House of Assembly
It was a history-making event when a set of draft legislation was submitted by a member to the Anguilla House of Assembly for the first time on Tuesday, July 7. They were eventually accepted on the Order of Business as Other Bills after a slight amendment to the heading.
The draft legislation was submitted by newly-appointed Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Palmavon Webster, who, by virtue of being a Barrister-at-Law, has the expertise and capacity to draft critical and time-consuming legislation. The proposed measures are the Family Law (Guardianship, Custody and Access to Children) Bill, 2015; The Status of Children Bill, 2015; and Protection Against Sexual Harassment Bill, 2015.
Speaker of the House, Mr. Leroy Rogers, while aware that under the Rules of Procedure individual members can submit Bills, consulted with the parliamentarians on the matter during a brief adjournment for that purpose. It was later agreed that the Bills would be allowed, but under the heading “Other Bills”. Accordingly, when the House resumed, they were given their first reading.
Speaking afterwards to The Anguillian, Mr. Rogers said: “Any member, according to Section 55 of the Constitution, has the right to bring a Bill before the House – whether that person is a member of Government or the Opposition. But it must not be a regarded as a Private Member’s Bill which benefits an individual, a company, corporation, and so on, according to Section 69 of the Rules of the Procedure. This is the first time that such Bills have come before the House. As far as the rules are concerned, the draft legislation, which should in fact be labelled Other Bills, can be gazetted after the first reading.”
The Speaker said the Bills were therefore “Other Bills” brought by a member and adopted by the House of Assembly. “There are provisions for that. They are to be debated and the House can vote them down or up after the second and third readings,” Mr. Rogers explained.
Ms. Webster was pleased with the decision of the House. “I am very happy,” she told The Anguillian, “because I think that what it signals is that we are in the mood for nation-building. We often miss that depending on how the House operates. This is a marvellous opportunity and very good model to follow. These Bills have been long outstanding and they have had their first reading.”
The Opposition Leader said that she would now ensure that the pieces of draft legislation get maximum publicity in the Official Gazette, possibly in newspaper publications, and at public consultations; and will be available at the Leader of the Opposition’s Office and at the Office of the Clerk of the House of Assembly.
Ms. Webster’s Bills followed four Government Bills which were given their first reading. They were the Domestic Violence Bill, 2015; the Social Protection Bill, 2015; the Condominium Bill, 2015; and the Parole of Prisoners Validation Bill, 2015.
According to Wikipedia Encyclopaedia: in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Australia, a Private Member’s Bill is a legislative bill introduced by a private member of parliament. It is not part of government planned legislation. Such bills rarely are passed into law.
