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Storting Reformation Amendment Act as amended
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Barnes
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  • Given the issues with the current bill, namely awkwardness, I asked for nay votes in the Overhusen so we can revise the bill to perfection.

    Here is the most recent version of the bill we have so far. Note I've taken the liberty of altering the original grammar mistake, as well as changed the provisions/amendments to Article IV, specifically adding new language regarding recall elections. I also minorly reordered some of the subsections and clarified some of the language for consistency.
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    The Storting Reformation Amendment Act

    1. Article I of the Fundamental Laws shall be amended as follows:

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    I. The Storting
    1. The legislative authorities and duties of Wintreath shall be vested in a unicameral legislature called the Storting.

    Membership of the Storting
    2. The Storting shall consist of all Citizens of Wintreath.

    3. The Storting shall have the authority to suspend a member's voting rights for a period of no more than three months at a time with a three-fourths supermajority vote of those voting. At the conclusion of the three-month period, the Storting may consider an additional suspension.

    Storting Officers
    4. The Speaker shall serve as Presiding Officer of the Storting.

    5. The Storting shall have the right to create, modify, and remove any other Officer positions. The Storting shall have the authority to delegate duties to these Officers, except for those duties which require the full participation of the Storting.

    6. All Officer positions shall be brought to election on the first day of January, April, July, and October, and elections shall last for a period of five days, after which the winners shall take their Offices. All Citizens whose voting rights are not suspended as of the end of the election may run for any Officer position.

    The Legislative Process
    7. All legislation shall be introduced in the Storting, which shall have the right to discuss and amend the legislation before putting it to a vote. Unless specified otherwise in this document, legislation shall pass the Storting by majority vote of those voting.

    8. Upon passage by the Storting, the Speaker shall present the legislation to the Monarch for Royal Assent. Legislation signed by the Monarch shall become law immediately, while legislation vetoed by the Monarch shall not become law unless the Storting votes to override the veto with a two-thirds supermajority vote of those voting. In the event that the Monarch neither signs or vetoes the legislation, it shall become law one week after passage by the Storting.

    9. Legislation concerning matters subject to alternative approval methods as approved by both the Storting and Monarch (or the previous Overhusen chamber) shall be exempt from Section 7 and instead follow the methods specified in the relevant legislation. Legislation concerning the Procedural Rules of the Storting, the voting rights of members, and Officers of the Storting shall also be exempt from Section 7 and shall be considered law upon passage by the Storting.

    Authorities and Duties of the Storting
    10. The Storting shall have the authority to pass legislation, repeal previously passed legislation, propose amendments to these Fundamental Laws, and take any other action deemed necessary and proper to execute the authorities and duties vested in the Storting by these Fundamental Laws.

    11. The Storting shall have the authority to create and revise their own procedural rules.

    12. The Storting shall have the authority to declare war upon another region or organization.

    13. The Storting shall have the authority to ratify or reject treaties with other regions and organizations.

    14. The Storting shall have the authority to issue non-binding resolutions expressing the opinion of the Storting in relation to all matters.

    15. The Storting shall have the authority to interpret these Fundamental Laws and statutory laws and consider the constitutionality over laws brought before the Storting, determine rulings and verdicts in regard to violations of these laws, and determine punishments for violations of these laws within the parameters of these Fundamental Laws and any other laws.

    16. The Storting shall have the authority to issue advisory opinions on matters of constitutionality and legality to anyone whom the Storting has determined has standing to seek an advisory opinion.

    17. The Storting shall have the authority to create and revise the rules of judicial proceedings for judicial panels.

    2. Article III Section 1 of the Fundamental Laws shall be amended as follows:

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    1. Upon the filing of cases within the Storting, a judicial panel shall convene to determine whether to accept the case and then to make an initial ruling if the case is accepted. The judicial panel shall be presided over by the Monarch or their designee as Chief Justice, and the Speaker of the Storting and a random Citizen who has voted on the last four bills introduced to the Storting shall serve as Associate Justices. In the event that no Citizen has participated in the last four votes, a random Citizen from those who have participated in the most consecutive votes including the last shall be chosen instead.

    3. Article IV of the Fundamental Laws shall be amended as follows:

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    IV. Elections
    1. Elections shall be overseen by the Monarch or the Monarch's designee. No person shall oversee an election in which they are running.

    2. Only Storting members of Wintreath shall be eligible to vote in elections, stand for elected office, or assume any elected office. The Monarch may not stand for or assume any elected office.

    3. Elections shall follow the optional preferential voting system, and the results shall be determined by either instant runoff in single-seat positions or single transferable vote in multi-seat positions.

    4. In Storting Officer elections, voting members shall have the option to post their votes publicly or send their votes to the person overseeing the election via private message.

    5. Any Storting member who voted in the most recent regular election shall have the right to petition for the recall of any Officer unless there are fewer than twenty-one days in the Officer's term.

    6. A recall election shall be triggered immediately if thirty percent, rounded down, of the Storting members who voted in the previous regular election and remain in the Storting, including the petitioner, sign a recall petition within forty-eight hours of its creation. The Monarch shall be responsible for the verification of all signatories to the petition.

