Bills

This is bill id#1204 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS We often have a July month of Recess due to inactivity,  and often, the month of August isn't much better AND

WHEREAS we don't always have a month of recess AND

WHEREAS there can be only one! AND

WHEREAS Summer is Magic... 

THEREFORE The Ziu resolves to put to a referendum the following addition to Section 3 of Article XIII of the Organic Law:

If no month of Recess was called in the previous Cosa and a recess is called for the month of July, the Seneschal may instead decide to create two months of recess for July and August.

So that the full section now reads:

Section 3

The Seneschál may insert between any two Clarks, or after the final Clark, a "month of recess" in which no Clark is published and no Cosâ or Senäts business is conducted. No more than one "month of recess" may be declared during any one term of office. If no month of Recess was called in the previous Cosa and a recess is called for the month of July, the Seneschal may instead decide to create two months of recess for July and August.
 

This is bill id#1205 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS there were talks about creating fixed dates elections, in order to provide reliability and predictability for the electors AND

WHEREAS no one ever did anything about it AND

WHEREAS This proposal provides a single election per year, in January 15th, skipping the holiday season and two months of recess during the summer AND

WHEREAS we get exactly 4 Clarks before the summer break and 4 Clarks after the summer break, a perfect symmetry AND

WHEREAS We could call each of the 4 Clark period a "session" so that even if we have the same MC, we could ask the government to offer a different "agenda" for each AND

WHEREAS Nothing prevents us to later easily change the summer recess to a 2 months election if we later feel that 1 year is too long AND

WHEREAS This proposal, unlike the first version, doesn't have an election occurring at the same time as the Clark, staying closer to tradition AND

WHEREAS this proposal allows for a new coalition if the government fails AND

THEREFORE the Ziu resolves to put in a referendum the following changes to the Organic Law

Section 3 of article 6 which currently reads:

All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the fifteenth day of the calendar month following the dissolution of the prior Cosa until 7:30 p.m. on the first day of the subsequent month. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."

Is replaced with:

All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the fifteenth day of the calendar month of January until 7:30 p.m. on the first day of February. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."

Section 1 of Article XIII which currently reads:

Duration of the Cosâ. The Cosâ convenes on the first day of the month after general elections, to coincide with the publication of the first Clark. Its term is roughly six months, each month coinciding with a Clark. During its last month, the King shall issue a Writ of Dissolution ending its term. At the time the Cosâ is dissolved, all its members shall resign, but any Members holding positions in the Government may remain in those positions till the outcome of the election is resolved. 

Is replaced by:

Duration of the Cosâ. The Cosâ convenes on the first day of the month after general elections (March), to coincide with the publication of the first Clark. Its term is exactly 10 months, each month (except for July and August) coinciding with a specific Clark (for example, September is Clark #5). During its last month (December) the King shall issue a Writ of Dissolution ending its term. At the time the Cosâ is dissolved, all its members shall resign, but any Members holding positions in the Government may remain in those positions till the outcome of the election is resolved.  When this amendment is ratified, a transition period will be applied so that the following Cosa will have its election during the first of the following two events: After its 6th Clark is published, or in July of that year.

In Section 2 of Article XIII, the word "six-month" is replaced by "eight-month", and the words "five Clarks" are replaced by "Seven Clarks"

Section 3 of Article XIII which currently reads:

The Seneschál may insert between any two Clarks, or after the final Clark, a "month of recess" in which no Clark is published and no Cosâ or Senäts business is conducted. No more than one "month of recess" may be declared during any one term of office.

Is replaced by (explicitly overriding and taking priority over any other amendments put to referendum affecting this section in the same election):

The months of July and August are months of recess in which no Clark is published and no Cosâ or Senäts business is conducted.

Section 4 of Article XIII is removed

The part os Section 6 of Article XIII which currently reads:

the King shall dissolve the Cosâ and call new elections.

Is replaced by (unless another bill is ratified which proposed a similar mechanic in which case it would take priority over this replacement):

the King shall select a new Senechal he feels would be best able to succeed at a Vote of Confidence

Section 3 of Article IV which currently reads:

Each time the Cosa shall be dissolved, there shall be an election for one-third of the total Senate seats (rounded to the nearest whole number). The exact fixed order of rotation of provinces for elections shall be set by law and shall require two-thirds vote in the Cosa with approval by the King and the Senäts to be modified.

Is replaced by:

Each time the Cosa shall be dissolved, there shall be an election for approximately one-half of the total Senate seats (rounded to the nearest whole number) so that each Senator is elected for 2 years. The exact fixed order of rotation of provinces for elections shall be set by law and shall require two-thirds vote in the Cosa with approval by the King and the Senäts to be modified.

