Topic: Legislative Assembly
CINICO reports home care ‘fraud’ to police
The Cayman Islands National Insurance Company has reported a case of suspected fraud in its home healthcare program to police after a patient who was supposed to be receiving the care said that had not happened.
Premier ‘disappointed’ in government leavers
Warning independent Cayman Islands lawmakers not to take local voters “for fools,” Premier Alden McLaughlin directed verbal barbs Friday at two Legislative Assembly members who left his government backbench in late 2015 and early 2016.
Government gives IMF center US$520,000
A US$525,000 payment in the upcoming budget to a technical assistance organization managed by the International Monetary Fund raised some eyebrows during Tuesday’s meeting of the Legislative Assembly’s Finance Committee.
Finance minister: Budget surplus helping Caymanian people
The Cayman Islands government has received “great criticism” in recent months for maintaining more than a $100 million operating surplus in its annual budget, despite increased spending during the same period on education, social welfare and healthcare programs, Finance Minister Marco Archer said.
Bills: Confidentiality changes, civil service retirement age
Another raft of legislative changes, mostly related to Cayman’s financial reporting mechanisms and civil service work rules, are due to come before the Legislative Assembly this month.
Lawmakers’ pensions need $1.76M a year
It has been recommended that government pay about $35 million over the next 20 years to cover a severely underfunded retirement plan for Cayman Islands lawmakers, according to records obtained by the Cayman Compass.
Lawmakers will not get 2.2 percent bonus
Cayman Islands elected officials will not receive a modest bonus being given to civil servants this month, Finance Minister Marco Archer confirmed Monday.
Bush: Gov’t ‘misleading’ public in 18-month budget
Cayman Islands Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush has accused the Progressives-led government of “misleading” the public with the release of its 18-month budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
New MLA seat adds costs
The costs of MLA salaries and constituent allowances will increase the government’s budget by about $190,000 next year.
MLA calls governor’s Throne Speech ‘pathetic’
Calling the annual speech that opens Cayman’s Legislative Assembly budget meeting “substanceless,” North Side MLA Ezzard Miller questioned Wednesday how the government had handled its budget process in recent years.
Premier: Gov’t supports medical uses for cannabis oil
Premier Alden McLaughlin has instructed government lawyers to draft legislation allowing local doctors to prescribe cannabis oil, which is derived from the marijuana plant, for medical purposes.
Surplus must pay debts, fund projects
A projected $145 million operating surplus for the Cayman Islands government will be at least partially spent on public projects and paying off debt, according to budget records examined by the Cayman Compass.
Petition started against pension law changes
An online petition that started Wednesday is urging government to nullify several sections of the recently approved National Pensions [Amendment] Bill.
Premier: Three-year budget surplus is $399 million
The Cayman Islands public sector will end its current budget year with a $145 million operating surplus, Premier Alden McLaughlin told a private audience at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Tuesday night, noting that the total surplus over three years is $399 million.
Government again tries to regulate nonprofits
Government is trying one more time to regulate nonprofit organizations.
Gov’t cash audits cite theft risks
Broken locks on cash tills, ready access to where “liquid assets” are stored and a lack of CCTV monitoring in sensitive areas have been flagged in several government agencies that were subject to cash audits in the past year, according to records obtained by the Cayman Compass.
Cayman budget plan cutting it close
The next Cayman Islands government budget is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Legislative Assembly on May 30, about a month before local law requires approval of the spending plan.
Parliamentary pensions plan may get new members
Cayman Islands lawmakers who served only one four-year term in parliament between October 1959 and August 2004 would be eligible to receive a pension under a proposed amendment due to come before the Legislative Assembly later this year.
Data protection legislation put off until fall
Cayman Islands lawmakers will try for a fourth time to enact data protection legislation – aimed at protecting the privacy of personal information – with an amendment bill scheduled to be brought before parliament in September.
Job transfers, new retirement age for civil service employees
The Cayman Islands deputy governor will be allowed to transfer or even assign lower pay grades to civil service employees in circumstances where a Caymanian job-seeker has applied for what is considered to be a “key” position, according to proposed legislation made public this week.
Key pension plan issues left to Cabinet
A number of critical issues regarding how private sector retirement plans will be managed, including when individuals who are now 60 to 65 years old can receive full retirement benefits and how much they can take out of their pension savings accounts each year have been left up to Cabinet to decide.
New energy policy in the works
Renewable energy advocates have applauded the government for making a commitment to clean power and called on lawmakers to turn those words into action.
Healthcare costs skyrocketing, minister says
The Cayman Islands has 345 outstanding “loans” to residents who do not maintain healthcare coverage, with unpaid balances of $12.3 million owed to government.
Pension ‘refunds’ restricted by new law
Greater restrictions will be placed on the transfer of pension funds out of the Cayman Islands, particularly when those transfers involve lump sum “refunds” to individuals who have left the islands, according to legislative changes approved this week.
Steep new fines for telecoms approved
Fines for phone, Internet and television providers in Cayman will increase from $25,000 to $500,000 for violating their licenses and telecom rules under new rules passed in a second reading at the Legislative Assembly on Sunday.
