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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 2 2013, 11:29 AM (61 Views) | |
| Litchfield | Oct 2 2013, 11:29 AM Post #1 |
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Administrator
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Debating and voting on legislation is the primary function of the City-County Council. It is their job to establish the laws and ordinances which govern the City-County of Cabana Bay and to address the grievances of the people. All legislation goes through the same process to be considered, with that process being outlined here. Step One: Introduction Councilmembers introduce their bills in the Council Hopper. They can choose to format them however they like, and the hopper will serve as a repository for bills waiting consideration. Bills introduced to the hopper must remain there for a minimum of 72 hours to allow for public consideration. Once the elapsed time has passed, a bill can be removed from the hopper by one of two methods. The first method is the "Presidential Selection", which allows the Council President to move a bill from the hopper to debate without other input. The second method is the "Council Selection", which occurs when three councilmembers have expressed their support for the bill in the hopper. Council Selected bills must be placed on the next available docket and take precedent over Presidential Selection bills. Step Two: Meeting Type When debate proceeds forward on a bill, the Council shall determine the type of meeting to be held on the bill. The Council President has the power to choose an Open or Closed meeting, however, Councilmembers may move to change the selection of the Council President. Such a motion requires a second, must be made within 24 hours of the beginning of debate, is voted on for 24 hours and requires majority to pass. During such a motion the meeting shall be suspended. Closed Meetings last for 72 hours before automatically proceeding to a vote. Open Meetings last for a minimum of 48 hours and require a motion to move to vote, which lasts for 24 hours and requires a majority to pass. For game purposes there may be multiple bills up for debate at a single time, and each bill will be considered on its own merits for the type of meeting occurring. A closed meeting on one bill in a docket does not stop an open meeting on another bill in a docket. Step Three: Voting When a meeting comes to a close (either through forced closure or vote), bills shall proceed to a vote. Votes shall last for 48 hours and in most cases only a majority of those voting is necessary to pass a bill. There are some exceptions to this rule outlined below. Bills which are part of an attempt to amend the city charter requires six members to approve. Bills which are part of the bi-annual budget require six members to approve. Attempts to override a Mayoral veto require seven members to approve. Attempts to remove any official from office (impeachment) requires eight members. to approve. Step Four: Mayoral Approval Once a bill has been passed by the Council, its final step is to head to the Mayor's Office. Within 72 hours of passage, the Council President will forward all passed bills to the Mayor for his consideration. If the Mayor approves the bill, or fails to take action within 10 days, the bill becomes law. If the Mayor vetoes the bill, then he must return it to the Council within 72 hours of his veto with his grievances with the bill. The Council can pass an amended version of the bill, or it can attempt to override the veto with a vote of seven members. Step Five: Public Display When a bill has received Mayoral approval (or a veto overridden) it shall be posted at the Legislative Register. This is the final depository for all bills, and displays what laws the Council has passed. |
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3:27 AM Jul 11