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The House of Representatives and the Senate have passed amendments to the Road Traffic Act, however, the government has declined to say how it will treat the issue of possible refunds to Jamaicans issued traffic tickets in the last 15 years.
Both Houses of Parliament met on Friday to consider an urgent Bill brought by the government in the wake of Wednesday's Supreme Court injunction stopping the police from issuing traffic tickets in excess of rates which were charged up to the year 2006.
Gordon House had initially announced that the legislation to be considered was the Road Traffic Amendment Validation and Indemnity Act, which was expected to prevent the government from incurring a multi-billion dollar refund bill.
But when the House of Representatives met, the Road Traffic Amendment Act was instead presented and was aimed at updating the traffic fines.
Opposition Members of Parliament wanted to know how tickets previously issued would be treated, but Justice Minister Delroy Chuck quickly hit back, saying their queries were "not relevant at this time".
When Opposition Leader Mark Golding insisted, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte admitted the government did "appreciate the relevance" of the questions but urged the members not to pursue the matter at this stage in light of it being an issue before the court.
In urging support for the Bill, National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang said the police had been left in a quandary in the wake of Wednesday's court ruling.
"They couldn't do nothing (sic) on the road and it just didn't make sense; and we have to act as parliamentarians to correct that problem [and] provide police with the requisite tool they need," he asserted.
The Road Traffic Amendment Act was eventually passed in the House of Representatives despite complaints from the Opposition about the rush to pass the amendments, as well as concerns it was being amended at a time when it is due to be repealed.
Senate passes Bill
But opposition to the Bill was even more vigorous in the Senate.
For almost two hours, Opposition senators attempted to stave off the debate on the legislation.
First, Senator Floyd Morris sought to assert privilege, arguing that he did not receive the Bill in time and in a format which would have allowed him to review it given his blindness.
But Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson shot down his request, saying the document had been sent to Senator Morris before the sitting started.
The Opposition senators then argued against suspension of the Standing Orders to allow the Bill to be taken today, with Senator Peter Bunting stating that the matter was not urgent.
"Yes, there may be occasions on which it is necessary, on which it is justified, but this is a manufactured reason. There is no legitimate reason to do it for this. If they were so concerned with public safety, we wouldn't have taken over three years to bring the regulations for the new Road Traffic Act to the Senate," he argued.
Government senators used their majority to vote 12 to 6 for the Bill to be taken.
The Senate eventually passed the Road Traffic Amendment Act late Friday afternoon.
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