The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast


April 24, 2008. XV Session of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma

Prosecutor of Tomsk Oblast Mr. Voikin47 issues on the agenda.

The deputies considered the personal profile of Vassily Voikin prepared by Yuri Tchaika, Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, to agree on his appointment to the position of the Prosecutor of Tomsk Oblast. In compliance with the Tomsk Oblast Statute the personal profile of the new candidate to the Prosecutor’s position was presented by Viktor Kress, Governor of Tomsk Oblast. This meeting of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma was also attended by Ivan Semchishin, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. The deputies agreed upon the candidacy of Mr. Voikin who worked as the Deputy Prosecutor of Irkutsk Oblast until present.

During the meeting the Law of Tomsk Oblast was adopted establishing rules for management of forests for hunting. There are 57 registered legal entities in Tomsk Oblast who have in their disposal 15m hectares of forested lands. Following the adoption of the Law, these organizations have to obtain leases for their lots in order to hunt there. The right for a lease can be obtained at auctions. The Law does not infringe on the right of the citizens for amateur and sport hunting.

The deputies supported by a majority of votes the project aimed to create a multiprofile health care institution based on state-private partnership . The investment project in question was also endorsed by Victor Kress, Governor of Tomsk Oblast. “Business should become more pervasive in the social sphere”, he said. The project proponents assert that it will boost the development of private health care services, create a competitive environment in the health care services market, and provide an additional option for the population.

In the first reading the bill was passed “On Measures of Social Support for Workers of Public Social Support and Service Institutions”. The bill stipulates that from January 1, 2009 additional social support measures will be introduced for citizens working at nursing homes, social rehabilitation centers for children, and social support institutions.

Amendments were made to the Law of Tomsk Oblast “On Legal Status of Individuals Filling Public Positions in Tomsk Oblast”. As it is now set forth in the Law, teaching, research, and other types of creative activity of individuals filling public positions in Tomsk Oblast cannot be financed by foreign states and/or their citizens, international and/or foreign organizations, and stateless individuals. In addition, the Law was extended by a new requirement - individuals holding public posts may not become members of management, supervisory and other boards of foreign nonprofit nongovernmental organizations. Such measures are taken in order to implement the provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption and the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption.

The deputies considered the bill “On Provision of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies to Certain Population Groups in Tomsk Oblast”. The bill defines the population groups who will receive the prescribed medications for free. These are the population groups who from January 2008 are no longer entitled to obtain prescribed medications for free subject to the new Federal legislation but constantly need them - people suffering from bronchial asthma and diabetes mellitus, children with cerebral palsy, children under 3 years of age, and children from large families under 6 years of age.

The deputies extended the Law of Tomsk Oblast “On Provision of Interbudgetary Transfers” by two more subsidies - for purchase of buses and development of preschool education infrastructure. In compliance with the amended law, the schools of Tomsk Oblast in 2008 will obtain 24 new buses - 7 from Moscow, and 17 purchased by regional and local authorities. Furthermore, the amendments to the law involve allocating 40m rubles from the regional budget to create around 700 additional vacant places in the kindergartens of Tomsk and the town of Strezhevoy, and to Verkhneketsky, Pervomaysky and Tomsk regions.

In the first reading amendments were made to the Oblast Law on Education following changes made by the Federal legislation to the notion of the state educational standard, updated procedure for obtaining a license by educational institutions, governmental accreditation, and liquidation. It was suggested to preserve the practice when a regional educational institution is liquidated only by consent of the deputies of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma. The regional public education authorities will take on additional responsibilities, e.g. to organize the supply of approved textbooks for school students and conduct final state examinations in schools.

The deputies adopted in the first reading the regional target program “Administrative Reform in Tomsk Oblast for 2008-2010”. The recent social studies show that the population of the region is content with the work of authorities for 33.1%, whereas the average in the whole Russia is 44%. The Program aims to raise this percentage to 60%, enhance satisfaction of the population with the quality of public services up to 75%, and to reduce corruption in the Tomsk Oblast executive authorities by 30%. The main challenges the authorities are facing - low quality of public services, waste of budgetary funds, and lack of information transparency.
In addition, the deputies considered several issues opening up possibilities to enhance the importance of the local self-government. Amendments adopted to five regional laws transfer to the municipal level quite a number of authorities.

Changes were made to the Law “On the Regional Budget for 2008 and for the Planned Period of 2009 and 2010” due to the increase of receipts by 660m rubles of which 375m are receipts from mining taxes. Rise in oil prices has also contributed to this influx. The excess funds will be allocated for the construction of a new regional obstetric centre.

Another source of budget receipts - 285m rubles - are non-repayable proceeds from the federal budget of which the subsidy of 105m rubles was allocated to Tomsk Oblast after it won the nation-wide contest for the state support for the implementation of complex education modernization programs. These funds will be forwarded to the regional general education department to purchase equipment for the schools and provide subsidies to local budgets (including financial means for refurbishment of schools). 163m rubles are earmarked to bolster the regional agriculture - these funds will be spent mainly to finance interest rates on credits for agricultural enterprises of all types of ownership.

Thus, the budget expenditures will increase by 660m rubles. The list of subsidies to the local budgets was extended.

For the corrected budget the receipts in 2008 will account for 27.055bn rubles, and expenditures 29.988bn rubles. The budget deficit totals 2.933bn rubles or 15.1% of the regional budget receipts (excluding financial aid from the federal budget).
The expenditures on investment and innovation in 2008 will be increased by 384.810m rubles and will total 4.598bn rubles.

The deputies adopted amendments to the Oblast Law “On Administrative Responsibility for Offences against Public Order in Tomsk Oblast” providing administrative sanctions for carrying and drinking beer in places stipulated in this Law. The deputies are convinced that following the adoption of the Law the citizens of the region will become more conscientious towards their drinking patterns in public places, which will facilitate the law enforcement there.

The Duma approved in the first reading the bill “On Specific Measures to Ensure Quality and Safety of Food in Tomsk Oblast”. The bill aims to create a legal base for a complex of consistent measures to improve quality and safety of foodstuffs in the region through the regulation of relations between the links of the chain “production - consumption” of foodstuffs.

During “A Governor’s Hour” the deputies were presented with the information on the implementation of the Tomsk Oblast Law “On Administrative Responsibility for Offences against Public Order in Tomsk Oblast”. Aleksandr Bulko, Head of Public Security Police was answering the questions.

Boris Maltsev, Speaker of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma, held a traditional press-conference during the break between the deputies’ sessions.
The Speaker contends that such issues as corruption, protection of human rights, monitoring over the activities of regional and municipal authorities should lie with the Prosecutor’s Office. Therefore, it is not fortuitous that the right to approve the candidate for the position of the Oblast Prosecutor is vested in the State Duma of Tomsk Oblast.

“You know, our Duma observes the tradition that the Oblast Prosecutor always takes part in each its session”, underscored Mr. Maltsev. “Furthermore, each and every bill, each and every issue due to be put on the agenda must be endorsed by the Prosecutor’s Office ahead of the meeting, otherwise it will not be submitted to consideration by the deputies. As a result of this “invisible work”, the quality of our laws is very high - even on the national level. Over 14 years that the Duma has been working in the region one can hardly think of a couple of cases when our laws were repealed by a court”.




Home | Tomsk oblast | Deputies of the Vth convocation | Contact information
© The State Duma of the Tomsk oblast, 2007-2024