Several pieces of legislation were approved in the Senate on Wednesday, with both parties expressing unanimous support.

The Perpetuities and Accumulations Amendment Act, tabled by Senator Jeff Baron, the Junior Minister for National Security, was described as a means of helping to modernise the Island’s trust business and remain competitive internationally by clarifying the legal process.

Sen Baron said the legislation would create a more streamlined and cost effective approach, while Senator Renee Ming, of the Progressive Labour Party, said the legislation was a natural continuation of the 2009 legislation put forward by the PLP. Meanwhile, the Bermuda Archives Amendment Act, tabled by Senator Vic Ball, was intended to update the archive department’s frameworks to take into account new technology and meet international best practices.

The legislation gives greater power to the director for the department, expands the principle Act to include records of cultural value in addition to historical value, and prohibits the destruction of public or judicial records except in accordance with a records schedule as prepared by the director.

PLP Senator Diallo Rabain, who said he used the archives frequently, welcomed the amendments, while Senator James Jardine, an independent, also expressed his support.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Currency Purchase Tax Order 2015, presented by Senator Michael Fahy, the Minister of Home Affairs, exempts the Bermuda Tourism Authority and the Bermuda Deposit Insurance Company from paying the 1 per cent Government tax on money exchanges.

Sen Fahy said the tax had been an unnecessary expense for the bodies, while Sen Ming said it did not seem to make sense to have the BTA, which is supported by a government grant, sending money back to the Bermuda Government through the tax.