Bills

WHEREAS we need a close vote to test out the proposed 200-seat Cosâ,

WHEREAS with non-frivolous bills, we would have no guarantee the close we vote we need is not guaranteed,

THEREFORE, the Ziu declares Sunday, January 26, 2003 to be a Celebration of either Apples or Oranges,

A për vote shall count as a vote for Oranges, and a contrâ shall count for a vote for Apples, and an abstention shall count as a vote for neither.

The fruit which receives the most votes shall be the fruit which shall be celebrated on Sunday, January, 26, 2003. Hence, A Celebration of Oranges, A Celebration of Apples, or none of the above.

Let's put the proposed 200-seat Cosâ to the test! The Senäts is likewise invited to cast a close vote.

Make this a nailbiter, folks!!

Art. XVII:Sec. 4. Pending any change in the citizenship law, the rules and procedures laid down in this Organic Law, as amended through the end of January, 1999, shall remain in force.

shall be changed to:

Art. XVII:Sec. 4. --The former content of this section has been struck from the Organic Law; the numbering of the sections of this article has been preserved.--

WHEREAS Every new prospective is now assigned a Talossan Name;

WHEREAS Every new citizen is assigned a province;

WHEREAS Sometimes, two people might share the same last name in Talossan;

WHEREAS this creates a new type of "familly"

THEREFORE the Ziu resolves that :

If a prospective wishes so, upon naturalization he or she may decide to join a province where another Talossan shares the same last name in Talossan instead of his or her usual provincial assignment.

This bill shall be in effect for propectives approved at the same time of this bill

WHEREAS there's a lot of land in Maritiimi-Maxhestic; and
WHEREAS the only subdivisions are the two Cantons; and
WHEREAS we cannot reapportion those due to their definition in the Organic Law; and
WHEREAS it would be nice to have parishes in MM,
THEREFORE the Ziu authorises the citizens of the glorious province of Maritiimi-Maxhestic to apportion and name some appropriate parishes within the province. Tout-suite.

WHEREAS there are many many bills and laws in the canon of Talossan law; and
WHEREAS many of these have errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation; and
WHEREAS we should not allow our laws look unprofessional or sloppy due to these mistakes, since no one does that and expects respect,
THEREFORE the Ziu authorises the Scribe of Abbavilla to repair such errors inasuch the corrections clarify their intent and do not alter their intent or scope.

Art. XVII:Sec. 11. A Citizen who has voluntarily renounced his citizenship (in any fashion) may petition the Uppermost Cort for a restoration of his citizenship. The petition should contain a "Why Talossa Hasn't Meant That Much To Me" Essay, explaining the reasons why he renounced his citizenship, and indicating how he intends to participate in Talossa in future. The Cort shall review the petition and may restore the person's citizenship by a majority vote. The Cort may impose such legal penalties as it shall determine, as penance for those people who renounce their citizenship and then return.

shall be changed to read (with changes in italics):

Art. XVII: Sec. 11. A Citizen who has voluntarily renounced his citizenship (in any fashion) may petition the Immigration Minister and only the Immigration Minister for a restoration of his citizenship. The petition shall contain a "Why Talossa Hasn't Meant That Much To Me" Essay, explaining the reasons why he initiated the ending of his citizenship, and indicating how he intends to participate in Talossa in future. The Immigration Minister shall send the petition to the Uppermost Cort, the Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and the Mençei. The Immigration Minister shall also make every reasonable effort to let the Talossan populous know of the petition as well. The Uppermost Cort and only the Uppermost Cort shall review the petition and may restore the person's citizenship by a majority vote. The Uppermost Cort may impose such legal penalties as it shall determine, as penance for those people who renounce their citizenship and then return , but this penance shall not last longer than one week after the return of former citizen to Talossan citizenship..

The following shall be added to the 1997 Organic Law:

Article XVII: Section 12: All appropriate information of all Talossan prospectives who have been brought before the Uppermost Cort, all former citizens, as well as all former citizens who are applying for restoration of their Talossan citizenship shall be public knowledge. This shall be a duty of the Minister of Immigration.

WHEREAS the 1997 Organic Law says the following:

Art. IV:Sec. 2. There shall be an equal number of Senators from each Province, such that the number of senators is as nearly equal as practicable to half the number of members of the Cosâ.

Art. VI:Sec. 9. In the case of vacant seats occurring between elections, the Secretary of State shall inform the King and the leader of whatever party held the vacant seat. The King shall appoint a replacement to each vacancy. If the seat belonged to a party with a functioning party leader, the King must appoint as a replacement whichever person shall be so designated by that party's leader. If there is no functioning party leader, or if the party leader refuses to designate a replacement, the King shall appoint the replacement according to his own best judgement.

Art. VII:Sec. 1. The Cosâ is composed of 20 seats, apportioned among the parties in proportion to the popular vote cast for parties in the last election (abstentions, spoilt ballots, non-votes and votes for parties which did not register being omitted from this count so that all who actually vote for parties comprise 100% of the total "popular vote" for this purpose).

