Legislation Introduction Thread

[MasterJedi]

I have two bills to introduce.   Only problem is that Sam doesn't like statehood so if they pass the Senate I doubt they'll actually become reality.

Puerto Rican Statehood Act of 2006

I. After a majority vote of the citizens of Puerto Rico voting in the affirmative for statehood in a referendum administered five days after the passage of this act by the territorial government of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is hereby entered in the Union of Atlasia as a state under the name of Puerto Rico.
II.   The Senate shall vote on which region/district Puerto Rico shall be designated into.
III.   The State of Puerto Rico shall be given full rights from whichever district/region it’s placed into and be under full jurisdiction of the Atlasian constitution.


Pacifican Statehood Act of 2006

I. After a majority of vote by the citizens of Guam, Atlasian Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands voting in the affirmative in a referendum administrated five days after the passage of this act by the territory governments of the commonwealths of Guam, Atlasian Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are hereby entered in the Union of Atlasia as a new state of Pacifica.
II. Pacifica shall become a state in the Pacific Region.
III. Pacifica shall be assigned to District 5 until the next round of redistricting when commensurate with the Constitution it shall be liable to be moved to another District.
IV. The state of Pacifica shall be given full rights under whichever region/district it’s placed into and be under full jurisdiction of the Atlasian Constitution.
V. Section 2 of the Miscellany Act shall be amended, following a majority of the citizens of Guam, Atlasian Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands voting in the affirmative to grant Pacifica statehood to contain a clause 6, the text of which shall be as follows: “Pacifica is contiguous to Alaska”, a clause 7, the text of which shall be as follows: “Pacifica is be contiguous to Hawaii”, and a clause 8, the text of which shall be as follows: “Pacifica is contiguous to California”.

^ I amendmed this to make it pass faster if it does.

[Brandon H]

I have two bills to introduce.   Only problem is that Sam doesn't like statehood so if they pass the Senate I doubt they'll actually become reality.

Puerto Rican Statehood Act of 2006

I. After a majority vote of the citizens of Puerto Rico voting in the affirmative for statehood in a referendum administered five days after the passage of this act by the territorial government of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is hereby entered in the Union of Atlasia as the 51st state under the name of Puerto Rico.
II.   The Senate shall vote on which region/district Puerto Rico shall be designated into.
III.   The State of Puerto Rico shall be given full rights from whichever district/region it’s placed into and be under full jurisdiction of the Atlasian constitution.


Pacifican Statehood Act of 2006

I. After a majority of vote by the citizens of Guam, Atlasian Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands voting in the affirmative in a referendum administrated five days after the passage of this act by the territory governments of the commonwealths of Guam, Atlasian Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are hereby entered in the Union of Atlasia as the 52nd state of Pacifica (or 51st if Puerto Rico doesn’t come in).
II. The Senate shall vote on the region/district the state of Pacifica shall be entered into.
III. The state of Pacifica shall be given full rights under whichever region/district it’s placed into and be under full jurisdiction of the Atlasian Constitution.

For wording purposes and to avoid technicalities, I would take out 51 and 52 and simply say "a state" or "the next state".

[WMS]

Proposed Constitutional Amendment:

Article V, Section 2, Clause 4 shall be changed to read:

In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter on the tenth day before that election. If a voter changes their state of registration in the ten days before the election, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     

This should fix the issue of people moving around close to elections and where they can vote.

[Democratic Hawk]

Original Modifications

I, hereby, introduce this modification to the Welfare Reform Act

Modified Welfare Reform Bill

3. …………; or they shall be eligible to undertake a vocational training course, either college or work-based or a combination of the two, of not less than 20 hours per week. For any shortfall below 40 hours per week, they shall be required to do community service.

4. An initial amount of $2bn shall be appropriated from the Department of the Treasury (Labor Sub-Department) in the Fiscal Year 2007 to provide funding for such vocational training, as specified in Clause 3. The Senate will review this funding on an annual basis, and set it at an amount, at which it may deem appropriate.

