Summary of Parliamentary Proceedings: 29 April 2026

The Fifth Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session of Parliament took place on Wednesday, 29 April 2026. The Meeting was opened with a prayer delivered by the Elected Member for Savannah, Parliamentary Secretary Heather Bodden. Apologies were read from the Hon. Rolston Anglin, Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Education and Training, the Hon. Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, Deputy Speaker and Member for George Town West, and Parliamentary Secretary Julie Hunter, who are all travelling on official business.

In keeping with his desire to have Parliament recognise Caymanians who have contributed to the building of the Cayman Islands, the Speaker of the House of Parliament, Hon. Ezzard Miller, acknowledged a number of women who, in their own way, have made outstanding contributions to the Islands’ growth and development, offering his heartfelt thanks and appreciation to each of them. The Premier Hon. André Ebanks rose on behalf of the Government, followed by the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joseph Hew, to welcome them and echo the sentiments of the Speaker, with special mention made to former Parliamentarian Daphne Orrett.

The proceedings continued with the presentation of eight papers and reports. This included the 2025 Cayman Islands Public and Affordable Housing Policy and 10-Year Strategic Plan by the Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Hon. Jay Ebanks, who emphasised that housing was a critical priority, outlining 98 recommendations and three priorities for this Ministry-driven strategy. Also presented was the 2024 Annual Report of the Cayman Islands national Attractions Authority, titled ‘Safeguarding our National Treasures for future generations’ by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and trade Development, Hon. Gary Rutty, as well as the Development and Planning (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, also by Minister Ebanks, who stated that the regulations represented a focused and necessary update to the framework to address specific gaps to protect Cayman’s coastline.

Several questions were posed to members of the Government. Answering a question from the Elected Member for Red Bay Roy Tatum on whether any flood-risk or drainage capacity assessments had been conducted in the Red Bay and Prospect areas, the Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure Hon. Jay Ebanks confirmed that these had taken place and that ongoing monitoring of flood patterns by the Ministry, through the National Roads Authority, continued to assess system performance as part of their infrastructure management programmes.

Minister Ebanks was also asked how many planning approvals had been granted by the Central Planning Authority within areas designated low density residential in the Red Bay constituency for commercial or mixed-use developments and for developments containing more than two residential units on a single parcel, with the Minister noting that a total of five commercial or mixed-use developments and a total of 22 approvals for developments containing more than two residential units had been approved since 2020.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Kenneth Bryan, extended condolences to the families of John Franklin McField and Stanley Peter White, and Parliamentary Secretary Heather Bodden also extended condolences to the families of Benjamin Bodden and others. The Premier noted that the Government would offer further condolences during the third sitting of Parliament on Friday, 1 May 2026.

During Government Business, the following six Bills were given their First and Second Readings;

1. Airports Authority (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2026
2. Auditors Oversight (Amendment, Validation and Repeal) Bill, 2026
3. Airports Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026
4. Health Practice (Amendment) Bill, 2026
5. Parliament (Management) (Amendment) Bill, 2026
6. Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill, 2026

The Airports Authority (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2026 updated the Airports Authority Act to enable the Cayman Islands Airport Authority to collect fees from aircraft operations for air navigations services, also validating past fees and penalties collected for air navigation services. This Bill was supported by both the Official Opposition and Independent Members of the House.

The Auditors Oversight (Amendment, Validation and Repeal) Bill, 2026, which was presented by Premier Hon. André Ebanks, was introduced to ensure alignment with the Public Authorities Act (2020 Revision) and facilitate the orderly wind down and eventual repeal of the Auditors Oversight Authority Act. In continuing the collaborative nature of debate, Roy McTaggart commended the Premier for bringing forward this legislation and offered the Opposition’s full support of the Bill. Independent Member, Christoper Saunders, also supported the Bill, stating that this decision was overdue.

The Airports Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was described by the Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Hon. Jay Ebanks, as an essential piece of legislation needed to ensure that the security presence within Cayman’s airports was efficient and effective. The catalyst of the Bill was identified during a routine oversight check by the Air Safety Support International, a subsidiary company of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority, which noted the absence of a legally supported framework for stopping and inspecting vehicles within restricted airport zones. Although offering the Opposition’s support to the Government, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Hon. Kenneth Bryan raised some concerns about the risk to the public presented by untrained enforcement officers and the risk to their freedoms from intrusive inspections. Independent MP Saunders echoed these sentiments, noting that any legislation that empowered public officers to infringe on people’s rights had to be approached seriously and carefully. The Attorney General, Hon. Samuel Bulgin, rose to offer clarity on some of the concerns raised, noting that any ordinary, untrained citizen was empowered to conduct a citizen’s arrest if they witnessed a serious offence being committed, further noting that the Bill did state that any searches of vehicles or persons could not be intrusive. However, Bulgin added that the term “reasonable concerns” could not be prescriptive and would depend on each situation on a case-by-case basis, stating that it was important to be both response and reactive rather than waiting for something to happen.

The Health Practice (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was presented by Minister for Health, Environment and Sustainability, Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, which empowered Cabinet to prescribe a common layer of general standards for professional practices, based on which the Councils would develop codes of standards specific to the professions they regulated. This Bill received support from both the Opposition and Independent Members of Parliament.

The Parliament (Management) (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was also moved by Premier Hon. André Ebanks with the aim of establishing a system that better enabled Parliamentarians to serve their constituents. He also noted that this formalised for the first time in Cayman’s Parliamentary history designated and specified staff for the Leader of the Opposition. This Bill also received full support from both the Opposition and Independent Members of Parliament.

The final Bill presented was the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was presented by the Attorney General Hon. Samuel Bulgin. He noted that this Bill provided for compliance with the evaluation standards set out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This Bill received commendation from Roy McTaggart who offered the support of the Official Opposition as well as from Independent MP Chris Saunders also offered the support of the Independents, agreeing that it was important that matters such as these were fully supported by a unified Parliament, which demonstrated the seriousness of Parliament in addressing these issues to international bodies. Premier Ebanks also rose to thank the Attorney General for his presentation of the Bill, noting that Bulgin had been at the forefront of anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing for years and that he had served diligently, stating that his retirement was well deserved when it came around.

Following the Committee stage and Third Readings, all six Bills were passed with only minor amendments.

The House was adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 30 April.

To watch Wednesday’s proceedings, visit: