Bills

WHEREAS the Talossan geographic system contains a whopping five-tiers (!); and
WHEREAS neither India, the world's largest democracy, nor America, the world's most powerful, have anything more than a three-tier system, i.e. national, provincial/state, and local;
THEREFORE the Ziu orders the SoS to have a referendum, to co-incide with the next Clark, to decide the following change in the Organic Law of 1997:
"In Art. XVI:Sec. 1, the phrases 'Townships (els Borgáis; census blocks), Parishes (els Pléivs; block groups),' and 'Townships, Parishes, or smaller areas may not be separated from Cantons or assigned to other Cantons.' is deleted.

In Art. XVI:Sec. 12, the phrase 'Township, Parish,' is deleted."

WHEREAS the issue of the Monarch's political powers has never completely gone away, and even now, years and years and ideas and ideas later, the issue remains; and
WHEREAS several Talossans are in favor of the abdication of King Robert I in favor of Queen Jenny, or the Princess of Prospect;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby adopts this non-binding "sense of the Ziu" resolution. If this resolution passes, futher bills & constitutional amendments will be brought forward to allow the following:
1. King Robert I will abdicate in favor of his wife the Queen or the Princess of Prospect.

2. The House Law of the House and Dynasty of Madison will be revised to allow paragraph 1.

Once again, this resolution is totally non-binding. It is merely a gauge on how the idea would fare if it came to a vote.

WHEREAS the issue of the Monarch's political powers has never completely gone away, and even now, years and years and ideas and ideas later, the issue remains; and
WHEREAS this legislature has in the past shown some support for an elected State President to take on some of the Royal Duties; and
WHEREAS some Talossans have shown interest in creating such an office;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby adopts this non-binding "sense of the Ziu" resolution. If this resolution passes, futher bills & constitutional amendments will be brought forward to allow the following:
1. The Monarch may opt to delegate some or all of his Royal Duties to an elected State President.

2. The Monarch may at any time rescind his actions under paragraph 1 and resume full power.

Once again, this resolution is totally non-binding. It is merely a gauge on how the idea would fare if it came to a vote. The object of this idea is not Ben-bashing or anything, but to explore further ideas to make Talossa a more democratic state.

WHEREAS John A Jahn in the past has criticised the opposition parties for sending party propaganda to on-line citenzens only; and
WHEREAS the PC party has unlimited access to the election list;
THEREFORE the Ziu ask the SoS in collaboration with the Minister of Stuff and the Immigration Minister to provide to every party leader (who has registred his party) an election list. This election list should contain the name and the snail-mail addresses of every Talossans eligible to vote in the next election. This list should be sent five days before the commencement of the general election campaign.

WHEREAS LZ50 of October, 1998 established a cumbersome system of "Questions to the Executive" which have increased the length of the Clark enormously and put great stress upon the Secretary of State's office to comply with publishing both questions and answers thereof; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of LZ50 of October, 1998 was to increase debate among, and accountability of, public officials--a function which the privately-owned Wittenberg already performs; and
WHEREAS many of us think that government has no business doing something that private industry can do more cheaply and more efficiently;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby repeals LZ50 of October, 1998 and abolishes the "Questions to the Executive" on the Clark, and encourages the Talossan people to pose their questions directly to the country's leaders on Wittenberg.

WHEREAS a Member of the Ziu may wish to make a statement to the whole Ziu concerning bills and his approval thereof or opposition thereto, or important matters such as party changes or personal issues;
THEREFORE the Ziu resolves that:
(i) A Member may make an Address to the Whole Ziu by filing said Address with the Secretary of State, to be published in the relevant Clark. Members will have until the fourth (4th) legislative day of the Clark period to file Addresses, only after which may the Secretary of State refuse to publish an Address.

(ii) Addresses to the Whole Ziu may concern bills, personal matters, or other business relevant to a Member's duties and actions as a Member of the Ziu. The Secretary of State may refuse to publish an Address due to lack of relevance.

(iii) If a Member's Address directly concers another Member, that Member may have three days to file a rebutall, that is, the Member may file no later than the seventh (7th) day of the Clark period. No counter-rebuttals will be published.

