Senate
Session 2024/2025
3 speeches
December 18, 2024
Official Hansard Report - Senate
Download PDF transcriptSession Summary
Simplified for YouThe Senate discussed plans for a new domestic violence court and a potential "Clare's Law" that would let people check if their partner has a history of abuse. There were questions about the Department of Financial Assistance losing $328,000 in overpayments, with only $60,000 recovered so far. The government presented bills to align Bermuda's corporate tax system with international requirements and to strengthen air quality laws with higher fines and better monitoring.
Key Topics
Domestic violence court program and Clare's Law to help protect abuse victimsDepartment of Financial Assistance annual report and concerns about overpaymentsCorporate tax law changes to comply with international standardsClean Air Act amendments to address pollution and air quality issuesTechnical problems disrupted the session requiring a 20-minute break
Bills & Motions
Corporate Entities (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2024 - presented for second reading
Clean Air Amendment Act 2024 - presented for second reading (increases fines from $5,000 to $20,000 for violations)
Companies Amendment Act 2024 - granted leave for same-day reading
Customs Department Amendment Act 2024 - granted leave for same-day reading
Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2024 - granted leave for same-day reading
Notable Moments
Attorney General explained Clare's Law would be a private way for people to access information about a partner's abuse history, not a public registry
Opposition senators criticized rushing the Clean Air bill without properly consulting community groups like the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition
Several senators expressed frustration about not seeing regulations alongside complex bills, making it hard to understand how laws would actually work
Debate Transcript
3 speeches from 2 speakers
Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto
Thank you, Madam President. I would like to acknowledge that, yes, as the Government says, this Bill will make some things better, but I have to agree with my OBA colleague, Senator Tucker, as well as with the concerns from the Independents that I think a lot was left on …
Thank you, Madam
President.
I would like to acknowledge that, yes, as the
Government says, this Bill will make some things better, but I have to agree with my OBA colleague, Senator Tucker, as well as with the concerns from the Independents that I think a lot was left on the table in
how we got here in terms of process, information,
consultation of these Bills, this area especially. You
know, this is a huge impact on the community. It has been an incredibly longstanding issue. And there are
many, many well -meaning informed people working
hard in the community to help improve the situation
and it just feels like they weren’t listened to. And we
have heard about the patterns and that from this Government and I find it very disappointing. So, really, I
want to add my agreement with many of those concerns. And then with respect to some of the fines, I
would have liked to see some proportionality there.
Let’s say you are a small entrepreneur and you run a
spray paint shop and you receive a fine of $5,000 or
$20,000, depending on the various circumstances. That is one thing. But if you are BELCO, that is another thing. I would suggest that it would have been far
better to have seen a different magnitude of fines applied to organisations that operates in a different
magnitude. So, I put that as a question as to how the
amount of the fines was determined and if any consideration was given to some kind of proportionality to
the size of the outfit, the offending outfit, with respect
to the air quality.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Dr. De Couto, Senator
De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Arianna Hodgson, you have the floor.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to speak in support of this Bill
today. There is a quote that says, The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now. And the truth is that we require some changes in
the legislation to be able to solve the problems that
many of our citizens are facing. As the Attorney General spoke to earlier, as it relates to the Domestic Violence Court, it is not going to be its final iteration. But
we must start the work now. And so, this is a first step of many steps to ensure that our citizens are better
protected from a multitude of pollution and elements
that just make life a bit tougher and harder.
I think that the residents across the Island, the
ones down there on St. John’s Road, along with those
in St. David’s and at various spots throughout the Island, they recognise that the Government is taking a
step. It is going to result in a better quality of life for
them. So, again, I just want to speak today to lend my
support.
The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
Yes, Senator Fubler, you have the floor.
Sen. Mischa Fubler: Thank you, Madam President.
And so, I want to speak in support of the Bill.
In response to some of the concerns for my fellow Senators, I would like to offer the idiom, you know,
Perfection is the enemy of good. And that there are
still gaps in the legislation that you can argue. I think
that it is important that we continue to progress towards tougher regulation around pollution, air quality
and odours and particulate. A lot of the focus has
been around the BELC O plant, which is a difficult situation to legislate. It is the sole energy provider on the
Island and so taking measures that would align with
Bermuda Senate my own world view on what is right in the situation for
the residents immediately around the plant will not be
the best option for the Island as a whole. And so, we
need to ensure we are striking balance in things like fines. I do like that idea of proportionality though around the fining.
My understanding as well is that the regulations are being drafted and so as long as we are op-erating from a position of not mistrust of the dedicated
technical officers who are doing this work, I think we
should take some assurance that the people of Ber-muda will be held at heart when they are drafting the
regulations. And I think if we continue to delay, that is
additional time that people who are suffering from the
odours and particulate in the air will continue to do so
while we await the completion of the regulations,
which is what I am hearing the Opposition wants us to
await before approving the Bill. And so, with those
arguments, I will end my contribution.
The President: Thank you, Senator Fubler.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, OBA representative, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And I just wanted to speak in support of my
OBA colleagues and their concerns, along with the
Independents. And the main thing I wanted to caution us is, we all want a proactive and active Government.
That is something that Bermudians and everybody at
large are looking for. But I would like to offer an ad-age, Measure twice; cut once. Right? I mean, we . . . if
everything is urgent, if everything is ruled to be an exception, then there are no exceptions. Right? I mean, you have to draw line somewhere and I think
that where we are at, at this point of governance with
this particular Government, is that you have to draw a
line.
And all of us are concerned with the air quality
and all of us support the initiative and the intent behind this Bill. But there has to be a point where we are certain that what we are passing in this Chamber is
actually addressing the issues that it is intending to
address. And at this point there is not enough reference for us, who are not particular subject matter experts on this particular field, to make that decision to
lend our vote to the legislation. We can always sit here and vote on intention. We can always sit here
and vote on what we hope. But I mean, as the old
saying goes, The path to where is paved by good intentions. Right? So, we have to be moderate and
make sure that if we are bringing something that is so
monumental that there is no question in the communi-ty that, you know . . . Certain things obviously will
need to be changed but we cannot continue to pass
legislation and then come back with such large amendments every single time. I mean, it comes to a
point now where it is becoming a bit irresponsible.
Right?
So, with that I just wanted to lend my voice to
this and just to say that this needs to be a learning moment where you have people who are constantly,
constantly repeating that there needs to be an improvement in consultation. There needs to be an improvement on how Bills are tabled, on how legislation
is passed. We have had so many instances where
legislation is brought, tabled and passed. You know, there has to be some stance for democracy and proper collaboration and proper input and proper debate in
this Chamber. And a lot of times we see legislation, or
we get legislation, and we cannot do that. Therefore, we are not fulfilling our function.
So, I think it is a bit deeper than wanting to
deny anybody or wanting to delay legislation. It is
wanting to set a standard of how we operate in this
Chamber and how we handle the people’s business.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Attorney General Wilkerson, you have the
floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Thank you, Madam
President.
This has been an interesting exchange, and I
feel it is incumbent that I raise my voice here. Clearly,
the drafting happens in my Chambers under my authority, and it has not been an easy task. Our lawyer,
Ms. Tannock, parliamentary drafter, is here in the
Chamber. She has done monumental work in bringing
this piece of legislation to the place where we could
consider it. And I think, you know, drafting is a very
specialised art. It is no small matter. So, I do take exception. Certainly, I briefly read . . . I was traveling. I
briefly read the article that was featured in the Royal
Gazette last Friday with some of the comments from
the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition. And I think somewhere there was a suggestion that my colleague, Min-ister Roban, in another place, suddenly laid this piece
of legislation. And I just have to say, Madam President, there has been nothing sudden about this piece
of legislation. It certainly has been on the legislative agenda since I took this seat. And constantly there
has been a refrain from my colleagues in Cabinet to
get this piece of legislation done.
So, I have heard a few adages around the
room today. I think it was . . . what was it? Measure
twice; cut once. Here is another one. Can’t win for
losing. If this piece of legislation wasn’t brought, I believe we would be hearing from the other side, What has happened with the Clean Air amendments that
have been promised? Here they are. We cannot do
110 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate everything at once. And I completely disagree that the
process of bringing legislation cannot be iterative. We
have to go. We cannot be here. If you live, like some
of my relatives do, within feet of BELCO, they are not
the people who are saying, You know, wait. Let’s have
another six months of consultation and get this right.
