After voting to approve two loans in the morning portion of their Monday House of Assembly meeting, lawmakers spent the afternoon lauding retired legislator Ralph O’Neal, whom they unanimously voted should receive the title “member emeritus.”

Premier Dr. Orlando Smith said that the privileges of the emeritus title will be decided later by the House’s Privileges Committee, and that Mr. O’Neal will retain the title “honourable” in formal settings.

The sitting was also scheduled to include a vote on a supplemental spending measure, but Dr. Smith made a motion to have the item removed from the order of the day, and legislators voted to approve the request.

The other items set for the sitting, including the naming of several House committees and a vote on the Tourist (Duty-Free Shopping System) Act, are to be taken up when legislators return to the House next Tuesday.

The Monday afternoon discussion followed the approval of two loans: a $35 million loan from the Social Security Board to fund the BVI Electricity Corporation’s Phase Five Expansion plan; and a $15 million loan from CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank to complete the landside portion of the cruise pier development.

See the July 11, 2015 edition for full coverage.

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