Loans Bill Amendment Bill tabled
Government recently tabled amendments to the Government Loans Act to support borrowing for multiyear budgets.The Government Loans Amendment Bill 2013, tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday, requires any money borrowed by Government in excess of budgetary requirements for the fiscal year be put into the sinking fund.Finance Minister Bob Richards recently announced that Government intends to borrow up to $800 million to cover deficits for the next three years.He said borrowing for the medium term in the current lower interest rate environment would save the taxpayer between $20 million and $40 million in financing costs, depending on future interest rates.Government earlier this year raised the debt ceiling by $1 billion to $2.5 billion. The current operating deficit is $331 million, while the net debt by the end of the fiscal year is forecast to be $1.75 billion.Government also tabled amendments to the Dental Hygienists Regulations 1950 to modify the make-up of the committee used to qualify dental hygienists.While existing legislature requires the committee be made up of two dental practitioners and one registered medical practitioner, the amendments replace the medical practitioner with a registered dental hygienist.They also tabled the 2008 and 2009 Annual Reports for the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation.Both reports was signed by Auditor General Heather Matthews on June 4 this year.