Parliament approves three pieces of proposed legislation in marathon sitting

News Sean Douglas 22 Hrs Ago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar makes a presentation during a Parliament sitting on January 16. - Ayanna Kinsale

IN a marathon sitting which ended at 3.32 am on January 17, the House of Representatives passed three pieces of legislation at its first sitting for 2026.

The session began at 1.30 pm on January 16.

These were the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2026, the Tobago House of Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2026, as moved by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill 2026.

The Tobago bill was passed unanimously by all 38 MPs present, with both sides voting together.

It increases the number of secretaries in the THA from seven to 12 and raises the quorum for THA sittings from nine to 12 members.

However, the two other bills were passed amid the dissension of the opposition.

The Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2026 lists a schedule of vehicle defects for which any driver stopped by the police will be issued a written warning and then given either three days or seven days to fix the defect and then report such to a police station or a licensing office and so earn a reprieve. The bill was passed with 27 government MPs supporting it, but 11 opposition MPs voting against.

Likewise, 27 government MPs supported and 11 MPs opposed the Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Bill 2026.

This seeks to let the Prime Minister, with Parliament's approval, designate certain areas as "special zones" in which the police and army have extra powers of search, seizure and arrest people.

Earlier, the House also saw the laying of 19 papers and the government's answering of two urgent questions and 12 questions of notice posed by the opposition.