10th Lincoln General Court Legislation Introduction Thread

[ZMUN M441]

Introduce your bills for the LGC here.

[ZMUN M441]

THE LETTING OUR REGION BREATHE ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Letting Our Region Breathe Act.

SECTION II — Letting Our Region Breathe
1. The region of Lincoln shall prohibit the construction of any new freeways, including interstate highways and controlled-access state highways, within its boundaries. Specifically, the construction of the following proposed highways is to be indefinitely blocked:

• Any of the three proposed routes of 'I-67';
• The proposed 'I-92';
• The proposed 'I-98';
• The final segment of 'PA Turnpike 576', between 'I-79' and 'PA Turnpike 43'.

2. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IS CHILD ABUSE ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Corporal Punishment is Child Abuse Act.

SECTION II — Definitions
1. 'Corporal punishment' is defined in this act as any form of 'punishment' or 'discipline' meant to cause physical pain to a being, including spanking, paddling, and beating.

SECTION III — Corporal Punishment is Child Abuse
1. No school in the region of Lincoln, rather it be public, private, or charter, shall utilize corporal punishment.

2. All currently existing laws in Lincoln, including on the state, county, and municipal levels, permitting or enforcing corporal punishment in schools shall be nullified.

3. Corporal punishment in the home shall be criminalized in the region of Lincoln. Parents and guardians who utilize it may be prosecuted for petty assault, and parents and guardians who utilize it on a regular basis or in a particularly extreme manner (such as hurting a child enough to require hospitalization, intentionally or not) may be prosecuted for felony assault.

4. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE LINCOLN INFRASTRUCTURE REFORM ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Lincoln Infrastructure Reform Act.

SECTION II — Prohibiting Pointless And Environmentally Unsound Highways
1. The construction of the following proposed highways is to be indefinitely blocked:

• Any of the three proposed routes of 'I-67';
• The proposed 'I-92';
• The proposed 'I-98';
• The final segment of 'PA Turnpike 576', between 'I-79' and 'PA Turnpike 43'.

2. To protect Maine's central landscape, any new highways within the state shall require submission to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection before construction, and may be turned down if they pose a hazard to it.

SECTION III — New York's Fourth Airport
1. A 7-member commission — comprised of 2 urban planners, 1 aviation safety expert, 1 pilot or retired pilot, 1 air traffic controller or retired air traffic controller, 1 economist, and 1 environmental engineer — shall be created to investigate the creation of a fourth major airport for the New York City metropolitan area, including finding the ideal site for it, determining if the benefits of constructing it outweigh the high cost, and determining the potential environmental hazards of the hypothetical airport's construction and how to limit them.
2. The following locations shall be recommended to the aformentioned commission as potential sites for a fourth major airport for the New York City metropolitan area:

• Stewart International Airport, in New Windsor, NY;
• Long Island MacArthur Airport, in Ronkonkoma, NY;
• Hudson Valley Regional Airport, in Wappinger, NY;
• Morristown Municipal Airport, in Morristown, NJ;
• An artificial island off the coast of Stamford, CT;
• A very large floating structure off the coast of Stamford, CT.

The commission shall also be allowed to recommend a site outside of the listed six if they find it to be ideal.

SECTION IV — Effective Date
1. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT IS KIDNAPPING ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Involuntary Commitment Is Kidnapping Act.

SECTION II — Cracking Down On Kidnapping
1. Involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital, or other similar institution, as a 'treatment' for insanity shall be prohibited in the region of Lincoln.

2. All patients currently being involuntarily held at psychiatric hospitals, or other similar institutions, with the sole exception of those who pose an immediate physical risk to others, in Lincoln shall be released. Those who pose an immediate physical risk to others shall be transferred to jail.

3. The committee created by LGC 9.14 shall investigate cases of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect at psychiatric hospitals, and other similar institutions, within Lincoln.

4. Involuntarily committing an insane being to a psychiatric hospital, or other similar institution, shall be considered kidnapping, and prosecuted accordingly. A grandfather clause shall apply to all instances of involuntary commitment perpetrated before this legislation's passing, and within 100 hours of its passing.

5. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE BREATHABLE VACCINE ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the BREATHABLE Vaccine Act.

SECTION II — BREATHE in the Omicron
1. The region of Lincoln shall spend $100,000,000 of its tax revenue on research into a nasally inhalable vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, and specifically, for the B.1.1.529 ('Omicron') variant.

2. Upon completion of a nasally inhalable vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, and specifically, for the B.1.1.529 ('Omicron') variant, one million (1,000,000) doses of the aformentioned vaccine shall be manufactured, and sent to pharamacies, clinics, and hospitals in every state within Lincoln, apportioned based on their percentage of the region's population. These doses of the inhalable vaccine shall be administered by the pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals as a 'booster' vaccine; vaccination via injection shall also remain available. If both methods of vaccination are available, the pharmacy, clinic, or hospital is strongly encouraged, but not strictly required, to allow the patient to choose which method they prefer.

3. After the rollout of the initial million doses of the inhalable vaccine, more doses shall be manufactured; the number of additional doses shall be up to the manufacturer.

4. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE LINCOLN LIQUOR LIBERTY ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Lincoln Liquor Liberty Act.

SECTION II — Lincoln Liquor Liberty
1. All state, county, and municipal laws in Lincoln prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcohol, including beer, wine, and other 'intoxicating beverages,' shall be overturned.

2. No state, county, or municipality in Lincoln shall prohibit the sale or consumption of alcohol, including beer, wine, and other 'intoxicating beverages.'

3. The ban on laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol includes laws prohibiting the sale or consumption of alcohol between specific hours — including 'blue laws' prohibiting the sale of alcohol on Sundays — and laws prohibiting supermarkets from selling alcohol.

4. The age to consume alcohol in all states, counties, and municipalities in Lincoln shall be lowered to 18. This will not affect the age to purchase alcohol, which shall remain at the federal requirement of 21.

5. All limits on the quantity and types of alcohol that can be sold at supermarkets in states, counties, and municipalities in Lincoln shall be overturned.

6. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE NOMINATIVE FREEDOM ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Nominative Freedom Act.

SECTION II — Nominative Freedom
1. Ballots in Lincoln regional elections shall use a candidate's preferred name, as registered on the New Register Thread. If a candidate's preferred name is the same as their username, it shall be listed by itself, as is currently the case; if a candidate's preferred name differs from their username, the preferred name shall be listed first, followed by the username, in the format of 'Preferred Name (Username)'.

2. Deputies of the Lincoln General Court shall be referred to in the legislative process by their preferred name, as registered on the New Register Thread. This includes in the contexts of sponsoring legislation and of speaker ballots.

3. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE CENTRAL CAPITAL ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Central Capital Act.

SECTION II — Our New Central Capital
1. The regional capital of Lincoln shall be moved to Erie, Pennsylvania.

2. An 83.4 acre, currently industrial section of Erie shall become government property. All companies that own land in this section shall be given just compensation. The boundaries of this section shall be:

• Lake Road to the north;
• Downing Avenue to the east;
• 10th Street to the south;
• Gilson Avenue to the west.

This section shall become a regional district, referred to as the 'Lincoln Park Regional District'. The District shall be a direct part of the region of Lincoln itself, excluded from the rest of Erie and Pennsylvania, and as such, is to remain uninhabited.

