Office of Southern Delegate TimTurner

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

this is my office. Thanks for passing by!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Southern Small Business Administration Act
To establish a Southern Small Business Administration

Be it enacted by the Government of the Southern Region

1. A department shall be established called the "Southern Small Business Administration"
2. The Southern Small Business Administration shall have an annual budget of $7 billion dollars. Money shall be appropriated from regional reserves. 75% shall be used for grants and 25% used for loans.
 shall be appropriated from regional reserves.
3. The Southern Small Business Administration shall administer grants and loans under $100,000 for small businesses that have under $500,000 dollars of net revenue each year.
4. The Southern Small Business Administration shall form immediately upon the passage of this bill.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #001

I appoint KoopaDaQuick to the vacant Chamber of Delegates seat.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

this is my office. Thanks for passing by!

:: pokes head in ::

I was in the neighborhood.  LOL. 

Long time no see!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #001

I appoint KoopaDaQuick to the vacant Chamber of Delegates seat.

Thank you very much, Mr. Governor!

I wish you well! Best of luck in your tenure!

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #002

I appoint Thumb21 as Southern Archivist.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
to protect statues of historical figures in the South

Section 1 (Title & Definitions)
i. The title of this act shall be, the “Protecting Our History"

Section 2 (Protecting Statues)
i. Anyone who takes down or participates the vandalism of a statue of a historical figure will be fined $500 for destroying public property.

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall come into effect immediately upon signature by the Governor.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Confederate Statue Removal Act

1. All physical statues commemorating Confederate leaders shall be moved to museums or Civil War Battle sites, except for ones by which their presence is protected via legal contract, such as one between an individual or group of individuals and a state government.
2. This act shall apply to statues on regional government property that are not presently located at a museum or Civil War battle site.
3. $25 million shall be appropriated from reserves for the transfer of statues.
4. This act will take effect on October 1, 2020.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #003

I hearby rename the town of Gardner, Kansas, as Benson, Kansas, in honor of Speaker Tmth's amazing and capable dog.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Preserve our Cetaceans Act

1. Sealing and the sale of products produced in the past 30 years through sealing is prohibited. Violators shall be fined up to $100,000 for sale and up to $500,000 for sealing.

2. The taking of cetaceans by any person in Southern waters for purposes not authorized by the Southern government is prohibited. Permits shall only be authorized for scientific research, for enhancing the survival or recovery of a marine mammal species, or temporary educational photography purposes. Violators shall be fined up to $500,000. This clause does not apply to incidental take during commercial activities.

3. Commercial gill netting in oceanic waters is prohibited. Drift nets longer than 2.5km are prohibited. All drift nets are required to be made from biodegradable materials and incorporate pingers in sufficient quantities. Violators shall be fined up to $100,000.

4. All ships engaged in midwater trawling must include a device to exclude cetaceans or allow them to escape, such as a Nordmore grate. Violators shall be fined up to $50,000.

5. All ships engaged in purse seine fishing are required to incorporate Medina panels into their nets and engage in backing-down procedures. Violators shall be fined up to $50,000.

6. All appropriate regulatory agencies are directed to consider marine life safety as a major objective and to shift and narrow maritime traffic separation schemes as appropriate, including outright avoidance of key areas, and are further directed to consider the impact of oceanic noise created by commercial shipping and mineral exploration on such regulations.

7. Power plants that discharge water that has been used by the plant with no significant alterations save temperature are directed to prevent any undue restrictions to access to their discharge canals by marine life.

8. All commercial operations that operate to observe marine life their native habitat are directed to maintain no more than a no wake speed when knowingly operating within 500 feet of a cetacean, and may not pursue, encircle, or come in between the members of a pod, make unnecessary sudden turns, make excessive noise, or approach such animals at an angle by which they would be taken by surprise. These operations also may not allow swimming with these cetaceans or coerce cetaceans into bow-riding. Violators shall be fined up to $25,000 per offense.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
To fund the creation of accessible playgrounds and other recreational areas.

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: Getting Parks, Playgrounds, and Other Receational Areas Accessible for our Children (GARRISON) Act.
II. "Locality" is defined as an incorporated city or town, or the unincorporated areas of a county.

Section 2: Accessible Recreational Area Fund

I. An "Accessible Recreational Area Fund" (ARAF) shall be established.
II. The ARAF shall be charged to provide grants totaling no more than $100,000 to localities in order to create accessible recreational areas within the locality, as well as renovating current recreational areas to be made accessible.
III. The ARAF shall be provided with an annual budget of $15,000,000 in order to provide these grants. Money shall be appropriated from regional reserves.
IV. This bill will go into effect immediately upon signature by the governor.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
to give families more time to spend with their children and increase productivity

Section 1 (Title & Definitions)
i. The title of this act shall be, the “Fair Workweek Act."

Section 2 (Gov't employee five-day workweek flexibility)
i. All government employees of the Southern Region who work five (5) days in a week shall have the option to choose between three (3) plans determining which days of the week they work.
   a. The first plan shall be called Workweek A. Workers who choose this plan must go to work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
   b. The second plan shall be called Workweek B. Workers who choose this plan must go to work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
   c. The second plan shall be called Workweek C. Workers who choose this plan must go to work on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
ii. If a regional government employee who works five (5) days in a week requests a different combination of days, whether it be for religious or personal reasons, the government of the Southern Region may permit the employee in question to work on a plan that best fits.

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall come into effect on January 1, 2023.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Justice in Policing Act

Section 1: Police Accountability
1. The Southern government shall keep a registry of police misconduct complaints and disciplinary actions that occur within the region. Any disciplinary actions may be accessed by the public
2. The Southern Attorney General shall be instructed to establish an independent process to investigate all cases of misconduct and excessive force used by the police.
3. In cases related to police brutality, it shall not be a defense or immunity to any action brought against a regional, state or local government official that the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that their conduct was lawful at the time when a person's rights secured by the Constitutions of the Commonwealth and of the Republic of Atlasia have not been appropriately protected.
4. All regional and local police departments shall be mandated for vehicles to be equipped with dashboard cameras.
5. All regional, state and local law enforcement agencies shall be required to establish anti-bias and anti-discrimination training programs. These programs must be ongoing with officers participating in continuous professional development.
6. No regional, state or local law enforcement officer may use chokeholds or other carotid holds in order to receive regional funding. No-Knock warrants are hereby banned in the South.
7. Use of force may only be used when necessary to prevent the death or serious bodily injury. Deadly force may only be used as a last-resort after de-escalation attempts have been attempted and there is a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to an officer or others.
8. Any officer who fires a weapon must immediately provide body camera footage and a detailed report of the incident and justification for use of a weapon. Failure to provide report or proof of misinformation may result in termination of employment.
9. In the event that a civilian requests or expresses need for medical attention, law enforcement shall be compelled to provide aid or transportation to an incapacitated subject.  Under no circumstance may physical force be applied to an individual requiring emergency medical care.

Section 2: Funding
1. $120 million shall be appropriated from reserves to regional, state and local agencies to carry out the clauses of Section 1.

Section 3: Implementation
1. All regional, state and local law enforcement agencies must be in compliance with this act by January 1, 2021.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to coupons and discounts for nicotine products

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE & DEFINITIONS.
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Nicotine Discount Prohibition Act."
ii. “Product with nicotine” and “product containing nicotine” both refer to any commercial product that contains the stimulant nicotine, which includes, but is not limited to:
 a. Cigarettes
 b. Cigars
 c. Pipe tobacco
 d. Chewing tobacco
 e. Snuff tobacco, whether wet or dry
 f. Electronic cigarettes
iii. Clause (ii) of this section does not include nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, or nicotine gum.
iv. “Coupon” refers to any instrument or mechanism, either print or digital, that provides the consumer who redeems it with a product or bundle of products containing nicotine at either no cost or a cost lower than the listed retail price.

Section 2, COUPONS.
i. No commercial distributor of products containing nicotine shall accept or redeem any coupon for said products within the borders of the Southern Region.
ii. No magazine, newspaper, or other publication is allowed to distribute coupons for products containing nicotine within the Southern Region.
iii. A Southern citizen who wishes to redeem a coupon for products with nicotine is permitted to do so in another region that permits coupons for said products, and is also permitted to use those products purchased with it within the Southern Region.
iv. An establishment caught accepting coupons for products with nicotine will be given a fine of $15,000 for each incident.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
i. This act shall take effect on the first (1st) day of the January after final enactment by the legislature of the Southern Region.
ii. Coupons that are invalid and/or non-redeemable on or before the thirty-first (31st) day of December 2020 are not subject to this law.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #004

I hereby name Scutosaurus to the currently vacant seat in the Chamber of Delegates.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
to give families more security and opportunity

Section 1 (Title & Definitions)
i. The title of this act shall be, the “Family Opportunity Fund."
ii. The "beginning of each month" is the 1st
iii. "Child" is defined as a person aged 17 or younger.

Section 2 (Universal Child Dividend)
i. Each person with a dependent child shall be eligible for an annual child tax credit of $4,800 per dependent, up to four. The credit shall be divided and dispersed at the beginning of each month ($400 per month).
ii. The Universal Child Tax Credit shall be withheld from families under CPS investigation until the investigation is complete. If the case is placed into Categories III, IV, or V, the Family shall be backpaid for any missed tax credit payments.
iii. This bill will be paid for with the regional excise taxes and an progressive income tax as follows:
$0 - $75,000: 0%
$75,001 - $125,000: 3.5%
$125,001 - $1,000,000: 7%
%1,000,001+: 9.5%

Section 3 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall come into effect immediately upon signature by the Governor.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
To give assistance to sports stadiums to bring character and normality back to an emotionally heartbroken region

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: BRING SPORTS BACK Act.
II. "Team" is defined as professional, high school, and collegiate teams.

Section 2: Sport stadium funding

I. A "Sport Stadium Reopening Fund" (SSRF) shall be established
II. The SSRF will be established to provide grants and loans to teams and stadiums so that they can partially make up for loss revenue as a result of the pandemic.
III. The SSRF shall be provided with an annual budget of $10,000,000 in order to provide these grants. Money shall be appropriated from regional reserves.
IV. Sport stadiums are to be allowed to have at least 25% capacity. This may be altered at the discretion of the Governor.
V. Local governments are not allowed to prevent teams from playing official games.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
extending the official regional symbolism of the Southern Region

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the “Regional Symbols Act Part II: Electric Boogaloo.”

Section 2, NEW SYMBOLS.
1. There shall be a referendum vote to determine additional regional symbols for the Southern Region.
2. The following categories and options shall be voted on:
   a. Beverage - Options: Lemonade, Sweet Tea, Water, Write-In:_____
   b. Bird - Options: Brown Pelican, Kentucky warbler, Seagull, Hummingbird, Write-In:_____
   c. Gem - Options: Freshwater Pearl, Amethyst, Write-In:_____
   d. Meal - Options: Fried chicken and waffles; Fried Chicken, Black Eyed Peas, Mashed Potatoes and Greens; Grits and Tapioca, Write-In:_____
   e. Tree - Southern Oak Tree, Write-In:____-
3. Voting shall be does via STV method. The options that receive the most votes shall become regional symbols effective immediately upon election certification. The appropriate election administrator will open the voting booth at 12:00:00am EDT on Friday, November 13th, and will close said booth the following Sunday at 11:59:59pm EDT. The Governor shall be tasked with posting a thread in the Fantasy Elections sub-forum to facilitate a public discussion.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Executive Order #005

I appoint Harvey Lee Updike III (jtsmd2) to the vacant Chamber of Delegates seat.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
investing in our region’s community colleges and trade schools

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Earn While You Learn Act."
2. For the purposes of this Act, a “trade school” is an institution of post-secondary education within the Southern Region that provides its students a vocational education for a certain trade.
3. Unless stated otherwise, all forms of educational institutions mentioned in this Act shall only apply to public, and not private, institutions.

Section 2, FUNDING.
1. The government of the Southern Region shall allocate five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) from the regional budget per fiscal year that shall be used to fund this section.
2. The funds allocated in §2.1 of this Act shall be evenly dispersed among every community college and trade school in the Southern Region.
3. Funds shall be dispersed on the eleventh (11th) day of August every year to the schools mentioned in §2.2 of this Act to be used to fund student grant and scholarship programs.
4. Every year before the eleventh (11th) day of August, the Southern Department of Education shall come up with a list of trade schools in the South that can be funded.
5. Every public community college in the Southern Region shall automatically be included in regional funding. There will be no need to include a public community college on the list mentioned in §2.4 in order to receive funding.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. This bill shall take effect starting in FY2022.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
modifying how local elections in the Southern Region work

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND CLARIFICATIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Local Voting System Reform Act."
2. This bill shall apply to elections for all offices in the Southern Region.

Section 2, TEXT.
1. Unless another voting system is explicitly chosen by statewide or municipal law, all elections for mayor, governor, and other executive offices on a subregional level shall be conducted using instant runoff voting.
2. This Act shall take effect starting with the December 2020 NPC elections.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
amending the Southern Constitution to protect our region's canines

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Greyhound Racing Amendment."

Section 2, AMENDMENT TEXT.
1. The Southern Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

i. No person or group authorized to conduct gaming or pari-mutuel operations within the Southern Region shall be permitted to race any member of the Canis Familiaris subspecies with connection to any wager for money or any other thing of value within the Southern Region or her states.
ii. No person or persons within the Southern Region shall wager, whether for money or any other thing of value within the Southern Region or her states, on the outcome of a live dog race occurring in this region.
iii. This amendment to the Southern Constitution shall take effect 365 days after ratification by the voters of the Southern Region.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
to make Christmas wholesome again

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: Christmas Cheer Act

Section 2: Costumes

During December, the following costumes will be worn in the chamber:
I. The Governor will wear a Santa costume
II. The southern speaker will wear an Elf costume
III. The southern delegates will wear a Reindeer costume
III. The southern deputy speaker will wear a Rudolph costume

Section 3: Christmas Card
I. A Christmas card of Benson will be sent to everyone in the South. The Christmas card will say, "Merry Christmas from the Benson family. We wish you the best during these trying times. The Coronavirus pandemic and economic recession has put a lot of stress on everyone. Let the people around you know that they are loved during the holidays, and may God and the South always be with you. Times may be Ruff, but we'll have a bone together when the dust is settled." - Benson

Section 4: Christmas Goodies

I. All "Happy Holidays" signs on government property will be changed to "Merry Christmas"
II. Carrots will have a 0% tax rate until March 1, 2021
III. Chocolate and hot chocolate will have a 0% tax rate until March 1, 2021
IV. A $100,000 check will be written to the coal mine with the best Labor standards. Only coal mines that employ 50 employees or more are eligible to win this contest. This shall be funded from regional reserves.
V. All Elves employed in the south must be guaranteed $200 extra hazard pay until January 1, 2021


Section 5: Funding

I. Benson will send a $125,000 check to the Southern government

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Appointment Regulation Act

1. When filling a vacancy in the Southern Chamber of Delegates, the Governor shall select an eligible individual who is registered under the same party that the resigned, deregistered, or deceased incumbent was registered under at the time of their resignation, deregistration, or death.

2. If the resigned, deregistered, or deceased incumbent was registered as an independent, or if the party they were registered under has since been abolished, the governor may then select any eligible individual, regardless of party registration or lack thereof.

3. In all cases, the governor is encouraged to select someone of similar ideology to the incumbent.

4. In the event that the governor cannot find anyone from the appropriate party to take the seat, they then have the following options:
 a. They may appoint an eligible individual outside of the party, but this individual must be approved by a unanimous vote of the chamber before that individual can take office.
 b. In the event the Governor and the Chamber cannot settle on an appointment, the Governor may call a special election. The election shall occur on the following weekend and adhere to all regional election laws, but may not occur within 48 hours of the special election being called. If no appointment is made within 7 days of the vacancy arising, a special election shall automatically be called.

5. Once the appointed individual is sworn in, or once an election is called under 4b., the action is final and cannot be rescinded

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

AN ACT
To support federal officers in enforcing our laws

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: "Enforcing Our Laws"
II. "Sanctuary cities" is defined as a city whose municipal laws protect illegal immigrants against deportation, prosecution, or cooperation with federal immigration authority.

Section 2: End Sanctuary Cities

I. Cities are not allowed to declare themselves as "Sanctuary Cities". They must comply with federal immigration enforcement.

Section 3: Religious Protection

I. Southern law enforcement will not carry out immigration arrests on property owned by religious groups.

Section 4: Immigration Statement

I. The southern chamber declares, "The south welcomes all immigrants who come to the south legally. Legal immigrants enrich our culture with their diverse perspectives and backgrounds".