House of Representatives to meet on Friday

By BBN Staff: The Government of Belize press office today issued a communique informing that on Friday, October 20, 2017, there will be a sitting of the House of Representatives at the National Assembly in Belmopan.

The last sitting of the House of Representatives was a special sitting in which Prime Minister Dean Barrow proposed a bill to “decriminalize the possession of cannabis in amounts not exceeding ten grams, to provide for the imposition of monetary and non-recordable penalties for the possession of cannabis in such amounts occurring on school premises, in specified circumstances, and to decriminalize the smoking of cannabis on private premises.”

The bill went through its first reading on August 18, 2017.

Barrow also introduced a bill in which the Government of Belize will enshrine a moratorium on offshore oil exploration in the country.

In August, a letter circulated on social media which was addressed to Janelle Chanona, Vice President of Oceana regarding this bill. Barrow stated in the letter that, “there can be no activity related to oil exploration in Belize’s territorial sea”.

In his letter, Barrow also told Chanona that Cabinet expects to send the law to the House by October.