However, I have since amended Clause 3 to read:

3.   Any able-bodied Atlasian on public assistance and not currently working shall be required to do 20 hours of community service plus 20 hours of job searching and/or interviews; or they shall be eligible to undertake a vocational training course, either college or work-based or a combination of the two, of 30 hours per week. For any shortfall below 30 hours per week, they shall be required to do community service depending on the total time spent in vocational training

Amended Modifications

I have amended Clause1 and Clause 3 of this Bill; thus the Bill to be introduced is as follows (all modifications are in green )

1.   Atlasians receiving public assistance will be allotted a two year maximum with the following exceptions:
·   a. Disability
·   b. Perpetual care of dependent
·   c. Those undertaking vocational training

2.   Section 8 housing vouchers:

·   a. Maximum two years unrestricted with the following exceptions:
§   i. Disability
§   ii. Over the age of 65
§   iii. Veteran permanently disable in military duty
·   b. Housing shall be rented at the average market value for rent given a two-block radius and the same accommodations.
·   c. Anyone convicted of a felony shall be removed from the program.
·   d. Any minor problems such as noise violations, unkempt property that is the fault of the tenant, or generally disruptive needing a police presence shall be given three chances.

3. Any able-bodied Atlasian on public assistance and not currently working shall be required to do 20 hours of community service plus 20 hours of job searching and/or interviews; or they shall be eligible to undertake a vocational training course, either college or work-based or a combination of the two, of 30 hours per week. For any shortfall below 30 hours per week, they shall be required to do community service depending on the total time spent in vocational training

4. An initial amount of $2bn shall be appropriated from the Department of the Treasury (Labor Sub-Department) in the Fiscal Year 2007 to provide funding for such vocational training, as specified in Clause 3. The Senate will review this funding on an annual basis, and set it at an amount, at which it may deem appropriate

'Hawk'

[CheeseWhiz]

Energy Policy Reform Act

Section One
1. Current subsidies for ethanol production, sales, devepolment and research shall be repealed.
2. Tax credits for ethanol production, sales, devepolment and research, inclding examptions from the federal fuel tax, and tax credits and deductions from the corporate or personal income taxes shall be repealed.

Section Two
1. The Department of Energy shall be abolished.
2. All the domestic energy programs under control of the department of energy shall be abolished.
3. The National Nuclear Security Administration shall be transfered to the Department of Defense.

Section Three
1. The Federal Government shall sell all the oil in the Strategic Oil Reserve, after which that program shall be terminated.

Section Four
1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Comission, the Energy Information Administration, and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management shall become independent agencies within the executive branch.

Section Five
1. The Price-Anderson Act is hereby repealed.

Section Six
1. All Money raised and/or saved under this Act's provisions shall be apropriated for the amortization of the National Public Debt.

Authored by and introduced for Bono

[Democratic Hawk]

I, hereby, introduce the following emergency resolution:

Senate Emergency Resolution: The Puerto Rico Crisis

1. The Senate, hereby, opposes True Independent's initiated coup in Puerto Rico, his siezing of all its armed force, and those in the Caribbean, and him instituting a draft

2. The Senate, hereby, resolves that diplomatic efforts are to begin immediately in an effort to resolve this crisis

3. The Senate, hereby, appoints Southeast Governor, Cosmo Kramer, as General of the Armies of the United States of Atlasia as a precautionary move

4. The Senate, hereby, appropriates initial military funding of $5bn, for the purposes of defending Atlasia, should True Independent launch a military invasion against Atlasia

5. The Senate, hereby, resolves that in the event of Atlasia and True Independent reaching a settlement that Puerto Rico be immediately considered for Statehood

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

I, hereby, introduce the following emergency resolution:

Senate Emergency Resolution: The Puerto Rico Crisis

1. The Senate, hereby, opposes True Independent's initiated coup in Puerto Rico, his siezing of all its armed force, and those in the Caribbean, and him instituting a draft

