S.19.1-34:Don't Actually Remove the Governor Amendment - Rejected by the People

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Don't Actually Remove the Governor Amendment

The following change shall be made to the Constitution of the South, Article III, Section 12:

12. The office of Governor is to be deemed vacant upon the resignation, recall, or impeachment of the sitting Governor. A Governor who takes no action over a ten (10) day period shall automatically forfeit their office unless an official leave of absence is acknowledged prior.

Sponsor: Wulfric

I apologize for bringing a new piece of legislation onto the floor this close to the election, but this just came to my attention by random chance and needs to be addressed promptly. The constitution as written automatically removes a Governor after 10 days of taking no action. There are several problems with this:

- First, Action is not defined here - one would presume it means executive orders and bill signings, but one cannot be sure - it is not defined.  
- Second, this does not take into account the fact that the Governor's job is not one of continuous activity. There may be periods in which there is not much for the Governor to do. This could require the governor to make random, meaningless actions merely to stay in office.
- Third, the fact that this is just some random thing buried in our constitution that no person in their right mind is going to constantly monitor raises the possibility of the Governor exceeding the 10 day threshold, no one noticing, and then that governor continuing to act as governor for the remainder of the term even though it would be illegal for them to do so. This would put much southern legislation passed during that term into a legal limbo because no executive technically existed to sign or veto it.

This simple constitutional amendment will strike this silly provision from the document. I urge the Chamber and the People to adopt it.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

This is an excellent amendment by Wulfric, and were I a member of the Chamber of Delegates it would have my support. A similar provision in Frémont's original constitution led directly to the 2017 Succession Crisis and the collapse of regional government in the West. Ultimately, there are far better ways to hold elected officials accountable than this unwieldy process.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Motion for a final vote

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

A final vote has started. Pursuant to the constitution, a 2/3 majority is required for passage. Please vote AYE or NAY.

Aye

[Mr. Reactionary]

I think an important thing to consider is how screwed up Lincoln's government is. I sort of wish they had this sort of provision for their legislators. Long periods of "benign" neglect can be devastating for a region. Having a mechanism in place to help kick inactives without the need for widespread participation is useful. My only real complaint about the law in question is that someone has to notice. Last time Doof was southern Governor he purposefully stopped posting in Atlasia and just assumed we'd realize he was vacating the office without a formal resignation.

Thats at least something that can Hopefully be discussed after killing this amendment that is unquestionably being rammed through too quickly. Voting on a Constitutional amendment after Less than 48 hrs and no discussion from anyone other than the sponsor is the type of foolish legislating that has left Lincoln the undeniable laughingstock of Atlasia.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I think an important thing to consider is how screwed up Lincoln's government is. I sort of wish they had this sort of provision for their legislators. Long periods of "benign" neglect can be devastating for a region. Having a mechanism in place to help kick inactives without the need for widespread participation is useful. My only real complaint about the law in question is that someone has to notice. Last time Doof was southern Governor he purposefully stopped posting in Atlasia and just assumed we'd realize he was vacating the office without a formal resignation.

Thats at least something that can Hopefully be discussed after killing this amendment that is unquestionably being rammed through too quickly. Voting on a Constitutional amendment after Less than 48 hrs and no discussion from anyone other than the sponsor is the type of foolish legislating that has left Lincoln the undeniable laughingstock of Atlasia.

While I normally wait for longer periods of time, this is a prompt manner, especially since we have a limited time remaining in the session and I seek to avoid a lame duck session. Further, if the governor is truly inept, the legislature has the power of impeachment. I believe this provision is dangerous because it relies on someone having the willpower to monitor it, and it is not well-defined or thought out in any way. You yourself admit it has caused problems in the past (re: Doof).

While this is an expedited process, I will note that this was posted early in the evening on Sunday, and I did not move for a final vote until the following afternoon - allowing for roughly 17 hours of debate despite the limited time available - plus a full 24 hour objection period - so the Chamber had a total of 41 hours to discuss this before taking a vote. And no one actually in the chamber raised concerns. Further, this is being done with the full understanding and approval of the sitting governor. I believe this is adequate.

I urge the Chamber to join me in voting AYE.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Aye

[HillGoose]

Aye

[TheSaint250]

Aye

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

The remaining delegate has sixteen hours to vote

[courts]

aye

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

The Amendment passes 5-0 and is now before the people.

[fhtagn]

The smarter thing to do would have been to define what is considered "action" rather than remove it entirely.