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Post by Lady Cari on Apr 18, 2018 15:19:19 GMT
There's been a ton of discussion in Discord lately, and half of it revolves around completely overhauling the legislature. The purpose of this thread is to assist in the organization and archival of ideas and their corresponding discussion.
So fire away, one and all.
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Post by Lady Cari on Apr 18, 2018 16:12:46 GMT
The system I have been proposing, working off someone else's suggestion of a unicameral legislature, is something like this:
- There is one house with an indefinite number of seats. - A citizen can become a member of this house by application. These would be slightly higher admission standards than citizenship. The application would be reviewed by existing legislators and approved or denied by simple majority. - A legislator can be removed in one of the following ways: -- The legislature can expel a member by a two-thirds majority vote. -- A legislator can be recalled by a simple majority vote of all citizens. -- The Monarch, or the Minister of Security with approval from the Monarch, can dismiss a legislator immediately if a security risk can be demonstrated. This dismissal must be confirmed by the rest of the legislature to be permanent.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 18, 2018 16:21:09 GMT
All of this. Just all of it. I agree.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 18, 2018 16:23:36 GMT
This also means a lack of term limits, so people serve for as long as they want, and they can be active for as long as they want. New people can always join, because of the unlimited seats.
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Post by Bymaria on Apr 18, 2018 16:59:43 GMT
I absolutely agree to this change as well. As for the name, here are my suggestions:
•Congress of Magistrates •Regional Commision •Council of Procurators
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Post by southernaurgediam on Apr 19, 2018 2:38:53 GMT
I would perhaps add a stipulation that individuals outside the legislature still be able to propose bills, as it encourages participation on the part of our newer members that may not yet meet the requirements for a seat on the Congress/Commission/Council. Of course, the legislature would still have the power to amend the bill (provided the amendments are germane and in the spirit of the bill), and perhaps more importantly reserve the sole right to approve or deny it.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 19, 2018 11:28:20 GMT
I respectfully disagree. The terms to become a part of the Legislature won't be very strict at all. If there's someone too new to become a part of the Legislature who wants to propose a bill, they need only wait until they meet the requirements to submit the bill.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 19, 2018 22:23:42 GMT
ARTICLE II: THE LEGISLATURE Section I - Membership [§1.] Londinium shall adopt a unicameral legislature who, herein, shall exercise the primary legislative authority of the region. The single Legislative chamber will take the name [undetermined] and shall be composed of an indefinite number of members, holding office for an unlimited amount of time. [§2.] Seats in the commission shall be granted through application, reviewed and voted on by current legislators. Applicants will be granted membership after their application is approved. [§3.] The Legislature may expel a member with the consent of two-thirds of all seated legislators. [§4.] The requirements for admission to the Legislature shall be as follows: • [4.1] The applicant must have been a citizen of Londinium for at least 20 days. • [4.2] The applicant must have at least forty (40) posts on the regional forum. • [4.3] The applicant must not have been previously convicted of a crime in Londinium.
Section II - Legislative Initiative [§1.] The Legislature shall exercise legislative initiative in tandem with all citizens of Londinium. [§2.] The Legislature shall reserve the sole right to amend any legislation submitted by a non-seated citizen exercising their right to legislative initiative, provided the amendment is germane to the bill’s content and does not oppose its spirit. A citizen disqualified from the Legislature by the terms outlined in Section I, §4 must submit legislation through a seated citizen, who then becomes responsible for the legislation.
Section III - Powers [§1.] The Legislature has the authority to pass laws governing the region through a simple majority vote in favour from a quorum of members. [§2.] The Legislature may determine the rules of its proceedings. [§3.] The Legislature shall have the power to override the veto of a Prime Minister provided two-thirds give their support to the bill. [§4.] The Legislature shall confirm all appointments by the Prime Minister to the judiciary. [§5.] The Legislature shall meet and conduct business in a designated offsite location. [§6.] Every two months, the representatives serving in the Legislature shall select, by popular vote, a Speaker to preside and represent their interests in the Executive. [§7.] The Legislature shall have the sole power to try all impeachments of government officials. When sitting for that purpose, the Lord Chancellor shall preside. No individual shall be convicted or removed from office without the consent of two-thirds of the Commission.
Section IV - Provisions for the division of the House [§1.] The option to divide the House Legislature in two shall become available at fifteen (15) members. [§2.] The division of the House Legislature must be approved by a majority of House its members. [§3.] A divided House Legislature must have both an upper house (see Section IV, §4) and a lower house (see Section IV, §5). [§4.] A theoretical upper house shall: • [4.1] Consist of five (5) members, elected to coincide with the Prime Minister's elections. • [4.2] Review legislation submitted by the lower house before the passing of said legislation. [§5.] A theoretical lower house shall: • [5.1] Have the same terms of admission outlined in Section I, §4. • [5.2] Create legislation then submit said legislation to the upper house for review. [§6.] Both houses shall elect a speaker from amongst themselves to preside of both houses at the start of every gubernatorial period. [§7.] The process for removing a member from a house follows the same rules as in Section I, §3, with this addition: • [7.1] The monarch may remove any member from the upper house as they see fit. [§8.] If cumulative membership in both houses does not exceed the number outlined in Section IV, §1, the decision may be taken to amalgamate both houses back into one. This decision must be approved by a majority of the members of both houses.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 19, 2018 22:24:32 GMT
I wrote Section IV. Let's see how much editing this needs!
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Post by hromos on Apr 21, 2018 4:24:30 GMT
In section 2.2, I understand why the legislature is the sole group to amend a submitted article, but it could become frustrating/annoying if the citizen who isn't a part of the house cannot actually edit it--it's stripping part of the citizen's power away. I think we should do all or nothing--either allow citizens to submit and edit, OR not allow citizens to submit in the first place.
Of those two options, I'm leaning towards the latter, as the former could get messy. Instead of allowing citizens to submit a bill, only allow legislators to submit bills. A citizen who wants to submit a bill will then either have to become a legislator and submit it themselves (thus getting new nations to be more active), OR find a legislator who will sponsor the bill on their behalf (thus letting less involved nations to have a voice when necessary but not forcing them to participate the way a more active nation would).
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Post by hromos on Apr 21, 2018 4:26:34 GMT
Btw, just a suggestion for a name. Why not "The Chamber"? It is already referred to as a legislative chamber in the bill.
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Post by Nyelant on Apr 21, 2018 16:39:02 GMT
I want to change section 2.2
I think it should reference crimes in the region, because that is the only irreversible way to not be seated. Any other condition (not being a citizen, not having enough time, not having enough forum posts) can be surpassed and therefore the applicant would be able to submit bills once they are in the Legislature. Here's my idea:
[§2.] Any citizen convicted of a crime in the region, being barred from the legislature, may submit and amend their own legislation, though they may not amend nor have input on the legislation of others. Citizens barred from the legislature by having been convicted of a crime may not vote on any legislation.
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Post by Lady Cari on Apr 23, 2018 0:16:43 GMT
I second Hromos' suggestion regarding the submission of bills by non-legislator citizens.
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Post by Lady Cari on Apr 23, 2018 0:37:13 GMT
Btw, just a suggestion for a name. Why not "The Chamber"? It is already referred to as a legislative chamber in the bill. Only if we get something related titled "The Chamber Pot".
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Post by Lady Cari on May 1, 2018 17:37:06 GMT
I'd recommend the above changes for the sake of continuity. Nyelant
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