovskaya, Duma Speaker opened the session with her traditional address to the deputies (Excerpts from Oksana Kozlovskaya’s speech).

DEPUTIES’ STATEMENTS

Oleg Gromov backed the long-term target program “Clean Water for Tomsk Oblast 2017”.

Natalia Baryshnikova spoke about the “anti-alcohol legislation”, namely restrictions on alcohol sales, need for qualified drug therapists, and promotion of healthy lifestyle.

Igor Chernyshev raised the issue of small energy and called upon the deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation to address this issue at the federal level.

Leonid Terekhov highlighted the problem local forest fruit pickers face in rural areas: over the recent years hired workers from Middle Asia have picked forest fruit for businessmen without leaving any crop for the local people who rely on forest fruit as one of the key sources of income. Those people have to survive cold Siberian winters and as long as the government does not support them they have the right to have priority access to forest fruit crops. Of course, we cannot restrict business activity. However, the Oblast Administration must control the situation through a legislation that would protect the interests of the local communities.

BIGGER SALARIES FOR TEACHERS

The Oblast Duma passed amendments to the Oblast laws which provide subsidies to the local budgets to support special schools and nursery schools with physically challenged children. The measures include increasing teachers’ salaries, changing rates for financing expenses for education of disabled children, and reducing contributions to insurance funds from 34.2% to 30.2% from January 1, 2012.

In the 4th quarter of 2012 the forecasted average teacher’s salary will be 24,273 rubles.

Andrey Petrov raised a point about motivation of teachers in inclusive schools.

Leonid Glok, Chairman of the Duma Committee for Education, Science, and Culture explained that the term “inclusive education” is not regulated by law. It will be included in the new bill on education and additional funding will be considered.

Igor Chernyshev, Chairman of the Duma Labor and Social Policy Committee advised not to put off that issue in view of the new education law to be adopted soon. The next year’s budget should also include a standard financing rate per disabled child in a standard school.

The deputies adopted the bills under consideration in two readings.

NEW STRUCTURE OF ADMINISTRATION

The deputies adopted in two readings the new version of the Oblast Law “On the system of executive bodies of Tomsk Oblast and the structure of the Tomsk Oblast Administration”.

This document defines the system of executive bodies of Tomsk Oblast and the structure of the Tomsk Oblast Administration. The governor of Tomsk Oblast will approve the structure of the executive bodies of Tomsk Oblast and members of staff of the Oblast Administration. The old version of the law became ineffective.

HOUSING RENOVATION WITH REGIONAL MATERNITY CAPITAL

The deputies adopted in the first reading amendments to the law “On social support for citizens with dependent children”. The amendments diversify the usage of the regional maternity (family) capital. Now this money can be spent not only to buy a flat or build a house but also to rebuild one’s house, pay out a mortgage loan, renovate one’s housing and connect it to gas networks.

CAR POUNDS AS EDUCATIONAL MEASURE

The deputies adopted in the second reading the Oblast Law “On the procedure for the transportation, storage, and release of recovered vehicles and payment of related expenses in Tomsk Oblast”. The law was developed to ensure compliance with part 10 of article 27.13 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Code, transportation, storage and release from vehicle pounds of recovered vehicles and payment of related expenses shall be governed by regional legislation. The Oblast Law stipulates that removal of vehicles to vehicle pounds and their storage there shall be done by authorized contractors. The storage time will be counted in hours from the moment the vehicle is placed in the vehicle pound, and the storage payment will be calculated accordingly.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO PUBLISH THEIR INCOMES ONLINE

The deputies passed in the second reading the bill “On the procedure for the disclosure of information on income, property, and real estate liabilities of public officials and civil servants of Tomsk Oblast and provision of such information to mass media for publication”.

Corrections from the first reading included removal of the deputies of the Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast from the scope of the law. They are covered by a separate legislative act. Also, municipal officials were excluded from the bill. Each municipal entity will adopt separate legislative acts to regulate those matters.

In compliance with the federal anti-corruption law the information on public officers’ incomes, property, and real estate liabilities shall be published on the Internet on the official websites of the governments of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and in mass media.

CHANGES TO OBLAST CHARTER

The deputies passed amendments to the Charter (Basic Law) of Tomsk Oblast related to the elections of the governor of Tomsk Oblast. The governor of Tomsk Oblast will be elected by the population of the region by secret ballot on the basis of universal and equal suffrage. The deputies will develop relevant regulations, introduce amendments to the Charter and work out a procedure to vote the governor out of office (it will be the next step). The bill also carries a number of drafting changes. The deputies passed the bill in the second reading.

LAW “ON FOSTER CARE” CANCELLED

The Oblast law on foster care became ineffective as it came into contradiction with a number of Oblast laws, the federal law “On foster care and guardianship”, and the Family Code of Russia. It is not possible to eliminate these contradictions without interfering with the concept of the regulatory act. Therefore, the deputies resolved to cancel the Oblast law on foster care.

MEDICAL WORKERS TO GET LAND ON EASY TERMS

In the second reading the deputies passed amendment to the law “On provision and withdrawal of land plots in Tomsk Oblast”. Beneficiaries qualifying for a land plot for private housing construction include medical workers with a university degree in medicine and nurses who work in a rural area and (or) moved to work in a rural area. The amendments bring the Oblast law in compliance with the federal legislation.

The deputies passed the bill in the second reading.

TOMSK TO DO CADASTRAL VALUATION OF ITS LAND

The bill “On providing local governing bodies with specific public authorities to perform cadastral valuation of settled land plots in Tomsk Oblast” was considered in the first reading.

The bill provides the local governing bodies of the municipal entity “City of Tomsk” with authorities to perform cadastral valuation of settled land plots in 2012.

Management functions related to cadastral valuation and publication of the results will be funded from the local budget.

The bill was passed in the first reading.

OBLAST PROPERTY TO SERVE SOCIAL PURPOSES

At the 9th Duma session the deputies approved uncompensated usage of a number of Oblast real estate property items.

Zoozaschita Animal Aid Charity Fund was provided with a 109.1 sq km nonresidential building for a period of five years to implement a neutering charity program for stray and abandoned animals.

The regional branch of the Russian Children’s Foundation was provided for a period of five years with 47.4 sq km nonresidential premises in Tomsk for the purposes of protecting children’s rights and providing charity support to families and children, children’s homes, boarding schools, social rehabilitation centers for underage children, and children’s organizations in Tomsk Oblast.

The Veterinary Association of Tomsk Oblast was provided for a period of five years with the premises of the former gas boiler house in Kaftanchikovo for the purposes of studying and promoting successful veterinary practices.

The Kolpashevo Central District Hospital was provided for a period of five years with 51.1 sq km nonresidential premises for the purposes of organizing a medical station.

The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast

May 29, 2012. 9th Session of the Duma of the fifth convocation