SUMMARY

This enactment adds requirements to the Statutory Instruments Act to increase accountability of regulation-making authorities. All proposed regulations must be laid, by the designated Minister, before each House of Parliament in order to give the appropriate committee of each House of Parliament the opportunity to conduct inquiries or public hearings with respect to the proposed regulation and report its findings to that House. This enactment also sets out when the regulation-making authority may make regulations that have been laid before Parliament. Finally, some exceptions are outlined which enable the designated Minister to bypass the laying of a proposed regulation before each House in cases of minor changes to existing regulations, urgent matters or where a proposed regulation prescribes a date for the coming into force of any provision of an Act. In specified circumstances, the designated Minister, however, must present a statement outlining the reasons why a proposed regulation was not laid before each House of Parliament.