    7. Recall elections shall compose of a forty-eight hour nomination period in which candidates may stand for election, followed by a seventy-two hour election period as defined by Article IV Section 3. The winner of the recall election shall assume the seat in question upon its conclusion.

    8. No Officer may run in a recall election unless the Officer is the incumbent challenged by the recall. No Officer shall be subject to more than one recall election per session.

    4. Article VII shall be amended as follows:

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    VII. Constitutional Amendments
    1.The Storting shall have the authority to propose amendments to these Fundamental Laws by a two-thirds supermajority vote of those voting, after which amendments shall require consent of the Monarch to be considered ratified.

    2. No section in Article VI may be amended without the consent of The Winter Nomad.

    5. Upon ratification, this Amendment shall go into effect on 6 April 2016, with Speaker elections beginning five days prior.
    Now, I advise that we study the bill very carefully over this debate period so we miss nothing that needs to be changed. It will be an intense two days, but it will be worth it for the future of Wintreath.
    « Last Edit: March 08, 2016, 04:26:36 AM by Barnes »
    Barnes
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    Wintermoot
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  • I don't understand the nature of the changes to Article IV. The original amendment text already preserved the recall ability.


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    Barnes
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  • I mostly consolidated the Article IV text, is all.
    Barnes
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    Wintermoot
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  • Oops, I thought I posted in the Citizens area.

    I didn't think there was anything wrong in the original amendment there, but I'll take your word for it that it needed to be consolidated.


    I went all the way to Cassadega to commune with the dead
    They said "You'd better look alive"
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    Laurentus
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  • Quote
    3. Elections shall follow the optional preferential voting system, and the results shall be determined by either via instant runoff in single-seat positions or single transferable vote in multi-seat positions.
    Awkward. Is "via" necessary? Couldn't "a" work?
    Quote
    7. Recall elections shall compose of a forty-eight hours nomination period in which candidates may stand for election, followed by a seventy-two hours election period as defined by Article IV Section 3. The winner of the recall election shall assume the seat in question upon its conclusion.
    I don't think we should use the word "hours." I think "hour" is fine here. Also, I think it should be *consist* not "compose."
    3 people like this post: Gerrick, Arenado, BraveSirRobin
    In die donker ure skink net duiwels nog 'n dop, 
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    Arenado
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  • I think 7 days voting is a bit long. Maybe 5 would do?
    2 people like this post: Laurentus, BraveSirRobin
    I Hope You Have A Nice Day :]
    Arenado
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    Barnes
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  • All changes have been updated. To answer your question, Laurentus, both 'via' and 'by' mean the same thing in that context. Only one is necessary, so I removed 'via' entirely because it was redundant.
    Barnes
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    BraveSirRobin
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  • Yes. Seven day voting period is a bit excessive. 5 days should be more than sufficient, I think.
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    (I stole this format from tau, but who am I not to copy a great system? :-) )

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    Barnes
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  • I've changed the bill to include five-day election periods. Is that all we wanted to discuss? Do we feel we've looked over the bill carefully enough to submit it for a vote?
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    Gerrick
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  • I just thought about this: do "voting rights" mean just voting on laws or voting in elections as well? So can people with suspended voting rights vote in elections?

    Also, in the Article III section, does the "last four votes of the Storting" bit need to be clarified to meaning just bills/laws/amendments/etc. -- and not elections -- or is that already understood in the context?

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    Gerrick
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    Arenado
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  • I personally think that it means both but maybe we should clarify as such so that there is no room for misunderstanding.
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    Barnes
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  • Does this mean we're extending debate? I didn't recall any motions...

    I just thought about this: do "voting rights" mean just voting on laws or voting in elections as well? So can people with suspended voting rights vote in elections?

    Also, in the Article III section, does the "last four votes of the Storting" bit need to be clarified to meaning just bills/laws/amendments/etc. -- and not elections -- or is that already understood in the context?
    Voting rights would apply to everything. I thought it was unambiguous, so I'm not sure how to clarify it.
    As for the "last four votes", that's just a simple wording change to "voted in the last four bills" and leaving everything else the same.
    Barnes
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    Laurentus
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  • Shit, I didn't realise it was so ambiguous. Personally I thought it only applied to voting on laws, not elections, and that's the way I'd prefer to have it in the bill as well.
    In die donker ure skink net duiwels nog 'n dop, 
    Satan sit saam sy kinders en kyk hoe kom die son op. 
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    Arenado
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  • I see. I motion to extend debate by 2 days.

    I personally think that if you lose voting rights, you lose your right to vote in the election as well. Since In an open assembly those rights are linked when you get citizenship they should remain linked when you lose them.
    I Hope You Have A Nice Day :]
    Arenado
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    Laurentus
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  • I second the motion to extend debate.

    The behaviour that warrants exclusion during votes on laws does not necessarily warrant someone's loss of the power to vote in elections. We could certainly add something like that, but it should be understood to be pretty much the harshest penalty the Storting can level short of revocation of citizenship, in my opinion.
    In die donker ure skink net duiwels nog 'n dop, 
    Satan sit saam sy kinders en kyk hoe kom die son op. 
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