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Constitutional Amendment #1; An amendment to Article III of the Constitution.
Topic Started: Jun 29 2018, 02:34 AM (429 Views)
Caesar
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Deputy Grand Councillor
Constitutional Amendment #1

An amendment to Article III of the Constitution.

Authored by:
Assembly Member Caesar
Emperor Emeritus Cognat I D'Vhakk

Proposed by:
Assembly Member Caesar



Foreword

The purpose of this proposal to the members of the Assembly is to amend and re-enact the sections and provisions under Article III of the Constitution currently titled "The Citizens' Assembly". All additions and subtractions from the original sections and provisions of this Article are subject to change if given a legitimate reason on the Assembly Floor.


Article III of the Constitution of The Ragerian Imperium shall be amended to read as such, be it enacted by the legislature of the region:




ARTICLE III - THE CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY THE LEGISLATURE

  1. The legislative authority of the Ragerian Imperium shall be vested in the Citizens' Assembly, henceforth referred to as the Citizens' Assembly. The legislative authority of The Ragerian Imperium shall be equally divided among two houses defined here as the Assembly and the Senate.

  2. The Citizens' Assembly shall have the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalisation. The Assembly shall be the citizenry of The Ragerian Imperium, with the exception of Senators.


    1. This assembly shall have the power to compose legislation.

    2. This assembly shall have the power to vote on Senate bills.

  3. The Citizens' Assembly shall have the power to define crimes and their punishments. The Senate shall be a group of officials elected by the citizenry.


    1. This assembly shall have the power to compose legislation.

    2. This assembly shall have the power to vote on bills by the Assembly.

    3. The number of Senators shall be composed of three, five, or seven citizens, subject to legal regulation.

    4. The establishment of the Senate must be validated by Standing Orders and Electoral laws that do not conflict with the provisions of this Article.

  4. The Citizens' Assembly shall have the power to declare war through a majority vote. Each house shall act as a check and balance for the other.


    1. For a bill to be brought to assent, it must be approved by the house(s) that stand(s).

  5. The Citizens' Assembly shall have the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of The Ragerian Imperium, or in any Department or Officer thereof. The Assembly and the Senate shall both have an elected Speaker.


    1. The Speaker of the Assembly, shall have the responsibility of sending laws to the Senate upon a bill’s passing.

    2. The Speaker of the Senate shall have the responsibility of sending laws to the Assembly upon a bill’s passing.

  6. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.

  7. The Citizens' Assembly shall have the power to regulate the regional currency.

  8. The Citizens' Assembly and the Senate shall have the power to impeach the Grand Councillor, the Deputy Grand Councillor, the Councillor of Internal Affairs, the Councillor of External Affairs, any other Councillor, the Chief Justiciar, and any of the associate justiciars, and Senators with a ¾ majority vote.


    1. Impeachments of justiciars and councillors an office is are subject to the consent of the Sovereign.

    2. Office seats that are left vacant from an impeachment shall be refilled as established in electoral law that does not conflict with the provisions of this Article.

  9. Impeachments of justiciars and councillors are subject to the consent of the Sovereign.

  10. All Citizens serve as member of the Citizens’ Assembly.

  11. Unless specified otherwise, the Citizens’ Assembly and the Senate shall require a simple majority majority vote to pass legislation.


    1. Should a bill fail a vote in either house, the house that created it shall take it back and begin revisions followed by another vote.

  12. Legislation proposed by a citizen or Senator on the floor of the a Assembly or the Senate may shall be motioned for a vote after being on the floor for forty-eight hours.

  13. The Citizens and the Senators shall elect a Speaker every 8 weeks two months to preside over the Assembly and the Senate.


    1. The Speaker of the Assembly shall be elected from the Assembly.

    2. The Speaker of the Senate shall be elected by the Senate.

    3. Notwithstanding the provisions laid out in Section 8 of this Article, the Assembly and the Senate shall possess the power to impeach their elected Speakers with a ⅔ majority vote.

  14. The Speakers of the Citizens’ Assembly or the Senate shall then bring the bill to vote for 48 forty-eight hours at the ballot box Voting Desk.

  15. All bills passed by the Assembly must then be delivered by the speaker of the aforementioned Assembly to the visitor’s hall of the Sovereign's residence, where the Sovereign will provide assent to the bill if they so choose. All bills that pass the vote of the Assembly and the Senate shall be delivered by the Speaker of the second vote to the Visitor’s Hall of the Sovereign’s Residence for assent.


