Bill: Proposed Self-Payments Conflict of Interest Act

[MoosePatrol10]

Sponsor: Moose Patrol MP
Type: Amendment to an Act

A
BILL
TO
AMEND THE GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION ACT

Preamble: Ministers paying themselves present a clear conflicting interest that need to be better addressed in law. This Act will amend the current legislation on corruption to restrict self-payments and enforce stronger transparency. The purpose is not to stop ministers from paying themselfs for legitimate work but instead to provide oversight and fair controls.

1. Short Title and Enactment
(a) This bill shall be referred to as the "Self-Payments Conflict of Interest Act"
(b) This amendment comes into force immediately upon passage.

2. Amendments
(a) Section 8 of the Government Corruption Act is amended by changing--

""(b) Recusal​

A public official shall fully recuse themselves from all participation, influence, deliberation, and voting in matters involving:​

(i) Regulatory, investigative, or enforcement actions specifically directed at the official’s business or financial interests;​

(ii) Legislation, resolutions, or policies that specifically name or directly target the official’s business, property, or assets;​

(iii) Parliament may waive the recusal requirement with a simple majority, in this situation the same guidelines as indirect conflicts shall be followed.""​

to​

""(b) Recusal​

A public official shall fully recuse themselves from all participation, influence, deliberation, and voting in matters involving:​

(i) Regulatory, investigative, or enforcement actions specifically directed at the official’s business or financial interests;​

(ii) Legislation, resolutions, or policies that specifically name or directly target the official’s business, property, or assets;​

(iii) Budget spending decisions specifically directed at the officials business or financial interests subject to Section 9;​

(iv) Parliament may waive the recusal requirement with a simple majority, in this situation the same guidelines as indirect conflicts shall be followed.""​

(b) Section 9 of the Government Corruption Act is amended by changing "'9. Amendments"" to ""10. Amendments""
(c) Section 2 of the Government Corruption Act is amended by adding new sub clause: """Ministerial Self-Payment" means any payment of public funds directly or indirectly paid to a Minister or Deputy Minister from an account or budget controlled by their respective Ministry."""
(c) A new Section 9 of Corruption Corruption Act shall be titled ""9. Self-Payments"
(d) The new Section 9 of the Government Corruption Act is amended with the addition:

""9. Self Payments​

(a) No Minister or Deputy Minister shall directly approve or issue a payment from public or ministry funds to themselves. They may only receive a self-payment with limits in Section 9(b) if:​

(i) The compensation aligns with specific statutory activities like salary laws or​

(ii) The payment is an expense that is usually expected within the Ministry's normal operations and directly tied to a documented cost. This payment must be based on objective data or work documented.​

(b) Any Ministerial Self-Payment in their budget that exceeds $5000 must be approved by Parliament. This includes payment that adds up to $5000 within 15 days. For example if a Minister is payed $5000 on Monday, if they are payed again for some thing else up to 15 days later it must be approved by Parliament. ​

(c) If a Minister spends more than 3% of their budget on Ministerial Self-Payments, then it must be reported publicly as separate ledger item to citizens. For example if a Minister and Deputy Minister together received $3001 of a $100000 budget, then it must be reported publicly.""​