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REGION OF RIGHT TO LIFE
Established June 1, 2011




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Reforming the Constitution; Three Ideas from the Founder
Topic Started: Wednesday May 24 2017, 01:30 AM (833 Views)
Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

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The June 2017 election is almost here. As I mentioned on the regional message board, I think the 19th Senate should consider reforming the regional constitution. Here are my three ideas:
  • An Independent Delegate: Since 2012, the President and the WA Delegate of Right to Life have been the same person. In 2012, this made a lot of sense because, in the game, the Delegate was the only nation with whom the Founder could share executive powers. As you might recall, NationStates added regional officers in October 2015, forever changing the dynamics of regional management. Our constitution has not been adjusted to account for this major change, and I've been wondering lately whether it might be a good idea to separate the presidency and the delegacy. The President would be elected forum-side and would continue to serve as the head of government. The Delegate would continue to be elected game-side and would focus exclusively on matters related to the World Assembly -- resolutions, endorsements, etc.

  • An Independent Executive: Related to the proposal above, it also might be reasonable to take the President out of the Senate, thereby separating the executive and legislative branches. Of course, this has been proposed several times in the past. Removed from the legislative process, the President could focus his attention on making Right to Life a better, more active region through various programs, initiated and carried out by himself and his ministers. The role of the Founder would continue to be primarily administrative -- keeping the region peaceful and orderly and enforcing its laws (with the needed assistance of moderators and other officials).

  • A Flexible Senate: A perennial issue in regional politics has been the size of the Senate. Right now, the Senate has three members: the President and two senators. In the past, the Senate had five members: the President, a Vice President, and three senators. The five-member Senate was abandoned, and we returned to the three-member Senate because there were simply not enough players willing to run for the extra two seats. If the second proposal above were adopted, there would be three senators, elected once every four months. I think three is a good number for a region our size, but we should provide for the Senate's expansion for the times when activity and interest are unusually high. My recommendation: the Senate will have three members, unless more than six candidates run. If more than six candidates run, the number of senators elected will be equal to one-half of the number of candidates, fractions rounded down. To prevent tied votes, if the number of senators is even (e.g., a four-member Senate), we could give the President a casting vote.



Of course, the main concern would be staffing -- getting enough players to fill all of the offices:
  • Executive Council
    Founder
    President
    Delegate
    Foreign Minister
    Interior Minister

  • Regional Senate
    Senator
    Senator
    Senator

  • Independent Officers
    Bank Director
    Cartographer
    Justice of the Peace
    News Director
The only possible solution that I see would be to minimize the number of restrictions on citizens serving in multiple offices. In my opinion, the only necessary restrictions would be the following:
  • The Founder may not serve as the President, a senator, or the Justice of the Peace.
  • The President may not serve as a senator or the Justice of the Peace.
  • A senator may not serve as the Justice of the Peace.
Consequently, all 12 regional offices could conceivably be staffed by as few as six players. For example:
  • Executive Council
    Founder -- A
    President -- B
    Delegate -- B
    Foreign Minister -- C
    Interior Minister -- D

  • Regional Senate
    Senator -- C
    Senator -- D
    Senator -- E

  • Independent Officers
    Bank Director -- E
    Cartographer -- F
    Justice of the Peace -- F
    News Director -- A
Edited by Culture of Life, Wednesday May 24 2017, 01:43 AM.
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Stellonia
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I like the proposed amendments. However, I'd also like to recommend that in RTL Const. 4:12, we prohibit the Senate from conducting debates behind closed doors, except in cases that involve regional security or the appointment or dismissal of government officials. Additionally, in RTL Const. 3:7, we should change the word "supermajority" to "majority."
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

Stellonia
Friday Jun 16 2017, 04:20 PM
I like the proposed amendments. However, I'd also like to recommend that in RTL Const. 4:12, we prohibit the Senate from conducting debates behind closed doors, except in cases that involve regional security or the appointment or dismissal of government officials. Additionally, in RTL Const. 3:7, we should change the word "supermajority" to "majority."
I like the second recommendation.

With respect to the first recommendation, couldn't the Senate use the ordinary legislative process, instead, to pass some [wiki]rules of order[/wiki]? Rather than codify senatorial procedures as constitutional law or as statutory law, the Senate could have rules of order pinned to the top of this forum. This would be more similar to how many real-world legislatures function. The threat of expulsion by one's fellow senators would likely be sufficient to ensure adherence to the rules.

EDIT: In fact, rules of order wouldn't even need my approval. Of course, I'd offer my advice (as always :P ); but, under the court decision Ovybia v. RTL (Justice Court, 29 July 2015), with which I agree, my constitutional veto power extends only to "laws" and not to other "motions" passed by the Senate.
Edited by Culture of Life, Friday Jun 16 2017, 06:46 PM.
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Billy Graham

Stellonia
Friday Jun 16 2017, 04:20 PM
I like the proposed amendments. However, I'd also like to recommend that in RTL Const. 4:12, we prohibit the Senate from conducting debates behind closed doors, except in cases that involve regional security or the appointment or dismissal of government officials. Additionally, in RTL Const. 3:7, we should change the word "supermajority" to "majority."
I like the recommendations Stellonia has made.
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
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New Missouri
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The United Empire of New Missouri

I also like Stellonia's recommendations.
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

Regarding the first recommendation, how should the constitutional provision be worded?
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Billy Graham

Culture of Life
Tuesday Jun 27 2017, 04:27 AM
Regarding the first recommendation, how should the constitutional provision be worded?
How about, "The Senate shall only convene behind closed doors in matters of regional security and discussion of appointments and dismissals of officers. At no other time should the Senate convene in this manner unless given approval by the founder or the citizens of the region by a simple majority vote."
Edited by The RCS, Tuesday Jun 27 2017, 07:13 AM.
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
Citipointe Live
 
Jesus, be glorified
Your ways are higher than mine
Washed away every stain, Lord
No greater love than the blood, Lord
- From the song Providence (Broke My Chains)
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Stellonia
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I think we should remove the clause about the approval of the founder or of the citizenry. Other than that, it's good.
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

What about court cases? Although I don't support the proposal, maybe this would work:

"The Senate should conduct its proceedings in public view, exempting matters pertaining to regional security and foreign relations; appointments, dismissals, and supervision of regional officials; and judicial deliberations."
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Billy Graham

Culture of Life
Tuesday Jun 27 2017, 06:46 PM
What about court cases? Although I don't support the proposal, maybe this would work:

"The Senate should conduct its proceedings in public view, exempting matters pertaining to regional security and foreign relations; appointments, dismissals, and supervision of regional officials; and judicial deliberations."
That's sounds good, why don't you like this idea CoL?
I'm a Proud Southern Protestant Christian from the great state of North Carolina // Conservative Trump Republican // and a Proud fan of the Tennessee Volunteers and the North Carolina Tar Heels
Citipointe Live
 
Jesus, be glorified
Your ways are higher than mine
Washed away every stain, Lord
No greater love than the blood, Lord
- From the song Providence (Broke My Chains)
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Culture of Life
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William F. Buckley

A constitutional amendment, in my opinion, is too inflexible; and how would it be enforced?

Culture of Life
Friday Jun 16 2017, 06:29 PM
With respect to the first recommendation, couldn't the Senate use the ordinary legislative process, instead, to pass some [wiki]rules of order[/wiki]? Rather than codify senatorial procedures as constitutional law or as statutory law, the Senate could have rules of order pinned to the top of this forum. This would be more similar to how many real-world legislatures function. The threat of expulsion by one's fellow senators would likely be sufficient to ensure adherence to the rules.
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