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Structural Amendments to the Underhusen Procedural Rules
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  • Quote from: Structural Amendments to the Underhusen Procedural Rules
    1.  This Section shall modify Section 2 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "2. Any Underhusen representative may introduce legislation into the Underhusen."

    Section 2 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be amended to read:

       "Any Skrifa may introduce proposals to the Underhusen at any time after the selection of the Speaker. 
          (a) At the beginning of the term, the Speaker shall designate one Skrifa other than him/herself or the Speaker pro tempore as Secretary of the Underhusen, who shall have the responsibility to post newly introduced proposals to the Citizens' Platform and to notify Citizens of new proposals through various means of communication."

    2. This Section shall modify Section 3 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:
       
    "3. Any legislative or non-legislative proposal introduced into the Underhusen will automatically be open for debate for 2 days. At the conclusion of this time period, a representative may either motion to Extend Debate, motion to table, or motion to vote. The motions must be seconded before being passed
          (a) In matters of urgency, this two day period may be waived if the Speaker of the Assembly makes a motion to expedite and the motion is seconded by a Underhusen Representative.
          (b)  A motion to Extend Debate may include a time period shorter or longer than 48 hours, but is not shorter than 4 hours and is not longer than 1 weeks, should no time period be given or should the time period be shorter or longer than what is allowed, the extension shall be 48 hours."

     Section 3 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be amended to read:
       "Any proposal introduced into the Underhusen must be considered by the Underhusen for a minimum of two days before a motion to vote or table can be made.  If no motion has been made or seconded after five days, Skrifa must enter a motion to vote, table, or extend discussion."

    Section 3(a) shall be ameded to read:

          (a) Any Skrifa other than the Speaker may motion to expedite at any time after a proposal has been introduced.  If the motion receives a second, the bill will proceed to a vote no later than 24 hours after the second.

    Section 3(c) shall be amended to read:

          (c)  If a motion to table a proposal passes, the proposal will be tabled.  Should a Skrifa wish to revive debate or bring the proposal to a vote, they must motion to revive discussion or motion to vote.  If either motion passes, the Underhusen shall follow normal procedure for discussion or voting.

            Section 3(d) shall be added to the Underhusen Procedural Rules, and it shall read:

                    "For a motion to table to pass, a majority of Skrifa must support the motion.  After a motion to table receives a second, the Speaker will ask the Skrifa to announce in favor or not in favor.  The Speaker shall not vote on a motion to table except in the event of a tie."

    3.  This Section shall modify Section 4 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "4. Any Underhusen representative may motion to vote on any legislative or non-legislative proposal.
          (a) A proposal shall proceed to a vote no more than five days after a motion to vote is seconded by another representative.
          (b) The Speaker of the Assembly may not motion to vote or second a motion to vote."

    Section 4 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be amended to read:

       "Any Skrifa other than the Speaker may motion to vote on any proposal once the two-day debate period has expired.  The Speaker shall open the vote no later than five days after the motion to vote has passed. 
          (a)  The Speaker shall notify the Citizens of Wintreath whenever a proposal comes to a vote."

    Section 4(a) and section 4(b) shall be rendered null and void. 

    4.  This Section shall modify Section 6 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "6. Underhusen representatives may cast one of the following votes on proposals before the Underhusen:
          (a) Aye, indicating that the representative is voting in favor of the proposal;
          (b) Nay, indicating that the representative is voting against the proposal;
          (c) Abstain, indicating that the representative is voting neither in favor of or against the proposal but wishes his or her vote to be recorded."

    Section 6(d) shall be added to the Underhusen Procedural Rules, and it shall read:

       "(d)  "Abstain" votes shall not be considered when determining whether a bill has passed, tied, or failed.  Only "Aye" and "Nay" votes shall be considered."

    5.  This Section shall modify Section 9 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "9. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to set an agenda for the Underhusen at the beginning of his or her term and to revise this agenda throughout the term."

    Section 9 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be rendered null and void. 

    6.This Section shall modify Section 10 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "10. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to bring matters before the Underhusen to a vote within the parameters established by Section 4(a) of this Act."

