road after senators gave them a Christmas present of an amnesty.

The Senate on Friday passed an act that will allow those banned from driving before June 29, and who have not repeated the offence since then, to get their licences back by the end of the year.

The Traffic Offences (Penalties) Amendment Amendment Act was needed because those with a single driving disqualification had been left out of an amnesty law passed earlier, explained Sen. Larry Scott (UBP).

Sen. Neletha Butterfield (PLP) said the Opposition supported the amendment.

But it had been "hurried through'' after a record four days of Throne Speech debate in the House of Assembly. The Government had made a mistake.

Government Senate Leader the Hon. Mike Winfield said the original amnesty was a "rapid response'' to the Tumim report on criminal justice.

Government had listened to Bermudians, got feedback, and decided to make a further amendment.

He hoped those given an amnesty would try to stay out of trouble with the law.

Young people's search for excitement could be lethal, he said. Parents had to set an example.

Sen. Terry Lister backed the amendment. But he said the original law was a flawed piece of drafting that senators were now having to fix.

The "rapid response'' was electioneering, he said.

Judge Tumim had recommended more community service sentences instead of jail, but there was no sign of an upgrade to community service programmes.

Sen. Norma Astwood (Ind) questioned whether timing of the amnesty would send the right signal. Christmas was a time when drunk-driving offences were committed, she said.

Sen. Gerald Simons (UBP) stressed Government support for the local designated driver programme.

Government had been urged to act quickly and had then been criticised for doing do.

It was not easy to get laws perfect the first time, he said.

It was the Opposition's job to review laws more than the Government, but they had not noticed the omission.

The Development and Planning (Bermuda Plan 1992 Extension) Act was also passed, extending the draft plan for six months to enable all the objections to be dealt with.

Opposition Senate leader Sen. Milton Scott welcomed the move. He raised the point of whether parish councils should be given a greater role in planning.

Sen. Grant Gibbons (UBP) said a central system was better because otherwise people in different parishes might not get treated consistently.

Sen. Lister called for a report on how the plan was progressing, to ease people's fear and confusion about it.

Sen. Astwood said although 1,166 people had made formal objections, 2,000 was probably the real total of those with grievances.

Now parishes had more residents, more evenly spread out, it might be more efficient to give parish councils planning powers.

Open space needed to be created, not just saved, she said. She anticipated condo developments might one day be returned to open space because Bermudians did not want to live in them.

Senators also passed the Housing Allowance Amendment Act, which changes the way tenants pay their rent with Government help.

Instead of having the Housing Authority responsible for paying their rent, tenants will now be responsible for making sure a housing allowance cheque and their portion of the rent is paid to the landlord.

Sen. Yvette Swan said the change would cut delays and preserve the dignity of the tenant.

Sen. Milton Scott said the PLP agreed with the change. Some people getting help with their rent might need help with managing their cash.

He hoped social workers would continue to provide counselling.

Sen. Astwood said some tenants suffered when landlords did not agree to be part of the programme.

Landlords needed education along with tenants, she said.

Senators also passed the Magistrates Amendment Act, which increases the jurisdiction of Magistrates' Court to civil matters involving up to $10,000, from $5,000.

Sen. Milton Scott called for a pamphlet to be produced with Magistrates' Court and Consumer Affairs to to guide people through the dispute process.

People did not necessarily need a lawyer to go to court, he had discovered.

Senators congratulated Sen. Alf Oughton , retired president, and Mr. Eugene Cox, retired senior vice president, on their achievements at Belco.

They also sent best wishes to their replacements, Mr. Garry Madeiros and Mr.

Vincent Ingham.

Sen. Terry Lister also congratulated the Salvation Army on their Christmas gift programme.