41 Bills Passed in the House since January

The House of Representatives has passed 41 Bills since the beginning of calendar year 2015.

This was disclosed by Leader of Government Business and Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell, during a recent sitting of the Lower House.

He also informed that 28 Orders and Resolutions were approved, 37 Ministerial statements made, 27 questions answered and 10 committee reports adopted.

“Not only did we go about our regular business with diligence, but we also took time to host the Rt. Hon. David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), at a joint sitting of the members of the Senate on September 30, 2015,” Mr. Paulwell said.

He also noted that the House passed the three Bills required to enable Jamaica to delink from the UK Privy Council and to subscribe to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in its appellate jurisdiction.

“The three CCJ Bills passed by this House are now before the Senate for consideration,” Mr. Paulwell said.

The three Bills are the Constitution (Amendment) (Caribbean Court of Justice) Act 2015; the Judicature (Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 2015, and the Caribbean Court of Justice Act, 2015.

The Parliament also passed legislation to expand the options available to consumers of electricity by modernising the law relating to the sector, and approved the

Local Government Bills in November.

Minister Paulwell noted that the Local Government Bills “create a framework for Local Government reform, provides guidelines for prudent financial management by Local Authorities and establishes a single Local Government Services Commission.”

These measures, he said, should strengthen the system of Local Government; thereby bringing Government closer to the people and enhancing citizens’ participation in governance.

Mr. Paulwell also mentioned the passage of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act, which seeks to implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for the operation of SEZs and provide for consequential amendments to be made to those statutes, which are affected by implementation of the Bill.