    Section 10 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be amended to read:

       "The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to bring matters before the Underhusen to a vote within the parameters established by Section 4 of this Act."

    7.  This Section shall modify Section 11 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "11. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to close votes and declare the official outcome of votes on matters before the Underhusen within the parameters established by Section 5 of this Act.
       (a) The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to leave voting open for votes to the record after official voting has closed."

    Section 11 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be amended to read:
       "The Speaker will close votes after seven days of voting, or if enough votes have been cast to decide the outcome of the proposal. 
          (a)  In order for a proposal to pass (excluding amendments to the Fundamental Laws), the number of "Aye" votes cast during the voting period must exceed the number of "Nay" votes.
          (b)  After closing a vote, the Speaker shall decide the outcome of the vote according to the above criteria and notify the Citizens of Wintreath with the result. 
          (c)  The Speaker may close a vote, but leave the record open to allow other Skrifa to record their votes.  Votes cast after the vote has been closed will not affect the result of the vote."

    8.  This Section shall modify Section 13 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "13. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to determine procedure related to any matter that is not covered by this Act at his or her discretion."

    Section 13 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall be rendered null and void.

    9.  This Section shall modify Section 14 of the Underhusen Procedural Rules, which currently reads:

       "14. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to appoint a Speaker pro tempore from among the representatives of the Underhusen who shall, during a temporary absence of the Speaker of the Assembly, preside over the Underhusen.
          (a) The Speaker pro tempore, whenever he or she is presiding over the Underhusen, shall be subject to all constitutional and statutory constraints placed upon the Speaker of the Assembly.
          (b) Any Underhusen representative may make a motion to empower the Speaker pro tempore in the event that the Speaker of the Assembly is absent without notice for longer than five days. Such a motion shall be brought to a vote by the Speaker pro tempore immediately upon being seconded by another representative.
          (c) The Speaker pro tempore shall cease to preside over the Underhusen upon the return of the Speaker of the Assembly.
          (d) In the absence of both the Speaker of the Assembly and the Speaker Pro Tempore, the Underhusen may decide on a temporary Speaker pro tempore from its number by process of a majority vote.
          (e) The Speaker must select a Speaker Pro Tempore within one week of being elected. Should the Speaker fail to select a Speaker Pro Tempore then the Speaker Pro Tempore is the candidate that got the second most amount of votes, in the election of the Speaker; should there have been an election with more than one candidate then, in the event of a tie for second place, the Speaker must choose one of the candidates. If the speaker fails to do so the monarch is to choose a Speaker Pro Tempore out of the tied candidates. Furthermore should there have been no other candidates in the election of the speaker, then one will be chosen at random from the members of the Underhusen, excluding the Speaker."

    Section 14(a) of the Underhusen Procedural Rules shall read:

       "The Speaker pro tempore, whenever he or she is presiding over the Underhusen, shall assume all of the responsibilities of the Speaker as listed in relevant law, and shall be subject to the same constitutional and statutory restraints placed upon the Speaker."
    « Last Edit: April 28, 2015, 05:31:07 PM by Pengu »
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    Michi
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  • I added a bit of formatting to help distinguish between what the current is and what's being changed.

    Outside of that, this is a very much needed Amendment that I completely support.  Everything that I read looks to be in order, and this closes up a good number of loopholes while at the same time introducing some new changes as well.
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    PB
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  • I added a bit of formatting to help distinguish between what the current is and what's being changed.

    Outside of that, this is a very much needed Amendment that I completely support.  Everything that I read looks to be in order, and this closes up a good number of loopholes while at the same time introducing some new changes as well.

    Much appreciated. It's quite a wall of text if I've ever written one.
    1 person likes this post: Michi
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    Michi
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  • I added a bit of formatting to help distinguish between what the current is and what's being changed.

    Outside of that, this is a very much needed Amendment that I completely support.  Everything that I read looks to be in order, and this closes up a good number of loopholes while at the same time introducing some new changes as well.

    Much appreciated. It's quite a wall of text if I've ever written one.

