The committee commenced consideration of a draft report.

The clerk made a presentation to the committee and answered questions.

It was agreed, — That the draft report be adopted.

It was agreed, — That the report be entitled: "Committee Activities and Expenditures April 1, 2025 - March 31, 2026".

It was agreed, — That the Chair, clerk and analysts be authorized to make such grammatical and editorial changes as may be necessary without changing the substance of the report.

ORDERED, — That the Chair present the report to the House.

It was agreed, — That, for fiscal year 2026–27, the Subcommittee on Committee Budgets of the Liaison Committee allocate funds to standing committees from the global envelope up to a maximum amount of $4 million.

It was agreed, — That the Committee, through a letter from its Chair, invite all standing committee chairs to ask their committees to determine which of their studies will request committee travel by December 31, 2026; that committees wishing to travel be invited to outline the reasons why travel is necessary and prepare a detailed budget; that this information be transmitted to the Subcommittee on Committee Budgets of the Liaison Committee, through its clerk, no later than October 2, 2026; and that committees wishing to travel between January and April 2027 transmit this information no later than November 20, 2026; provided that committees may submit travel budget requests outside of these deadlines in cases of exceptional or unforeseen circumstances, subject to the consideration of the Subcommittee.

Stéphanie Haché made a presentation and answered questions.

It was agreed, — That, notwithstanding the motions adopted on December 7, 2006, and February 5, 2008, witnesses appearing before parliamentary committees be given 60 calendar days to submit claims for reimbursement; that claims submitted beyond this deadline, up to an additional 30 calendar days, may be reimbursed at the discretion of the chair of the committee; and that, at the request of the committee chair, the Liaison Committee or the Subcommittee on Committee Budgets of the Liaison Committee be authorized to approve reimbursements in exceptional cases where claims are submitted after these deadlines.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request that the current limit of three working lunches per study be replaced with a cap of $2,000 for food and beverage expenditures, subject to a maximum of $500 per meeting, and to request the authority to review these limits every two years to account for inflation as well as committees’ actual expenses.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request the authority to review the $40,000 per-study limit every five years to account for inflation as well as committees’ actual expenditures.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request that reimbursement for a third witness per organization be authorized at the discretion of a committee chair in exceptional circumstances.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request that the daily limit for professional fees under service contracts be increased to $1,500, while maintaining the total limit of $125,000, and to request the authority to review the daily limit every five years to account for inflation as well as committees’ actual expenses.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request that the Committees By-Law be amended to clarify that contracts entered into by legislative and special joint committees expire five calendar days after the committees have presented their final report to the House.

It was agreed, — That the Chair write to the Board of Internal Economy to request that subcommittees established by order of the House be treated in the same manner as subcommittees established by committees by applying to them the full set of financial policies established by the Liaison Committee and by funding their activities from the global committee budget envelope without going through the BOIE.