3. The Lincoln Park Regional District shall be cleared out, and then reconstructed in the following manner:

• The freight railway bisecting the District, as well as the sections of rail leading up to its boundaries, shall be converted into an underground tunnel, to allow for the railway's continued use without it getting in the way of the District;
• Where applicable, the four boundary streets listed in Section II Provision 2 shall be expanded to at least two lanes in each direction, to support the increase in traffic that is to come with the addition of the District;
• On the northern side of the District, facing Lake Road, a new Lincoln Regional Capitol shall be constructed. The Capitol shall be constructed in a brutalist style out of coloured concrete, with a rectangular shape — 800 feet long on its north and south sides, and 400 feet wide on its west and east sides — and a vaulted roof.
• The north-facing, or front, side of the Capitol shall be constructed with green-tinted concrete, representing our region's flag, the flora of spring in Lincoln, and our lush forests; the east-facing, or left, side of the Capitol shall be constructed with maroon-tinted concrete, representing the Labor party, the leaves of autumn in Lincoln, and the blood spilled by Lincolnites to defend liberty and equality in past wars; the west-facing, or right, side of the Capitol shall be constructed with sedona-tinted concrete, representing the Federalist party, the sandy beaches of summer in Lincoln, and our 'Rust Belt' and the workers that make Lincoln the hub of Atlasia's industrial sector; the south-facing, or back, side of the Capitol shall be constructed with blue-tinted concrete, representing our third parties and independents, the snow and ice of winter in Lincoln, and the bodies of water that surround our region — the Ohio River to our south, Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers to our west, Great Lakes to our north, and Atlantic Ocean to our east; and the roof of the Capitol shall be constructed with black-tinted concrete, representing the night sky and cosmos above us, which remain the same no matter what season it is or what party one is affiliated with, and therefore, represents that which unites every Lincolnite.
• The Capitol shall have three floors. The first floor shall be open to the general public, and include a visitor center, offices for staffers, and a museum dedicated to the political and legislative history of the region of Lincoln, its predecessors (the Northeast and Mideast regions), and federal Atlasian political figures from Lincoln. The second floor shall be used almost exclusively for offices, including those of the Governor, their cabinet, and all General Court Deputies. The only non-office room on the second floor of the Capitol shall be the hall in which the Lincoln General Court meets, which shall be located in the centre of the second floor, with the area directly above it being cut out from the third floor. The third floor shall contain the Lincoln Regional Archives, as well as more offices, storage space, and a Lincoln Capitol Police substation.
• In the southeastern corner of the District, bordered by Downing Avenue to its east and 10th Street to its south, the Lincoln Park Museum of Art shall be constructed. The LPMoA shall be constructed in an art deco style, with a rectangular shape — 800 feet long on its west and east sides, and 400 feet wide on its north and south sides — and a large clock above its eastern (main) entrance, representing how art is constantly evolving.
• The Lincoln Park Museum of Art shall have five floors. The first floor shall be dedicated to classical and modern (1776–1950) art made by Lincolnites; the second floor shall be dedicated to contemporary (1950–present) art made by Lincolnites; the third floor shall be split in half, with the first half dedicated to art made by Fremonters, Southerners, and foreigners and the second half dedicated to temporary exhibitions; and the fourth and fifth floors shall be dedicated to storage.
• In the southwestern corner of the District, bordered by Gilson Avenue to its west and 10th Street to its south, the Lincoln Park Museum of Natural History shall be constructed. The LPMoNH shall be constructed in a neo-futurist style, with a hyperbola-shaped/semicircular 320,000 square foot footprint — with the northernmost and southernmost parts of the structure facing due west and the rest curving towards the east — and a large screen above its central (main) entrance displaying a loop of three animations: one displaying what the site might have looked like 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, one displaying what the site looked like before it was reconstructed into the District (circa 2022), and one displaying a forested area populated by unrecognizable plants and animals conceptualized by speculative evolution artists, meant to represent what the site might look like 100 million years into the future.
• The Lincoln Park Museum of Natural History shall have five floors. The first floor shall be dedicated to zoology and paleobiology, including an exhibit dedicated to fossils and cast models of extinct species, with a focus on relatively obscure species, and a 'hall of mammals' displaying taxidermied specimens of more than one hundred species of extant and recently extinct mammals; the second floor shall be split in half; the first half of the second floor shall be dedicated to botany, including an exhibit about the history of agriculture in Lincoln, starting Indigenous Lincolnite agriculture, including the importance of the 'three sisters' and the use of sustainable agriculture, continuing to the 19th century and the Second Agricultural Revolution, then the 20th century and the rise of industrial agriculture, and ending with the 21st century and the Lincolnite farms at the forefront of the movement back towards sustainable, greener agriculture to help combat climate change; the second half of the second floor shall be dedicated to temporary exhibitions; the third floor shall be dedicated to the Earth sciences, such as geology and meteorology, including an exhibit displaying gems and minerals, an exhibit dedicated to metereology featuring an air vortex tube, computers showing how numerical weather prediction and atmospheric models work, and a retired NOAA GIV-SP, and an exhibit about natural disasters that includes simulations of 78 mph winds — the minimum speed of a Category 1 hurricane — and the shaking of an earthquake; and the fourth and fifth floors shall be dedicated to storage.
• The remaining space of the District not occupied by these three buildings shall be made into a landscaped park. At the centre of the park shall be a statue of the region's namesake, Abraham Lincoln, which shall be at a 5:1 scale — 31 feet and 8 inches tall — and constructed out of Barre granite. The Lincoln statue shall face in the direction of Nyman, signifying the region's loyalty to Atlasia at-large. Surrounding the statue shall be a circle of fourteen stones, each sourced from a different state within the region of Lincoln; these stones shall have their respective state's name carved into them. The park shall have fourteen dirt pathways, each leading out from a stone in the direction that the stone faces; these paths shall be lined with their respective state's state tree, and shall end when they reach either a street or the property of one of the three structures within the District.

