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Vote: The Regional Governance Act (2015)
Topic Started: 6th October 2015 - 07:36 PM (347 Views)
Morganus
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Members of the Senate, the following bill is up for vote.
As it can result the Senate to be abolished, I urge each and every one of you to contemplate well and give us your final answer on this issue.
I'd also like to indicate that even if it passes, it will be subject to a referendum.


Quote:
 
The Regional Governance Act (2015)

An Act to counter the increasing disenfranchisement and disengagement by the members of the Independent Order towards the regional government by replacing the Constitution of the Independent Order with a new Charter, abolishing the Senate and transferring the authority of that body to the Citizens Assembly hereby renamed the Regional Assembly. This Act shall also incorporate the Roleplay Council into the governance of the region as a devolved body.


Whereas an increasing number of members have become disenfranchised and disengaged with the political system of the Independent Order,

And whereas following said election period the Grand Chancellor and incumbent Premier ordered a review of the regional political system,

Be it therefore enacted by Her Excellency the Grand Chancellor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Short Title and enactment

(1) This Act may be referred to as The Governance Act (2015).

(2) Execution of this Act shall be subject to a referendum.

(3) This Act shall be enacted at the end of the term of the Senate term following an affirmative result in the referendum mentioned in section (2). A negative result shall result in the failure of this legislation.

(4) This Act shall be considered, for the purposes of the Constitution as enacted, as an Act to amend the Constitution of the Independent Order.

New Constitution

(5) The present Constitution of the Independent Order, and all subsequent amendments, shall be repealed and, in future legislation, be referred to as the ‘2013 Constitution’.

(6) The new Charter of the Independent Order shall be included in Annex I of this Act.

Changes to Institutions

(7) The Senate of the Independent Order is hereby abolished.

(8) The Citizen's Assembly is hereby renamed the Regional Assembly the charter of which shall be included in Annex II of this Act.

(9) The Roleplay Council shall become a 'constitutional body' the charter of which shall be included in Annex III of this Act.

(10) A list of repealed Acts is included in Annex IV of this Act.

Annex I

Charter of the Independent Order

In order to run the forum in an effective and democratic way, the members and staff of the Independent Order have adopted this Charter, which sets out the institutions and rules of government.


Structure

The government of the Independent Order shall consist of the:

  • Chancellory
  • Regional Assembly
  • Roleplay Council


Chancellory

  • The Chancellory shall consist of the Grand Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, the forum founder and any other such members appointed to it.
  • The Chancellory is responsible for establishing rules for and maintaining the forum, and dealing with gameplay aspects of the region, including the management of the founder account on Nation States.
  • The Grand Chancellor shall have the right to veto any change to this Charter, the Roleplay Rules, or any other regional Charter.


Regional Assembly

  • The Regional Assembly shall be an open forum for all members of the Independent Order, regardless of their post count or length of membership, excluding banned members or diplomatic representatives from other regions.
  • Members can use this forum to question the work of the Chancellory or Roleplay Council, to discuss changes to the Forum Rules, respond to consultations from the Chancellory or Roleplay Council, write and debate legislation regarding gameplay matters, and exercise any other power given to the Regional Assembly.
  • The details of the Regional Assembly are outlined in a separate Charter, which can be found (insert link).


Roleplay Council

  • The Roleplay Council shall consist of members appointed by the Chancellory, and approved by the Regional Assembly.
  • Councillors will be responsible for the creation, interpretation implementation of Roleplay Rules, and all related legislation.
  • The details of the RP Council are outlined in a separate Charter, which can be found (insert link)


Miscellaneous

  • Anyone appointed to serve within the Chancellory or on the Roleplay Council, with the exception of the Grand Chancellor and owner of the forum’s founding administrator account, may be removed from office following a vote of no confidence in the Regional Assembly.
  • Changes to this Charter must be approved by a vote of members in the Regional Assembly, and by the Grand Chancellor.
  • The governing Charters of the Regional Assembly and Roleplay Council shall be considered as having the same legal authority as this Charter.
  • The Zetaboards Terms of Service (ToS) and Terms of Use (ToU) must be abided by at all times, by all members. Should a member break either the ToS or ToU, the forum administrators reserve the right to ban them immediately and indefinitely. Should such action be taken against a member, with the exception of accounts operated by an automated computer program, the forum administrator shall inform the Attorney General of such information, or failing that the Officer of Accountability should neither of these be possible a public announcement in the office of the Grand Chancellor is required.


Annex II

Regional Assembly Charter

Article I- The Regional Assembly

(1) The power to initiate legislation shall be reserved by the Regional Assembly.

(2) The Regional Assembly shall be composed of qualifying members of the Independent Order.

(3) A qualifying member is a member of the Independent Order whose name appears on the register of Assembly Members, is not presently serving a ban nor is a diplomatic representative from another region.

(4) Members of the Regional Assembly shall be known as such, and shall automatically be granted the suffix ‘AM’.

(5) The Regional Assembly may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds or more of its members, expel a member.