2. The Senate, hereby, resolves that diplomatic efforts are to begin immediately in an effort to resolve this crisis

3. The Senate, hereby, appoints Southeast Governor, Cosmo Kramer, as General of the Armies of the Republic of Atlasia as a precautionary measure

4. The Senate, hereby, appropriates initial military funding of $5bn, for the purposes of defending Atlasia, should True Independent launch a military invasion against Atlasia

5. The Senate, hereby, resolves that in the event of Atlasia and True Independent reaching a settlement that Puerto Rico be immediately considered for Statehood

'Hawk'

Since the point was raised by Governor Jas, I must stress, that is his capacity of General of the Armies, Preston is still subordinate to the President, in the latter's capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Atlasia

I have amended the resolution to read:

3. The Senate, hereby, appoints Southeast Governor, Cosmo Kramer, as General of the Armies of the Republic of Atlasia as a precautionary measure

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

I, hereby, introduce the following emergency resolution:

Senate Emergency Resolution: The Puerto Rico Crisis

1. The Senate, hereby, opposes True Independent's initiated coup in Puerto Rico, his siezing of all its armed force, and those in the Caribbean, and him instituting a draft

2. The Senate, hereby, resolves that diplomatic efforts are to begin immediately in an effort to resolve this crisis

3. The Senate, hereby, appoints Southeast Governor, Cosmo Kramer, as General of the Armies of the Republic of Atlasia as a precautionary measure

4. The Senate, hereby, appropriates initial military funding of $5bn, for the purposes of defending Atlasia, should True Independent launch a military invasion against Atlasia

5. The Senate, hereby, resolves that in the event of Atlasia and True Independent reaching a settlement that Puerto Rico be immediately considered for Statehood

'Hawk'

Since the point was raised by Governor Jas, I must stress, that is his capacity of General of the Armies, Preston is still subordinate to the President, in the latter's capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Atlasia

I have amended the resolution to read:

3. The Senate, hereby, appoints Southeast Governor, Cosmo Kramer, as General of the Armies of the Republic of Atlasia as a precautionary measure

'Hawk'

I have been advised on good authority that Clause 3 of this resolution is unconstitutional since for the Senate to make a military appointment would infringe on the rights of the President as chief executive and Commander-in-Chief

Therefore, I withdraw this resolution

Might I suggest that given the gravity of the situation in Puerto Rico that Senator MasterJedi's Puerto Rico Statehood Bill be moved up the Senate agenda, if that is is possible

'Hawk'

[MasterJedi]

If Q will publically post here and agree with me we can bump up the Puerto Rican Statehood Act of 2006 to be next in line.

[Brandon H]

After consulting with the President, Vice-President, and SoFA and receiving no objections, I offer the following Constitutional Amendment which addresses many of the concerns from the recently passed Election Time Constitutional Amendment that would make it more difficult for certain members to take the position of SoFA by adding flexability to the voting time. I would appreciate it if a Senator would sponsor this.
Thanks.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Q]

If Q will publically post here and agree with me we can bump up the Puerto Rican Statehood Act of 2006 to be next in line.

I concur with this motion.

[Peter]

After consulting with the President, Vice-President, and SoFA and receiving no objections, I offer the following Constitutional Amendment which addresses many of the concerns from the recently passed Election Time Constitutional Amendment that would make it more difficult for certain members to take the position of SoFA by adding flexability to the voting time. I would appreciate it if a Senator would sponsor this.
Thanks.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Whilst the recent Amendment did have issues that I didn't anticipate, this actually creates more than it resolves and I'm honestly surprised that 4 people didn't anticipate these at all. Elections ending on a Sunday makes sense for very obvious reasons - much easier to certify in a timely fashion because people will not be at school/work. The Amendment you propose doesn't really make clear which voting booth it is referring to, thus possibly meaning it applies to all voting booths, which arguably would touch Constitutional Amendment booths and thus reduce their open time from one week to 3 days.

