2008 Senators' Resource Guide: Budgets

SENATORS’ RESOURCE GUIDE:

Allowances, Entitlements and Administrative Services BUDGETS

April 28, 2008 CONFIDENTIAL V - 1

V. Budgets TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2

2. Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget ..................................................................... 2

2.1. General Guidelines........................................................................................................... 2

2.2. Eligible Expenses ............................................................................................................. 4

2.3. Delegation of Financial Signing Authority ...................................................................... 5

2.4. Miscellaneous Expenditures Account .............................................................................. 6

2.5. House Officers’ Budget Supplement ............................................................................... 8

3. House Officers’ Budgets ......................................................................................................... 8

4. Caucus Research Funds .......................................................................................................... 9

4.1. General Guidelines........................................................................................................... 9

4.2. Eligible Expenses ........................................................................................................... 10

5. Reporting and Public Disclosure .......................................................................................... 11

Annex D - List of Approved Items for Senate-Related Business

Annex E - Summary of Funds – Senators, Political Officers and Caucus Research




1. Introduction

This chapter outlines the provisions concerning the annual Senators’ Research and Office

Expense Budget used to pay staff salaries, research and service contracts, entitlements, office

expenses and other eligible expenditures. It also outlines the provisions for House Officers’

budgets and caucus research funding.

Senators are provided with operating funds, office premises in the parliamentary precinct and

goods and services to be used to carry out their parliamentary functions, and are responsible for

the management of these resources. Some resources are provided by the Senate Administration

while others must be purchased from the Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget.

For more information on the Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget and other operating

funds, contact your assigned financial clerk or financial officer.

2. Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget

2.1. General Guidelines

Allocation

Senators allocate, authorize and use Senate resources to carry out their

parliamentary functions and are accountable for such decisions.

The Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget is set by the Senate upon

recommendation from the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets

and Administration (Internal Economy Committee) and is amended from time

to time. The annual budget is allocated each fiscal year on April 1st. Any

unspent monies in the budget lapse on March 31st, the end of the fiscal year.

(See Annex E – Summary of Funds for the annual budget allocation.)

Upon appointment, a new senator is entitled to a prorated Senators’ Research

and Office Expense Budget. The amount is equal to 1/12 the annual budget for

each month or part thereof in the year commencing on the appointment date.

In addition to the prorated Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget, in

their first year, new senators are also entitled to start-up funds (see Annex E –

Summary of Funds for amount) to defray additional costs related to setting up a

new office. This start-up fund is considered part of the Senators’ Research and

Office Expense Budget and all purchases made from these funds must conform

to Senate policies.

Departing senators are entitled to use 10% of their budget for each month they

will serve before their retirement date in their last year, up to a maximum of




100%. (See Chapter IX - Departing Senators for more information.)

Restrictions Senators cannot transfer funds from their Senators’ Research and Office

Expense Budget to other senators. However, senators may share resources and

divide expenses accordingly.

Signing

authority

Senators may delegate financial signing authority for certain transactions on

this budget to a member of their staff. (See subsection 2.3. Delegation of

Financial Signing Authority in this chapter for more information.)

Uses The Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget is to be used for staff

salaries, professional and service contracts, and office operating costs. (See

subsection 2.2 Eligible Expenditures in this chapter, and Annex D - List of

Approved Items for Senate Related Business for more information on approved

expenditures.)

Senators are responsible for managing their offices within the limits of their

budget and ensuring that all expenses are in accordance with the list of

approved items.

Over $2 500 All purchases over $2 500 must be made through the Procurement and

Contracting Division of the Senate. Senators should send an Internal

Requisition for Materiel/Services form signed by the senator or by the person

to whom financial signing authority has been delegated.

Under $2 500 Senators may purchase goods and services under $2 500 directly from

suppliers, with the exception of:

information technology equipment, which must be processed

through the Information Systems Directorate to ensure compliance

with standards;

any equipment listed on the Detailed List of Office Equipment

Allotment (see Annex H – Senators’ Offices) as these items (listed

from # 1 to 12) are to be purchased through the Purchasing and

Contracting Division;

office equipment with a dollar value exceeding $2501 (see footnote)

per purchase.

furniture and furnishings; all requests must be forwarded to the

Purchasing and Contracting Division (see Chapter VII - Office and

Administrative Services for more information)

1 Examples of office equipment less than $250 that may be purchased include but are not limited to: calculators,

voice recording equipment, label printers and date stamps.




All purchases must be on the list of eligible expenses, conform to Senate

policies, and be of reasonable cost and quality. (See Annex D – List of

Approved Items for Senate-Related Business.) In addition, senators are to pay

for these purchases from his or her personal funds and submit a request to the

Finance Directorate for payment. The American Express corporate credit card

may not be used in these circumstances, nor should the supplier be requested to

send the invoice to the Finance Directorate for payment.