(6) The Regional Assembly shall vote for a Speaker from their own ranks. Should the Regional Assembly be unable to determine a Speaker, after a period of seven (7) days, the Grand Chancellor shall appoint a member of the Regional Assembly to serve as Speaker. The Speaker may not be the Premier, Vice Premier, a member of the Chancellery or Minister.

(7) The Speaker shall, upon taking office, appoint an Assembly Member to serve as Deputy Speaker. Should the Speaker declare a leave of absence, the Deputy Speaker shall be responsible for carrying out the functions, duties and responsibilities of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker may not be the Premier, Vice Premier or a member of the Chancellery.

(8) The Speakers responsibilities shall include- the admittance of members (maintenance of the Register of Assembly Members), the prompt administration in respect of legislation, liaising with the Premier and Grand Chancellor and other such duties as they arise.

(9) Should the Speaker resign, cease to be an Assembly Member, lose the confidence of the Assembly, go inactive, defined as not having logged into the forum for five (5) days, or otherwise be disqualified from the position of Speaker, they shall be deemed to have vacated the office, and the Deputy Speaker shall be appointed by the Grand Chancellor to serve as Speaker. If the Deputy Speaker is on leave, goes inactive, loses the confidence of the Assembly, is otherwise disqualified from the position of Speaker, or does not wish to be appointed to this position, then fresh elections shall be held to elect a new Speaker.

(10) The Grand Chancellor may submit legislation to the Regional Assembly and participate in debates in the Regional Assembly but may not vote.

(11) The Vice Chancellor may submit legislation to the Regional Assembly and participate in debates in the Regional Assembly and may vote unless fulfilling the responsibilities of the Grand Chancellor due to a Leave of Absence.

(12) Any proposed bill or act shall be debated in the Regional Assembly for no less than three (3) days, after such time any Assembly Member may move to vote on the bill. If three further Assembly Members support the motion, the Speaker must move the bill to vote within twenty-four (24) hours. If a petition to delay, amend or block a proposed bill or act is submitted to the public gallery, then the Speaker must allow thirty-six (36) hours for it to be considered by members of the Privy Council (see section 19 for definition). If the petition is upheld then the amended version is returned to the Regional Assembly for debate, in the case of a move to block the proposed bill or act may be considered thrown out.

(13) For the purposes of point twelve (12) the petition must receive at least five signatures.

(14) Any act or resolution in the Regional Assembly will be considered passed should it achieve fifty (50) percent plus one or more votes in favor of the number of votes cast in the Regional Assembly at that time.

(15) The Regional Assembly shall have the right to delegate any part of its legislative authority to a devolved body, excluding the ability to amend the Governing Charters or overturn a decision made by the Grand Chancellor.

(16) The Regional Assembly may overturn a pardon, commutation, or sentence reduction by the Grand Chancellor by a vote of seventy-five (75) percent.

(17) All laws and treaties passed by the Regional Assembly must be formally signed by the Grand Chancellor to take effect.

(18) An Assembly Member shall be deemed to have vacated their seat, should they go inactive for seven (7) days.
(19) The Privy Council is defined as- a Council headed by the Grand Chancellor, consisting of the Cabinet of the day, and any such members of the nobility as the Grand Chancellor shall see fit to appoint (the Cabinet members may not outnumber the Nobles).

Article II- The Cabinet

(20) The Premier shall be the head of government of the Independent Order.

(21) The Premier shall be elected by the members of the Independent Order for a term of sixty-five (65) days. Nominations shall be opened 120 hours before start of the next Premier term, or immediately following a vote of no confidence, and shall last 72 hours. Elections shall be held immediately following the end of nominations.

(22) To run for Premier, a candidate must be able to demonstrate that they have had a nation in The Independent Order and have taken an active role in the community for a period no less than forty-five (45) days. This requirement shall be fulfilled by a minimum of twenty (20) non-spam posts to the forums, as well as a topic in the Elections forum introducing themselves to members of the Independent Order and outlining their plans for the upcoming term.

(23) Upon election, the Premier shall appoint a Vice Premier, who will act in his absence should the Premier declare a formal leave of absence, or should the Premier fail to log into the forum of The Independent Order for a period of seven (7) days.

(24) The Cabinet shall be made up of a number of portfolios. The Premier may create and/or abolish portfolios at their discretion, however, it must consist of justice, cultural, foreign and home affairs portfolios.

(25) Cabinet positions are appointed by the Premier, at the start of the term, and then upon the resignation or dismissal of a minister, or the automatic vacancy of a portfolio. The Premier can, at his or her discretion, dismiss members of the Cabinet and fill vacancies.

(26) Should a minister fail to log into the forums of The Independent Order for a period of seven (7) days without a declared leave of absence, their portfolio will be deemed vacant.

(27) Both the Premier and Vice Premier may occupy a portfolio themselves.

(28) At the discretion of the Premier, a minister may occupy more than one portfolio.

(29) No member may serve as Premier for more than two (2) consecutive terms at any given time, save in instances where no other member is legally nominated at the elections following the sitting Premier's second consecutive term in office. In such cases, the sitting Premier may seek reelection.

