The Imperial Dominion of the South's Legislature

[Zanas]

I suggest a 75/25 split of funding for solar/nuclear projects.

I'm pretty sure Zanas would rather eat his own grandmother then allow even one new nuclear plant to be built in the IDS.

I'd eat my grandmother if she was not so radioactive because of your lobby ! ^^

Seriously though, I'm not so radical. I'm just quite strongly believed on this particular subject, and yes I'm not able to personally abstain to oppose any expansion of nuclear power. I'd vote no on the building of one nuclear plant, I'd vote no on the prorogation of life of one nuclear plant. But I'd vote yes with the Feds on plenty other subjects, as history in this Assembly has shown ! I'm also practically sure that you or Sjoyce would be as principled as I am now on any restriction of the right to keep and bear arms, no ?

Awaiting for Hash's vote now. The booth's supposed to close in 3 hours but as I had set a closing time of 7 AM, I'll allow a few more hours for him to wake up and come cast his ballot. That's a nail-biter by the way.

[Dereich]

I suggest a 75/25 split of funding for solar/nuclear projects.

I'm pretty sure Zanas would rather eat his own grandmother then allow even one new nuclear plant to be built in the IDS.

I'd eat my grandmother if she was not so radioactive because of your lobby ! ^^

Seriously though, I'm not so radical. I'm just quite strongly believed on this particular subject, and yes I'm not able to personally abstain to oppose any expansion of nuclear power. I'd vote no on the building of one nuclear plant, I'd vote no on the prorogation of life of one nuclear plant. But I'd vote yes with the Feds on plenty other subjects, as history in this Assembly has shown ! I'm also practically sure that you or Sjoyce would be as principled as I am now on any restriction of the right to keep and bear arms, no ?

Awaiting for Hash's vote now. The booth's supposed to close in 3 hours but as I had set a closing time of 7 AM, I'll allow a few more hours for him to wake up and come cast his ballot. That's a nail-biter by the way.

Hey now, don't lump me in 2nd amendmenters, I've never cared one bit about the issue either way. And I appreciate you keeping the voting open; this debate has dragged on so long now that it'd be a shame if it didn't end definitively.

[Hash]

Thank you for keeping the vote open for me.

This is a huge issue which has inflamed passions on both sides. I am not pleased with how this debate has turned out, with straw man arguments and exaggerations on both sides. Nuclear energy is not the only 'clean' alternative, it is not safe, clean or cheap. A region which chooses nuclear energy as its sole alternative to dirty energy is committing a capital mistake.

But nuclear power isn't either akin to immediate nuclear armageddon nor is it certain to bring Chernobyl/Fukushima-like nuclear disaster in their path. Despite all its imperfections and its inability to definitely solve future energy crises, it can provide a first and hopefully temporary solution to our region's dependence on coal - which is even dirtier and unsafe - and fossil fuels.

I have hesitated on this issue and I had a hard time making a decision. I cannot shriek away from my duties and responsibilities as a legislator by abstaining on such a capital issue. I carefully read through the arguments presented by both sides in this present debate, reviewed existing federal and regional legislation on energy, safety and waste disposal, and took into account the costs. I am still very concerned about the costs of this project and its impact on regional finances, because it is extremely common for such projects to end up costing way more than originally planned. Regardless of how this ends up, I am determined to fight for the development of other, non-nuclear renewable energies in the region. I hope to work on legislation related to those matters, energy efficiency and safety.

I have come to the decision to AYE on this bill. It's not because I love nuclear power or anything, because I don't. I think nuclear power sucks. But the fact that most of our energy currently comes from even dirtier and environmentally dangerous things like coal or fossil fuel played a large role in convincing me. If we want to tackle climate change, one of our priorities should be to reduce our energetic dependence on coal and oil. Nuclear power is one among many ways to do it, and for the time being, it is - on balance - the most realistic possibility. I still have major concerns about costs, impact on regional finances, waste disposal and safety precautions. I hope that the legislature and the region will continue to monitor and keep tabs on the progress of construction and continue paying attention to energy matters. In any case, I hope that I will not come to regret my vote, or I will hate myself for it.