Claiming

expenses

All claims for goods and services acquired must be receipted in order to be

reimbursed. Original receipts must be signed by the senator, or a person to

whom the senator has delegated financial signing authority, and sent to the

Finance Directorate along with a memorandum requesting reimbursement of

expenses.

Small out-of-pocket expenses should be claimed once a month and supported

by original receipts, and duly certified by the senator or a person to whom the

senator has delegated financial signing authority.

Invoices Before being forwarded to the Finance Directorate for payment, invoices from

suppliers or contractors must be signed by the individual requesting payment

and signed by the senator, or the person to whom they have delegated financial

signing authority, to confirm that the work has been completed.

Taxes The GST or HST, if applicable, will be paid to the contractor or supplier but

not charged to the Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget.

Purchases made through Assets Management, Contracting and Purchasing are

P.S.T exempt. When purchases are made directly by a senator, the P.S.T. is

not exempt, and will be charged to the Senators’ Research and Office Expense

Budget.

2.2. Eligible Expenses

Salaries Senators are responsible for all hiring undertaken within the limits of their

budget. The hiring of Senators’ employees is to be done through the Human

Resources Directorate prior to the start of any work. (See Chapter VI - Human

Resources Management for more information on the categories of staff, and the

hiring and termination of staff.)

The Internal Economy Committee has set an annual maximum salary for

senator’s employees. (See Annex E – Summary of Funds – Senators, Political




Officers and Caucus Research.)

Service

Contracts

Senators are responsible for managing their service contracts and associated

costs. The issuing of service contracts for senators’ staff is to be done through

the Human Resources Directorate, prior to the start of any work. (See VI -

Human Resources Management for more information on contracts.)

The issuing of all other service contracts for consulting or non-consulting work

is to be done through Assets Management, Contracting and Purchasing, prior to

the start of any work.

Both the Human Resources Directorate and the Purchasing and Contracting

Division work in consultation with the Law Clerk’s Office to prepare and

maintain standard forms of contracts as they are binding legal documents.

All contracts terminate on March 31st and must be renewed on April 1

st if the

contract is to continue.

Payment to contractors will be on the basis of work completed and no

payments will be made in advance.

Office

expenses

Senators are responsible for managing their operational costs. All items bought

through the budget or provided by the Senate Administration remain the

property of the Senate. The list of authorized budget expenditures as approved

by the Internal Economy Committee is provided at Annex D- List of Approved

Items for Senate-Related Business. Approval from the Internal Economy

Committee is required for any exceptions to the authorized list.

Approval Expenses not specifically allowed must be submitted in writing to the Internal

Economy Committee for consideration and approval.

2.3. Delegation of Financial Signing Authority

Delegation of

signing

authority

Senators have financial signing authority. However, they may delegate this

authority for certain transactions to an employee on their staff by completing the

Delegation of Financial Signing Authority- Senators form and returning it to the

Finance Directorate.

The senator may delegate full authority or partial authority up to a certain

amount for a range of expenditures.

The delegation of financial signing authority cannot be extended to an employee

of another senator or of the Senate Administration.




Eligible

authorities

Financial signing authority can be delegated for: the initiation of expenditures

charged to the Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget; the approval of

payment for invoices for professional services per a signed contract; printing

and information services; lease agreements and equipment maintenance

contracts; office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and general office expenses;

and the approval of printing requisition forms.

Restrictions A senator may not delegate financial signing authority for the following: to

appoint or terminate employees; to enter into, amend or terminate research or

other professional services contracts and lease agreements; to set or amend rates

of pay for employees and fees for researchers; to approve invoices for

professional services where there is no contract; to approve travel expense

claims; to approve American Express statements; or to approve payments of

telecommunication invoices.

2.4. Miscellaneous Expenditures Account

Purpose Senators may set aside funds from their Senators’ Research and Office Expense

Budget annually to acquire goods and services not provided for elsewhere, but

necessary for the carrying out of their parliamentary functions. Refer to Annex

E – Summary of Funds for the maximum of funds that may be set aside.

The provisions for claiming expenses under the Senators’ Research and Office

Expense Budget apply equally to the Miscellaneous Expenditures Account.

Eligible

expenses

The Miscellaneous Expenditures Account may be used for hospitality, official

gifts and promotional items and for some office expenses not provided for

elsewhere.

Hospitality Hospitality may only be charged to the Miscellaneous Expenditures Account

when the event is related to the senator’s parliamentary functions. Examples of

appropriate uses include:

working meals when discussion on official matters are held with

persons from outside the Senate;

meetings with representatives or experts related to the parliamentary

work of the senator;

receptions in honour of foreign dignitaries or distinguished persons; or

refreshments (meals and/or receptions) associated with sponsoring a

formal conference or meeting where other governments, public interest

groups or business groups are represented.