They want to see action right now because they are
affected by it. I understand that, you know, the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition may not have had the consultation the way they would have liked it, but it is
completely incorrect to say that there wasn’t any. And there is always the thing of how much is enough?
How well do we do it?
The point that I will take on board however is
Senator Wight’s that a piece of legislation as complex
as this could have benefited from an education session. And I would take that on board for future pieces of legislation. And it is my absolute commitment to
create a forum where we can have that. It took some
time for me sitting down with representatives from
DENR and our drafters to understand what we were trying to accomplish here, and to also understand why
the regulations are not here at the same time. They
are forthcoming. I understand it would be ideal to see
everything in a package. But sometimes that just isn’t the case.
But I want it to be said without doubt that best
efforts have been taken. Our drafters have worked, literally worked around the clock, overnight, to try to
make sure that this piece of legislation could be
brought before Parliament in a timely manner. And they have done so. And I am proud of the work that
has been done. Everything will not be perfect, but it is
our best effort. And that is our obligation, Madam President, as a Government, to put our best effort at
things in the time that we have.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Attorney General Wilkerson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Senator Simmons.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, Senator
Tucker’s question, amendments should not proceed if
not all consultation was considered. And the claim
was that we are rushing.
Madam President, I want to say that the
BCAC [gave] an 89- page consultation report [which]
was received after the deadline on the 31
st of August
2024. The DENR has considered all aspects of that
said report in the amendments. Many of the points
raised related to fines, manure legislation, et cetera, by the BCAC, were already addressed by feedback
from other entities that came forward.
Another question was, Why were regulations
not debated with the Act? The legal process for legislation requires the Act to be laid . . . the Act to first be
amended to create a regulatory -making powers before
regulations can be laid. The Clean Air Amendment
regulations will be tabled and debated early in the new
year through the affirmative resolution process.
Another question from Senator Tucker was
[regarding] the statutory nuisance fines. The fines are being issued[under a] statutory nuisance order under
the Clean Air Act [and] will be much greater (i.e., than
it is now): $20,000 plus $5,000 for each day thereafter, [as] compared to the Public Health Act 1949 which
is $420 plus $336 for each day thereafter. And Senator De Couto pretty much asked the same question.
And Senator Wight’s question was on water
quality in the BELCO area. DENR has required an
independent organisation [INAUDIBLE] to monitor
water quality in over 60 water tanks. These results
were compared to UK drinking water standards and
the World Health Organization (WHO). We have yet to
see figures of any primary drinking water standards or
WHO guidelines due to the BELCO soot.
I believe that was all the questions that were
asked, Madam President, of me.
The President: Yes, it would appear so. You have
addressed the questions that were asked.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: So, with that, Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the Clean Air
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of
this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Clean Air Amendment Act 2024
be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President, I object.
Bermuda Senate The President: We have one objection.
Are there any other . . . It appears we have
three objections.
An Hon. Senator : Second it.
The President: That is Senator Tucker, Senator Robinson and Senator De Couto.
An Hon. Senator : I do object.
The President: We will therefore have a vote.
[Pause]
The President: Senators, I am reminded that if there
are objections on the third reading we have to carry it
over to the next day of meeting unless there is a move
to suspend . . . On the third reading, we should carry it
over to the next day of meeting. However, if there is a
rejection of the third reading then we can . . .
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: Or suspension, I should say.
So, it is [Standing Order] 35—
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President —
The President: Yes.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I move that we suspend
[Standing Order] 35 in respect to the third reading.
The President: Is there any objection to the suspension?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senators, do you understand what we
are . . .
[Crosstalk]
The President: We want to have the—
[Crosstalk]
The President: Yes. If there is a motion to suspend —
An Hon. Senator : Then we would—
The President: —the third reading.
So, if you suspend that, then we will vote today.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 35
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Yes, I put a motion on to
suspend [Standing Order] 35 in respect to the third
reading, Madam President.
The President: Is there an objection to the suspension of [Standing Order] 35?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Well, we have to take a vote on the
suspension now.
[Crosstalk]
The President: In our regulations, any [Standing Order] can be suspended if there is a vote. [Standing Order] 35 allows a suspension of it being carried over.
So, we are going to take a vote on the suspension of [Standing Order] 35.
The Assistant Clerk: The Junior Minister has moved
that Standing Order 35 be suspended in order to allow for the third reading of the Clean Air Amendment Act
2024.
If you agree with suspending [Standing Order] 35, so we can move the passage of the Bill, vote
Aye. If you are in objection to the suspension of
[Standing Order] 35, [vote] Nay.
DIVISION
[Suspension of Standing Order 35]
Ayes: 7 Nays: 4
Sen. the Hon. O. Darrell Sen. Dr. D. De Couto
Sen. A. Hodgson Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. M. Fubler Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Lindsay Simmons Sen. John Wight
Sen. the Hon. K. Wilkerson
Sen. Kiernan Bell
Sen. Hon. J. Dillas -Wright
The Assistant Clerk: With a vote of seven to four, the
motion to suspend passes. It is affirmed.
[Motion to suspend Standing Order 35 passed by majority on division.]
[Standing Order 35 suspended.]
BILL
THIRD READING
CLEAN AIR AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
112 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate Madam President, I move that the Bill do now
pass.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
[Pause]
The President: No? There is no objection, so the Bill
is passed.
[Motion carried: The Clean Air Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons and thank you all, Senators.
We will now move on to our third order of the
day and that is the second reading of the Companies Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the spokesperson for Fi-nance.
Senator Hodgson, you may present your Bill
when you are ready.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to move that
the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
BILL
SECOND READING
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the Bill before the Senate
is the Companies Amendment Act 2024
. This Bill
amends the Companies Act 1981 to remove the unin-tended exemption from annual corporate regulatory fees for certain classes of exempted companies and thereby ensures that these fees apply to all entities on Bermuda’s corporate register over which the Registrar
of Companies [ROC] has regulatory supervisory and
compliance oversight as was intended and communi-cated since the announcement of these fees.
Madam President, Senators will recall that on
8 March 2024, the Registrar of Companies (Annual
Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 and the Regis-trar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 were passed by the Legisla-ture. In order to include corporate regulatory fee reve-nue in the 2023/24 Budget as forecast, the 2024 Acts took effect from the first reading in the House of As-sembly on 9 February 2024, with the written consent of the Governor pursuant to section 2(1) of the Provi-sional Collection of Revenue Act 1975.
Madam President, Senators will recall that on
the 28 June 2024 the Registrar of Companies Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees Amendment Act 2024 was passed to amend the commencement date of the 2024 Acts to 1 January 2024 and to allow for an ex-ceptional payment deadline for 2024 only.
Madam President, subsequent to the passing
of the 2024 Acts and the Amendment Act, an unin-tended exemption from corporate regulatory fees for certain classes of exempted companies was identified under section 131(2B) of the Companies Act 1981. The original intent of this section was to immune certain classes of exempted companies from the standard annual fee based on accessible capital found in section 131 of the Companies Act 1981 in order to apply specified annual fee rates. As the corporate regulatory fee was added to section 131 of the Companies Act 1981, through the 2024 Acts, an unintended exemption from corporate regulatory fees was thus created.
Madam President, since the announcement of
the annual corporate regulatory fees in the 2023/24 Budget Statement, the intention to apply these fees to
all entities listed on Bermuda’s corporate register, has
been clearly articulated through statements made in the House of Assembly, in the Senate and through industry notices distributed directly through the corpo-rate register. This Bill simply achieves this aim by remedying the unintended exemption and ensuring
that all entities are subject to corporate regulatory
fees.
Madam President, this Bill amends the Companies Act 1981 to require that annual corporate regu-latory fees be paid by the specified classes of exempted companies previously unintentionally excused
from these fees. Further, the Bill validates any corpo-rate regulatory fees collected by the Registrar of Companies from the specified classes of the exempt-ed companies prior to the passing of this Bill and sets the commencement date for the Bill at 1 January 2024
in line with the 2024 Acts.
Madam President, the driving force behind the
introduction of these new regulatory fees is the ex-pansion of the role performed by the Registrar of Companies in recent years which has resulted in the need to hire significant numbers of additional skilled
personnel and enhance infrastructure. The introduction of these regulatory fees was expected to add ap-proximately $6 million to the public purse each year.
