States Meeting Summary 12 March
12 March 2026
The Bailiff started the meeting by welcoming the Chief Minister of Guernsey, Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, to the Chamber. The Deputy watched the meeting from the Public Gallery.
Public Business
P.16 Draft Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 202-
Debate then resumed on a proposition put forward by the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Tom Binet, to replace the Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law with a new law.
The new law would allow termination up to 21 weeks and 6 days for any reason; remove the requirement to prove ‘distress’; and reduce the mandatory number of doctor consultations prior to termination to one, amongst other changes.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition with 44 votes for, 2 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 5 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the continuation of the debate and vote.
The Minister for External Relations, Deputy Ian Gorst, asked the Assembly to approve the text of the Agreement between the Government of Jersey and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition with 42 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 1 hour and 56 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.18 Draft Sea Fisheries (Trawling, Netting and Dredging) (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 202-
The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Steve Luce, proposed the regulations which would bring the management of mobile and passive gear into one place, and update modern technical standards. The regulations also deliver the Marine Protection Area network specified in the Jersey Marine Spatial Plan.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition with 40 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 2 hours and 7 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.20 Comptroller and Auditor General: appointment
The Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, proposed that Paul Dossett be appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General for seven years, with effect from 1 January 2027.
Please note: The debate was held ‘in camera’ in accordance with the Comptroller and Auditor General (Jersey) Law 2014, but live coverage resumed for the vote which was held in public.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Chief Minister’s proposition with 35 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Go to the start of this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.27 Assess Affordability of qualifying State Pensioners receiving Home Carer’s Allowance
Deputy Max Andrews proposed that the Minister for Social Security establish how many old age pensioners caring for someone with high-level care needs would be entitled to receive Home Carer’s Allowance (HCA) and the States pension, should HCA be exempt from the Social Security Overlapping Benefits Order.
The proposition also sought to assess whether the Social Security Reserve Fund can be utilised sustainably to supplement the Social Security Fund in paying both benefits, and if so, to include within the Budget 2028-2031 the necessary transfer of funds.
The Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s proposition with 8 votes for, 31 votes against and 1 abstention.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 2 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.28 Political Parties and election expenses: online publication of information
Deputy Moz Scott asked the States to request that the Privileges and Procedures Committee, in consultation with the Judicial Greffier and the Jersey Electoral Authority, undertake the necessary legislative changes in time for the 2030 election to require the online publication of:
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The register of political parties and statements of accounts
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Declarations of donations over £500, whether received by individuals or parties.
Read more: bit.ly/4u1Kequ
The Assembly voted in parts:
Part A: The register of political parties and statements of accounts
The Assembly voted to APPROVE Part A of the Deputy’s proposition with 38 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Part B: Declarations of donations over £500, whether received by individuals or parties.
The Assembly voted to REJECT Part B of the Deputy’s proposition with 15 votes for, 23 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 1 hour and 13 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.31 Assessment of visual impact in green backdrop zone planning applications
Deputy Moz Scott proposed that the Minister for the Environment take the necessary steps to ensure that all planning applications for sites within the Green Backdrop Zone, and likely to have a visible impact, include both a text and pictorial assessment of that impact, and that the draft guidance is published no later than the end of 2026.
The Deputy proposed an amendment to her own proposition to split the two areas above from a third proposal, which calls for additional resources to support the application of policy GD9. The Proposition was therefore read as amended.
Read more: bit.ly/4r4JYo4
Amendment: bit.ly/47pNKBk
The Assembly voted in parts:
Part A: That the Minister for the Environment take the necessary steps to ensure that all planning applications for sites within the Green Backdrop Zone, and likely to have a visible impact, include both a text and pictorial assessment of that impact.
The Assembly voted to APPROVE Part A of the Deputy’s proposition with 28 votes for, 15 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Part B: that new draft guidance is published, including photographs identifying sight lines, no later than the end of 2026.
The Assembly voted to REJECT Part B of the Deputy’s proposition with 2 votes for, 41 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Part C: To provide additional resources to support the application of policy GD9, fell away as Part B was rejected.
Skip 1 hour and 27 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.39 Draft Elections (Electoral Registers) Amendment (Jersey) Commencement Act 202-
The Privileges and Procedures Committee proposed a Commencement Act to bring into force changes to electoral law, agreed by the States Assembly, to introduce Automatic Voter Registration (AVR).
The Committee proposed an amendment to its own proposition which would bring the changes into force on the 24 March 2026, rather than 17 March as originally stated, in order to allow for additional validation checks.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Committee's proposition, as amended, with 43 votes for, 2 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 2 hours and 6 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.44 Curbing growth of Public Sector: end-to-end review of Government processes
Deputy Moz Scott proposed that the Chief Minister commission an end-to-end holistic review, by the Chief Executive Officer, of executive government processes including pay and management structures and performance frameworks.
This review would supplement proposals to curb public sector growth which were due to be published by the CEO in February 2026.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s proposition with 2 votes for, 42 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 2 hours and 29 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.46 Assisted Dying – unbearable suffering
Deputy Geoff Southern proposed that the Draft Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law be extended to include persons suffering from an incurable physical medical condition (which is not terminal) that is giving rise to unbearable suffering that cannot be alleviated in a manner the person deems to be tolerable, and to request the Minister for Health and Social Services to make the necessary changes to the Law.
The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s proposition with 8 votes for, 34 votes against and 1 abstention.
You can see how Members voted here.
Go to the start of this evening’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.50 Rent Tribunal: appointment of Chair, Deputy Chair and Member positions
The Minister for Housing, Deputy Sam Mezéc, proposed that the States agree to appoint the following Islanders as Chair, Deputy Chairs and Members of the Rent Tribunal for a term of up to three years.
Chair: Rose Colley
Deputy Chairs: Jonathan Barham and Tim Hart
Members: Samantha Ainsworth, Matthew Beddoe, Luciano Brambilla, Joseph Carney, Stephanie Constantine, Sarah Gaudion and Samuel Putka.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition with 44 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions.
You can see how Members voted here.
Skip 59 minutes into this evening’s recording to watch the debate in full.
Please note: The Chair of PPC proposed that for the final sitting, Members will reduce their lunch hour and stay later, which means that the lunch break will be from 1pm-2pm and they will sit until 6pm.
The Assembly voted on this proposal, approving it by 42 votes for and 2 abstentions.
Adjournment
The States Assembly then adjourned and will reconvene at 9:30am on Tuesday 24 March 2026 for the final States Meeting of this political term which will continue until Thursday 2nd April.