When hospitality is extended in the form of a meal, the meal allowance is not

claimable under the 64 travel point system or living expenses in the N.C.R.

budgets.

Official gifts

and

promotional

items

Official gifts and promotional items that are representative of the Senate or the

Parliament or Canada may be charged to the Miscellaneous Expenditures

Account to a maximum value of $100 per item.

Protocol gifts to visiting dignitaries or distinguished persons, gifts to individuals

or groups in recognition of a service rendered to the Senate without

remuneration, or small token items such as buttons or pins for distribution to

visitors and school groups are all examples of the appropriate use of official

gifts and promotional items.

Restrictions Expenses related to the following specific costs are ineligible for payment under

the Miscellaneous Expenditures Account:

Travel expenses:

o travel expenses as they are covered under the 64 point travel system

and the Living Expenses in the N.C.R. Policy;

o expenses that are not reimbursed under existing travel policies.

Personal expenses:

o expenses that are clearly of a personal nature, are not eligible for

reimbursement such as:

parking fines or speeding tickets;

admission tickets to entertainment events such as theatre

productions, concerts, sporting events, and so forth;

gifts to staff or employees of the Senate;

meals and refreshments clearly of a personal nature and unrelated

to official business, such as family outings, daily personal meals,

or meals and beverage offered to, or receptions held for,

employees, and so forth;

membership fees to clubs, associations, fitness centres;

tokens of appreciation and expressions of sympathy of a

personal nature (e.g. flowers).

Charity or other fund-raising events and donations:

o expenditures that are clearly contributions to charity or fund-raising

events are not eligible, such as:

purchase of admission for tickets, raffle tickets, goods or services

for sale for the primary purpose of raising funds for a charity;

donations to any person, cause or organization;




purchase of goods or services for the purpose of donating them to

any person, cause or organization;

registration fees to political party events.

Equipment and furniture:

o purchases and rental of equipment that are ineligible for

reimbursement under existing policies cannot be charged to the

Miscellaneous Expenditures Account.

Over-expenditures and budget transfers:

o no senator may exceed the annual limit established for the

Miscellaneous Expenditures Account;

o budget transfers between senators from the Miscellaneous

Expenditures Account are not permitted.

2.5. House Officers’ Budget Supplement

Definition House Officer means the Speaker of the Senate, the Leader of the Government

in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, the Deputy Leader of

the Government in the Senate, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the

Senate, the Senate Government Whip and the Senate Opposition Whip.

Purpose House Officers have supplementary funds (see Annex E – Summary of Funds)

added to their Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget for hospitality

costs. This budget must be used solely for hospitality.

The provisions for claiming expenses under the Senators’ Research and Office

Expense Budget apply equally to the House Officers’ Budget Supplement.

3. House Officers’ Budgets

Allocation House Officers are provided with an annual budget to meet the costs of

additional staffing needs in their offices and other operating costs associated

with their additional functions.

The budget for each House Officer is outlined in Annex E – Summary of Funds.




Other

purchases

For purchases other than for office supplies and small expenses, senators should

send an Internal Requisition for Materiel/Services form to the Purchasing and

Contracting Division, signed by the senator or by the person to whom financial

signing authority has been delegated.

House

Officers’ Staff

There are no limits as to the number of staff a House Officer can hire or to the

maximum annual salary that staff can be paid under the House Officers’ Budget.

However, funds from the Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget cannot

be used to supplement the House Officers’ Budget, or vice versa, for the

purposes of hiring staff, or increasing salaries. (See Chapter VI – Human

Resources Management for more information.)

Claiming

expenses

All claims for goods and services acquired must be receipted in order to claim

reimbursement. Original receipts must be signed by the senator, or a person to

whom the senator has delegated financial signing authority, and sent to the

Finance Directorate along with a memorandum requesting reimbursement of

expenses.

4. Caucus Research Funds

4.1. General Guidelines

Allocation Caucus research funds are available to party caucuses and individual senators

who are not members of caucus.

Individual caucus members wishing to seek money for a special study or

proposal may apply to the senators charged with managing that caucus’s

research fund. These senators will approve or reject the proposal, inform

applicants of their decision in writing, and send a copy of each approved request

for funding to the Finance Directorate. (See Annex E – Summary of Funds for

amounts.)

Signing

authority

All expenses paid from a caucus research fund must be authorized by the

delegated senators of each caucus or by the senator, if not a member of a

caucus.

Uses Caucus research funds may be used for research assistance, consulting fees,

service contracts and standard equipment, furniture and software.