Madam President, as of 15 November [2024]
approximately $5.5 million of the projected $6 million in the corporate regulatory fee revenue [from] 2024
had been collected. A breakdown of what proportion
Bermuda Senate of this total has been collected from entities subject to
the unintended exemption is unavailable at this time.
However, given that the exclusion applies to approximately 2,000 exempted companies on the corporate
register, this figure will be significant.
Madam President, in summary, this Bill is a
housekeeping one necessary to ensure that all exempted companies are subject to the corporate regulatory fee and to validate any payments received from
exempted entities prior to the passing of this Bill.
Madam President, with those brief introductory remarks I now present the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 and I welcome positive
comments from other Members of the Senate.
[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISITOR
The President: And before I open the floor, I would
just like to acknowledge that we did have the pres-ence of the Deputy Premier, Mr. Walter Roban, who
has just stepped out. So, I do thank him for his presence.
And now the Deputy Premier has returned.
Welcome to you, sir.
[Companies Amendment Act 2024, second reading
debate, continuing]
The President: And as an FYI [For Your Information]
I just want to inform Senators that the streaming has
not been improved but that the—
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: Pardon?
[Crosstalk]
The President: The Internet. The Internet is on but
the streaming, unfortunately is not up yet.
Would any Senator like to speak to this Bill
that has just been presented, the Companies Amendment Act 2024?
Yes, Senator De Couto, you have the floor.
President.
I would like to acknowledge that, yes, as the
Government says, this Bill will make some things better, but I have to agree with my OBA colleague, Senator Tucker, as well as with the concerns from the Independents that I think a lot was left on the table in
how we got here in terms of process, information,
consultation of these Bills, this area especially. You
know, this is a huge impact on the community. It has been an incredibly longstanding issue. And there are
many, many well -meaning informed people working
hard in the community to help improve the situation
and it just feels like they weren’t listened to. And we
have heard about the patterns and that from this Government and I find it very disappointing. So, really, I
want to add my agreement with many of those concerns. And then with respect to some of the fines, I
would have liked to see some proportionality there.
Let’s say you are a small entrepreneur and you run a
spray paint shop and you receive a fine of $5,000 or
$20,000, depending on the various circumstances. That is one thing. But if you are BELCO, that is another thing. I would suggest that it would have been far
better to have seen a different magnitude of fines applied to organisations that operates in a different
magnitude. So, I put that as a question as to how the
amount of the fines was determined and if any consideration was given to some kind of proportionality to
the size of the outfit, the offending outfit, with respect
to the air quality.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Dr. De Couto, Senator
De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Arianna Hodgson, you have the floor.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to speak in support of this Bill
today. There is a quote that says, The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now. And the truth is that we require some changes in
the legislation to be able to solve the problems that
many of our citizens are facing. As the Attorney General spoke to earlier, as it relates to the Domestic Violence Court, it is not going to be its final iteration. But
we must start the work now. And so, this is a first step of many steps to ensure that our citizens are better
protected from a multitude of pollution and elements
that just make life a bit tougher and harder.
I think that the residents across the Island, the
ones down there on St. John’s Road, along with those
in St. David’s and at various spots throughout the Island, they recognise that the Government is taking a
step. It is going to result in a better quality of life for
them. So, again, I just want to speak today to lend my
support.
The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
Yes, Senator Fubler, you have the floor.
Sen. Mischa Fubler: Thank you, Madam President.
And so, I want to speak in support of the Bill.
In response to some of the concerns for my fellow Senators, I would like to offer the idiom, you know,
Perfection is the enemy of good. And that there are
still gaps in the legislation that you can argue. I think
that it is important that we continue to progress towards tougher regulation around pollution, air quality
and odours and particulate. A lot of the focus has
been around the BELC O plant, which is a difficult situation to legislate. It is the sole energy provider on the
Island and so taking measures that would align with
Bermuda Senate my own world view on what is right in the situation for
the residents immediately around the plant will not be
the best option for the Island as a whole. And so, we
need to ensure we are striking balance in things like fines. I do like that idea of proportionality though around the fining.
My understanding as well is that the regulations are being drafted and so as long as we are op-erating from a position of not mistrust of the dedicated
technical officers who are doing this work, I think we
should take some assurance that the people of Ber-muda will be held at heart when they are drafting the
regulations. And I think if we continue to delay, that is
additional time that people who are suffering from the
odours and particulate in the air will continue to do so
while we await the completion of the regulations,
which is what I am hearing the Opposition wants us to
await before approving the Bill. And so, with those
arguments, I will end my contribution.
The President: Thank you, Senator Fubler.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, OBA representative, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And I just wanted to speak in support of my
OBA colleagues and their concerns, along with the
Independents. And the main thing I wanted to caution us is, we all want a proactive and active Government.
That is something that Bermudians and everybody at
large are looking for. But I would like to offer an ad-age, Measure twice; cut once. Right? I mean, we . . . if
everything is urgent, if everything is ruled to be an exception, then there are no exceptions. Right? I mean, you have to draw line somewhere and I think
that where we are at, at this point of governance with
this particular Government, is that you have to draw a
line.
And all of us are concerned with the air quality
and all of us support the initiative and the intent behind this Bill. But there has to be a point where we are certain that what we are passing in this Chamber is
actually addressing the issues that it is intending to
address. And at this point there is not enough reference for us, who are not particular subject matter experts on this particular field, to make that decision to
lend our vote to the legislation. We can always sit here and vote on intention. We can always sit here
and vote on what we hope. But I mean, as the old
saying goes, The path to where is paved by good intentions. Right? So, we have to be moderate and
make sure that if we are bringing something that is so
monumental that there is no question in the communi-ty that, you know . . . Certain things obviously will
need to be changed but we cannot continue to pass
legislation and then come back with such large amendments every single time. I mean, it comes to a
point now where it is becoming a bit irresponsible.
Right?
So, with that I just wanted to lend my voice to
this and just to say that this needs to be a learning moment where you have people who are constantly,
constantly repeating that there needs to be an improvement in consultation. There needs to be an improvement on how Bills are tabled, on how legislation
is passed. We have had so many instances where
legislation is brought, tabled and passed. You know, there has to be some stance for democracy and proper collaboration and proper input and proper debate in
this Chamber. And a lot of times we see legislation, or
we get legislation, and we cannot do that. Therefore, we are not fulfilling our function.
So, I think it is a bit deeper than wanting to
deny anybody or wanting to delay legislation. It is
wanting to set a standard of how we operate in this
Chamber and how we handle the people’s business.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Attorney General Wilkerson, you have the
floor.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Thank you, Madam
President.
This has been an interesting exchange, and I
feel it is incumbent that I raise my voice here. Clearly,
the drafting happens in my Chambers under my authority, and it has not been an easy task. Our lawyer,
Ms. Tannock, parliamentary drafter, is here in the
Chamber. She has done monumental work in bringing
this piece of legislation to the place where we could
consider it. And I think, you know, drafting is a very
specialised art. It is no small matter. So, I do take exception. Certainly, I briefly read . . . I was traveling. I
briefly read the article that was featured in the Royal
Gazette last Friday with some of the comments from
the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition. And I think somewhere there was a suggestion that my colleague, Min-ister Roban, in another place, suddenly laid this piece
of legislation. And I just have to say, Madam President, there has been nothing sudden about this piece
of legislation. It certainly has been on the legislative agenda since I took this seat. And constantly there
has been a refrain from my colleagues in Cabinet to
get this piece of legislation done.
So, I have heard a few adages around the
room today. I think it was . . . what was it? Measure
twice; cut once. Here is another one. Can’t win for
losing. If this piece of legislation wasn’t brought, I believe we would be hearing from the other side, What has happened with the Clean Air amendments that
have been promised? Here they are. We cannot do
110 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate everything at once. And I completely disagree that the
process of bringing legislation cannot be iterative. We
have to go. We cannot be here. If you live, like some
of my relatives do, within feet of BELCO, they are not
the people who are saying, You know, wait. Let’s have
another six months of consultation and get this right.
They want to see action right now because they are
affected by it. I understand that, you know, the Bermuda Clean Air Coalition may not have had the consultation the way they would have liked it, but it is
completely incorrect to say that there wasn’t any. And there is always the thing of how much is enough?
How well do we do it?