I introduce this instead:

Flexi-time Constitutional Amendment

   1. Regular elections to the Senate and Presidency shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second to last Thursday of the month in which they otherwise would have started and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
   2. Special elections to the Senate shall begin within ten days of the vacancy occurring and shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on a Thursday and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
   3. The exact time at which a given election or vote shall begin may be determined by the voting booth administrator subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by Law.
   4. The Ninth Amendment is repealed.

[MasterJedi]

Abolition of Martin Luther King Day Bill

Section 1: Applicability
1. This law shall not be construed as to alter or repeal any regional laws regarding Martin Luther King Day.

Section 2: Abolition of Martin Luther King Day
1. Martin Luther King Day, as a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday every January, is hereby abolished.
2. References to Martin Luther King Day in previous legislation are hereby stricken.

[WMS]

Oh, right, a title...I didn't really think it needed one, but...

Voter Registration Amendment

Article V, Section 2, Clause 4 shall be changed to read:

In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter on the tenth day before that election. If a voter changes their state of registration in the ten days before the election, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------     

This should fix the issue of people moving around close to elections and where they can vote.

[Yates]

Regional Control of Abortion Bill
Sponsor: Senator Yates

1. The federal government of Atlasia shall make no law regarding the practice of abortion.
2. The Atlasian regions shall be the sole determinants of the legality of abortion.
3. All existing federal laws regarding abortion are void as of the signing on this bill.

[Democratic Hawk]

Corporate Benevolent Fund Bill

Section 1

1. This Act hereby allows companies Atlasian registered companies, who have operations in Atlasia, to establish Corporate Benevolent Funds.

2. Such Funds are to operate on a regional basis, with one fund for each of the five regions of Atlasia: the Mideast, the Midwest, the Northeast, the Pacific and the Southeast.

3. Membership of such funds is to be on a voluntary basis.

4. The terms and conditions, rules and regulations, of such Funds are to be established by companies party to the Fund.

Section 2

1. This Act, hereby, allows all companies party to such Funds to contribute 5% of their pre-tax profits in return for a commitment for their contributing 5% of their net profits for the purpose of financing such Funds.

Section 3

1. These Funds will come into effect from 1st January 2008.

'Hawk'

[True Democrat]

Could someone introduce this for me?

Extension of the Reforming Social Security Act

1.   The Senate shall continue the work of the Reforming Social Security Act.
2.   A program is hereby implemented that explores the idea of extending the benefits and privileges of the Thrift Savings Plan to the general populace.
a.   The said plan shall be first implemented on a trial basis with 1000 randomly selected volunteers for each of the G, S, C, F, I, and L funds.
b.   This trial shall last for a duration of 10 years, with a report being made every three months to the Senate by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
c.   At any time before or after the ten year deadline of the trial, the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall further explore the idea of extending the Thrift Savings Plan to the general public.
3.   Section 2, Clause D of the Reforming Social Security Act is hereby repealed.

[MasterJedi]

I'll introduce it.

Could someone introduce this for me?

Extension of the Reforming Social Security Act

1.   The Senate shall continue the work of the Reforming Social Security Act.
2.   A program is hereby implemented that explores the idea of extending the benefits and privileges of the Thrift Savings Plan to the general populace.
a.   The said plan shall be first implemented on a trial basis with 1000 randomly selected volunteers for each of the G, S, C, F, I, and L funds.
b.   This trial shall last for a duration of 10 years, with a report being made every three months to the Senate by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
c.   At any time before or after the ten year deadline of the trial, the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall further explore the idea of extending the Thrift Savings Plan to the general public.
3.   Section 2, Clause D of the Reforming Social Security Act is hereby repealed.

[True Democrat]

I'll introduce it.

Could someone introduce this for me?

Extension of the Reforming Social Security Act

1.   The Senate shall continue the work of the Reforming Social Security Act.
2.   A program is hereby implemented that explores the idea of extending the benefits and privileges of the Thrift Savings Plan to the general populace.
a.   The said plan shall be first implemented on a trial basis with 1000 randomly selected volunteers for each of the G, S, C, F, I, and L funds.
b.   This trial shall last for a duration of 10 years, with a report being made every three months to the Senate by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
c.   At any time before or after the ten year deadline of the trial, the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall further explore the idea of extending the Thrift Savings Plan to the general public.
3.   Section 2, Clause D of the Reforming Social Security Act is hereby repealed.

