These bulletins summarize and explain the important and relevant details of potential and upcoming legislation in Alberta, including notable Orders in Council. This will be the last Legislative Update for the Spring 2026 Session. Legislative Updates will return October 30.
Members’ Issues and Related Bills or Activities
Bill 28 – Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Act, 2026
Honourable Dan Williams, Minister of Municipal Affairs
Bill 28 is an omnibus bill modifying large sections of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), Libraries Act, and the Alberta Housing Act (AHA). The Bill has significant implications for municipal and local governance, including housing, property assessment, aggregate pits, seniors’ housing, governance and accountability, and the operation of public institutions.
Bill 28 reflects a shift toward increased provincial oversight in areas traditionally within municipal authority. While some amendments clarify processes or introduce new administrative tools, many establish new oversight mechanisms or standardize municipal practices in ways that will shape how municipalities plan, regulate development, manage assessment and taxation, and deliver services. The amendments collectively centralize significant authority within the provincial government, restructuring long‑standing governance relationships across housing, municipal planning, utilities, and public libraries.
Several amendments appear rooted in provincial engagements framed around reducing administrative requirements for industry. However, as RMA’s analysis notes, the province has provided limited evidence that municipal planning or permitting processes create unreasonable costs or delays, nor has it shown that existing municipal authorities are ineffective. Despite this, the Government of Alberta (GOA) appears poised to advance changes that significantly reduce municipal discretion in planning and development without assuming corresponding provincial accountability.
The AHA has been updated to separate senior lodge accommodations from other affordable and social housing. Bill 28 also consolidates regulatory and funding authority under the Minister. GOA control now includes defining specific housing categories, setting lodge rates, and managing reserve funds that municipalities must contribute to.
Amendments to the MGA similarly shift decision‑making power upward. The province gains authority to mandate automated permitting systems, impose binding community design codes that override municipal statutory plans, restrict off‑site levies, and allow the reshaping of development processes through regulation. Additional changes expand provincial influence over municipal viability reviews, councillor accountability and conduct, CAO reporting, and councillor access to information. New transparency requirements – such as mandatory reporting on development‑permit timelines – also increase oversight.
The Bill also integrates provincial environmental approvals with municipal planning through aggregate‑pit provisions, increases assessment‑system compliance expectations, and grants Cabinet broad authority to restructure municipal utilities through public utility entities.
Taken together, Bill 28 represents a substantial expansion of provincial regulatory reach and oversight, accompanied by a corresponding reduction in municipal and board‑level autonomy. RMA has completed an analysis of Bill 28 and the changes comprised within, found here: Bill 28: RMA Analysis.
Bill 28 passed the Third Reading on May 13, unamended, after extensive debate. The Bill now goes to the Lieutenant Governor for Royal Assent on its way to becoming law.
RMA is undertaking a detailed review of its implications and preparing to engage directly in the regulation‑development process. RMA will work to ensure that forthcoming regulations reinforce – rather than erode – municipal decision‑making authority, and will continue advancing solutions that protect the strength, autonomy, and long‑term viability of rural councils.
Bill 31 – Red Tape Reduction Statues Amendment Act, 2026
Honourable Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
Bill 31 is an omnibus bill that amends 18 pieces of legislation, addressing myriad topics that span from land-use planning, management of liquor and gaming information, electronic land‑title registration, and the elimination of daylight savings time. Many of the amendments are technical or administrative, but collectively represent a substantial legislative update intended to align older statutes with recent policy directions and establish new government processes.
The Bill significantly amends the Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA), expanding potential filing obligations for municipalities. Under the revised framework, municipalities may now be required to file compliance declarations not only when a regional plan is amended, but also when Cabinet creates, amends, or incorporates a subregional or issue‑specific plan under the new provisions.
This marks a meaningful shift from the previous structure. Previously, filing obligations were triggered solely by changes to regional plans. Because these new standalone plans can be created for specific geographic areas, particular issues, or Crown land management topics, municipalities could face filing requirements more frequently and in a wider range of circumstances. Importantly, the obligation to file is not automatic; it depends on whether the subregional or issue‑specific plan itself directs municipalities to submit a compliance declaration. Municipalities will therefore need to closely review each plan to understand its specific requirements and ensure timely compliance.
Bill 31 also formally ends daylight savings time in Alberta. The province would remain on what was previously standard time year-round, now designated as “official time” in Alberta. This change eliminates the biannual time shift and aligns Alberta with other western provincial jurisdictions that have moved to permanent standard time.
Beyond these headline items, Bill 31 introduces numerous targeted amendments across several other Acts. Amendments clarify ministerial authority, update administrative processes, and align statutory language with other recent legislative reforms. The Bill also modernizes terminology, corrects outdated cross-references, and refines the powers of ministers and public bodies to ensure consistency across the legislative framework. This includes technical amendments designed to improve regulatory functioning, such as clearer authority for ministers to delegate responsibilities, expanded regulation‑making powers in select Acts, and adjustments to statutory timelines and procedural requirements.
Several amendments address gaps or ambiguities identified through recent implementation experience, ideally ensuring that existing statutes operate coherently. While many of these changes are administrative in nature, they may collectively strengthen the government’s ability to coordinate across departments, streamline statutory processes, and maintain alignment between older legislation and Alberta’s increasingly rapidly changing policy landscape.
Bill 31 moved through the Committee of the Whole, unamended, on May 6. There has been limited debate on the Bill since.
Ian Profiri
Policy & Research Analyst
825.319.2352
ian@RMAlberta.com
Wyatt Skovron
General Manager of Policy & Advocacy
780.955.4096
wyatt@RMAlberta.com