The point that I will take on board however is
Senator Wight’s that a piece of legislation as complex
as this could have benefited from an education session. And I would take that on board for future pieces of legislation. And it is my absolute commitment to
create a forum where we can have that. It took some
time for me sitting down with representatives from
DENR and our drafters to understand what we were trying to accomplish here, and to also understand why
the regulations are not here at the same time. They
are forthcoming. I understand it would be ideal to see
everything in a package. But sometimes that just isn’t the case.
But I want it to be said without doubt that best
efforts have been taken. Our drafters have worked, literally worked around the clock, overnight, to try to
make sure that this piece of legislation could be
brought before Parliament in a timely manner. And they have done so. And I am proud of the work that
has been done. Everything will not be perfect, but it is
our best effort. And that is our obligation, Madam President, as a Government, to put our best effort at
things in the time that we have.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Attorney General Wilkerson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Senator Simmons.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, Senator
Tucker’s question, amendments should not proceed if
not all consultation was considered. And the claim
was that we are rushing.
Madam President, I want to say that the
BCAC [gave] an 89- page consultation report [which]
was received after the deadline on the 31
st of August
2024. The DENR has considered all aspects of that
said report in the amendments. Many of the points
raised related to fines, manure legislation, et cetera, by the BCAC, were already addressed by feedback
from other entities that came forward.
Another question was, Why were regulations
not debated with the Act? The legal process for legislation requires the Act to be laid . . . the Act to first be
amended to create a regulatory -making powers before
regulations can be laid. The Clean Air Amendment
regulations will be tabled and debated early in the new
year through the affirmative resolution process.
Another question from Senator Tucker was
[regarding] the statutory nuisance fines. The fines are being issued[under a] statutory nuisance order under
the Clean Air Act [and] will be much greater (i.e., than
it is now): $20,000 plus $5,000 for each day thereafter, [as] compared to the Public Health Act 1949 which
is $420 plus $336 for each day thereafter. And Senator De Couto pretty much asked the same question.
And Senator Wight’s question was on water
quality in the BELCO area. DENR has required an
independent organisation [INAUDIBLE] to monitor
water quality in over 60 water tanks. These results
were compared to UK drinking water standards and
the World Health Organization (WHO). We have yet to
see figures of any primary drinking water standards or
WHO guidelines due to the BELCO soot.
I believe that was all the questions that were
asked, Madam President, of me.
The President: Yes, it would appear so. You have
addressed the questions that were asked.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: So, with that, Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled the Clean Air
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of
this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled Clean Air Amendment Act 2024
be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President, I object.
Bermuda Senate The President: We have one objection.
Are there any other . . . It appears we have
three objections.
An Hon. Senator : Second it.
The President: That is Senator Tucker, Senator Robinson and Senator De Couto.
An Hon. Senator : I do object.
The President: We will therefore have a vote.
[Pause]
The President: Senators, I am reminded that if there
are objections on the third reading we have to carry it
over to the next day of meeting unless there is a move
to suspend . . . On the third reading, we should carry it
over to the next day of meeting. However, if there is a
rejection of the third reading then we can . . .
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: Or suspension, I should say.
So, it is [Standing Order] 35—
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President —
The President: Yes.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I move that we suspend
[Standing Order] 35 in respect to the third reading.
The President: Is there any objection to the suspension?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senators, do you understand what we
are . . .
[Crosstalk]
The President: We want to have the—
[Crosstalk]
The President: Yes. If there is a motion to suspend —
An Hon. Senator : Then we would—
The President: —the third reading.
So, if you suspend that, then we will vote today.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 35
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Yes, I put a motion on to
suspend [Standing Order] 35 in respect to the third
reading, Madam President.
The President: Is there an objection to the suspension of [Standing Order] 35?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Well, we have to take a vote on the
suspension now.
[Crosstalk]
The President: In our regulations, any [Standing Order] can be suspended if there is a vote. [Standing Order] 35 allows a suspension of it being carried over.
So, we are going to take a vote on the suspension of [Standing Order] 35.
The Assistant Clerk: The Junior Minister has moved
that Standing Order 35 be suspended in order to allow for the third reading of the Clean Air Amendment Act
2024.
If you agree with suspending [Standing Order] 35, so we can move the passage of the Bill, vote
Aye. If you are in objection to the suspension of
[Standing Order] 35, [vote] Nay.
DIVISION
[Suspension of Standing Order 35]
Ayes: 7 Nays: 4
Sen. the Hon. O. Darrell Sen. Dr. D. De Couto
Sen. A. Hodgson Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. M. Fubler Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Lindsay Simmons Sen. John Wight
Sen. the Hon. K. Wilkerson
Sen. Kiernan Bell
Sen. Hon. J. Dillas -Wright
The Assistant Clerk: With a vote of seven to four, the
motion to suspend passes. It is affirmed.
[Motion to suspend Standing Order 35 passed by majority on division.]
[Standing Order 35 suspended.]
BILL
THIRD READING
CLEAN AIR AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
112 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate Madam President, I move that the Bill do now
pass.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
[Pause]
The President: No? There is no objection, so the Bill
is passed.
[Motion carried: The Clean Air Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons and thank you all, Senators.
We will now move on to our third order of the
day and that is the second reading of the Companies Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the spokesperson for Fi-nance.
Senator Hodgson, you may present your Bill
when you are ready.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to move that
the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
BILL
SECOND READING
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, the Bill before the Senate
is the Companies Amendment Act 2024
. This Bill
amends the Companies Act 1981 to remove the unin-tended exemption from annual corporate regulatory fees for certain classes of exempted companies and thereby ensures that these fees apply to all entities on Bermuda’s corporate register over which the Registrar
of Companies [ROC] has regulatory supervisory and
compliance oversight as was intended and communi-cated since the announcement of these fees.
Madam President, Senators will recall that on
8 March 2024, the Registrar of Companies (Annual
Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 and the Regis-trar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 were passed by the Legisla-ture. In order to include corporate regulatory fee reve-nue in the 2023/24 Budget as forecast, the 2024 Acts took effect from the first reading in the House of As-sembly on 9 February 2024, with the written consent of the Governor pursuant to section 2(1) of the Provi-sional Collection of Revenue Act 1975.
Madam President, Senators will recall that on
the 28 June 2024 the Registrar of Companies Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees Amendment Act 2024 was passed to amend the commencement date of the 2024 Acts to 1 January 2024 and to allow for an ex-ceptional payment deadline for 2024 only.
Madam President, subsequent to the passing
of the 2024 Acts and the Amendment Act, an unin-tended exemption from corporate regulatory fees for certain classes of exempted companies was identified under section 131(2B) of the Companies Act 1981. The original intent of this section was to immune certain classes of exempted companies from the standard annual fee based on accessible capital found in section 131 of the Companies Act 1981 in order to apply specified annual fee rates. As the corporate regulatory fee was added to section 131 of the Companies Act 1981, through the 2024 Acts, an unintended exemption from corporate regulatory fees was thus created.
Madam President, since the announcement of
the annual corporate regulatory fees in the 2023/24 Budget Statement, the intention to apply these fees to
all entities listed on Bermuda’s corporate register, has
been clearly articulated through statements made in the House of Assembly, in the Senate and through industry notices distributed directly through the corpo-rate register. This Bill simply achieves this aim by remedying the unintended exemption and ensuring
that all entities are subject to corporate regulatory
fees.
Madam President, this Bill amends the Companies Act 1981 to require that annual corporate regu-latory fees be paid by the specified classes of exempted companies previously unintentionally excused
from these fees. Further, the Bill validates any corpo-rate regulatory fees collected by the Registrar of Companies from the specified classes of the exempt-ed companies prior to the passing of this Bill and sets the commencement date for the Bill at 1 January 2024
in line with the 2024 Acts.
Madam President, the driving force behind the
introduction of these new regulatory fees is the ex-pansion of the role performed by the Registrar of Companies in recent years which has resulted in the need to hire significant numbers of additional skilled
personnel and enhance infrastructure. The introduction of these regulatory fees was expected to add ap-proximately $6 million to the public purse each year.
Madam President, as of 15 November [2024]
approximately $5.5 million of the projected $6 million in the corporate regulatory fee revenue [from] 2024
had been collected. A breakdown of what proportion
Bermuda Senate of this total has been collected from entities subject to
the unintended exemption is unavailable at this time.