Thanks

[Gabu]

Fair Minimum Wage Bill

Section 1: Nationwide Minimum Wage Standard
1. The minimum wage shall be set at $7.40 hourly for all persons aged 18 and above.
2. The minimum wage shall be set at $5.75 hourly for all persons aged 15 through 17.
3. Regions are permitted to pass a higher regional minimum wage than the national standard, should they so desire.  Regional laws with lower wages than defined in Clauses 1 and 2 will be overridden by this law.

Section 2: CPI Indexing
2. The nationwide minimum wage shall be indexed annually to the Consumer Pricing Index (CPI).

As this bill is now blatantly unconstitutional due to the minimum wage act not passing, I'm withdrawing it.

[MasterJedi]

Remembering the Holocaust Day Act- I withdraw this.

1. The Senate hereby commemorates January 27 as “Remembering the Holocaust Day”.

2. Every January 27 at noon there shall be a five minute break for everyone across Atlasia for quiet remembrance for all those that died in the Holocaust.

[True Democrat]

Remembering the Holocaust Day Act

1. The Senate hereby commemorates January 27 as “Remembering the Holocaust Day”.

2. Every January 27 at noon there shall be a five minute break for everyone across Atlasia for quiet remembrance for all those that died in the Holocaust.

As much as I would like every Atlasian to remember the Holocaust and honor the survivors and those who died, I fear that this bill is a violation of Freedom of Speech.

[MasterJedi]

Remembering the Holocaust Day Act

1. The Senate hereby commemorates January 27 as “Remembering the Holocaust Day”.

2. Every January 27 at noon there shall be a five minute break for everyone across Atlasia for quiet remembrance for all those that died in the Holocaust.

As much as I would like every Atlasian to remember the Holocaust and honor the survivors and those who died, I fear that this bill is a violation of Freedom of Speech.

It just says a five minute break for people to do it, doesn't say they actually have to do it though.

[Peter]

Peter Will Fix It Bill
Section 1
Section 16 of the Electoral Reform Act is hereby amended to read:
   1. After passage by the Senate, Sections 5 through 17 of this Act shall take immediate effect.
   2. Sections 1 through 4 of this Act shall only take effect in the event that in a national public poll (where all votes shall be cast by public post), which last for exactly one week, a majority of those registered voters who cast votes shall vote in favour of the adoption of Sections 1 through 4.
   3. The aforementioned national public poll shall be administered by the Vice-President.
   4. In the event that Sections 1 through 4 of this Act do not take effect after the national public poll then Sections 1 through 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act shall remain in effect withstanding any language in Section 17 of this Act to the contrary.

Section 2
Any national public poll begun commensurate with the previous Section 16 of the Electoral Reform Act is hereby null and void.
I wouldn't mind if we could dispense with the usual trivialities so that I can fix the problems that need to be fixed.

[MasterJedi]

Peter Will Fix It Bill
Section 1
Section 16 of the Electoral Reform Act is hereby amended to read:
   1. After passage by the Senate, Sections 5 through 17 of this Act shall take immediate effect.
   2. Sections 1 through 4 of this Act shall only take effect in the event that in a national public poll (where all votes shall be cast by public post), which last for exactly one week, a majority of those registered voters who cast votes shall vote in favour of the adoption of Sections 1 through 4.
   3. The aforementioned national public poll shall be administered by the Vice-President.
   4. In the event that Sections 1 through 4 of this Act do not take effect after the national public poll then Sections 1 through 3 of the Unified Electoral Code Act shall remain in effect withstanding any language in Section 17 of this Act to the contrary.

Section 2
Any national public poll begun commensurate with the previous Section 16 of the Electoral Reform Act is hereby null and void.

With the consent of Q we can bump this up to the top.