    Yes, but it's a very appreciated wall of text.  :P
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    Laurentus
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  • There's only one part that I have a slight issue with:
    Quote
    (a) The Speaker shall notify the Citizens of Wintreath whenever a proposal comes to a vote.

    Isn't that a bit unnecessary when we have a secretary?

    That's really it though. Apart from that small issue, I support this.
    1 person likes this post: Michi
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  • There's only one part that I have a slight issue with:
    Quote
    (a) The Speaker shall notify the Citizens of Wintreath whenever a proposal comes to a vote.

    Isn't that a bit unnecessary when we have a secretary?

    That's really it though. Apart from that small issue, I support this.

    I think I noticed this when I was redoing the formatting. I thought, "this should be the job of the secretary" but I neglected to do anything about it. I'll fix this later.
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    Sapphiron
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  • Beautifully done, though I have a question and a slight issue.

    Question: Are we going to use the "Quote" formatting or bolding and underlining?

    Issue: Stating how the original law looks like and following up how it will be amended really increases the word count by a substantial amount. :P

    I am aware that under Right of Amendment Act, "It must be made clear, with reference and citation to the original legislation, which sections of the Act require changing and what changes are to be made. It is suggested that the original text be displayed, and below it the amended text." but since it did not pass through the Overhusen ...

    Instead, I would suggest to go according to the precedents, but I will support this bill regardless.
    « Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 12:54:32 PM by Sapphiron »
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    Sapphiron
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  • The following is my proposed adjustments.

    Title
    1. This bill shall be cited as the Structural Amendments to the Underhusen Procedural Rules

    Amendments to the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act
    2. Section 2 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    2. Any Skrifa may introduce proposals to the Underhusen at any time after the selection of the Speaker.
    (a) At the beginning of the term, the Speaker shall designate one Skrifa other than him/herself or the Speaker pro tempore as Secretary of the Underhusen, who shall have the responsibility to post newly introduced proposals to the Citizens' Platform and to notify Citizens of new proposals through various means of communication.
    3. Section 3 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    3. Any proposal introduced into the Underhusen must be considered by the Underhusen for a minimum of two days before a motion to vote or table can be made.  If no motion has been made or seconded after five days, Skrifa must enter a motion to vote, table, or extend discussion.
    (a) Any Skrifa other than the Speaker may motion to expedite at any time after a proposal has been introduced.  If the motion receives a second, the bill will proceed to a vote no later than 24 hours after the second.
    (b) A motion to Extend Debate may include a time period shorter or longer than 48 hours, but is not shorter than 4 hours and is not longer than 1 weeks, should no time period be given or should the time period be shorter or longer than what is allowed, the extension shall be 48 hours.
    (c) If a motion to table a proposal passes, the proposal will be tabled.  Should a Skrifa wish to revive debate or bring the proposal to a vote, they must motion to revive discussion or motion to vote.  If either motion passes, the Underhusen shall follow normal procedure for discussion or voting.
    (d) For a motion to table to pass, a majority of Skrifa must support the motion.  After a motion to table receives a second, the Speaker will ask the Skrifa to announce in favor or not in favor.  The Speaker shall not vote on a motion to table except in the event of a tie.
    4. Section 4 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    4. Any Skrifa other than the Speaker may motion to vote on any proposal once the two-day debate period has expired.  The Speaker shall open the vote no later than five days after the motion to vote has passed. 
    (a) The Speaker shall notify the Citizens of Wintreath whenever a proposal comes to a vote. (TBE)
    5. Section 6 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    6. Underhusen representatives may cast one of the following votes on proposals before the Underhusen:
    (a) Aye, indicating that the representative is voting in favor of the proposal;
    (b) Nay, indicating that the representative is voting against the proposal;
    (c) Abstain, indicating that the representative is voting neither in favor of or against the proposal but wishes his or her vote to be recorded.
    (d)"Abstain" votes shall not be considered when determining whether a bill has passed, tied, or failed.  Only "Aye" and "Nay" votes shall be considered.
    6. Section 9 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be rendered null and void.