Call me the pawn of the 'nuclear lobby' and hate me all you want, but I took this seriously and voted my conscience. If you want to bitch, then go right ahead.

[Zanas]

I am not one for bitching when people advance thoroughly considered arguments and weighed reasoning. I would like to thank the Legislators and other participants in this debate, or, to use Midwestern language, *hughughug* them, and apologize for the (rare) times I went a bit over myself and exaggerated. This debate might actually have me reconsider my RL position on the subject, at least I'll be thinking about it a lot.

So, with 3 votes In Favor, 2 votes Against, and no Abstentions,

The Clean Power Act has passed the IDS Legislature, awaiting signature or veto by the Emperor.

[Velasco]

Thank you for keeping the vote open for me.
Call me the pawn of the 'nuclear lobby' and hate me all you want, but I took this seriously and voted my conscience. If you want to bitch, then go right ahead.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll never do that. Some people whom I would never be call "pawns of the nuclear lobby" go even further. James Lovelock, a scientist whose theories are controversial but to whom nobody might accuse seriously of being an ignorant on these subjects, thinks that the climate change is irreversible and that nuclear power is the only viable alternative today. He says that it's too late to try other solutions. Maybe Lovelock is perceived as a catastrophist by many, but I tend to respect the opinion of this person in particular, despite my deep dislike of nuclear fission.

As soon as this law has been passed, I would like to collaborate in the future to develop the energetic legislation and to look for other alternative solutions to coal and the fission of the uranium.

[Zanas]

Following will be an adjunct to the Constitutional Amendment we passed last week, to include a necessary quorum to pass future amendments in the Legislature. I'll try drafting that today and submit it here as soon as it's written.

Then we will be moving on with the regular legislative docket.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Well we passed a bill. Who would have thought that'd happen?



     On the Clean Power Act: by the powers vested in me as Emperor of this region, I thus sign it into law.

     Be it resolved, X Emperor PiT

[Dereich]

Wow, its good to be past that. I don't even remember what we still have on the legislative docket. I think we're about done with the bills from 2 elections ago.

I want to reiterate that just because we're done with this nuclear issue doesn't mean we don't still have work to do on IDS energy policy.

[Zanas]

I'm off for this weekend, will get back to work tomorrow around noon.

[Zanas]

The Legislative docket now : (texts can be seen here)
-Abolition of Income Tax Act Veto Overrule Vote : needs sponsoring

-Clean Government Act

-The Official Snack of the IDS Act

-The Creating Job Opportunities Act of 2013

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-Annexation of the states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas : kept in the back of the queue for potential federal leverage

I'm thinking of opening an office to have the Legislative docket always available. Yeah I'll do that. Or even better, I'll open a new Legislation introduction thread, with a more understandable and findable name than the one we have now, and on the front page there will always be the legislative docket kept updated by whoever is Speaker at the time. Yeah that seems great. Don't you think ?

So, anyone wants to hold a vote to overrule the veto on the abolition of income tax ? If anyone wants to sponsor it and bring it to a vote, as Legislator I must say I'll vote Nay on it.

Then I really have to try and take the necessary time to make the complement to our previous electoral law amendment to include a quorum and get it passed to open a voting booth.

[Zanas]

If my fellow Legislators would deem it adequate, I would like to present them with another unending-titled constitutional amendment to complete the one we passed just before the nuclear thing.

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If nobody's opposed to us voting on it before getting on with the rest of the docket, please vote :

[ ] Yes.
[ ] No.
[ ] Marsupial feces.

The booth will be open for 48 hours again, but I guess we can cover this quite quickly.

[Dereich]

Aye

[JerryArkansas]

aye

[Donerail]

I'm thinking of opening an office to have the Legislative docket always available. Yeah I'll do that. Or even better, I'll open a new Legislation introduction thread, with a more understandable and findable name than the one we have now, and on the front page there will always be the legislative docket kept updated by whoever is Speaker at the time. Yeah that seems great. Don't you think ?

Don't worry man, I got it. We have an Imperial Almanac stickied at the top of the page - I'll just add the docket and links to the other threads in there.