    1. If assent is denied by the Sovereign, the bill returns to the house of its origins for revisions and voting. The bill shall proceed through the same legislative process before being presented again.

    2. Laws may be enacted granting a bill an exact number of attempts for assent before becoming null and void.





Additional Information

Under current law, the Legislature is too specified in what sorts of legislation they are deemed to propose as evident in Sections 2 through 5. New law enacts that the Legislature, both Assembly and Senate, will have the power to legislate whatever they will be it acts of war, crimes and punishments, citizenship regulations, etc.

Under current law, the Assembly is the only legislative body in the region. New law enacts that there shall now be an elected body of citizens known as the Senate. The system intended to be created through the Senate is one of checks and balances instead of legislative hierarchy. Instead of a bill going in a linear direction from Assembly to Senate to Sovereign, or from Senate to Sovereign, the bill will go in an nonlinear direction.
New Law enacts the system that if the Assembly passes a bill, it then goes to the Senate who then vote on it and deliver it to the Sovereign among passing. New law also enacts that if a bill is started in the Senate, it is to pass a vote in the Assembly in the same manner as previously stated.

Under current law, there is no set system determining the fate of a bill that fails assent. New law enacts that if a bill is denied assent, it is sent back to the house that delivered it, be it the Assembly or the Senate, for revisions and another vote. This does not conflict with the provisions of Section 5 in Article 1 of the Constitution which states that bills that fail assent can be "either" thrown away "or" rewritten. New law establishes the way legislation is to be rewritten so as to save potential bills that could prove useful in the future.

Under current law, there are standard electoral procedures determining the election of Speakers for the Assembly and the Senate. New law enacts and upholds this standard procedure and leaves open any additional form of electoral procedure and regulation such as special elections, sudden resignations, impeachment procedure, and term lengths for Senators to be passed in laws separate of the Constitution.

Under current law, votes require 3/4 percent of total votes of impeachment to pass. New law enacts that the required percentage will be 2/3 for an impeachment vote to pass so as to assure a reasonable chance that an official who should be removed from office is removed.

Under current law, votes for standard bills and legislation require a "simple majority" of "50% plus 1" in order to pass. New law amends and enacts the reduction of the "simple" majority to the majority vote. For a bill to pass or fail, either side simply needs more than 50% of the total votes, be it 51%, 52%, etc.

The Additional Information section is not a part of the proposed bill and, if made into law, shall not be included in the revisions.




Edited by Caesar, Jul 3 2018, 10:32 PM.
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Replies:
Eli Hesial
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Madeline
Jun 30 2018, 07:44 PM
Clarifications needed because words

Quote:
 
Just send the CA to inactive to wait.

What?

Quote:
 
Each house shall act as a check and balance for the other.

Not explained in a well mannered way. HOW DO THEY DO THIS?


Read the rest, it gets explained on when bills pass one spot and fail another, that's the check and balance. If there are more you think there should be, suggest it!

Quote:
 
"Laws may be enacted granting a bill an exact number of attempts for assent before becoming null and void."

What does this even mean?


In other words, if either house tries to pass the same law and it keeps getting denied by the sovereign or another house, there's a limit to how many times it can happen to avoid the annoyance of saying no to the same bad law.
Point 1

Inactive, meaning we do not have the manpower to vote on it.

Point 2

That is not checks or balances. Checks or balances includes impeachment of troublesome Senators, Speakers and such. From the other House.

Point 3

Than word it like that.
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Madeline
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1. Okay I still don't understand your first problem. What exactly is the issue?

2. The Checks and Balances will be found in the future Standing Orders, such as specifics that the constitution doesn't need. Additionally, the citizens can impeach anyone from office, that is already in the constitution. Also, troublesome Senators? What does that even mean?

3. I am unsure what we are comparing and i believe you meant to say:
Quote:
 
Then word it like that.
to which I respond simply with "that's what further legislation is for, broad is okay, get used to it!
Edited by Madeline, Jun 30 2018, 07:56 PM.
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Caesar
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Deputy Grand Councillor
I removed the word "Plebeian" from the bill as it does have an offensive tone to it. The Citizens' Assembly is now amended to simply say Assembly. Also edited minor revisions as pointed out by Eli regarding a bill that has failed assent to be sent back to its house of origins. However upon being sent back it must go through both houses again.
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His Imperial Highness, Vulturret
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Caesar
Jun 30 2018, 07:46 PM
Your Imperial Majesty, instead of creating an additional clause regarding your specifications, I edited an already existing section, Section 3 subsection D (or cube number 4) to read as such:
The establishment of the Senate may be validated by Standing Orders and Electoral laws that do not conflict with the provisions of this Article.