WHEREAS the Ministers to the Crown must be accountable to the people of Talossa through their representatives in the legislature; and
WHEREAS it should be the right of those representatives to approve the policy of the Ministers to the Crown in order to keep said Ministers accountable to the people;
The the Ziu resolves that:
(i) All important policy statements or policy changes must be approved by the Cosâ. Upon issuing a statement via Prime Dictate, the Prime Minister and/or the Minister under whose jurisdiction the matter falls must send the issue to the Cosâ for approval in a Clark.

(ii) The Prime Minister or the Minister may send a brief address concerning the matter to the Cosâ along with the statement.

(iii) A tied vote on the statement is construed as a passing vote.

(iv) As opposed to vetoing a Prime Dictate, the Monarch may invoke this clause of this act to send the Prime Dictate to the Cosâ for approval. However, any clause of this act can not be invoked to pass a Prime Dictate over the veto of the Monarch, as that action is in violation of the Organic Law of 1997.

WHEREAS Chris Cord has fulfilled all the requirements given by the Immigration Ministry; and
WHEREAS the Cort has approved of his application;
THEREFORE the Ziu now votes to naturalise Chris Cord as a Talossan citizen.

WHEREAS Eric Minton has fulfilled all the requirements given by the Immigration Ministry; and
WHEREAS the Cort has approved of his application;
THEREFORE the Ziu now votes to naturalise Eric Minton as a Talossan citizen

WHEREAS David Fauteux has fulfilled all the requirements given by the Immigration Ministry; and
WHEREAS the Cort is making its decision as this bill is submitted;
THEREFORE the Ziu now votes to naturalise David Fauteux as a Talossan citizen.

WHEREAS Members of the Ziu in the past have gotten overenthusiastic with the number of bills they submit monthly; and
WHEREAS other Members of the Ziu got exhausted with the number of bills thus submitted; and
WHEREAS the Organic Law does not allow the Ziu use any other force than Not-So-Invincible Moral Force to regulate the number of bills presented for the Clark;
THEREFORE Article VIII is hereby amended to read:
Art.VIII:Sec. 6. Notwithstanding Sections 2 and 5 of this Article, the Ziu may make laws regulating the number of bills a Member of the Cosâ or a Senator may submit for one Clark without the need to amend the Organic Law.

WHEREAS the organic law was amended to remove the king in the opposition leader nomination procedure
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby resolve the following procedure for the appointment of an Opposition Leader. This law replace the old one.
DEFINITIONS:

(a) "Governing party" is the political party providing the Prime Minister;

(b) "Coalition Member of the Cosâ" serves as a Minister or Deputy Minister or functional equivalent in the Cabinet, but holds his Seat as an independent or under another partisan label than that of the "Governing party";

(c) "Opposition Member of the Cosâ " is any Member of the Cosâ who holds a Seat as an independent or under another partisan label than that of the "Governing party", and is not a "Coalition Member of the Cosâ ";

(d) "Opposition Secretary" is the Leader of the political party with the largest quanTitative delegation of "Opposition Member(s) of the Cosâ", or a "Opposition Member of the Cosâ " designated as "Opposition Secretary" by that Leader.

PROCEDURE:

(1) the Opposition Secretary will accept nominations of any Opposition Member of the Cosâ for the post of Opposition Leader from any and all Opposition Member(s) of the Cosâ following a General Election;

(2) the nomination period will last one week and begin with the end of the election

(3) immediately following the nominating period, the Opposition Secretary will poll the Opposition Members of the Cosâ as to their preference for Opposition Leader;

(4) the polling period will last one week;

(5) in the event of Opposition Leader resignation, the old opposition leader will name a new opposition leader. Until the old opposition leader find a succesor he should stay in office.

WHEREAS the Kingdom of Talossa will shortly be the subject of a feature article in a Major National Magazine; and
WHEREAS the Kingdom of Talossa is nearing her 20th Anniversary as a sovereign nation,; and
WHEREAS the synergistic effect of both of these events will provide the momentum needed for a large-scale publicity campaign; and
WHEREAS we want as a nation to take full advantage of this unique occurance;
THEREFORE the Ziu authorizes the formation of the Talossan Information Commission, with the mission of brainstorming ideas for publicity, and the charge of presenting a report to the Prime Minister and the Ziu, said Commission to be composed of members appointed by the King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

WHEREAS most governments deposit copies of their bills, papers, and official documents in various academic and public libraries as an official record for the benefit of scholars and citizens; and
WHEREAS the Government of Talossa has no such depository besides perhaps Ben's house, which is hardly public;
THEREFORE the Government of Talossa designates the Milwaukee Public Library as its Royal Depository; and
THEREFORE one copy of each Talossa Book shall be deposited at the Milwaukee Public Library; and
THEREFORE the Government of Talossa shall also have the power to deposit therein copies of Official Talossan Documents; and
THEREFORE the Government of Talossa shall also have the power to deposit therein one copy of each month's Clark with results appended when it should see fit.

