Parliament of The Bahamas - Legislative Procedure

Legislative Procedure

Most of the laws passed by Parliament are for the modification or amendment of existing laws.

Article 52(2) of the Constitution empowers Parliament to make laws by the passing of a bill (proposed law). Most bills are introduced into Parliament by a Government minister, but in principle any parliamentarian may introduce a bill. A bill must be passed by both the House of Assembly and Senate, and then must be formally assented to by the Governor-General, before it becomes law.

There are currently four main classifications of Bills: public, money, private member, and private bills.

A bill must pass through a series of stages in order to be passed by each chamber, with a vote taken at each stage. The procedure in the House of Assembly is as follows:

1. A bill is formally introduced into Parliament at the first reading; this stage is generally a formality, with the bill's long title being read out and the presiding officer placing the motion without debate. After the first reading, the Speaker orders the bill to be printed; it is then numbered, circulated to members of Parliament, and made available to the public.
2. At the second reading, the principle of the bill is debated.
3. At the committal stage, the entire House of Assembly sits as a Committee of the Whole House, with the Speaker leaving the chair and the Deputy Speaker presiding as Chairperson. During this stage the bill is examined clause by clause, with detailed amendments considered. After the bill has been dealt with in Committee, the Chairperson formally reports to the Speaker the outcome of the Committee's deliberations, including what amendments have been made.
4. The third reading is the final stage; the motion made by the Speaker for the third reading is usually agreed to without debate. Once a bill has had its third reading, the Speaker orders the bill passed, and instructs the Chief Clerk to take the bill to the Senate for its consideration.

Each Bill consists of five main parts: the long title, the short title, the interpretation clause, the main body of the Bill and the objects and reasons. The long title is a description of the nature of the Bill and covers the intent of the Bill. The Short title follows the long title and labels the Bill for identification purposes. The short title sometimes also, contains the commencement clause, which states when the Bill will have legal force. The short title in turn is followed by the interpretation clause, which defines certain words and phrases used in the Bill. The body of the Bill consists of all of the other clauses, which contain the provisions of the Bill, that is, they contain all of the measures that the Bill is enacting. The objects and reasons is the final part of a Bill and it seeks to explain in layman’s terms the purpose of the Bill and the reason why it is necessary.