Sitting of the House of Representatives on Friday, 19th May 2023

On Friday, 19^th May 2023, Honourable Members met in the National Assembly Chamber, in Belmopan for a Sitting of the House of Representatives. The meeting began at 10:29 A.M. with the Belizean National Prayer offered by Mr. Mark Humes.

Following the National Prayer, the Honourable Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House of Representatives, acknowledged the Kuxlin Ha Government School students and teachers present in the Public Galleries.

From here on, the following SIX (6) Sessional Papers were presented and ordered to be laid on the Table:

No. HR183A/1/13 – Sugar Industry (Licence to Import/Export Sugar) Regulations, 2023.

No. HR183B/1/13 – Belize Port Authority (Tariff) (Amendment) Regulations, 2004.

No. HR183C/1/13 – Belize Port Authority (Tariff) (Amendment) Regulations, 2008.

No. HR183D/1/13 – Belize Port Authority (Verified Gross Mass) Regulations, 2016.

No. HR183E/1/13 – Belize Port Authority (Tariff) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020.

No. HR183F/1/13 – Belize Port Authority (Pilotage) Regulations, 2023.

Thereafter Reports from the Finance and Economic Development Committee were presented and laid on the Table as follows:

No. HR184/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the Credit Unions (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR185/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the Central Bank of Belize (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR186/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the Domestic Banks and Financial Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR187/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the International Banking (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR188/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the Moneylenders (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR189/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the National Payment System (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR190/1/13 – Report from the Finance and Economic Development Committee on the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Afterwards, Reports from the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee were presented and ordered to lie on the Table as follows:

No. HR191/1/13 – Report from the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee on the Law Revision (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

No. HR192/1/13 – Report from the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee on the Special Prosecutor Bill, 2023.

No. HR193/1/13 – Report from the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee on the Motion for the Establishment of the Women’s Parliamentarian Caucus Standing Committee, 2023.

After the Reports from the Committees were laid on the table, the Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Member for Mesopotamia rose to ask the TWO (2) questions.

*For more information on the content of the questions and the responses, kindly refer to the Orders of the Day and the live broadcast of the Sitting.*

For this Sitting of the House of Representatives, a total of SEVEN (7) Bills were introduced between the Honourable Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development and the Honourable Minister of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, namely:

Belize Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2023;
Financial Intelligence Unit (Amendment) Bill, 2023;
Insurance Bill, 2023;
Civil Asset Recovery and Unexplained Wealth Bill, 2023;
International Limited Liability Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2023;
Lotteries Control (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and
Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The Lotteries Control (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was the only Bill introduced and taken through all of its stages.

Next on the Orders of the Day, the Motion for the Establishment of the Women’s Parliamentarian Caucus Standing Committee, 2023 previously introduced to the House of Representatives was approved.

The Honourable Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment, rose to introduce the following THREE (3) Motions:

Saudi Fund for Development Tertiary Level Hospital Project in Belmopan 168,750,000 Saudi Riyals Loan Motion, 2023;

Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) – Amendment No. 1 to Loan Agreements No. 1997, 2061, 2054, 2147 and 2295, Loan Amendment Motion, 2023; and

Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) – Amendment No. 2 to Loan Agreement No. 025-106001, Loan Amendment Motion, 2023.

Of the THREE (3) Motions that were introduced, only the Saudi Fund for Development Tertiary Level Hospital Project in Belmopan 168,750,000 Saudi Riyals Loan Motion, 2023 was approved.

Of the TEN (10) Bills that went through all their stages, the Credit Unions (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed with amendments.

The following Bills were passed without amendment: