THE REGULATIONS ACT, 1936. (REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE ACT.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1937 Session I, H-24

H. —24.

1937. N E W ZEALAN D.

THE REGULATIONS ACT, 1936. (REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE ACT.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by leave.

Office of the Attorney-General, Wellington, 10th September, 1937. The Regulations Act, 1936, came into force on Ist August, 1936, and enabled statutory regulations, including Orders in Council and other enactments having the force of subsidiary legislation, to be promulgated independently of publication in the Gazette and to make publication in the Gazette unnecessary. A limited number of regulations of a local or temporary character, or similarly limited in scope, are excluded from the scheme. By this means it became possible to issue the subsidiary legislation in a more convenient form and to make it immediately available to a wider public than those who had hitherto been subscribers to the Gazette. Arrangements were made both for immediate issue on enactment of each set of regulations and for issue in periodical bound volumes. Technical difficulties in making a large number of single leaves into a serviceable bound volume have made it necessary to provide separately for supply in loose copies and bound volumes respectively. It was decided that the bound volumes would most conveniently end with the secular year, but that as the period to 31st December, 1936, would cover only five months it would be advisable to treat the first volume, and its subscriptions, as covering the period from Ist August, 1936, to 31st December, 1937. This volume will be known as " Statutory Regulations, 1936-37." The terms of issue decided on were the following : — (1) All regulations serially as issued (punched for filing), subscription £1 10s. per annum in advance. (2) Annual volume (including index) bound in buckram, £1 ss. (3) Serially as issued and annual bound volume, as in (1) and (2) above, on combined subscription basis, £2 2s. per annum in advance. (4) Separate regulations as issued. (5) Loose-leaf binder for filing serial issues, 6s. 6d. The price fixed for separate regulations is from Id. upwards, according to bulk, and the price is noted at the end of each set for the assistance of purchasers. Cumulative interim indexes have been issued free'of cost to subscribers, covering period up to (respectively) 31st October, 1936 (first issue), 31st January, 1937 (second issue), 30th April, 1937 (third issue), and 31st August, 1937 (fourth issue). It is intended that complete indexes shall form part of each annual volume. The format adopted is similar to that of the current issues of the statutes, to which the statutory regulations form a companion volume. Up to 31st December, 1936, ninety-three sets of regulations were issued, reaching page 363 of the publication in serial form. As at 31st December, 1936, the subscribers to the publication in serial form as issued were — Copies. Government Departments . . . . . . .. . . .. 274 Other official issues .. • • ■ • • ■ • • . . • . 180 Public subscribers, including local authorities .. .. .. .. 315 Total ..769

H.—24.

The number of copies issued to members of the public has largely increased since 1936, but it will be more convenient in annual reports of the working of the Act to summarize the position as at 31st December of each year. In addition to the foregoing, large numbers of separate and selected regulations have been issued both to Government Departments and to members of the public, and a considerable number of subscriptions to the first bound volume have already been received. The numbers printed of each issue average from approximately 1,100 to 1,500 copies, in addition to the requirements of the Department by which the regulations are administered. Advantage is being taken of the new method of publication, with the assistance of the Government Departments concerned, to bring up to date and re-enact, or, where proper, merely to revoke, some of the older regulations in force, dating back as far as 1862. At present only regulations enacted prior to 1910 (but with later amendments) are being dealt with. It is hoped gradually to deal similarly with regulations of later date, so that before long the whole of the subsidiary legislation in force of general application will be comprised in the volumes of the new series instead of being scattered through the volumes of the Gazette. A greater measure of uniformity in the formalities of drafting has, with the co-operation of departmental draftsmen, been obtained than was found possible under the methods of promulgation previously in force. Mere notification in the Gazette instead of publication in extenso being now all that the law requires, there has been a substantial reduction in the bulk of that publication. Section 7of the Eegulations Act, 1936, provides that when regulations are reprinted they shall be issued with the incorporation of subsequent amendments, the reprint being certified by the Attorney-General. Up to 31st December, 1936, five sets of regulations were reprinted with amendments under this section. H. G. R. Mason, Attorney-General.

Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation, not given ; printing (546 copies), £1 15s.

By Authority : E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 937.

Price 3d.]

2