However, given that the exclusion applies to approximately 2,000 exempted companies on the corporate
register, this figure will be significant.
Madam President, in summary, this Bill is a
housekeeping one necessary to ensure that all exempted companies are subject to the corporate regulatory fee and to validate any payments received from
exempted entities prior to the passing of this Bill.
Madam President, with those brief introductory remarks I now present the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 and I welcome positive
comments from other Members of the Senate.
[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISITOR
The President: And before I open the floor, I would
just like to acknowledge that we did have the pres-ence of the Deputy Premier, Mr. Walter Roban, who
has just stepped out. So, I do thank him for his presence.
And now the Deputy Premier has returned.
Welcome to you, sir.
[Companies Amendment Act 2024, second reading
debate, continuing]
The President: And as an FYI [For Your Information]
I just want to inform Senators that the streaming has
not been improved but that the—
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: Pardon?
[Crosstalk]
The President: The Internet. The Internet is on but
the streaming, unfortunately is not up yet.
Would any Senator like to speak to this Bill
that has just been presented, the Companies Amendment Act 2024?
Yes, Senator De Couto, you have the floor.
Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto
Thank you, Madam President. We are supportive of the tidying- up that is in this Bill and correcting the oversights. As you know from our previous debates on things around the Registrar of Companies, we are also supportive of the work that it is doing and the changes in the …
Thank you, Madam
President.
We are supportive of the tidying- up that is in
this Bill and correcting the oversights. As you know from our previous debates on things around the Registrar of Companies, we are also supportive of the
work that it is doing and the changes in the legislation
and the fees to enable it to carry out its increasing
regulatory functions, some of which, for example, we touched on earlier with respect to the CIT information.
So, in short, we are supportive. Thank you,
President.
We are supportive of the tidying- up that is in
this Bill and correcting the oversights. As you know from our previous debates on things around the Registrar of Companies, we are also supportive of the
work that it is doing and the changes in the legislation
and the fees to enable it to carry out its increasing
regulatory functions, some of which, for example, we touched on earlier with respect to the CIT information.
So, in short, we are supportive. Thank you,
Madam President.
The President
Thank you, Senator De Couto. Senator John Wight, you have the floor. Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President. I am fully supportive of the Senator’s Bill. So, thank you, Madam President. The President: Thank you. Would any other Senator care to speak on this Bill? Hearing none, then it …
Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am fully supportive of the Senator’s Bill. So,
thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Senator
Hodgson.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I tend to get support on my Finance Bills —
[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: —from Senator White and
Senator De Couto, so I appreciate that support again this morning.
Given that there were no questions asked,
Madam President, I would like to move that the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there an objection to that Motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Companies
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
114 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate BILL
THIRD READING
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Companies Amendment Act
2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. And thank you all, Senators.
We will now move on to the fourth item on the
Orders of the Day and that is the second reading of the Customs Department Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of the Attorney General, Minister Kim Wilkerson, spokesperson for National Security.
You have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Thank you, Madam
President. This Bill is the
Customs Department
Amendment Act 2024 .
Madam President, Honourable Senators are
requested to now give consideration to the Bill entitled Customs Department Amendment Act 2024.
Madam President, the Bill proposes to amend
the Customs Department Act of 1952, which is the principal Act, to empower the Collector of Customs to cooperate with domestic authorities and international
counterparts and address specific deficiencies as identified by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), assessors in Bermuda’s 2020 Mutual Evaluation Report. These deficiencies identified by CFATF assessors relate to the retention, use and
safeguarding of custom’s declaration information and
other information obtained from custom’s operations.
Madam President, the proposed changes
form a vital part of Government’s continuing efforts to
align Bermuda’s anti -money laundering and anti -
terrorist financing (AML/ATF) legislative framework
within the requirements stipulated by the Financial Action Task Force international standards on combat-ing money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. Madam President, Honourable Senators will
recall that in January 2020 the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, of which Bermuda is a member, published Bermuda’s Mutual Evaluation Report. In
that report it recognised Bermuda’s high degree of
compliance with the FATF standards and the effectiveness of our system for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing. Nevertheless, Bermuda received only a partial compliant rating for FATF Rec-ommendation 32.
Madam President, Recommendation 32 requires countries to have effective systems in place to detect and prevent the movement across borders of elicit proceeds of crime in the form of cash and nego-tiable instruments. Countries are also required to have in place adequate measures to enable effective cross -
border cooperation between counterpart border pro-tection authorities in different countries.
Madam President, through the provisions of
this Bill Government seeks to achieve full compliance
with Recommendation 32 during CFATF ’s 5
th Round
of Mutual Evaluation of Bermuda which will be in 2026. All submissions to outline how Bermuda has
addressed the technical requirement in any recom-mendation must be submitted by Bermuda to the Car-ibbean Financial Action Task Force [CFATF] Secretar-iat beginning in September 2026.
Madam President, the Bill proposes to amend
the principal Act with new provisions giving the Cus-toms Department legal authority to cooperate with counterpart customs authorities and, where appropri-ate, other overseas law enforcement authorities, in-cluding the authority to enter into arrangements with
counterparts or with regional or global customs organisations and law enforcement authorities for the pur-poses of cooperation.
This authority will also empower customs officers in the discharge of their statutory functions to
use information obtained from the counterpart customs authorities or other overseas law enforcement authorities. Under the Bill the Customs Department is required to exercise such powers with foreign parties only where there is a treaty or agreement that pro-vides us to enable the exercise of such powers.
Madam President, the Bill also proposes to
amend the principal Act to provide the Customs De-partment with legal authority to cooperate with domes-tic competent authorities , such as the Financial Intelligence Agency and the Bermuda Police Service, and
to enter into arrangements for cooperation with them
or with any other specified domestic authorities as provided in the Bill. This authority will empower cus-toms officers in the exercise of their customs functions to use information obtained from domestic authorities in the discharge of their statutory functions.
Bermuda Senate Madam President, the Bill further proposes to
amend the principal Act to provide the Customs Department with authority to
• share information and intelligence with counterpart custom authorities, other overseas law
enforcement authorities and with appropriate
domestic authorities;
• require the Customs Department to retain the
records and other information obtained from
customs operations for a minimum period of
six years;
• specify data protection and confidentiality requirements in relation to information collected
by the Customs Department;
• allow the Customs Department to charge an
administrative fee for the sharing of customs
information;
• empower the Minister to make regulations;
and
• provide savings of extant agreements for national and international cooperation.
Madam President, finally, the Bill makes consequential amendments to the Revenue Act making
explicit provision that the Collector of Customs declaration notices do not require parliamentary scrutiny and adding the principal Act to the list of outlying enactments in the Revenue Act.
In addition, the opportunity has been taken to
do a little housekeeping, clarifying the application of
the charge for the manual input of [Bermuda] Customs Declaration[s] as provided in the Government Fees Regulations 1976.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister and Attorney
General, Kim Wilkerson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
We support this particular legislation, especially when it comes to strengthening our anti -money
laundering and terrorism financing which is extremely important to not only our reputation globally but also our reputation domestically in making sure that we
can align ourselves and integrate ourselves with our
allies and other ports of entrance that we are working with. So, I think that is a great step in the right direction.
I also support not settling for partially compliant and that we are gunning for a full compliance in
2026. That is always where we want to sit as a jurisdiction and as a people. So, I think that that is a very straightforward and admirable goal right there.
I just wanted to get one question. If I could get
a bit of insight from the Attorney General on the capa-bilities of Customs as it stands right now to kind of maintain, assess and utilise or keep up with this sort
of information that they will be required now to participate in, and just whether or not she feels confident in
their current abilities as far as information storing and
safety of that information and whether or not anything needs to be improved in order for us to get there to
properly work with and support this initiative.
But I also wanted to say as well that the domestic housekeeping as well is very appreciated because I myself have always advocated for a bit more
integration with our uniform services. So, I welcome hearing that this amendment also allows for the Customs to work a bit more closely with our police and
other services here on the Island.
So, with that, Madam President, we support
this amendment. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank Senator Wilkerson for
presenting this and I am fully supportive of it.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the
floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
Like my Senate colleagues, I do support this
Bill. I think it is important for Bermuda to continue to
guard its reputation as buttoned- up financial centre
which combats financial crime. This Bill is on all fours
with that agenda, and it enhances the Customs Department’s ability to control and monitor significant
cross border cash and provides a sensible and robust
legal framework for information sharing amongst both
local and international law enforcement.
