United Bermuda Party Senator Leonard Santucci is expressing disappointment at a ruling which prevented him from casting a vote during Wednesday?s session of the Senate when the controversial GPS bill was defeated.

Sen. Santucci, who holds a license to drive a taxi, is questioning a decision by Senate President Alf Oughton at being denied an opportunity the vote. Sen. Santucci said he was barred from voting when Sen. Oughton made the ruling due to his ?pecuniary interests?. Sen. Santucci said the ruling raises the issue of how other Government figures are involved in the industry. ?I have the utmost respect for the Senate President, but my concern is that the scales of justice are not the same justice needs to be considered in all cases,? said Sen. Santucci. contacted several Government MPs, Derrick Burgess and Wayne Perinchief who hold taxi licenses and voted when the legislation was put forward in the House of Assembly. Government Whip Ottiwell Simmons and MP George Scott, whose company is responsible for bringing the GPS system to the Island, abstained from voting when the legislation was proposed in the House of Assembly two weeks ago.

Senate President Alf Oughton said it was necessary to make the ruling as Sen. Santucci held a taxi license and as this was a pecuniary interest it would have to be declared in the Senate.

?The rules of the House of Assembly and the Senate are that if you have a pecuniary interest it is up to you to stand up and declare it,? said Sen. Oughton. ?There?s nothing to stop him from going out and using his license to earn money from the taxi industry.?

He said Senators were required to declare any business interests they have which may be in conflict with the Senate but doubted whether the monetary rewards generated from driving a taxi would require it to be listed on the Register of Members Interests. The Transport Control Department refused to provide this newspaper with information about what Government figures held licenses.

A representative at TCD told the information was ?private and personal?. A taxi license qualifies a person to drive a taxi, and is different from a permit, which allows a person to own and operate a fleet of cabs.

Sen. Santucci said he has had a taxi license for a little over a year, but said he only drove a taxi for several days last July and has not driven one since. His uncle owns a taxi, and Mr. Santucci said he decided to obtain his license through his mother?s and uncle?s encouragement.?My disappointment also emanates from the fact that several Government MPs from the House of Assembly were also allowed to vote,? said Sen. Santucci.

Wayne Perinchief, a Government MP confirmedthat he has a taxi license. He believed Sen. Santucci should have been able to participate in the vote.

?He should have not been eliminated from the vote, he could have been for or against it. I disagree that he should not be allowed to vote. When you?re talking about conflicts of interest in a small country, you impact on people?s civil rights and free enterprise,? he said.

Mr. Perinchief said he felt the taxi issue was difficult for members of Government to look at objectively as many people on the Island earned money through the taxi business and were involved one way or another. ?Whenever you get into the emotional side of such an issue, or you look at people?s ability to earn, it will be controversial,? said Mr. Perinchief.

MP and Bermuda Industrial Union President Derrick Burgess told he held a taxi license but had not driven a taxi since the late 1970s. ?I don?t think a licensed person should have been disqualified from the vote,? he said. ?If he was a permit holder or he had an investment with the GPS system, then yes, he should have been disqualified.?

Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent said he has a taxi license, but it has not been renewed. He said his family used to own a taxi but sold it a number of years ago.

Minister Randy Horton said he did not hold a taxi license.

Other Government figures understood to hold a license in the past are Attorney General Larry Mussenden, who allowed his license to expire in the early 1980s, and Senator Raymond Tannock who owned a taxi in the early 1980s. Senator Reginald Burrows is also understood to have driven a taxi in the 1960s.

It is the responsibility of the Speaker of the House of Assembly to examine such issues. Under the rules of the house, after a vote has been taken, no member may challenge the right of any member to vote. Under Rule 31 of the House of Assembly; ?a member shall not vote on any question in which he has a direct or pecuniary interest, peculiar to such a member as distinguishing him from the public at large?.

A challenge to a vote must always be proposed prior to the procedure. A member who feels that someone has voted unfairly can question the issue in the media but not in the House.

Members of Parliament must also keep themselves up to date on the Register, and the onus is on them to inform their colleagues and members of the public about their business interests.