Several bills aimed at encouraging growth and investment in the economy were passed in the Senate yesterday.

Senator Kim Wilson said the six pieces of legislation would lift barriers for business and create savings, particularly for partnerships.

The Companies Amendment Act 2009, Stamp Duties Amendment Act 2009, Partnership Amendment Act 2009, Exempted Partnership Amendment Act 2009, Limited Partnership Amendment Act 2009 and Overseas Partnership Amendment Act 2009 were all passed by Senators.

All the partnership acts will provide options for partnerships which say they need flexibility and certainty in structuring their deals.

The Exempted Partnership Amendment Act means some control over those companies will transfer from the Ministry of Finance to the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The Limited Partnership Amendment Act seeks to align the legislative framework needed to register limited partnerships with those already in place to register companies.

The Partnership Amendment Act settles an ambiguity in the wording of its previous incarnation. The term "judgment debt" covers all obligations rather than a debt of the partnership, Sen. Wilson said.

The Companies Amendment Act will put Bermuda more closely in line with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US in terms of e-commerce.

From now on, a document posted on a website will be deemed to have been delivered to a person, as long as the company in question has given notice that the document is online and provided instructions on how to access it.

Sen. Wilson added that shareholders are now able to opt out of receiving hard copies of documents, saving money and helping the environment by cutting down on paper.

The Companies Amendment Act also modifies the requirements for an exempt company's local representation. The amendment means that an exempted company now needs only one director living in Bermuda rather than two.

Sen. Wilson introduced the Stamp Duties Amendment Act as a measure to clarify that duty relief applied to aircraft as well as ships wishing to register in Bermuda, explaining the ambiguous use of the term "vessels".

There were no objections to the legislation in the Senate yesterday.