Attorney General Clarifies Motor Car Amendment
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mark Pettingill today [Mar 26] clarified the Motor Car Amendment Bill, 2013. He said seniors are not able to apply for an exemption due to financial hardship.
On 18 March 2013, the Motor Car Amendment Bill 2013 was debated in the House of Assembly. The Bill, as passed, provides for a 3% increase in the permit fees and licence duty as payable in the Schedules to the Motor Car Act 1951. The Motor Car Amendment Bill 2013 also provides that senior car owners will now have to pay 50% of the licence fees as provided in the Act.
Minister Pettingill said: “There has been much debate – in the House and by the public – concerning the change in licensing fees for vehicles, especially the exemption enjoyed by seniors since 2007.
“During the debate in the House, and as quoted in subsequent newspaper articles, I stated that seniors who cannot afford to pay can apply to the Minister of Tourism Development and Transport for an exemption under section 62B of the Motor Car Act 1951.”
The actual provision under which a senior can apply for an exemption is section 62A, which gives the Minister of Tourism Development and Transport the discretion to issue an exemption from paying licence fees on the grounds of physical disability or limitation.
Minister Pettingill explained: “Section 62B was in fact the section being amended in the House, reducing by 50% the concession available to qualifying seniors which clearly was taken to mean a “full exemption”, when in actuality all seniors will be required to pay 50% of licensing fees. To be clear, seniors can no longer apply for a full exemption from paying licence fees under section 62B and are not able to apply for an exemption due to financial hardship.”
The Minister said he understands that some seniors will be aggrieved by this change but added: “This Government was elected on the promise of putting Bermuda’s financial house in order. The exemption had been abused by too many for too long and has cost the Government millions of dollars in much needed revenue over the years.”
OK, so last week he says Seniors are Exempt, today he says No!
The OBA are out flip-flopping the PLP.
8 Broken Promises in 100 days, and now this.. They are going nowhere fast!
No, you are the liar.
Wheres the data for this legislative change?
8 promises is a load of BS. Just because someone said it in a speech doesn’t make it true.
This is a good example of the OBA’s rhetoric getting in the way of facts.
The previous government would have liked you to think that these things were free. There is no such thing as free. Everything must be paid for.
In this case the staff at Bermuda Emissions must be paid and the staff at the Transport Control Department need to be paid too. Fair is fair.
the whole senior exemption needs to be rescinded !
WE CAN THANK THE PLP FOR THE MESS BERMUDA IS IN, THE OBA ARE TRYING TO CLEAN IT UP THE BEST WAY THEY CAN AND ONLY 100 DAYS IN POWER GIVE THEM A BREAK, THEY WHERE LEFT HOLDING A BROWN PAPER BAG WITH A HOLE IN IT. AND ALL THE PLP DOES IS COMPLAIN AND COMPLAIN GET OVER YOURSELVES YOU LOST, WORK TOGETHER FOR A BETTER BERMUDA AS YOU SAY YOU WANT TO SEE.
ya caps lock is on
I agree 100 percent you lost PLP
You caused the problem by selling from us and you still are get the hell over it .
Millions of dollars hahaha, what a load of crap.
This still doesn’t solve the problem of Little Johnny, & Little Susie,having the BIG WHEELS in NANA’S and PAPA’S name.Those CRITTERS are paying 50% of their licence like me.
When the PLP law was passed dozens of grannies went and bought SUV’s with illegal tints, chrome spinners, and 12-speaker 2,000-watt sound systems. Then they “lent” them to their grandkids.
It was clear from day 1 that the free license for seniors would be abused by many, especially those with a Class H SUV. It was an election ploy pure and simple and cost Bermuda tens of millions of dollars. Unfortunately the innocent suffer from the sins of the abusers.
Louise!!!!!!!! Cat got your tongue. Your silence is deafening since your OBA took the reigns. They’ve been sticking to the seniors like people who will never get old and WHAT SAY YOU or your replacement? What’s that……………NOTHING.
I was thinking the same thing. She is eerily silent
Some people seem to be missing the point – Mark Pettingill gave wrong information. This seems to be the norm when it comes to the OBA.
We have more important things to worry about
OK. Decision made. Done! Now!! When are the monies for his increase going to FIX BERMUDA’s ROADS?? I don’t have a problem with change or things moving forward, but it needs to be improvement first and foremost done to this island!! I am tired of driving my fairly brand new car over the “dirt roads” of this island!!! TIRED!!! Every road leading from my home has the WORSE ROADS EVER!!! I can’t even decide to take an alternate route just to come into the city and this includes the major roads on our island!! GET THEM FIXED!!!
Were is Louise ?
It would appear the OBA has taken a page out of Brown’s legacy – “We had to decieve you”. Where art thou, Mrs. Jackson? It is painfully quiet.
This guy is a loose cannon. He shouted and screamed the PLP down in the House of Assembly during the debate. He stubbornly maintained that seniors could simply apply for an exemption just because and now he has to eat humble pie because he was flat out wrong. This is embarrassing in the extreme. Where are all you habitual fact-checkers from the PLP era in Government?? Where’s your outrage at the senior law officer in the government being loud and wrong on the law?! By the way, this statement is missing some key words like “I was wrong in the debate” and “I’m sorry for misleading the country and especially the seniors”. But when you’re the OBA, this is what being wrong looks like.
Like a redneck?