HOA Committee Sessions Could Open
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley said House of Assembly committee meetings are currently held in private under the HOA’s Standing Orders but could be opened to the public if members agree to amend the rules. Any change would require a formal amendment to the Standing Orders and cannot be applied to the committee session beginning next Monday.
House of Assembly (HOA) committee sessions, which form the detailed examination stage of Bills, are currently held behind closed doors, but Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley says the matter could be revisited if members push to make them public. Under the HOA’s existing Standing Orders, committee sessions are limited to House members, staff and witnesses.
The committee stage follows a Bill’s second reading and is where clauses are scrutinised and amendments can be made — a stage that can materially change proposed legislation before it becomes law. "This is a committee of the House of Assembly. Right now in the Standing Orders, committee sessions are held in private," Dr Wheatley told reporters, noting that while witnesses may attend to present information, broader public attendance is not permitted under current rules.
The Premier said members who favour openness can pursue a change: there is an established process to amend the Standing Orders, and such procedural amendments have been made before. He pointed out a recent change that allowed papers to be discussed in committee as an example of procedural flexibility.
However, he warned that any amendment would take several weeks, meaning the committee session scheduled to start next Monday cannot be opened to the public. Calls for greater transparency in HOA committee work are not new. In 2023 some lawmakers and members of the public urged more access to improve accountability and trust in legislative processes, and the issue surfaced during constitutional discussions.
To date, no formal motion to change the Standing Orders has been lodged. Dr Wheatley acknowledged both sides of the debate. He said public access could increase transparency by letting residents see how legislation is shaped, but cautioned that opening committees could deter witnesses from speaking candidly and could compromise privileged or confidential discussions.
He suggested a potential middle ground — making the text of amendments public while keeping deliberations private — but left the decision to elected members. For BVI residents, the outcome matters: committee work can alter taxes, environmental rules, development approvals and other matters that affect daily life.
Any change to open committee sessions will require a formal proposal, debate and successful amendment to the Standing Orders before it can be implemented.
Primary source: BVI News