Cabinet gives $1 million to new cybersecurity initiative
Interpol and GCHQ, the United Kingdom’s surveillance organization, have visited Cayman over the past six months to help the country develop a new plan for cybersecurity, Planning Minister Kurt Tibbetts revealed Wednesday in the Legislative Assembly.
Statistics Law changes increase penalties, data collection
Amendments to the Statistics Law, approved Monday by the Legislative Assembly, increase the penalties for people who do not fill out required surveys, and expands the voluntary business surveys to include trusts and companies in the special economic zone.
Bill mandates public disclosures for politicians, civil servants, board members
Elected politicians, senior government workers and appointed board members will have to submit disclosures of personal business interests and finances for public review, according to amended legislation approved by Cayman Islands lawmakers Monday.
EDITORIAL – The Progressives’ unfinished business
The clock is ticking on the Progressives administration. In the coming months, our elected government will be subject to intensified scrutiny as to what it has done — and what it hasn’t.
Civil servants deny agreement reached to end free healthcare
The Civil Service Association has strongly denied that any agreement has been reached to end the policy of free healthcare for government workers.
Law removes public officers from corruption board
Changes to the Anti-Corruption Commission Law, approved by the Legislative Assembly on Monday, remove public officers from the commission’s board and give the commission its own police force.
Cabinet ministers to approve their own ‘code of conduct’
An updated “code of conduct” for Cayman Islands government ministers – first considered three years ago – is expected to go to Cabinet members shortly for approval, which means the ministers themselves will approve rules for their own conduct.
Witness protection changes, magistrates bill approved
A sweeping plan to create a connected witness protection program across the Caribbean overseas territories and Bermuda has fallen apart and now Cayman must move forward with its own legislation to shield people who testify against criminals, Attorney General Sam Bulgin said Monday.
Gov’t considers new steps to attract reinsurance industry
Members of the Legislative Assembly have voted in favor of a private members’ motion to consider giving incentives to reinsurance and hedge fund management businesses and their senior executives.
EDITORIAL – The civil service should not be a jobs program
An exchange of words between East End Arden McLean and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson about a young man who didn't secure a job with the Prison Service shed light on what is right with the Cayman Islands government, and what is wrong.
Auditors records release details salaries, consultant contracts
The Cayman Islands Auditor General’s Office slightly increased the annual salaries for three of its senior managers and spent about $316,000 on consultants during the last budget year, according to financial records released in the Legislative Assembly.
Hospital immunity clause approved for repeal
A controversial section of the Health Services Authority Law giving immunity from prosecution to negligent doctors and nurses was approved for repeal Friday, after a unanimous vote in the Legislative Assembly.
Minister: Company option to make Cayman ‘more competitive’
Cayman Islands lawmakers have approved a Delaware-style limited liability company arrangement as a new type of business vehicle for the local financial services industry.
Deputy governor says civil service ‘taking beating’ from lawmakers
The verbal “beating” Cayman Islands government workers sometimes receive from elected lawmakers has made some Caymanians reluctant to join the civil service, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said Friday.
Minister: Hundreds on assistance waiting list
About 340 applications seeking permanent financial assistance are pending assessment by the government’s needs assessment unit, Community Affairs Minister Osbourne Bodden said Wednesday.
Archer: Civil service health co-payments ‘accepted’
It has been “pretty much accepted” that the Cayman Islands civil service will have to start paying a portion of their own healthcare premiums by 2018, Finance Minister Marco Archer said Thursday.
Rivers: Labour Relations Bill to be revised
Cayman Islands Employment Minister Tara Rivers confirmed Thursday that the government intends to bring a revised version of updated labor legislation to the Legislative Assembly during 2016.
Health debts not to be counted in budget
The Cayman Islands government intends to change its financial management law to avoid the formal acknowledgement of a $1.18 billion projected liability in its public healthcare system that would otherwise appear in the government’s annual “net worth” figure.
Back-to-back legislative meetings expected
A marathon meeting of the Legislative Assembly that begins Wednesday is expected to take a few weeks to complete, putting the meeting’s end shortly before the government presents its next budget in late May.
Deputy governor slams door on ‘no confidence’ in debate over police
A “lack of confidence” motion questioning the Cayman Islands police service’s management methods and seeking a review of its governance structure was rewritten in the Legislative Assembly late Monday after independent lawmakers agreed to a compromise with the Progressives-led government.
EDITORIAL – Cops vs. crime: Choose a side
In its purest form, the conflict between the police and crime has only two dimensions. We know whose side we’re on — the police. As for the allegiance of our legislators …
Call for Caymanian involvement in coastguard review
Government and opposition legislators reached a rare consensus Monday on a recommendation for Caymanian involvement and oversight in the investigation of the police search and rescue operation for five boaters lost at sea since March.
Acting Information Commissioner: Data protection bill may fail EU test
The man who is to be largely responsible for the implementation of Cayman’s data protection legislation, if and when it is approved by lawmakers, has warned that the bill may not pass muster with the European Union if government moves to a combined “ombudsman” office, as is currently planned.