So, I too thank the Attorney General for bringing this Bill. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Vice President
Kiernan Bell. Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Attorney
General and Minister, Kim Wilkerson.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Customs Department Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
116 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
BILL
THIRD READING
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled Customs Department Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
No objection. The Bill has passed.
[Motion carried: The Customs Department Amend-ment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Minister Wilkerson, Attorney General. And thank you, all Senators.
We will now move on to the last item on our
Orders of the Day and that is the second reading of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of Senator Arianna
Hodgson, spokesperson for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, you can present your Bill
when you are ready.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President, I would like to move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2024 be
now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
BILL
SECOND READING
BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
the [Senate] the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Monetary
Authority Amendment Act 2024 .
The Bill amends the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 to clarify the securities that the Ber-muda Monetary Authority is permitted to invest in to provide for a waiver or reduction of fees payable in
relation to the innovation hub and to amend the Fourth
and Fifth Schedules of the Act with respect to fees.
Madam President, Bermuda’s financial services sector is subject to the regulation and supervi-sion of the Authority. The Authority was established under the Act. The Authority operates pursuant to the
Act which provides it with a number of principal objects including supervision, regulation and inspection of financial institutions operating in or from within Bermuda.
Madam President, the Authority is mandated
to act as advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy matters related to any financial institution. According-ly, the Authority proposes laws where it can do so ap-propriately and consistently with its function under the Act.
Madam President, the key highlights of the Bill
before us are as follows: Amending the definition of “specified securities.”
Section 19 of the Act requires the Authority to
maintain a reserve of external and local assets that shall be in value not less than an amount equivalent to 50 per cent of the total liabilities of the Authority in
relation to the face value of currency notes and coins
in circulation. Senators are advised that as a matter of practice the Authority has been keeping a reserve of external assets above 100 per cent for the past five
years. Accordingly, the Authority maintains reserve of
external and local assets and ensures that they are
invested prudently in accordance with the require-ments of the Act.
Madam President, the reserve of external and
local assets requirements ensures that the Authority maintains sufficient liquidity in case of significant currency redemption due to various factors such as economic crisis or the Bermuda dollar losing its value.
Madam President, in 2022, the Act was
amended to update the range of permitted securities in which such reserves could be held. This change allowed the Authority’s board of directors through its
investment committee to adjust such securities as required to react to future market conditions in accord-ance with the Act.
Madam President, the Authority proposes to
further refine the types of securities that the Authority may purchase and hold by expressly precluding investments in firms that the Authority regulates.
Bermuda Senate Senators are advised that as a practical matter the Authority’s current investment guidelines preclude the Authority from investing in shares of any
company that it regulates. To avoid any doubt, the
Authority has never traded in equities, currently has no appetite to do so, and has never sought to invest in
firms that it regulates.
Madam President, it has not, nor has it ever
been the Authority’s intention to run the risk of having
conflicts of interest regarding its investments. This
change will clarify that the Authority will not invest in any entity that it regulates.
Provision for waiver or reduction of fees payable in relation to the innovation hub: Madam Presi-dent, the Authority recognises the importance of innovation in the financial services industry and the critical
role that innovation plays in promoting efficiency and enhancing competitiveness in the market. The innovation hub was set up to foster such innovation as an
option for companies looking to test new technologies
or business models.
Madam President, the Authority generally has
the power to reduce or waive fees in the sectors that it
regulates. However, this is not currently the case with
the innovation hub. Madam President, the Authority believes it is appropriate that such a power exist within the innovation hub so that it may be exercised at
the discretion of the Authority upon request from the applicant. Madam President, in addition to the benefits
for the marketplace and Bermuda, the Authority also
benefits from the innovation hub by learning about
potential new products and business models including
how to regulate them effectively. These innovations
often come from startups where funding can be lim-ited. And the Authority would not wish to see innovations stifled where it may otherwise have been possi-ble. Therefore, in certain circumstances it would be beneficial for the Authority to have the power to reduce or waive fees in this realm.
And finally, proposed changes to the Fourth
and Fifth Fee Schedules of the Act: It is important that
the fees charged by the Authority reflect and align with
the cost of appropriately overseeing regulated financial institutions and enable the efficient facilitation of supervisory activities.
Madam President, the key highlights of the
fee-related amendments are as follows:
The Authority proposes to introduce a $2,840
fee in respect of an application for a recognition certif-icate and a $10,000 annual business fee for recog-nised bodies payable following the commencement of
the Investment Business Amendment Act 2024.
Madam President, the proposed fees consider
the existing fees for investment providers under the Investment Business Act 2003, and the nature of
regulated activities of recognised bodies. Madam President, there is currently one recognised body in
Bermuda; namely, the Bermuda Stock Exchange
which has been kept up to date on these fees. In 2022, the Authority signalled to the market
that the fees applicable to certain investment providers would be kept under review given the nature and
complexity of the products and service offerings of an
in-scope entity. In line with this, the Authority proposes to increase the application and annual fees for investment provider’s licence pursuant to the IBA, offering over -the-counter [OTC] leverage products to retail
clients to $25,000 and $100,000, respectively. Cur-rently, the application fee and the annual business
fees are $2,840 and $13,560, respectively.
Madam President, there are several reasons
for these proposed targeted IBA fee increases. Most
notably consistency with comparable fees and other
regulatory sectors and to better align the fees in question with the associated regulatory and supervisory
activities required of the Authority.
Madam President, the current IBA annual fee
applicable to investment providers offering OTC leverage products to retail clients is not aligned with
comparable annual fee under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 [DABA] framework where the activities
are the same under both regimes but relates to digital
assets and investments. For example, Madam President, an investment provider offering OTC leverage
products to retail clients licenced both under the IBA
and Digital Asset Business Act would be subject to an
annual fee of $13,560 under the IBA and a minimum
fee of $100,000 under the DABA framework.
Madam President, the current fee does not
sufficiently account for supervisory efforts in respect of
providers of OTC leverage products to retail clients
given the inherently high risk associated with this ac-tivity. Recent updates to the IBA include enhanced
requirements for providers of OTC leverage products
with retail clients. Madam President, these enhanced
requirements have contributed to the elevation and
the nature and the extent to supervisory activities relating to these firms, including the expertise required
to ensure effective supervision.
Given the retail client profile and the complexity of the products offered, there is a need for more
frequent supervisory reviews relative to licensees
whose investment activities do not relate to derivatives.
Madam President, the proposed annual business fee more accurately reflects the supervisory ef-forts in this area and brings it in line with that charge
under the DABA regime for similar activities.
Madam President, as an administrative
measure, the Fourth Schedule under the heading In-vestment Funds Act 2006, is proposed to be amended
in paragraph 10. Madam President, currently this paragraph applies to transaction fees for section 25,
changes and notifications, as well as section 6 notifications. The notification of exclusion under section 6
was repealed some time ago. Therefore, this reference should be removed, and the inclusion of section
8(A)(8) changes should be added in its place. Madam
118 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate President, section 8(A)(8) changes pertain to the requirements for registered professional Class B funds
to obtain prior approval for changes to the director or
service provider.
Madam President, this is not a new provision.
However, not including the fee on the Schedule was
an oversight and this amendment will align this section with similar provisions in the Investment Funds
Act 2006 that incur a processing fee in relation to notification of changes. The transaction fee itself remains
unchanged at $310.
Madam President, the Authority proposes to
revise these fees to more accurately reflect the actual
cost of supervision. The fees for non- licensed persons
will be amended to a registration fee of $150 and an annual fee of $1,000. Currently the application fee and
the annual fee are $108 and $850, respectively. The increase is very modest, reflecting current economic
conditions and the fact that these fees have not been
modified for several years.
Madam President, in addition to the changes
described previously in relation to the innovation hub
the Authority intends to reduce the application and
extension fees for the innovation hub to $1,000 to reduce any possible barriers to innovation. Currently,
the application fee is $3,000 and the 12- month extension fee is $1,500.
Madam President, the Authority is making
some clarificatory changes to the wording used in the
metrics for fee calculations for Class 3A, 3B, and 4
insurers and designated insurers registered to carry run-off general business on behalf of an insurance
group in accordance with section 27B of the Insurance Act 1978. Specifically, a note has been added to clari-fy that the higher fee amount would apply when a registrant falls into more than one tier. The proposed changes should avoid any inconsistencies or uncer-tainty in determining the correct tier and the associated fee.