Art. VII:Sec. 2. Based on the final vote tally, the Secretary of State calculates the apportionment of seats among the parties. Each party receives a percentage of the 20 seats as equal to its percentage of the popular vote as is mathematically possible. Each party shall receive a whole number of seats. In the event of a single seat being divided among two or more parties mathematically, percentile dice will be used to determine a single owner for the divided seat, with chances proportional to the percentage of the vote received.

Art. VII:Sec. 3. Each party shall divide its elective seats among its members as it sees fit, with the proviso that each member may hold only one seat.

Art. VII:Sec. 4. Each person holding a seat is a correspondent representative known as a "Member of the Cosâ" (MC). MCs may not be removed from office except by a two-thirds vote by the Cosâ and approval by the King. An MC vacates his seats if he fails to vote on two consecutive Clarks, or if he resigns from office or dies. Any seats left unassigned at the end of the first Clark of the government are considered vacant.

Art. VII:Sec. 5. Each MC will represent, for ceremonial purposes, a particular geographical "constituency." The exact procedure will be determined by law.

Art. VII:Sec. 6. Anyone eligible to vote in Talossa is eligible to hold any government position, including Member of the Cosâ.

The Ziu authorizes a referendum to be held on the following matter:

the following changes are to be made to the 1997 Organic Law:

Article VII: Section 1 shall be struck and replaced by the following:

Art. VII: Sec. 1. The composition of the Cosâ and the procedures to deal with Cosâ seats which become vacant between elections shall be determined by a Law of the Ziu entitled "The Cosâ Act of [date of the month of the Clark in which it is proposed or amended]. The Cosâ-Seats Law may contain legislation solely pertaining to the composition of the Cosâ and shall be approved and then later amended by the same process used to amend this Organic Law.

Article VII, Section 2 shall be struck and replaced by the following:

Art. VII: Sec. 2. Each person holding a seat is a correspondent representative known as a "Member of the Cosâ" (MC). MCs may not be removed from office except by a two-thirds vote by the Cosâ and approval by the King. An MC vacates his seats if he fails to vote on two consecutive Clarks, or if he resigns from office or dies. Any seats left unassigned at the end of the first Clark of the government are considered vacant.

Article VII: Section 3 shall be struck and replaced by the following:

Art. VII: Sec. 3. Anyone eligible to vote in Talossa is eligible to hold any government position, including Member of the Cosâ.

Article VI: Section 9 shall be struck.

Article IV: Section 2 shall be struck and replaced by the following:

Art. IV: Sec. 2: There shall be one and only one Senator from each province.

An amendment to assimilate the Clark's composition

The sentence "PD's shall be published at the earliest possible opportunity in the Clark." shall be struck from Art. X: Sec. 5. Said sentence shall be moved to be a part of the following addition to the 1997 Organic Law:

Art. VIII: Sec. 7: The Clark shall contain all content outlined in Article. VIII: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Additionally, PD's shall be published at the earliest possible opportunity in the Clark. The Clark shall also contain the following: any public business of the Uppermost Cort since the last published Clark, Speeches to the Nation of a Prime Minister, and the Speech from the Throne; all of these shall be published in the Clark at the earliest opportunity of the Secretary of State.

Currently, the 1997 Organic Law says the following:

Art. XIII:Sec. 1. The Cosâ may hold Living Cosâs (live parliamentary meetings) by law. To do so, a bill must be presented to the Cosâ naming the specific month in which the event is to take place, and pass the Cosâ by a two-thirds vote.

Art. XIII:Sec. 2. The exact date and location of the Living Cosâ shall be set by the Seneschál after consultation with all relevant parties. All members must receive two weeks notice of the date of the Living Cosâ, and an honest attempt must be made beforehand to schedule a date for the meeting that as many MCs as possible can attend.

Art. XIII:Sec. 3. The Seneschál may, if events warrant, issue a PD authorizing a Living Cosâ in the following calendar month. Such a PD may be vetoed (in addition to normal means) by a formal protest to the Secretary of State by Members of the Cosâ comprising one-third or greater the number of elected seats in the Cosâ. When setting the date of the Living Cosâ by PD in this fashion, the Seneschál must abide by the conditions set down in the preceding Section.

Art. XIII:Sec. 4. Members who cannot attend will not be denied the right to participate. They may send their votes to the Secretary of State by any means feasible, so that they can be announced at the Living Cosâ. A member may, in writing, delegate his authority to vote (transfer his seat) to another person who can attend the Living Cosâ, but no individual may hold more than one proxy seat (in addition to his 'real' seat, if any).

Art. XIII:Sec. 5. Votes presented to the Secretary of State after the Living Cosâ will not be counted in the final tally. The final tally of votes on all bills is taken at the end of the Living Cosâ. This article takes precedence over any other provision to the contrary.

Art. XIII:Sec. 6. New bills, or amendments, may not be presented at the Living Cosâ. No bill not published in the Clark may be debated. Clarks will be published on schedule as usual.

