Northern Regional Committee

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I think we should fast-track the voting process. What's important is we get to finish our work early.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I think we should fast-track the voting process. What's important is we get to finish our work early.

I agree - speed is of primary importance here. A simple voice vote for chair seems appropriate; we can then move to set a date for the senatorial election and begin hammering out a Constitution.

I will stand for the office of Chair and nominate Cinyc for Vice Chair.

I second the motion.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I think "The Northern Union of Franklin" would be a good name. We could then refer to the region as either Franklin or "the North."

As for a bicameral legislature:
I like the idea of three Senators, and the remainder if numbering three or above forming a House of three to five members. If there are four candidates, a three man Senate would be created. If there were five or six, a five man Senate is elected. If there are seven or more, the top three are elected to the Senate and either a three or five man House is created. The combined legislatures elect a Prime Minister among them, with the Governor casting the tie breaking vote. The PM then presides over the legislature and the Governor would veto it.

I'll turn it into legalese in twelve hours or so, assuming no one else does. Hopefully this meeting can be successful in using innovation and unique ideas in founding this region's government

I am thinking that the House will introduce the bill first, approves it. The approved bill will be sent to the Senate, for another approval. If approved, the bill will be sent to the governor for signing.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

When it comes to the number of representatives we have and the type of regional governmental system we use, I recommend having as small a legislature as possible, as doing so would (a) increase competitiveness, (b) reduce legislative inactivity, and (c) expedite the legislation-passing process as a whole. I would personally prefer no more than seven or eight regional legislators, though I understand that some on this committee would probably prefer more than that and that's fine with me.

However, if we're really looking for an interesting electoral system, then I recommend developing districts! Having districts would increase the amount of political clout each individual Northern citizen would have due to his or her ability to influence the vote within his or her own district, and create a more personalized campaign system as opposed to the personal message-based one we have now.

I think the best system would probably be a bicameral system with a House and Senate (preferably with more creative names), with one being elected at-large and the other being elected using districts. We could have single-member districts, double-member districts, or half being elected with single-member districts and half being elected at-large like in the old Senate. I recommend around three, four, or five districts, with the legislature being able to redistrict every session to reflect population changes (that would also give the legislature something interesting to do ). Here are my proposed maps for each one along with the current populations of each state and province/territory (only the currently inhabited Canadian provinces are included for population distribution purposes):

Obviously, there would be debate regarding both district contiguity (which would be hard to do perfectly due to the positions of New York and Ohio) and differences in population between each district. I recommend developing contiguity rules that don't require perfect district contiguity but do to an extent, so, for example, we could have a district with New Jersey and Connecticut if New York's population needs to be included in a different district. Regarding population differences in each district, I recommend just developing a standard deviation criterion that can't be violated.

Overall, a district system would be good basically because it gives the legislature something to actually do and makes things relatively more interesting.

If we wanted to get really crazy, we could ask each Northern citizen to specify a county of residence and work from there. That would probably create hilarious levels of gerrymandering, but why not, eh?

Three man senate who has the final say before it will be sent to the governor's office. Elected at-large
A three to seven man house of representatives, elected by at-large or by districts (stv method), this is where the legislation is introduced, and voted before being sent to the senate.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

can we really sustain a bicameral legislature?

I would prefer a unicameral one, but from what I've read in this thread so far it seems most wouldn't.

My ideal legislature would be a single six-member body with three being elected from single-member districts and three being elected at-large. What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Since that this is a fusion of two large regions (most of the NE, half of the ME), I think bicameralism would be a complement to this.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know.

Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down.

The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North."

I was thinking of a three man senate plus five man house of representatives. The bill will originate from the HoR then it will be voted. after that, it will go to the senate for debate and another approval before being sent to the governor's desk

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Evergreen brings up a good point regarding the number of legislators; seven seems fine to me with either four regional and three at-large or three regional and four at-large. I would prefer the latter because districts are really hard to create when you only have fourteen areas to district with and the at-large elections would probably be more interesting with more seats. Or maybe they would be interesting with less seats, I don't really know.

Regarding RGN's idea, I agree that a larger region would probably require a larger total legislature, but we do have to consider that most regional legislatures were basically empty and unused before the merger. I still think a smaller/unicameral legislature size would be preferable, but I'd like to see what everyone has to say first. I also think a unicameral legislature would expedite the legislative process in a very significant manner, while a bicameral legislature would likely slow things down.

The legislative process would probably also be much more effective if we had, say, a Prime Minister in the legislature as opposed to a separate head of government. If you guys wanted, I suppose we could make some sort of nominal head of state position with no real governing power, preferably called "King" so we could have a "King in the North."

I was thinking of a three man senate plus five man house of representatives. The bill will originate from the HoR then it will be voted. after that, it will go to the senate for debate and another approval before being sent to the governor's desk

That's a good idea too.

It kind of looks like we skipped the timeline of debate Truman made, though, so I think we should be talking about the Senate elections now.

Sorry Truman

I think we should make districts, just like the one proposed. Three districts. One senator per district then two house seats each for the top two most populous district then one house seat for the least populous district. Hahaha. This is just preliminary discussion I guess

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I'd really not support having a bicameral chamber- the whole point of the concon was to reduce the number of offices, and make the process much cleaner. The problem with a two chamber system is A.) it's harder to maintain B.) Slows legislation

It will indeed slow legislation, but it will ensure a thorough review of the bills. If one can say that the regional legislatures are avenues for trivial bills/issues, I think it won't hamper the activity. However, the legislation as I say will slow down a little bit. It won't pose a big problem. If the national government did it, why won't we do it?

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I think the point Blair brings up is good. Considering the nature of the game, I'd say legislative expediency is probably more important than thorough review at this point.

I'd like to reiterate the suggestion of a unicameral seven-member legislature with either three regional and four at-large representatives or four regional and three-at large representatives. One member of the legislature would be elected among his peers as head of government, with a separate public election for nominal head of state also being held.

Fast tracking legislations isn't good. although I'm not saying that is similar to the expediency of the legislation. This will ensure that a bill is worthy of passing if it was approved by both chambers. A three man senate and a five man HoR (or even three) will reduce the offices a little bit. If you're talking about seperating the powers of the current governor, the head of government will be picked by a joint session of the two chambers

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Personally, I think three districts Representatives and two at-large Senators would make he most sense if my bicameralism idea is too large. Remember, we have five people currently in the Northeast Assembly and seven people here. I think we can safely supply a legislature of eight, but if we go with three districts and two at-large, I think we can combine them into one Assembly with different names for them.

I think that's acceptable for me.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Nay

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

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Status quo

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I would support the multiple winners one. Look, if we're only getting one winner, then the second is considered as "lost". Why not give him/her the second spot (two to three week term only). We can hold special elections for the June seat, but it is not necessary to hold two elections. Just one election, give the second spot the two-week term.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Aye

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Bicameralism won't pass I think, but I suggest two election systems for the legislature. A part which is at-large, the others by districts.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

^In a period of relative inactivity, I wouldn't want one or two people to be making all the decisions.

I stand by the half at-large/half districted unicameral legislature plan.

This will ensuresa better representation. Seconded

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

OFFICIAL BALLOT

Question 1: What should be the official name of the northern Region?
[   ] The Commonwealth of Franklin
[1] The North
[2] The Northern Union of Franklin
[   ] Write-in:
Question 2: What should be the system of government for the northern Region?
[1] Executive and Legislature
[   ] Write-in:

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I think a unicameral legislature of five or seven members would be the ideal option, preferably with around half elected at-large and the other half elected using districts.

As I stated in my earlier proposal, the best way to ensure that the districts are approximately equal in size is to develop a maximum standard deviation of residents per district that cannot be surpassed (1.75 is my best guess). This would prevent districts of substantially uneven sizes from being created. The first map would be developed and voted on by this committee, while all future maps would be developed at the beginning of each session of the legislature for use in the next election.

Although I'm still pushing for bicameralism, this is a good compromise for me

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I'd prefer two at-large representatives elected for two month terms and three district representatives elected to one month terms.

Five or seven, I'll support a two-method election.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Great plan.

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Question 1: What form should the North's legislature take:
[4] 5 seats; elected at-large
[1] 5 seats; 2 at-large and 3 regional
[2] 5 seats; 3 at-large and 2 regional
[5] 5 seats; mixed-member system with 3 First Past the Post and 2 proportional
[3] 7 seats; 4 at-large and 3 regional

Question 2: Should the North's legislature be indexed to activity:
[X] Yes
[ ] No

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Aye

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

PRINCIPLE VOTE on the BILL OF RIGHTS

OFFICIAL BALLOT

R001     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R002     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R003     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R004     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R005     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R006     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R007     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R008     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R009     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R010     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R011     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R012     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R013     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R014     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R015     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R016     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R017     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R018     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R019     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R020     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R021     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R022     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R023     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R024     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R025     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R026     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R027     [  ] YES   [X] NO   [  ] Abstain
R028     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R029     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R030     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain
R031     [X] YES   [  ] NO   [  ] Abstain

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

Aye

[Former Lincoln Assemblyman & Lt. Gov. RGN]

I will withdraw my concern, if we can get a bill passed early in the first session that more explicitly deals with this issue. Would that be possible?

This Committee is not responsible for the actions of any future Assemblies or Governors.

Let the assembly do it. You can sign a petition or something