In this wording, the Senate's existence depends upon Standing Orders and Electoral laws describing how Senators operate. In the circumstance that the population of the region is too small or activity is not high enough, clauses in the Standing Orders and Electoral laws can invalidate the Senate thereby dissolving it until population increases and activity rises.
First of all, the styling is "Imperial Highness." :P

Second of all, instead of saying "may" be validated, can we say "must"? That makes it more clear, in my opinion.
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His Imperial Highness, Scottie
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Madeline
Jun 30 2018, 07:30 PM
As the lovely Manson has pointed out, Plebeian Assembly, in addition to any other Roman-esque names are just not necessary because we are not Rome.

I suggest simply the Assembly, not citizens Assembly, to further assist in separating the confusion of who may vote in the Assembly, that being all citizens minus Senators when it occurs.
The reason for the names was that we were gonna be a lot like a space Rome! That's why we used Imperium. Though I understand the misunderstanding since everyone went away from that which is fine. If you guys prefer the generic style names better I'd support it, but I like the Roman names too :P

I also don't see the offense of Plebeian since that was the Roman name, but I guess some could be offended by it... if I remember right it just means lower class or lower or something... Basically the Lower House or the Citizens House is how I see it. But the titles arent really what I am worried about.
Edited by Scottie, Jun 30 2018, 09:49 PM.
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Caesar
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Deputy Grand Councillor
Apologies Imperial Highness for the mistake of word choice. Yes using must works very well! I shall edit it accordingly!
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The Honorable Aav Verinhall
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Chief Justicar
Just popping in here to say; We'd need to elect a senate for it to establish standing procedures. If I read it correctly, it appears to require senatorial (standing) procedures on how to elect. I smell a catch-22.
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Caesar
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Standing orders and electoral laws, though they would involve the Senate, do not have to be written by the Senate. Ergo, the standing orders and electoral laws can be written first in order to "start" the Senate. The Constitutional amendment I have written states that a second house known as the Senate may exist, but it does not dictate or mandate when or how that Senate may exist. Standing orders and electoral laws will be able to mandate this when they are put into place. I made it this way so that the standing orders and electoral laws can specify when the Senate will exist based on activity and regional population and also go off the amendment's already well defined "how" the Senate may exist and provide more in that regard.
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His Imperial Highness, Vulturret
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Caesar
Jul 2 2018, 06:44 AM
Standing orders and electoral laws, though they would involve the Senate, do not have to be written by the Senate. Ergo, the standing orders and electoral laws can be written first in order to "start" the Senate. The Constitutional amendment I have written states that a second house known as the Senate may exist, but it does not dictate or mandate when or how that Senate may exist. Standing orders and electoral laws will be able to mandate this when they are put into place. I made it this way so that the standing orders and electoral laws can specify when the Senate will exist based on activity and regional population and also go off the amendment's already well defined "how" the Senate may exist and provide more in that regard.
Caesar brings up great and valuable points here. You should heed them, Aav.
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Madeline
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Quote:
 
The number of Senators is subject to acts of the Legislature, but shall not exceed seven persons, shall not be equal to or less than one persons, and shall not be an even number.


I believe we should simplify the wording here to say:
Quote:
 
The number of Senators shall be composed of three, five, or seven citizens, subject to regulation by legislation.


Quote:
 
-Each house shall act as a check and balance for the other.
-A bill that has passed the Assembly shall be sent to the Senate for voting as a bill that has passed the Senate shall be sent to the Assembly for voting.

This also can be simplified, more so we can avoid the clear confusion some people seem to have about this:
Quote:
 
For a bill to be brought to assent, each house must approve.


Alternatively, we can get rid of a lot of the things stated in the specifics, simply state that a Senate exists and there is a speaker for the Senate, and then within the future Standing Orders we include the specifics for better flow and better regulation for the future. For that to work best, I would suggest we have the Speaker of the Assembly establish Standing Orders after this legislation passes specific for the Assembly but also including at what point we shall have the established second house.
This Standing Orders would then be voted upon and made into law, with a clause that includes amendments to the Standing Orders can be made at any time.
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