WHEREAS Mike Myers' new movie, Austin Powers II : The Spy Who Shagged Me will be shageriffically released June 11; and
WHEREAS some of us get a little verklempt upon thinking about the amount of money being spent on Star Wars; and
WHEREAS some of us would instead prefer something that has a good beat which you can dance to; and
WHEREAS Austin Powers II will both be party time and excellent;
THEREFORE all shagadelic Talossans are encouraged to see the swingingest movie this summer.

WHEREAS the Talossan citizenship process is often intimidating; and
WHEREAS many people might join Talossa if Talossa presented itself as a more welcoming, less élitist community; and
WHEREAS many nations, including the United States, have a special category of immigrant called the "permanent resident", with all civil and political rights except the right to vote; and
WHEREAS participation is at the heart of being Talossan;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby establishes a special category of citizen to be known as the Permanent Resident. Any foreigner who believes in his heart that he is Talossan, and who is not a participant in any so-called "micronation," may acquire Permanent Resident status in the Kingdom of Talossa by writing a "What Talossa Means To Me" Essay and by obtaining the approval of the Uppermost Cort.
Permanent Residents will be classified as citizens for all purposes except that they may not sit as Senators, nor may they vote in nationwide referenda nor in General Elections for the Cosâ and Senäts. Permanent Residents may obtain full citizenship through normal means.

WHEREAS considerable time and effort has been spent over the past several years adjudicating whether or not certain laws passed by the Ziu are "organic" or not; and
WHEREAS certain eagle-eyed citizens tend to keep an eye out for inorganic laws or bills anyway, but have no real mechanism for bringing them before the Uppermost Cort for a final ruling without bringing a lawsuit in the process;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby empowers the Seneschál to appoint a three-person Cort of Cassation, or "CoC." Its members shall be eagle-eyed Talossan citizens not currently serving on the Uppermost Cort, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Seneschál. The Cort of Cassation shall be empowered to review any and all laws currently in force, as well as all bills contained on a Clark in process of being voted on. If the Cort of Cassation shall notify the Uppermost Cort in writing that the law or bill in question is in conflict with the Organic Law, the Uppermost Cort may take action and issue a final adjudication, either dismissing the complaint of the Court of Cassation or upholding said complaint and thereby nullifying said law or bill.

WHEREAS new citizen Paola Cleri wishes to be assigned to Maricopa Province, and
WHEREAS there is no system for assigning people to provinces outside of North America and Europe;
THEREFORE as a step in the right direction the Ziu allocates places to provinces thusly:
1. Those citizens living in Brazil and Spanish-speaking Latin America shall be assigned to Maricopa Province.

2. Those citizens living in Eretz Israel, Georgia, and Armenia shall be assigned to Vuode Province.

3. Those citizens living in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China (i.e., the Turkic nations) shall be assigned to Atatürk Province.

4. The Attorney General shall collate all previous You Are Where You Live Acts into one You Are Where You Live Act. Further bills amending said collated Act shall be known as "An Act Amending the You Are Where You Live Act".

WHEREAS in a democracy the people rule, and
WHEREAS people must be kept informed as to the official actions of their elected representatives, in order to know whether their representatives are in fact "representing" them, and
WHEREAS current Talossan law prevents voters from holding Members of the Cosâ and Senators accountable on the issue of votes on incoming citizens, because these votes are kept secret, and
WHEREAS this secrecy is inconsistent with the public actions of the Uppermost Cort on citizenship votes, and runs contrary to the ideals of an accountable elected government;
THEREFORE the Ziu hereby annuls the section of the citizenship law providing for secret votes on citizens, and mandates that votes on citizens in the Ziu shall be reported the same as all other votes in the Ziu.