    7. Section 10 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to bring matters before the Underhusen to a vote within the parameters established by Section 4 of this Act.
    8. Section 11 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    11. The Speaker will close votes after seven days of voting, or if enough votes have been cast to decide the outcome of the proposal. 
    (a)  In order for a proposal to pass (excluding amendments to the Fundamental Laws), the number of "Aye" votes cast during the voting period must exceed the number of "Nay" votes.
    (b)  After closing a vote, the Speaker shall decide the outcome of the vote according to the above criteria and notify the Citizens of Wintreath with the result. 
    (c)  The Speaker may close a vote, but leave the record open to allow other Skrifa to record their votes.  Votes cast after the vote has been closed will not affect the result of the vote.
    9. Section 13 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be rendered null and void.

    10. Section 14 of the Procedural Rules of the Underhusen Act shall be amended as follows:
    Quote
    14. The Speaker of the Assembly shall have the power to appoint a Speaker pro tempore from among the representatives of the Underhusen who shall, during a temporary absence of the Speaker of the Assembly, preside over the Underhusen.
    (a) The Speaker pro tempore, whenever he or she is presiding over the Underhusen, shall assume all of the responsibilities of the Speaker as listed in relevant law, and shall be subject to the same constitutional and statutory restraints placed upon the Speaker.
    (b) Any Underhusen representative may make a motion to empower the Speaker pro tempore in the event that the Speaker of the Assembly is absent without notice for longer than five days. Such a motion shall be brought to a vote by the Speaker pro tempore immediately upon being seconded by another representative.
    (c) The Speaker pro tempore shall cease to preside over the Underhusen upon the return of the Speaker of the Assembly.
    (d) In the absence of both the Speaker of the Assembly and the Speaker Pro Tempore, the Underhusen may decide on a temporary Speaker pro tempore from its number by process of a majority vote.
    (e) The Speaker must select a Speaker Pro Tempore within one week of being elected. Should the Speaker fail to select a Speaker Pro Tempore then the Speaker Pro Tempore is the candidate that got the second most amount of votes, in the election of the Speaker; should there have been an election with more than one candidate then, in the event of a tie for second place, the Speaker must choose one of the candidates. If the speaker fails to do so the monarch is to choose a Speaker Pro Tempore out of the tied candidates. Furthermore should there have been no other candidates in the election of the speaker, then one will be chosen at random from the members of the Underhusen, excluding the Speaker.
    « Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 12:32:28 PM by Sapphiron »
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    Michi
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  • That works as well, my formatting was simply just something at the time to separate the things needed.

    The only thing is that I'd suggest keeping the original passages in this amendment, since they most likely wouldn't be added when they're applied to the rules if this passes...but it shows people what the originals were before they're changed.
    « Last Edit: April 29, 2015, 02:51:50 PM by Pengu »
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  • I honestly have no preference as to the formatting, and frankly, I don't see it as critically important.
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    Sapphiron
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  • Whatever suits you, I was only concerned because I thought we were trying to set a standard. :) Like I said, I would support regardless.
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    Chanku
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  • Just a minor thing I think should be stated, Section 13 should exist, if only because the moment the UH is handed something that they have no procedure for they can't handle it. The Speaker being able to determine procedure on a case-by-case basis is necessary in cases where something new has been introduced in part, but not completely finished and it is used completely.

    Although by simply removing the cases by which the power would be used, it can fix it(also note that this would also make the speaker weaker than the chairman of the OH, which also has this ability).

    EDIT: Also just to make sure people understand why I am posting this here, as a member of the Royal Family I am allowed under Section 12, sub-section a of the Procedural rules to do this :P
    « Last Edit: May 01, 2015, 04:03:59 PM by Chanku »
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  • I didn't realize the deadline had passed already.  Would anyone care to make a motion?
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  • I'll push at this again, since even with the revocation happening, this is still an important Act.  Someone can either motion to vote, extend debate if there needs to be more discussion time, or to table it.  But since the deadline has already came and went, there needs to be a motion made on this now.
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  • It seems everyone was mostly satisfied, aside from some trivialities about the format.

    I motion to vote.
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