Mr. Speaker, on May 24, 2001, the Board of Management, as outlined in Record of Decision BOM 96-14-2001, affirmed its responsibility for the development, review, approval, monitoring of and accountability for the business plans and estimates of the Legislative Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.

Mr. Speaker, Rule 85(2)(c) of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly currently states that:

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight shall ...consider the budgets and financial management...of any other boards and agencies that are outside the responsibility of any standing committee, including the office of the Legislative Assembly.

An amendment to this rule has been requested by the Speaker to effectively remove the responsibility for the review of the Legislative Assembly business plans and estimates, and those of its statutory officers, from the standing committee's mandate. It is the position of the board that by virtue of sections 41 and 58 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, that this is and has been the responsibility of the board.

There are options, Mr. Speaker.