Books and subscriptions necessary to carry out the research or study may also

be acquired with caucus research funds.




Taxes A contract shall include the total fee for services to be charged to the caucus

research funds. The GST or HST, if applicable, will be paid to the contractor

but not charged to caucus research funds.

4.2. Eligible Expenses

Caucus staff Researchers and consultants will fall within one (1) of the following three (3)

categories: short-term contracts for services to a specific project; appointments

for a specified period for less than six (6) months; and appointments for a

specified period for more than six (6) months and more.

(See Chapter VI – Human Resources Management for more information on

these categories of staff.)

Service

contracts

The guidelines applicable to service contracts paid from the Senators’ Research

and Office Expense Budget apply to caucus research contracts. (See Chapter VI

- Human Resources Management for more information on contracts.) All

contracts terminate on March 31st and must be renewed on April 1

st if the

contract is to continue.

Where senators receive approval for resources from the senators in charge of a

caucus research fund, a copy of the approval must be attached to any request

for a contract.

Payment to contractors will be on the basis of work completed, and no

payments will be made in advance. Services must be performed during the

period for which payment is authorized.

The Finance Directorate is responsible for making all payments, according to

the contract, directly to the contractor.

Operating

expenses

Office space, supplies and telephone lines will be provided by the Senate

Administration. Other support services such as messenger, postal and printing

services will be extended to research centres.

Purchases of over $2 500 and any purchases, regardless of value, for software,

equipment, furniture and furnishings are to be made through the Manager of

the Purchasing and Contracting Division on an Internal Requisition for

Materiel/Services form.

Purchases less than $2 500 excluding software, equipment, furniture and

furnishings may be made directly by the senator but must be on the list of

eligible expenses (see Annex D – List of Approved Items for Senate Related

Business) and receipted in order to claim refunds.




All requisitions for goods and services and claims for reimbursement must be

signed by the two (2) senators to whom the Leader of the party has delegated

financial signing authority.

5. Reporting and Public Disclosure

Reports The Finance Directorate notifies senators of the amount spent and the balance in

their budgets on a monthly basis. Senators may request a report at any time.

Similar monthly reports are provided to each caucus, non-aligned senator, and

to each House Officer regarding the status of their budgets.

Senators are responsible for reviewing their financial reports and advising the

Finance Directorate of any discrepancies or changes required.

Public

disclosure

At the end of the fiscal year, the total expenses charged to each senator’s

Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget is reported in the Public

Accounts of Canada under the heading “Research assistance, staff and other

expenses.”

Expenses charged to the Miscellaneous Expenditures Account and to hospitality

under the House Officers’ Budget Supplement will also be treated as part of the

Senators’ Research and Office Expense Budget. These expenditures will be

included alongside the senator’s name as part of the heading “Research

assistance, staff and other expenses.”



April 28, 2008 CONFIDENTIAL E-1

Annex E - Summary of Funds - Senators, Political Officers and Caucus

Research

As at April 1, 2008

SENATORS’ RESEARCH AND OFFICE EXPENSE BUDGET

Senator’s annual budget allocation: $ 149 400

Senator may set aside from their Annual budget for

Miscellaneous Expenditures Account a maximum of:

$ 5 000

Political Officer’s Budget Supplement (Hospitality):

$ 3 000

New senator start up entitlement: $ 20 000

Senator’s employee annual maximum salary $ 66 541

HOUSE OFFICERS’ BUDGET

Speaker of the Senate $ 544 900

Leader of the Government

$ 325 000

Leader of the Opposition

$ 370 000

Deputy Leader of the Government

$ 75 000

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

$ 65 000

Government Whip

$ 50 000

Opposition Whip

$ 50 000

CAUCUS RESEARCH FUNDS

Liberal Caucus

$ 250 000

Conservative Caucus

$ 250 000

Non-aligned Senator

$ 5 000

SENATORS’ RESOURCE GUIDE: Allowances, Entitlements and Administrative Services HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

April 28, 2008 CONFIDENTIAL F - 1

Annex F - Statement of Responsibilities and Competency Profiles

Under review.

SENATORS’ RESOURCE GUIDE: Allowances, Entitlements and Administrative Services HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

April 28, 2008 CONFIDENTIAL G - 1

Annex G – Approved Salary Scales (Effective April 1st, 2008)

Position Title

Current Senate

Salary Range

Min Max

Policy Advisor,

Executive Assistant $52 768 $66 541

Legislative/Research

Assistant $39 621 $53 138

Special Assistant $39 251 $52 768

Administrative

Assistant $31 400 $39 250

Clerical Assistant $20 954 $31 834

Documents

2008 Senators' Resource Guide: Budgets