Art. XIII:Sec. 7. The Clark during a Living Cosâ month must include a Vote of Confidence.

The following shall be added to the 1997 Organic Law:

Art. XIII:Sec. 8. The Senäts may hold Living Senäts (live parliamentary meetings) by law. To do so, a bill must be presented to the Ziu naming the specific month in which the event is to take place, and pass the Senäts by a two-thirds vote.

Art. XIII:Sec. 9. The exact date and location of the Living Senäts shall be set by the Mençei after consultation with all relevant parties. All members must receive two weeks notice of the date of the Living Senäts, and an honest attempt must be made beforehand to schedule a date for the meeting that as many Senators as possible can attend.

Art. XIII:Sec. 10. The Seneschál may, and only upon the specific approval of the Mençei, if events warrant, issue a PD authorizing a Living Senäts in the following calendar month. Such a PD may be vetoed (in addition to normal means) by a formal protest to the Secretary of State by Senators comprising one-third or greater the number of elected seats in the Senäts. When setting the date of the Living Senäts by PD in this fashion, the Seneschál must abide by the conditions set down in the preceding Section.

Art. XIII:Sec. 11. Senators who cannot attend will not be denied the right to participate. They may send their votes to the Secretary of State by any means feasible, so that they can be announced at the Living Senäts. A Senator may, in writing, delegate his authority to vote (transfer his seat) to another person who can attend the Living Senäts, but no individual may hold more than one proxy seat (in addition to his 'real' seat, if any).

Art. XIII:Sec. 12. Votes presented to the Secretary of State after the Living Senäts will not be counted in the final tally. The final tally of votes on all bills is taken at the end of the Living Senäts. This article takes precedence over any other provision to the contrary.

Art. XIII:Sec. 13. New bills, or amendments, may not be presented at the Living Senäts. No bill not published in the Clark may be debated. Clarks will be published on schedule as usual.

Art. XIII:Sec. 14. The Clark during a Living Senäts month must include a Vote of Confidence, though the Senäts does not actually vote on the Vote of Confidence.

WHEREAS Katherine Smith of Boone, North Carolina, has
meet the statutory requirements for consideration for
Talossan citizenship, and

WHEREAS Katherine Smith has been approved for
citizenship by the Uppermost Cort, and

WHEREAS Katherine Smith has already made a fine
addition to our nationette,

THEREFORE the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa hereby
votes to naturalize Katherine Smith as a Talossan
Citizen, with all entailed rights and priviliges.

WHEREAS Jorge de Oliveira Melo of Recife, Brazil, has
meet the statutory requirements for consideration for
Talossan citizenship, and

WHEREAS Jorge Melo has been approved for citizenship
by the Uppermost Cort, and

WHEREAS Jorge Melo has already made a fine addition to
our nationette,

THEREFORE the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa hereby
votes to naturalize Jorge Melo as a Talossan Citizen,
with all entailed rights and priviliges.

WHEREAS Andrew Jay Lowry of Wickenburg, Arizona, has
meet the statutory requirements for consideration for
Talossan citizenship, and

WHEREAS Andrew Lowry has been approved for citizenship
by the Uppermost Cort, and

WHEREAS Andrew Lowry has already made a fine addition
to our nationette,

THEREFORE the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa hereby
votes to naturalize Andrew Lowry as a Talossan
Citizen, with all entailed rights and priviliges.

WHEREAS, under Talossan law, there are no actual, legal prohibitions
against murder, rape, robbery, or any other crimes, and

WHEREAS, the Kingdom of Talossa is a civilized nation subject to the
rule of law (Organic Law, Article XVIII, 8th Covenant),

THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby adopts the Civil and Criminal Codes of the
State of Wisconsin as national law within the territory of the Kingdom
of Talossa, subject to the following restrictions:

1) Talossan national law is superior to adopted foreign law. Therefore,
the Civil and Criminal Codes of Wisconsin shall be law in Talossa only
insofar as they are consistent with the Organic Law of the Kingdom of
Talossa. The Uppermost Cort shall have the final say upon any real or
perceived inconsistencies.

2) Acts of the Ziu establish Talossan national law; therefore, any Law
of the Ziu purporting to repeal or change Wisconsin civil or criminal
codes, for the purposes of their specific application within the
Kingdom of Talossa, shall take precedence over said codes.

WHEREAS, the application of capital punishment as the forfeiture of
life is enshrined within the Organic Law of the Kingdom of Talossa
(Article XVIII, 7th Covenant), and

WHEREAS, it is the will of the Ziu that capital punishment is an
appropriate penalty for the most heinous and serious crimes,

THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby resolves that the inclusion of capital
punishment, in any future revision of the Talossan criminal code, is an
appropriate and legitimate penalty for the most heinous and serious
crimes.

This Act shall take effect at such time as the Kingdom of Talossa is
capable of executing and enforcing its own criminal law. Until that
time this Act shall stand as a resolution of the Ziu.