(30) A motion of no confidence, for either the entire cabinet or individual ministers, may be passed by the Regional Assembly with sixty-six (66) percent or more of the vote.

(31) In instances where the Grand Chancellor does not wish to sign a bill or act into law as stated in point seventeen (17) the Cabinet may with a majority of members of the Cabinet in support motion a discussion and vote of the Privy Council on the declined bill or act.

Article III- The Armed Forces

(32) The Grand Chancellor shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Independent Order.

(33) The Minister of Defence shall be appointed by the Premier for an indefinite term in a 'liaison role' this role shall ensure that the Cabinet are kept informed of activities within the Armed Forces, the planning and overseeing of training exercises and the proposing of military awards.

Article IV- Officer of Accountability

(34) The Officer of Accountability shall be elected, by a majority vote, following nomination by the Premier.

(35) The Officer shall be accountable to the Regional Assembly, and the Assembly may, following a majority vote, recall the Officer.

(36) The Officer shall automatically vacate their seat if they fail to log into the forum without a declared leave of absence for more than seven (7) days.

(37) The Officer of Accountability shall be responsible for the investigation of complaints and should they believe there is substance to the complaint, they shall decide whether or not there are grounds for prosecution.

Annex III

Charter of the Role Play Council

Membership

(1) Members of the Regional Council for Roleplay shall be nominated by the Founder and appointed following a vote of the Regional Assembly, taking into account the broad range of views and beliefs of the Independent Order's membership towards roleplay matters.

Powers and Responsibility's

(2) The Council shall be primarily responsible for assisting the Founder in the writing, application and enforcement of the Roleplay Rules and further regulations, in accordance with said Roleplay Rules.

(3) The power to amend the roleplay rules and other such regulations shall be devolved to the Council, with the Founder reserving the right to reject such changes.

(4) The Council shall be empowered to regulate the introduction of new technologies, the Gross Domestic Product (‘GDP’) and population of new nations, and any other such matters determined by the Founder or the Roleplay Rules.

(5) The Founder shall be enabled to submit proposals and participate in debates of the Council.

(6) The Council may establish Directives, by majority and with the approval of the Founder or by unanimous decision without such approval, to further regulate, implement and enforce the Roleplay Rules.

(7) The Council may nominate individuals within the Council to occupy or fulfill particular portfolios relevant to the application, implementation and enforcement of the Roleplay Rules and Council Directives.

Accountability

(8) Should a member of the Independent Order believe the Council, or an individual councillor, has acted ultra vires, they may submit the case to the High Court of the Independent Order for Judicial Inquiry.

(9) The Regional Assembly can following an inquiry concluding that actions of the Council or of a councillor were ultra vires hold a vote of no confidence in either the council or individual councillors and upon a two thirds majority remove them from office.

(10) The Council shall remain subject to the rules, regulations and procedures of the Independent Order.

Miscellaneous

(11) Members of the Independent Order who do not sit on the Council may, at the Council’s discretion, submit proposals for debate.

Annex IV

The following pieces of legislation are hereby repealed:

(1) Senate Size Act (2014)
(2) Senate Expansion Act (2014)
(3) By-Election Procedures Act (2014)
(4) The Representation of the People Act (2014)
(5) The Regional Council For Roleplay Declaration (Founder Order)
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Achkaerin
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Aye.
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DaveIronside
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Aye
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"Togetherness Is Strength"
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zachpack11
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Indisputeable Emperor of Anarchy
Nay. I feel the chancellery should not be given the power to appoint members of the RP council, they shoul be elected, and for this reason cannot vote in favor of this act
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Morganus
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Aye
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Achkaerin
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zachpack11
8th October 2015 - 02:30 AM
Nay. I feel the chancellery should not be given the power to appoint members of the RP council, they shoul be elected, and for this reason cannot vote in favor of this act
Normally I wouldn't correct someone on a vote but section (1) of the RP Council at vote states:

Quote:
 
Members of the Regional Council for Roleplay shall be nominated by the Founder and appointed following a vote of the Regional Assembly, taking into account the broad range of views and beliefs of the Independent Order's membership towards roleplay matters.


That is to all intents and purposes an election, if the Regional Assembly says no to a particular councilor then the Founder must nominate someone else.
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zachpack11
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Indisputeable Emperor of Anarchy
I knew this, but I still think they should be elected, not appointed by the founder. I would also call for a set term length for RP council members, and a limit on consecutive terms. I will continue to vote Nay, until such things are added to the act, although I know my vote will be overruled. Instead of counting on my vote, I call for other Senators, and anyone else who cares to voice their opinions, to push for these amendments.
Edited by zachpack11, 8th October 2015 - 10:58 PM.
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Cool101jr
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I vote aye
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Morganus
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4 Ayes, 1 Nay - I declare this bill as a passed one, even though as we all know, it will be enacted only at the end of our Senate term if the membership votes for it on the referendum.
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Achkaerin
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I shall dig out the Referendum Act and submit it to the docket later today.
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