The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast
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February 26, 2015. 38th Session of the Tomsk Oblast Legislative Duma of the 5th convocation
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 opened with an award ceremony followed by an opening speech by Duma Speaker Oksana Kozlovskaya.
Full text of the Speaker’s speech .
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
The Duma passed in the second reading the law On strategic planning in Tomsk Oblast. The deputies finalized the approval process of the bill which was passed in the first reading in the end of 2014. Experts believe that the law passed by the Tomsk Oblast Duma is significantly different from similar framework laws adopted in ten other regions of Russia.
The document was highly appraised by independent experts from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Tomsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Expert Council presided by Deputy Governor of Tomsk Oblast for Economy.
The law establishes regulatory framework for the following systems and processes.
– Definition of parties to the strategic planning process and their scopes of authority
– System of strategic planning documents of Tomsk Oblast
– Monitoring and control procedure for the enforcement of the strategic planning documents of Tomsk Oblast
The document submitted for the second reading containes a broader definition of the scope of authority of the Oblast parliament. It includes approval of the socioeconomic development strategy of the region, control over its implementation, review of national programs, review of long-term budget forecasts, review of concepts for priority areas of development of the Oblast, and a right to provide informed judgment on all of the above documents.
Other updates include a possibility to adopt other programs which meet federal criteria and obtain funds from the federal budget. Local governing bodies, public associations, business communities, and educational organizations can also actively participate in the strategic planning process.
The Oblast Administration will provide methodological support to the municipal entities.
FOCUS ON INNOVATIONS
The deputies approved in the second reading the Oblast law On innovation activity in Tomsk Oblast. The law defines the economic, legal and organizational framework for the development of innovation activity in Tomsk Oblast.
It provides regulatory framework for the development of innovation activity in the region taking into account the socioeconomic development factors of Tomsk Oblast.
The law allows to:
– Define the subject of regulation (creation of conditions for the development of innovation activity) through a transparent classification of types, subjects and objects of innovation activity
– Delineate scopes of authority of government agencies in areas related to innovation activity
– Ensure compliance of the regional law with the federal legislation
– Improve the innovation policy implementation mechanism with respect to legal, economic and organizational aspects of innovation activity
– Adopt best regional regulatory practices
STATUS OF HOME AFFAIRS 2014
Head of the Tomsk Oblast Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Igor Mitrofanov presented a report on the performance of the local internal affairs agencies in 2014.
According to his report, Tomsk Oblast has the fourth lowest crime rate in Russia – 1,926 offences per 100,000 people.
LAW ON HUNTING
The Oblast Duma made amendments to the regional law on hunting by enlarging the list of commercial species of animals.
The amendments are aimed at the promotion of commercial hunting with further processing and distribution of the product by individual hunters and organizations.
The amendments were passed in two readings.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REVIEW TO TAKE LESS TIME
The deputies adopted in two readings the law On setting the timeframe for the regulatory compliance review for projects which require a regulatory compliance review of the design and (or) engineering survey documentation by an executive body of Tomsk Oblast or regional state institutions (budget or autonomous) within their jurisdiction.
The law establishes a 30% shorter timeframe for the regulatory compliance review for projects which require a regulatory compliance review of the design and (or) engineering survey documentation by executive bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation or state institutions within their jurisdiction. The customer has a right to extend the timeframe.
SUBSOIL USE IN TOMSK OBLAST
The Duma deputies adopted in two readings amendments to the Oblast Law On subsoil use in Tomsk Oblast to bring the effective law in line with the federal subsoil legislation and related specific legislative acts of the Russian Federation. The amended law complements the scope of authority of the Tomsk Oblast Administration with a right to approve requests to work on a local subsoil plot with the purpose of geological survey or extraction of underground water, and establish utilization procedures.
TIMBER HARVESTING ACTIVITY
The deputies approved amendments to the Oblast law On administration of timber receiving and shipping stations in Tomsk Oblast and the Administrative Code of Tomsk Oblast. The amendments are intended to increase transparency of timber harvesting operations in the region and prevent illegal activity. The law has been effective for two years and has already demonstrated a reduction in illegal timber harvesting. Procedures for tracking and transporting harvested timber are established by the federal legislation and were excluded from the regional law. The amendments also provide more regulation for specific species of timber. Some definitions are described in more detail. The Oblast Forestry Department will be responsible for the enforcement of the law.
The law regulates the activity of organizations and sole proprietors. The amended law also simplifies reporting for entrepreneurs by allowing to submit it electronically.
PERFORMANCE REPORTS BY COMMITTEES
Duma committees presented their 2014 performance reports. The Budgetary and Financial Committee considered 166 items in Duma sessions, including 66 laws of Tomsk Oblast and 52 draft Duma resolutions. The Committee developed 151 draft Duma resolutions on the socioeconomic status of Tomsk Oblast, the region’s fiscal and tax policies, cross-budget relations with the municipal entities of Tomsk Oblast, and regional and municipal property. The Committee internally considered and submitted for final approval by the Duma 51 laws of Tomsk Oblast.
The Labor and Social Policy Committee submitted to Duma sessions 51 legislative documents, including 10 basic laws and 41 sets of amendments to effective laws of Tomsk Oblast.
The Committee for Legislation, State Structure and Safety drafted 249 Duma resolutions, including 115 resolutions on federal bills.
The Committee developed 60 nation-building and local government laws, including 7 basic laws, which accounts for 31% of all laws adopted by the Duma. Thirteen bills were submitted by the Committee member deputies in accordance with the right of legislation initiative process.
The Economic Policy Committee drafted and submitted for consideration by the Duma 169 resolutions.
GRANTS TO DRUG REHABILITATION NPOs
The deputies adopted in two readings an amendment to the law On support for socially oriented non-profit organizations by Tomsk Oblast government bodies which provides access to government grants for NPOs providing medical and social rehabilitation services for drug addicts.
The amendments add to the list of areas of activity of social drug rehabilitation NPOs which can be supported by the government, new items such as:
– Social and cultural adaptation and integration of migrants
– Medical and social rehabilitation, social reintegration and employment for drug addicts
The amendments do not carry any social or economical risks and do not entail increased Oblast budget expenditure.
CHANGES IN THE LAW ON MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
The deputies adopted in the second reading the law On municipal elections in Tomsk Oblast.
The new bill regulates the number of territorial groups of candidates on candidate lists for elections to representative bodies of municipal entities based on the majority-proportional system when there are more single-member (multi-member) constituencies than mandates distributed under the proportional representation system. The number of territorial groups of candidates shall be decided by the electoral association which submits the list and should be no less than 50% and no more than 100% of the total number of territories defined under the law On municipal elections in Tomsk Oblast.
In the second reading were adopted amendments to legislative acts on elections. The amendments return the right of early voting for citizens who cannot vote on the day of elections for valid reasons and increase the maximum amount of the election fund of candidates and electoral associations.
Four laws of Tomsk Oblast were brought in line with the federal legislation:
– On Governor elections in Tomsk Oblast
– On election of deputies to the Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast
– On municipal elections in Tomsk Oblast
– On referendums of Tomsk Oblast and local referendums
