IN A RARE but not unknown move, the Senate has amended a draft piece of legislation and sent it back down to the House of Assembly for concurrence with the proposed change.

Notice of this situation came yesterday when Speaker of the House Ishmael Roett read a message from President of the Senate Senator Sir Fred Gollop.

In it, Sir Fred noted that at its sitting last Wednesday, October 17, the Upper House amended clause 15 (2) of the National Art Gallery Bill, 2007 by deleting the word "gallery" appearing in the first line and substituting the word "minister", and by deleting the words "by the minister" appearing in the last line after the word "thereof".

Roett said the amended clause would now read: "(2) The minister shall lay a copy of the report referred to in subsection (1) before both Houses of Parliament and cause the same to be published in the Official Gazette not later than three months from the date of the receipt thereof."

The message added: "And the Honourable the Senate transmits the amended bill to the Honourable the House of Assembly inviting concurrence with the amendments to the said . . . bill." (AB)