With one quarter of the Progressive Labour Party's legislative still to be completed, and unanticipated measures to be taken as a result of the September 11 attacks on the United States, the upcoming parliamentary session is expected to be a busy one.

Legislation to allow automatic payments of traffic fines, protection of historic wrecks and finishing touches to the Alternatives to Incarceration programme are among the initiatives that will likely occupy the House of Assembly.

All are among the leftovers from last year's Throne Speech and along with measures responding to the September 11 attacks on the United States and what is left on Government's legislative agenda, should find their way into Governor Thorold Masefield's final Throne Speech on November 2.

Government is keeping a tight rein on specific initiatives that will be mentioned but Premier Jennifer Smith, in an interview with ZBM television earlier this month, said she was looking forward to see new legislation governing historic wrecks, a new law on the collection of statistics and a host of financial measures as a result of the September 11 attacks.

Efforts to modernise legislation governing historic wrecks foundered when a proposed bill was pulled without explanation at the eleventh hour.

As proposed at the time the bill would have established a Historic Wrecks Authority, a Custodian of Historic Wrecks with regulatory powers and make it an offence to tamper with a wreck or historic artefact without a licence.

The Bill also set out Government's share of the value of artefacts recovered and offered amnesty to divers who may have broken existing salvage laws.

With a new emphasis on security after the attacks, the Premier has warned that costly measures to enhance security in Bermuda will have to be taken.

New laws dealing with protecting Bermuda as a financial centre will also be introduced as a result of September 11, she added.

And Bermuda would have to keep in sync with the international community's - or at least Britain's - responses to the war against terrorism.

Britain is sending a study group to assess the impact of September 11 on the colonies, the Premier revealed.

Locally, Government has been working on contingency plans to deal with the effect of the attacks on Bermuda's economy and a number of legislative measures may come before Parliament as a result of those efforts.

She also said that the Government was already three quarters of the way through on delivering on her party's pre-election campaign promises.

On last Thursday's VSB's late night radio talk show she listed more than 30 pieces of legislation already passed since the Progressive Labour Party took over the reins of Government.

"The rest of what we're going to introduce, you'll find on the second of November," she said.

New policy on long term residents may also take up time in the House of Assembly. The policy, articulated in a White Paper debated at the end of the last session, needs several pieces of legislation for it to fully come into effect.

Debate on Bermuda's constitutional evolution will likely resurface upon the establishment of a newly empowered Boundaries Commission shortly after the session begins.

The outgoing Governor is expected to appoint the commission before the end of the year.

The Boundaries Commission's first task will be to recommend the number, and boundaries, of constituencies in a revamped single seat electoral system.

The Alternatives to Incarceration programme (ATI), aimed at broadening sentencing options for criminals, is already underway with the establishment of the Drug Treatment Court.

But there are still a few consequential regulations that have to be brought to the House as a result of ATI.

And during the last session the age of majority was lowered from 21 to 18. It was pointed out during the debate that the law would mean changes to 40 other pieces of legislation.