Debate on a modified Freedom of Information Bill is expected to begin when the Senate meets this morning.
Government Leader in the House of Assembly Tommy Turnquest said yesterday the anticipated legislation will be passed before the Free National Movement's term in office comes to an end.
The government withdrew the original Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill tabled in the House in 2011 and replaced it with a new version that was brought to the Senate last week.
Turnquest said the government made several changes to the legislation and decided to put forth a 'cleaner' version of the Bill rather than bring ammendments to the House.
"There were some changes to the Bill we tabled. Rather than going through ammendments in the House of Assembly we withdrew the Bill and tabled a new one in the Senate," Turnquest said.
"We're going to pass it before the election. We believe that all government business should be public."
Enacting Freedom of Information legislation is one of the pledges the Free National Movement made in its 2007 Manifesto. A FOI Bill was tabled in the House last October.
At the time, it was said that the legislation would not be enforced until July 1, 2012.
Although the government was commended for bringing the legislation forward there was some criticism about how far reaching the legislation would be.
Concerns were also expressed about the powers of the Information Commissioner, a position created by the legislation.
Obie Wilchcombe, leader of Opposition Business in the House, said yesterday he has worries about the amount of red tape that could prevent the public and media from accessing information made available through the new law.
"The question I've always had about freedom of information [is] what's the bureaucracy going to be like and how is that going to work," Wilchcombe said.
"Is it going to assist in the proliferation of democracy, because that's what it was intended to do, to ensure that the public has access to information at all times.  What are the limitations and how far can you go and what impact does it have on (House) committees like the Public Accounts Committee?
"It's one of those things that we have to think very deeply about, we have to understand it very thoroughly, we have to ensure that it's workable, that it's going to serve the public, the media and all concerned."
It was unclear what specific changes were made to the FOI Bill.

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