4. All regional government agencies for the region of Lincoln shall be relocated to Erie County, Pennsylvania, within a ten mile radius of the regional Capitol; they shall not be required to be within the city limits of Erie, so long as they are within the ten mile radius.

5. The 10th Lincoln General Court shall continue to meet at the current Capitol in New York City. The regional government shall move to the new Capitol on December 12, 2022, two days before the December 14, 2022 start of the session of the 11th Lincoln General Court.

6. This legislation shall take effect immediately.

[ZMUN M441]

THE ENDING RSALT FOR ASSAULT ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Ending RSALT for Assault Act.

SECTION II — Ending RSALT for Assault Act
1. The region of Lincoln shall halt all use of regional, state, and local taxes ('RSALT') on the Atlasian federal military. This provision shall be automatically overturned if and when federal Atlasian military spending drops below 5% of the national budget.

2. The region of Lincoln's spending on the Lincoln Regional Defense Force shall be cut in half, down to $1,256,250,000.

3. This legislation shall take effect on 1 January 2023.

[ZMUN M441]

THE PROTECTING TRAUMATIZED LINCOLNITES ACT

SECTION I — Title
This legislation may be cited as the Protecting Traumatized Lincolnites Act.

SECTION II — Protecting Traumatized Lincolnites
1. It is the stance of the region of Lincoln that content warnings are helpful for those with trauma, and in many cases, can help prevent them from being triggered or retraumatized.

2. All regionally-funded and state-funded public broadcasting must include a content warning about the topic(s) in question if it contains discussions or allusions to any of the following topics:

• Murder, including terrorism and genocide;
• Rape and/or sexual harassment;
• Abuse, including domestic violence, child abuse, peer abuse, and animal cruelty;
• Self-harm and/or suicide;
• Depictions of bigotry;
• Pregnancy and/or miscarriage;
• Kidnapping;
• Gratuitous violence;
• Blood

3. If the public broadcasting is a radio show, podcast, or other audial form of media, the content warning shall be in the form of a narrator reading the warning out. If the public broadcasting is a film, television show, video, or other visual form of media, the content warning shall be in the form of the aformentioned audial warning, combined with a black screen displaying the content warning in white text. If the public broadcasting is a story or other form of literature, the content warning shall be in the form of a typed warning. In all three cases, the content warning must be included before the 'main' content.

4. News articles, cable news, and other regionally-funded or state-funded journalism shall be excluded from this bill.

5. If an employee of a regionally-funded or state-funded broadcaster is found to have intentionally excluded a content warning when one would have been required, the broadcaster shall choose how to deal with them; however, they will not face any criminal charges unless the case is particularly egregious.

6. This legislation shall take effect on 1 January 2023.