Madam President, the respective fee amounts
themselves remain unchanged. The fees range from
$24,550 to $446,800, depending on the class of the
insurer and the level of their gross reserves and assets. The proposed changes codify the approach that has been followed in practice.
Madam President, the Authority has corresponded directly with BILTR [ Bermuda International
Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers ] and ABIR [Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers] to inform them of these changes. The Authority also proposes to make some administrative changes to the Fifth
Schedule relating to the addition of Classes IIGB and
IILT, where applicable, and to clarify the Note pertaining to which supplementary annual fees under [paragraph] 7A and 7B of the Schedule are payable by
non-resident insurance undertakings.
Madam President, the proposals in this Act
were consulted on via Consultation Paper issued by
the Authority on 10 July 2024 which was accompanied by an illustrative draft Bill. No objections were received in relation to this consultation nor were any
informal representations made to the Authority —
[Audio ended abruptly .]
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am fully supportive of the Senator’s Bill. So,
thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Senator
Hodgson.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I tend to get support on my Finance Bills —
[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: —from Senator White and
Senator De Couto, so I appreciate that support again this morning.
Given that there were no questions asked,
Madam President, I would like to move that the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there an objection to that Motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Companies
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
114 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate BILL
THIRD READING
COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection. The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Companies Amendment Act
2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. And thank you all, Senators.
We will now move on to the fourth item on the
Orders of the Day and that is the second reading of the Customs Department Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of the Attorney General, Minister Kim Wilkerson, spokesperson for National Security.
You have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Thank you, Madam
President. This Bill is the
Customs Department
Amendment Act 2024 .
Madam President, Honourable Senators are
requested to now give consideration to the Bill entitled Customs Department Amendment Act 2024.
Madam President, the Bill proposes to amend
the Customs Department Act of 1952, which is the principal Act, to empower the Collector of Customs to cooperate with domestic authorities and international
counterparts and address specific deficiencies as identified by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), assessors in Bermuda’s 2020 Mutual Evaluation Report. These deficiencies identified by CFATF assessors relate to the retention, use and
safeguarding of custom’s declaration information and
other information obtained from custom’s operations.
Madam President, the proposed changes
form a vital part of Government’s continuing efforts to
align Bermuda’s anti -money laundering and anti -
terrorist financing (AML/ATF) legislative framework
within the requirements stipulated by the Financial Action Task Force international standards on combat-ing money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. Madam President, Honourable Senators will
recall that in January 2020 the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, of which Bermuda is a member, published Bermuda’s Mutual Evaluation Report. In
that report it recognised Bermuda’s high degree of
compliance with the FATF standards and the effectiveness of our system for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing. Nevertheless, Bermuda received only a partial compliant rating for FATF Rec-ommendation 32.
Madam President, Recommendation 32 requires countries to have effective systems in place to detect and prevent the movement across borders of elicit proceeds of crime in the form of cash and nego-tiable instruments. Countries are also required to have in place adequate measures to enable effective cross -
border cooperation between counterpart border pro-tection authorities in different countries.
Madam President, through the provisions of
this Bill Government seeks to achieve full compliance
with Recommendation 32 during CFATF ’s 5
th Round
of Mutual Evaluation of Bermuda which will be in 2026. All submissions to outline how Bermuda has
addressed the technical requirement in any recom-mendation must be submitted by Bermuda to the Car-ibbean Financial Action Task Force [CFATF] Secretar-iat beginning in September 2026.
Madam President, the Bill proposes to amend
the principal Act with new provisions giving the Cus-toms Department legal authority to cooperate with counterpart customs authorities and, where appropri-ate, other overseas law enforcement authorities, in-cluding the authority to enter into arrangements with
counterparts or with regional or global customs organisations and law enforcement authorities for the pur-poses of cooperation.
This authority will also empower customs officers in the discharge of their statutory functions to
use information obtained from the counterpart customs authorities or other overseas law enforcement authorities. Under the Bill the Customs Department is required to exercise such powers with foreign parties only where there is a treaty or agreement that pro-vides us to enable the exercise of such powers.
Madam President, the Bill also proposes to
amend the principal Act to provide the Customs De-partment with legal authority to cooperate with domes-tic competent authorities , such as the Financial Intelligence Agency and the Bermuda Police Service, and
to enter into arrangements for cooperation with them
or with any other specified domestic authorities as provided in the Bill. This authority will empower cus-toms officers in the exercise of their customs functions to use information obtained from domestic authorities in the discharge of their statutory functions.
Bermuda Senate Madam President, the Bill further proposes to
amend the principal Act to provide the Customs Department with authority to
• share information and intelligence with counterpart custom authorities, other overseas law
enforcement authorities and with appropriate
domestic authorities;
• require the Customs Department to retain the
records and other information obtained from
customs operations for a minimum period of
six years;
• specify data protection and confidentiality requirements in relation to information collected
by the Customs Department;
• allow the Customs Department to charge an
administrative fee for the sharing of customs
information;
• empower the Minister to make regulations;
and
• provide savings of extant agreements for national and international cooperation.
Madam President, finally, the Bill makes consequential amendments to the Revenue Act making
explicit provision that the Collector of Customs declaration notices do not require parliamentary scrutiny and adding the principal Act to the list of outlying enactments in the Revenue Act.
In addition, the opportunity has been taken to
do a little housekeeping, clarifying the application of
the charge for the manual input of [Bermuda] Customs Declaration[s] as provided in the Government Fees Regulations 1976.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister and Attorney
General, Kim Wilkerson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the
floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
We support this particular legislation, especially when it comes to strengthening our anti -money
laundering and terrorism financing which is extremely important to not only our reputation globally but also our reputation domestically in making sure that we
can align ourselves and integrate ourselves with our
allies and other ports of entrance that we are working with. So, I think that is a great step in the right direction.
I also support not settling for partially compliant and that we are gunning for a full compliance in
2026. That is always where we want to sit as a jurisdiction and as a people. So, I think that that is a very straightforward and admirable goal right there.
I just wanted to get one question. If I could get
a bit of insight from the Attorney General on the capa-bilities of Customs as it stands right now to kind of maintain, assess and utilise or keep up with this sort
of information that they will be required now to participate in, and just whether or not she feels confident in
their current abilities as far as information storing and
safety of that information and whether or not anything needs to be improved in order for us to get there to
properly work with and support this initiative.
But I also wanted to say as well that the domestic housekeeping as well is very appreciated because I myself have always advocated for a bit more
integration with our uniform services. So, I welcome hearing that this amendment also allows for the Customs to work a bit more closely with our police and
other services here on the Island.
So, with that, Madam President, we support
this amendment. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to thank Senator Wilkerson for
presenting this and I am fully supportive of it.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the
floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
Like my Senate colleagues, I do support this
Bill. I think it is important for Bermuda to continue to
guard its reputation as buttoned- up financial centre
which combats financial crime. This Bill is on all fours
with that agenda, and it enhances the Customs Department’s ability to control and monitor significant
cross border cash and provides a sensible and robust
legal framework for information sharing amongst both
local and international law enforcement.
So, I too thank the Attorney General for bringing this Bill. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Vice President
Kiernan Bell. Would any other Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Attorney
General and Minister, Kim Wilkerson.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled the Customs Department Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
116 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that Standing Order 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that Motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
BILL
THIRD READING
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill entitled Customs Department Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third
reading?
No objection.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passage
of the Bill?
No objection. The Bill has passed.
[Motion carried: The Customs Department Amend-ment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Minister Wilkerson, Attorney General. And thank you, all Senators.
We will now move on to the last item on our
Orders of the Day and that is the second reading of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of Senator Arianna
Hodgson, spokesperson for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, you can present your Bill
when you are ready.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President, I would like to move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda Monetary Authority Amendment Act 2024 be
now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
BILL
SECOND READING
BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
the [Senate] the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Monetary
Authority Amendment Act 2024 .
The Bill amends the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969 to clarify the securities that the Ber-muda Monetary Authority is permitted to invest in to provide for a waiver or reduction of fees payable in
relation to the innovation hub and to amend the Fourth
and Fifth Schedules of the Act with respect to fees.
