SINGAPORE - Parliament will next sit on Monday, May 11, at 1.30pm, the Office of the Clerk of Parliament announced on Tuesday.
While the agenda for the session is not yet available, there were proposed changes to two laws and two pieces of new legislation introduced at Parliament's last sitting on April 13. These could come up for debate in three weeks' time.
These were changes to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Act and the Government Securities Act, as well as proposed new laws to regulate unmanned aircraft, and third-party taxi booking service providers.
The amendment to the MAS Act would beef up defences here against money laundering and terrorism financing. If approved, it would give the banking regulator the authority to inspect a wider range of financial institutions for money laundering and terrorism financing breaches - including non-bank credit card and charge card issuers.
The Government Securities (Amendment) Bill proposes an amendment to impose restrictions on transfers and pledges of future new government securities issues. This is because Singapore Savings Bonds - a new type of government bond most likely to be launched in the second half of the year - cannot be traded on the open market.
Meanwhile, the Third-Party Taxi Booking Service Providers Bill will require providers - such as GrabTaxi, Hailo and Uber - to follow a set of standards, if passed. These include having to apply to the Land Transport Authority for a license to operate here.
Similarly, the Unmanned Aircraft (Public Safety and Security) Bill aims to provide clear guidelines for the safe use of unmanned aircraft - commonly known as drones - here. For example, operators would need to get permits to fly their drones if it weighs more than 7kg, or if they plan to fly it at altitudes above 61 metres above mean sea level, or if drones are used for commercial purposes such as to film an outdoor wedding.