[Zanas]

[X] Yes.

[Velasco]

Aye on the amendment.

[Dereich]

I think it is safe to say that nobody will sponsor the income tax override. Everyone currently in the legislature has spoken out against it except for Hash and I don't think he'll be much inclined to support it either.

I feel like its time to move on.

[Hash]

Aye

Of course I don't support the abolition of the income tax veto override bullsh**t.

[Wisconsin+17]

Finally my nuclear bill passes.

[Zanas]

With a vote of 5 In Favor, 0 Against and no Abstentions, The Constitutional Amendment Legislative Passing Quorum Implementation Act has succesfully passed the Legislature.

Now, along with The Zanas Sensible Anti-Retroactivity Federal Electoral Rules Abidance Amendment, they can both be submitted to the People of the South in a specific voting booth, and I thank we can say that we are becoming the most referendal region of Atlasia ! I think that's great that every citizen can participate in as much as possible.

Judging from consensus on the matter, I think we can the veto override on abolition of income tax is tabled.

Hence, moving along to our next bill and SURPRISE ! Energy strikes again !

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I was the one introducing this bill, and it's frankly deeply inspired about Barnes' bill in whatever region he was living in at the time. The dates may be a bit off due to the fact I introduced it in early December... :S

We should really be working a bit faster... But I may be the first to blame for that. Anyway now we're cooking.

Go on, debate. I'll write something to defend it.

[DemPGH]

Dear Legislature,

May I ask how you have decided to conduct business here in light of the ongoing court case? Only curious as to what is going on. No need for any epistles, just a brief explanation.

May I also simply inquire as to what this so-named militia is that you have?

Thank you kindly and regards,

DemPGH, Atty. Gen.

[Donerail]

May I also simply inquire as to what this so-named militia is that you have?

Think a National Guard-type force (for more information reference the Southeast Militia Initiative and IDS Militia Structure Act).

[Dereich]

Well Zanas, I think the dates on parts 1, 2, and 5 could definitely be moved around. I also have some problems with 6, an annual survey seems a bit excessive. Part 7 could be strengthened though; perhaps requiring a submitted written plan for how all new buildings would be energy efficient? Part 8 seems odd; how much do students have to recycle in class anyway? And of course, inevitably, there is the issue of whether nuclear energy is considered clean in the context of this bill.

As for how the legislature is acting in regards to the court case, I think we've all pretty much decided to continue with business as usual until some kind of decision is made. If the decision is to invalidate the election we would have at least laid out the debate for proposals which could be swiftly voted on again; such a decision seems drastic and unlikely anyway. The militia is exactly what Sjoyce described and is a cherished part of IDS traditions, so keep the grubby paws of the federal government off it .

[Donerail]

No objections to 1 or 5, though the date could be pushed back a bit.
I'd change the wording on 2 to ensure that that includes nuclear power and power derived from fossil fuel power plants equipped with some kind of carbon capture/storage technology (yay, this again).
I'd favor scrapping most of those separate groups in 4 to just include representatives of the regional government, power corporations, and local citizens (with local citizens making up by far the largest portion).
Annual (6) doesn't seem necessary - maybe make it every 5 years or something?
#7 should probably be changed to something like "All new regional government buildings shall be LEED certified and whenever feasible be zero net energy"
On 8: I don't know if that's exactly the wording I'd use or how much leeway we have there to dictate that to the school districts, but I'd assume that's covered under 5 to mandate that they have recycling containers.

[Velasco]

Part 7 could be strengthened though; perhaps requiring a submitted written plan for how all new buildings would be energy efficient? Part 8 seems odd; how much do students have to recycle in class anyway? And of course, inevitably, there is the issue of whether nuclear energy is considered clean in the context of this bill.

As for the point #7 I agree, a report specifying how bulidings would be energetically efficient would be useful, especially because I think that it might be applied later to the building construction in general.

#8, as I understand it, is about teaching how to recycle, not about recycling the school material, which must be recycled anyway

If we include nuclear energy or what the candidate in campaign proposes, it would be spoiling the intention and the meaning of the bill.