Daylight savings change approved

A change in daylight savings for Bermuda, extending official summer time by four weeks in a move that follows the US decision to increase Daylight Saving Time by one month from March next year, has been approved by senators.

Currently both Bermuda and the US start official summer time on the first Sunday in April and turn the clocks back an hour on the last Sunday in October.

From next March the routine will be to turn clocks forward an hour on the second Sunday in March and back again on the first Sunday in November.

Such a move keeps the Island in step with the US, which is seen as an important consideration regarding commerce on the Island and to reduce confusion for airlines and tourists coming to the Island.

A brief history of daylight saving and its introduction was given to senators by Minister of Works and Engineering , as he introduced the Time Zone (seasonal variation) Bill 2006.

He admitted that one of the reasons given for the daylight saving in other parts of the world ? to save energy consumption ? did not appear to apply to Bermuda with its all year round demand for air-conditioning.

UBP senator , commented: ?Bermuda has become more integrated in the world of International business and we have to go along with the US. It would be absurd for Bermuda to be out of sync.?

New rules for business partnerships

The status of business partnerships in Bermuda is to be aligned almost identically with how they are viewed in the eyes of the law in Scotland and various US states.

It means that if the make-up of a business partnership changes, such as by a partner leaving and a new partner joining, the business contracts and deals it is already subject to do not become legally void.

A business partnership is to become a ?legal personality? irrespective of who the actual partners are and whether they change.

The new rules, which come in the Partnership Amendment Bill 2006, enable partnerships to sue or to be sued in their own right and addresses problems that have currently arisen with the law viewing partners as working together only in a temporary association and falling into a grey area should the original partnership alter because one of the partners is replaced by a new person.

However, Sen. , who presented the Bill at Senate pointed out the amendment will not make a partnership a body corporate or a company.

Opposition Sen. supported the legislative upgrade and said: ?Partners are still liable in law. There is no limited liability despite partnerships now being a ?legal personality? ? if you are in a partnership you are still ?on the hook?, it is not putting a partnership on the same level as a corporation (that has limited liability). If you go bust the creditors can come looking for you personally.?

The Bill was passed.

Ministry would be in charge of PTB

Bermuda has moved a step closer to bringing the Public Transportation Board fully under the wing of Government.

A new bill that will bring the PTB quango into central Government control has been passed by the Senate.

The Governor will no longer appoint members of the PTB, this role is to switch to the Tourism and Transport Minister as the quango becomes part of the Civil Service.

Sen. , who introduced the Public Transportation Board Amendment Bill 2006 to the Senate said it formed part of the Government?s vision to untangle the Island?s quangos.

He added: ?It brings in a new era of accountability and makes it more relevant to its hard-working employees.?

UBP Sen. praised Transport Minister Ewart Brown for attending a recent public meeting in St. David?s to hear concerns of people living in remote parts of the Island who have seen a decline in access to public transport, but he warned that by putting the PTB into direct control of Government there should be efforts made to avoid ?micro-management? of something that had previously worked well as a free market entity.

That theme was also picked up by his colleague Sen., who said: ?This amendment seems to fall into a trend which can only be described as increasing centralisation of Government.

?With the PTB we are not talking about anything dramatic. Most of us consider it to be part of the Government anyhow.?

But he said the rounding up of land development and housing quangos by the Ministry of Works and Engineering, bringing them into tighter order, was a form of centralising of power he was not sure was such a good thing.

Sen. Richards said: ?It suggests increasing bureaucracy and less connection wit the market place and decisions having to passed up and down a chain of hierarchy.?

In response Government Sen. said he did not view the Bill as being part of ?the building of an empire.?

Amendments for land leases approved

Senators have passed a change in the law that will allow Government to grant land leases up to 121 years in length.

Potential developers have been ?hammering? for longer leases and the Government has recognised that it is necessary to move with the requirements of such investors, said Sen. as he presented amendment acts covering the department of Works and Engineering, the West End Development Corporation and the Base Lands.

The amendments allow a Government quango to grant longer leases to developers, paving the way for the redevelopment of Dockyard and other areas.

The quangos previously been restricted to issuing leases as short as 21 years unless specially altered on request by a Government Minister. The new rules make it normal for leases up to 121 to be approved as standard.

The amendment acts were passed.