ACT No. XL of 2015 AN ACT to amend the Local Councils Act, Cap. 363.

I assent.

M ARIE L OUISE

(L.S.)

C OLEIRO P RECA

President

15th December, 2015

ACT No. XL of 2015

AN ACT to amend the Local Councils Act, Cap. 363.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

(1) The short title of this Act is the Local Councils Short title and

(Amendment) Act, 2015 and this Act shall be read and construed as commencement.

one with the Local Councils Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Cap. 363.

principal Act".

(2) The provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date

as the Minister responsible for Local Government shall by order in the

Gazette establish and different dates may be established in respect of

different articles or sub-articles and of different purposes of this Act.

Article 8 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 8 of the

principal Act

(a)

in sub-article (1) thereof, for the words "every four

years" there shall be substituted the words "every five years";

(b) the first proviso to sub-article (1) thereof, shall be

substituted by the following

"Provided that

(a) the first elections of councillors to be

held after the 11th April, 2015 shall be held in the

year 2019 and shall, as much as possible, be held

on the same day as the election of members of the

European Parliament held in terms of the European

Parliament Elections Act;

(b) all councillors who are in office

immediately after the publication of the result of

the elections of councillors held on the 11th April,

2015 shall, even if they have been elected at an

election other than that held on the 11th April,

2015, remain in office until the holding of the next

elections of councillors in terms of this proviso;

(c) where at any time prior to the holding of

elections of councillors in 2019 a local council is

dissolved an election of councillors shall be held in

the locality of any such dissolved council prior to

2019 notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph

(a) of this proviso:";

(c) the second proviso thereof shall be substituted by

the following

"Provided further that the Prime Minister

may postpone the election of Local Councils or the

election of councillors to be held following the

dissolution of a Local Council by a period of not

more than one year if during that period an election

for Members of the European Parliament, the

General Election or the referendum is due to be

held, and this solely in order that the Local

Councils elections may be held on the same day as

the election for the European Parliament or the

General Election.".

Article 32 of the principal Act shall be amended as

(a)

in paragraph (c) of sub-article (1) thereof, for the

words "payable to a Member of Parliament:" there shall be

substituted the words "payable to a Member of Parliament.",

and the proviso thereto shall be deleted; and

(b) immediately after sub-article (1) thereof, there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(1A) The honorarium of the Mayor shall be

deemed to be income for the purposes of the Social

Security Act

Provided that, if the Mayor so chooses,

that honorarium should not be deemed as income

for the purposes of the Social Security Act and the

said choice may also be made with reference to a

period which precedes the coming into force of this

sub-article and even if at the time when the choice is

made the person making that choice no longer

occupies the office of Mayor.".

Article 44 of the principal Act shall be amended as Amendment of

article 44 of the

follows

principal Act.

(a)

the marginal note thereof shall be substituted by the

following "Admission of public to meetings and streaming on

the internet."; and

(b) in sub-article (1) thereof, immediately after the

words "open to the public" there shall be added the words "and

it shall be streamed on the internet in an audiovisual form on the

council’s website".

In sub-article (6) of article 47A of the principal Act, the Amendment of

words "four years" shall be substituted with the words "five years" article

the principal

and for the words "five elected persons." there shall be substituted the Act.

words "five elected persons:" and immediately thereafter there shall

be added the following new proviso

"Provided that elections of Administrative Committees of

communities shall, as much as possible, be held on the same day

as elections of local councils and the provisions of the first

proviso of sub-article (1) of article 8 shall mutatis mutandis

apply to Administrative Committees.".

In sub-article (2) of article 72 of the principal Act, the Amendment of

words "to the Tenth Schedule" shall be substituted with the words "to article

principal Act.

the Ninth Schedule".

The Tenth Schedule to the principal Act shall be deleted.

Deletion of the

Tenth Schedule

to the principal

Act.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 338 of the

9th December, 2015.

A NĠLU F ARRUGIA

Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.54