Madam President, Bermuda’s financial services sector is subject to the regulation and supervi-sion of the Authority. The Authority was established under the Act. The Authority operates pursuant to the
Act which provides it with a number of principal objects including supervision, regulation and inspection of financial institutions operating in or from within Bermuda.
Madam President, the Authority is mandated
to act as advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy matters related to any financial institution. According-ly, the Authority proposes laws where it can do so ap-propriately and consistently with its function under the Act.
Madam President, the key highlights of the Bill
before us are as follows: Amending the definition of “specified securities.”
Section 19 of the Act requires the Authority to
maintain a reserve of external and local assets that shall be in value not less than an amount equivalent to 50 per cent of the total liabilities of the Authority in
relation to the face value of currency notes and coins
in circulation. Senators are advised that as a matter of practice the Authority has been keeping a reserve of external assets above 100 per cent for the past five
years. Accordingly, the Authority maintains reserve of
external and local assets and ensures that they are
invested prudently in accordance with the require-ments of the Act.
Madam President, the reserve of external and
local assets requirements ensures that the Authority maintains sufficient liquidity in case of significant currency redemption due to various factors such as economic crisis or the Bermuda dollar losing its value.
Madam President, in 2022, the Act was
amended to update the range of permitted securities in which such reserves could be held. This change allowed the Authority’s board of directors through its
investment committee to adjust such securities as required to react to future market conditions in accord-ance with the Act.
Madam President, the Authority proposes to
further refine the types of securities that the Authority may purchase and hold by expressly precluding investments in firms that the Authority regulates.
Bermuda Senate Senators are advised that as a practical matter the Authority’s current investment guidelines preclude the Authority from investing in shares of any
company that it regulates. To avoid any doubt, the
Authority has never traded in equities, currently has no appetite to do so, and has never sought to invest in
firms that it regulates.
Madam President, it has not, nor has it ever
been the Authority’s intention to run the risk of having
conflicts of interest regarding its investments. This
change will clarify that the Authority will not invest in any entity that it regulates.
Provision for waiver or reduction of fees payable in relation to the innovation hub: Madam Presi-dent, the Authority recognises the importance of innovation in the financial services industry and the critical
role that innovation plays in promoting efficiency and enhancing competitiveness in the market. The innovation hub was set up to foster such innovation as an
option for companies looking to test new technologies
or business models.
Madam President, the Authority generally has
the power to reduce or waive fees in the sectors that it
regulates. However, this is not currently the case with
the innovation hub. Madam President, the Authority believes it is appropriate that such a power exist within the innovation hub so that it may be exercised at
the discretion of the Authority upon request from the applicant. Madam President, in addition to the benefits
for the marketplace and Bermuda, the Authority also
benefits from the innovation hub by learning about
potential new products and business models including
how to regulate them effectively. These innovations
often come from startups where funding can be lim-ited. And the Authority would not wish to see innovations stifled where it may otherwise have been possi-ble. Therefore, in certain circumstances it would be beneficial for the Authority to have the power to reduce or waive fees in this realm.
And finally, proposed changes to the Fourth
and Fifth Fee Schedules of the Act: It is important that
the fees charged by the Authority reflect and align with
the cost of appropriately overseeing regulated financial institutions and enable the efficient facilitation of supervisory activities.
Madam President, the key highlights of the
fee-related amendments are as follows:
The Authority proposes to introduce a $2,840
fee in respect of an application for a recognition certif-icate and a $10,000 annual business fee for recog-nised bodies payable following the commencement of
the Investment Business Amendment Act 2024.
Madam President, the proposed fees consider
the existing fees for investment providers under the Investment Business Act 2003, and the nature of
regulated activities of recognised bodies. Madam President, there is currently one recognised body in
Bermuda; namely, the Bermuda Stock Exchange
which has been kept up to date on these fees. In 2022, the Authority signalled to the market
that the fees applicable to certain investment providers would be kept under review given the nature and
complexity of the products and service offerings of an
in-scope entity. In line with this, the Authority proposes to increase the application and annual fees for investment provider’s licence pursuant to the IBA, offering over -the-counter [OTC] leverage products to retail
clients to $25,000 and $100,000, respectively. Cur-rently, the application fee and the annual business
fees are $2,840 and $13,560, respectively.
Madam President, there are several reasons
for these proposed targeted IBA fee increases. Most
notably consistency with comparable fees and other
regulatory sectors and to better align the fees in question with the associated regulatory and supervisory
activities required of the Authority.
Madam President, the current IBA annual fee
applicable to investment providers offering OTC leverage products to retail clients is not aligned with
comparable annual fee under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 [DABA] framework where the activities
are the same under both regimes but relates to digital
assets and investments. For example, Madam President, an investment provider offering OTC leverage
products to retail clients licenced both under the IBA
and Digital Asset Business Act would be subject to an
annual fee of $13,560 under the IBA and a minimum
fee of $100,000 under the DABA framework.
Madam President, the current fee does not
sufficiently account for supervisory efforts in respect of
providers of OTC leverage products to retail clients
given the inherently high risk associated with this ac-tivity. Recent updates to the IBA include enhanced
requirements for providers of OTC leverage products
with retail clients. Madam President, these enhanced
requirements have contributed to the elevation and
the nature and the extent to supervisory activities relating to these firms, including the expertise required
to ensure effective supervision.
Given the retail client profile and the complexity of the products offered, there is a need for more
frequent supervisory reviews relative to licensees
whose investment activities do not relate to derivatives.
Madam President, the proposed annual business fee more accurately reflects the supervisory ef-forts in this area and brings it in line with that charge
under the DABA regime for similar activities.
Madam President, as an administrative
measure, the Fourth Schedule under the heading In-vestment Funds Act 2006, is proposed to be amended
in paragraph 10. Madam President, currently this paragraph applies to transaction fees for section 25,
changes and notifications, as well as section 6 notifications. The notification of exclusion under section 6
was repealed some time ago. Therefore, this reference should be removed, and the inclusion of section
8(A)(8) changes should be added in its place. Madam
118 18 December 2024 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda Senate President, section 8(A)(8) changes pertain to the requirements for registered professional Class B funds
to obtain prior approval for changes to the director or
service provider.
Madam President, this is not a new provision.
However, not including the fee on the Schedule was
an oversight and this amendment will align this section with similar provisions in the Investment Funds
Act 2006 that incur a processing fee in relation to notification of changes. The transaction fee itself remains
unchanged at $310.
Madam President, the Authority proposes to
revise these fees to more accurately reflect the actual
cost of supervision. The fees for non- licensed persons
will be amended to a registration fee of $150 and an annual fee of $1,000. Currently the application fee and
the annual fee are $108 and $850, respectively. The increase is very modest, reflecting current economic
conditions and the fact that these fees have not been
modified for several years.
Madam President, in addition to the changes
described previously in relation to the innovation hub
the Authority intends to reduce the application and
extension fees for the innovation hub to $1,000 to reduce any possible barriers to innovation. Currently,
the application fee is $3,000 and the 12- month extension fee is $1,500.
Madam President, the Authority is making
some clarificatory changes to the wording used in the
metrics for fee calculations for Class 3A, 3B, and 4
insurers and designated insurers registered to carry run-off general business on behalf of an insurance
group in accordance with section 27B of the Insurance Act 1978. Specifically, a note has been added to clari-fy that the higher fee amount would apply when a registrant falls into more than one tier. The proposed changes should avoid any inconsistencies or uncer-tainty in determining the correct tier and the associated fee.
Madam President, the respective fee amounts
themselves remain unchanged. The fees range from
$24,550 to $446,800, depending on the class of the
insurer and the level of their gross reserves and assets. The proposed changes codify the approach that has been followed in practice.
Madam President, the Authority has corresponded directly with BILTR [ Bermuda International
Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers ] and ABIR [Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers] to inform them of these changes. The Authority also proposes to make some administrative changes to the Fifth
Schedule relating to the addition of Classes IIGB and
IILT, where applicable, and to clarify the Note pertaining to which supplementary annual fees under [paragraph] 7A and 7B of the Schedule are payable by
non-resident insurance undertakings.
Madam President, the proposals in this Act
were consulted on via Consultation Paper issued by
the Authority on 10 July 2024 which was accompanied by an illustrative draft Bill. No objections were received in relation to this consultation nor were any
informal representations made to the Authority —
[Audio ended abruptly .]
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