This is bill id#1206 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS The Chancery currently uses the First-Past-The-Post method of voting to conduct Senate elections, and

WHEREAS First-Past-The-Post voting is responsible for a variety of electoral ills, such as producing winners who do not actually have majority support, and forcing voters to cast ballots strategically instead of supporting the candidate they actually prefer the most, and

WHEREAS We all know how First-Past-The-Post voting is working out for our giant friendly neighbor this election cycle, and

WHEREAS Ranked Choice Voting (aka Instant Runoff Voting or Alternative Voting) is far superior to First-Past-The-Post and eliminates all of the aforementioned ills, because it allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, and 

WHEREAS This video is an brilliant explanation of why Ranked Choice Voting is so good


THEREFORE Section 6 of Article IV, which currently reads;
 

is amended to read;
 

This is bill id#1207 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS The Organic Law has many provisions which would best be moved to statutory law, and

WHEREAS A simpler, clearer Organic Law would encourage more people to read it, which would result in a more knowledgeable citizenry, and 

WHEREAS Section 4 of Article X is redundant given the public's "right to know" in the Fourth Covenant, and given that reporting on the votes of the Ziu are already a duty of the SoS according to Lexh.C.1.1, and

WHEREAS Section 7 is also redundant, because Section 5 says the same thing, and


THEREFORE Section 4 of Article X of the Organic Law, which currently reads;


 

is hereby repealed.



FURTHERMORE Section 7 of Article X of the Organic Law, which currently reads;
 

is hereby repealed.

The other sections of Article X are renumbered accordingly.

This is bill id#1208 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS recent well-intentioned reforms to the selection process for the office of Túischac'h have made it difficult to keep that office filled, and

WHEREAS the Túischac'h serves no essential organic function, so there appears to be no reason why it should not be easier to change the manner of his or her selection, therefore

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that the following amendment to the Organic Law be recommended to the citizenry for ratification: 

That Article XII, Section 9 of the Organic Law which currently reads:
 

be deleted.

ADDITIONALLY, be it enacted by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa that upon the ratification of the amendment to Organic Law proposed above, the following shall come immediately into force:

El Lexhatx, Section H.19, which currently reads:
 

shall be amended to read:
 

This is bill id#1209 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

The Joseph McCarthy Amendment

WHEREAS, expulsion from the Greatest (albeit unrecognized) Country on Earth is the highest form of punishment our judicial system can levy, and

WHEREAS, as such, imposing such a penalty should not be taken lightly, and

WHEREAS, currently, Organic Law permits the Uppermost Cort to impose the penalty upon citizens it convicts of "anti-Talossan activities", and

WHEREAS, it obviously fails to define what exactly "anti-Talossan activities" are, and

WHEREAS, this sounds very similar to the (US) House Un-American Activities Committee to me, and

WHEREAS, we don't need McCarthyism in Talossa, so

THEREFORE, the Ziu hereby resolves to put forward the following amendment to the Citizenry for ratification:

Article XVII, Section 5 of Organic Law which currently reads:

 

shall be amended to read:
 

This is bill id#1210 (this information has no legal importance and is technical in nature.

Hopper Thread

WHEREAS there were talks about creating fixed elections AND

WHEREAS no one ever did anything about it AND

WHEREAS I am not sure it's a good idea, but perhaps this can strike a discussion

THEREFORE the Ziu resolves to put in a referendum the following changes to the Organic Law, but only if this amendment gets more Cosa votes than RZ25, in which case the referendum for RZ25 is hereby cancelled and RZ25 is considered to have failed. 

Section 3 of article 6 which currently reads:

All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the fifteenth day of the calendar month following the dissolution of the prior Cosa until 7:30 p.m. on the first day of the subsequent month. The first day of this period (the fifteenth) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."

Is replaced with:

All elections to the Cosa are to be conducted during a period beginning from the 1st day of the calendar months of December and June until 7:30 p.m. on the 15th day of the same month. The first day of this period (the 1st) is called the "Balloting Day" and the final day is called the "Election Deadline."


Section 1 of Article XIII which currently reads:

Duration of the Cosâ. The Cosâ convenes on the first day of the month after general elections, to coincide with the publication of the first Clark. Its term is roughly six months, each month coinciding with a Clark. During its last month the King shall issue a Writ of Dissolution ending its term. At the time the Cosâ is dissolved, all its members shall resign, but any Members holding positions in the Government may remain in those positions till the outcome of the election is resolved. 

Is replaced by:

Duration of the Cosâ. The Cosâ convenes on the first day of the month after general elections (either February or August), to coincide with the publication of the first Clark. Its term is exactly five months, each month coinciding with a Clark. During its last month the King shall issue a Writ of Dissolution ending its term. At the time the Cosâ is dissolved, all its members shall resign, but any Members holding positions in the Government may remain in those positions till the outcome of the election is resolved. 

In Section 2 of Article XIII, the word  "six-month" is replaced by "five-month"

Section 3 of Article XIII is removed

Section 4 of Article XIII is removed

The part of Section 6 of Article XIII which currently reads:

the King shall dissolve the Cosâ and call new elections.

Is replaced by:

the King shall select a new Senechal he feels would be best able to succeed at a Vote of Confidence