EDITORIAL – Democracy working as intended
The Speaker and the Premier are under no obligation to facilitate political grandstanding by minority MLAs eager to wrap themselves in the mantle of "parliamentary privilege."
Legislative meeting rules may be changed
Former West Bay lawmaker Benson Ebanks is often credited with describing parliamentary democracy in the Cayman Islands by stating: “the minority must have its say, but the majority will have its way.”
‘No show’ may be a legislative first
Although Cayman political insiders said they were little surprised by government members skipping out on a meeting of their own parliament this week, it’s possible the “no show” for Wednesday’s meeting may be a first for the Cayman Islands.
Emergency legislative meeting fizzles, police motions not heard
Two attempts to hold a special emergency meeting of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly failed Wednesday after lawmakers were unable to obtain the requisite number of attendees either in the morning or the afternoon.
UPDATE: No shows thwart emergency LA meeting
All eight elected members of the Progressives political party did not attend an emergency meeting of the Legislative Assembly Wednesday morning, leading House Speaker Juliana O’Connor-Connolly to adjourn the meeting and summons the missing members to appear later in the day.
US officials decline to review missing boaters search
Officials with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates transportation-related accidents in the U.S., declined to conduct a review of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s search and rescue operations for the five people who went missing at sea in early March, according to the governor’s office.
Premier: Gov’t will not agree to emergency meeting
Members of Cayman’s ruling government will not agree to attend an emergency meeting of the Legislative Assembly set for next week to debate two legislative motions related to the management and effectiveness of local law enforcement, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Wednesday.
Lawmakers to consider new education legislation
A comprehensive update of outdated legislation underpinning the territory’s education system goes to the Legislative Assembly for debate this month.
Lawmakers to debate removal of hospital immunity clause
Government will consider a bill to amend the Health Services Authority Law to repeal a controversial clause giving blanket immunity from lawsuits to its staff.
Legislative bills: Major legislative changes proposed
A raft of significant legislation – dealing with everything from the protection of personal records, to public officials’ disclosure requirements, to private sector pensions rules – will be addressed in the Legislative Assembly at its April 25 meeting.
Bill would remake Anti-Corruption Commission
A new proposal to remake the Anti-Corruption Commission would mandate that all five members of the commission be appointed by the governor, and remove the police commissioner, the auditor general and the complaints commissioner.
Health City not barred from competing
Health City Cayman Islands local partner Gene Thompson said this week that the East End medical tourism facility is not competing with local health services “for the most part,” even though there is no specific prohibition against it.
EDITORIAL – Baines departure: A loss for the Cayman Islands
In a laboratory, there are certain chemicals that, individually, are benign or even beneficial — but, when combined, create nitroglycerine. In the real world, two such substances are politics and policing.
Lawmakers try again with controversial bills
A pair of controversial bills governing public integrity standards and employment and operating practices for Cayman Islands lawyers are on the Legislative Assembly agenda for its next regularly scheduled meeting in late April.
Police Commissioner Baines to leave post by end of May
Cayman Islands Governor Helen Kilpatrick announced the departure of Royal Cayman Islands Police Commissioner David Baines by the end of May in a surprise public statement Tuesday afternoon.
Chief HSA doctor says Health City has unfair advantage
While praising the services and professionalism of the Health City Cayman Islands staff, the Health Services Authority’s top doctor said last week that the medical tourism facility has some unfair advantages over other local providers with which it is now competing.
EDITORIAL – Police and crime: ‘Lack of confidence’ – in lawmakers
“Lack of confidence” motions are serious parliamentary business. However, the particular motion being brought by independent and opposition lawmakers against Police Commissioner David Baines is not.
Governor backs Baines despite ‘lack of confidence’ motion
Governor Helen Kilpatrick in a statement Wednesday, said, “The RCIPS and its leadership have my support and confidence,” in response to an announcement by independent and opposition legislators that they intend to bring a legislative motion of “no confidence” in the governance of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.
Ex-MLA employee unfairly dismissed, Labour Tribunal finds
A former office worker for two George Town MLAs won a $2,632 award earlier this month for unfair dismissal from her job, according to documents obtained from Cayman’s Labour Tribunal.
Premier: Hospital immunity to be removed
Patients who are victims of hospital negligence will have their right to seek compensation through the courts returned once legislative changes are approved, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Thursday.
Amendment seeks healthcare coverage for retired House Speakers
Proposed legislation made public this week seeks to provide healthcare coverage for retired Speakers of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly who were not elected as members of the House when they served in that position.
Legislature debated hospital’s legal ‘immunity’ in 2004
Amendments to the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority Law that a local judge said provides authority employees with blanket immunity except in cases where “bad faith” is proven, were fully debated more than a decade ago with the ruling government supporting the legal change over the protests of then-opposition members, the Cayman Compass can reveal.
EDITORIAL – Legislative Assembly: Laying out the ‘unwelcome’ mat
“The People’s House” is no place for bullying, intimidation and obstruction.
