Bills

WHEREAS, the basketball team from Marquette University, a prestigious institution of higher education located in the Talossan Greater Area, has reached the Final Four of the NCAA U.S. collegiate basketball championships; and
WHEREAS, the Talossan people have always expressed their support for athletic teams from the Greater Talossan Area; and
WHEREAS, Marquette University is the alma mater of several prominent Talossan citizens such as Matthias Muth (hence the term "Mugrad");
THERFORE, no matter what Talossan citizen and former KU band geek Quedeir Castiglha will tell you, the Ziu is proud to express its support for the Marquette University men's basketball team, and urges all Talossan citizens to root loudy for the Golden Eagles.

WHEREAS a Living Cosâ has not been held since August, 2000,

WHEREAS that's almost three years ago,

WHEREAS that's too long,

WHEREAS TalossaFest being held in July happens to coincide with the sixth and last Clark of this term (assuming it goes the distance),

WHEREAS TalossaFest is made all-the-better by a Living Cosâ,

THEREFORE, the Ziu authorizes a Living Cosâ to be held in the month of July in the City-of-Milwaukee portion of Talossa during the time and at the same place as TalossaFest 2003.

WHEREAS, As you can see you can enter anybody's name and have them co-sponsor your bill, with or without their consent; and
WHEREAS, As you can see, you can even have former citizens, deserters, and traitors propose bills;
THEREFORE, this Imaginary Ziu issues a wake-up call to all of Talossa, to expose this major flaw in the bill-proposing system; Furthermore, we'd like to say BOOYAH!

The Ziu hereby takes all necessary action to pass the following legislation and include it in a nationwide
referendum for final passage at the earliest opportunity.
1) Article VII, Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Organic Law are hereby repealed.
2) The following text is added to replace the text repealed above:
Art. VII: Sec. 1.
a) The Cosâ is composed of 200 seats, apportioned among political parties based on their performance in the
General Election.
b) Each province of Talossa shall elect a certain number of seats to the Cosâ, proportional to its percentage of the
total Talossan population (including all known Dandelions and any other non-voting citizens) at the time of the
election, so that the total number of seats elected from all provinces equals 200. Before the General Election, the
Secretary of State shall certify any change in provincial seat totals since the last election. This number of seats
need not be rounded for the attribution of seats within the province.
c) Each province's seats shall be apportioned among the parties in proportion to the popular vote cast for parties
by voters in that province in the General 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.
a) Based on the final vote tally in each province, the Secretary of State calculates the apportionment of seats
among the parties. Each party receives a percentage of the seats as equal to its percentage of the popular vote
within the province as is mathematically possible. This number of seats need not be rounded for the attribution of
seats within the province.
b) Each party shall receive a whole number of seats in the final tally. In the event of a single seat being divided
among two or more parties mathematically, the party with the highest number of total votes will be used, and in
case of a tie, percentile dice will be used to determine a single owner for the divided seat, with chances
proportional to the percentage of the vote received.
c) The Secretary of State shall employ whatever mathematical formulae and calculations in the apportionment of
seats, as will best reflect the intentions of this Act. The Uppermost Cort shall be the final judge in case of
mathematical disputes.
Art. VII: Sec. 3. Seats won by each party shall be divided by that party among its own members and supporters as
it sees fit, with the proviso that each Member of the Cosâ may hold no more than thirty seats.

WHEREAS, by law and by public sentiment, the Kingdom of Talossa is "inextricably and inexplicably connected
somehow to Berbers," and
WHEREAS, a genuine Berber voice within the Talossan community would provide our entire nation with both
insight into Berber issues that many Talossans find fascinating, and also might provide publicity for the Kingdom
of Talossa among genuine Berber people who seek to have fun participating in Talossa,
THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby enacts this following "Law of Return" into law as a supplement to our normal
Citizenship laws.
PROVISION 1: During each elected Cosâ term, the Immigration Minister and Uppermost Cort shall be
empowered to grant Talossan citizenship to ONE (1) person of demonstrable North African Berber ancestry who
has explicitly applied for Talossan citizenship. Other normal provisions for citizenship shall be waived in this one
case.
PROVISION 2: The exact means for verifying claims of said ancestry shall be worked out between the Cort and
the Immigration Minister, with the Cort having final say in case of disputed cases.
PROVISION 3: In the event of multiple applications, the special grant of citizenship may only go to one person;
any others will need to apply via the normal rules of naturalization.
PROVISION 4: The Culture Minister shall take appropriate steps to advertise in Berber forums upon the approval
of this bill.

WHEREAS, the Black Hand is a reactionary party, and
WHEREAS, the Good Old Days in Talossa saw the publicity of political parties and causes through paper ballots,
which served (in pre-Internet days) to give ordinary Talossans a sense of tangible contact with their Nation and
Government,
THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby empowers the Secretary of State to conduct one election through the use of paper
ballots.
PROVISION 1: This Act is an experimental Act and shall expire at the conclusion of the next General Election.
PROVISION 2: The Secretary of State is empowered to charge any political party a fee (to be equal for all
parties) for inclusion on the paper ballot. The fee shall not exceed $20 (US).
PROVISION 3: The paper ballot shall contain the 50-word statement and an advertisement, not to exceed 3x5
inches, for each party which wishes to have its name published on the paper ballot.
PROVISION 4: The paper ballot shall be mailed to all Talossans for whom the Secretary of State has a current
address at the time it is mailed. The mailing shall include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that voters may
return the ballot, free of charge, to the Secretary of State or to such person(s) authorized by the Secretary of State
to receive and tabulate ballots.
PROVISION 5: The paper ballot shall include telephone and e-mail information on voting, so that recipients may
choose to cast their votes through normal means, if they so desire (rather than returning their paper ballot).
PROVISION 6: Because the paper ballot does not replace telephone and e-mail voting, it may be sent out in
advance of the formal start of elections. (Indeed, this is encouraged, so that the ballot arrives at the homes of
Talossan voters at approximately the date the election begins). As a result, the Secretary of State may impose a
deadline for inclusion on the paper ballot which is earlier than that imposed for inclusion on the official election
website. Because political parties are fully capable of publicizing themselves through any and all means, the
Secretary of State's office shall not be held liable for any disadvantage claimed by parties which fail to register for
the earlier deadline.
PROVISION 7: All paper ballots must be RECEIVED by the Secretary of State on or before the end of the
election. Ballots postmarked before the end of the election, but received after the end of the election, shall not
count towards the final tally.