Mideast Assembly Thread

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

As was the case last time, I don't see the necissarity of this law. I believe it will be too complicated and hard to uphold and I fear that the assembly will end up spending more time on reviewing old laws than working on their own new ideas for legislation. I obviously don't think that we should just leave every old law as it is for ever and ever, but there's no need to mandate a review of every statue law every third year. Any assemblyman can him/herself propose changes to old laws.

So I don't support this bill, however I will not veto it, shall it pass.

 

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

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- Swedish Cheese

Bill has been signed. Enjoy.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

The judicial branch should be the ones that get to decide. I can't think of a single other law were the courts allow other Goverment agencies decided the time for a fine. Just my two cents.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Sobriety in the Mideast Public Finances Bill

Article I: From the beginning of the next fiscal year, a maximum of half of Mideast Government officers and employees retiring after the age of 60 shall be replaced.

Article II: The rule of Article I above does not apply to Mideast Government agencies working in the following fields:
- internal security,
- health and medical care,
- teaching and training,
- courts,
where employement rules shall continue to depend on the amouint of tasks to be dealt with.

Article III: The rule of Article I above shall remain in force until the Mideast Government budget is balanced.

Well, while this all sound very good in theory if you wish to cut down costs, it'd be impossible to implement in practice with so little detail and flexibility in the law. There'd need to be a more detailed plan as to which jobs we will remove, and which we would keep, so that the Mideast goverment don't crash because we have too much work but too little personnel. We'd need to know which jobs are going to disappear, and how we devide their work and responisibilities on a much smaller group of people.

The plan also need to have an end date to it, as it'd obviously be impossible to keep only replacing half of the retiering staff forever.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Sorry my mistake Fab, I missed the 3rd article for some reason. So there's no problem with the eventual end then, just me who have trouble reading apperently.

Although I consider it an aimiable goal to reduce the Mideast Regional personnel, we cannot just set a number of employees that we must get rid of without taking other factors into account first. How will the workload be devided? What percentages of Regional Goverment employes will retire within the next five years? ... and so on. This plan is not flexible enough. I admit that the fact that the Goverment can decide which ares to cut jobs makes it better, but this is still not flexible enough.

I think it's important that we cut spending, and personnel is an area which of course also needs to be reduced to get a balanced budget. But I believe that with this plan you begin at the wrong end. We can reduce our emplyees, but unless we also reduce their workload, we will just create problems by being very under staffed.

Therefor what we need to do is to begin by getting rid of all unecessary programs that currently is taking up staff. There after we investigate in which areas it would be possible to cut personnel without the new workload getting to heavy, and then we make an estimate of how many emplyees we realisticly can spare. That's the number we should aim for.

But you know Fab, if you're very eagar to cut unecessary employees there's a place where I think you can begin Assemblymen doesn't work for free. They too cost valuble tax money, and we currently have two more than we actually need. 

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Guys I'm going to fullfill one of my campaign promisis. I'd like to introduce the following:

Amendment to Amend the Amendment That Amended an Amended Assembly

The Amendment to Amend Article III of the Mideast Constitution, is herby repealed.



For you who don't know what I'm talking about.

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I personally feel that the expansion of this body has worked rather ill. Elections are less competive, as there are too many seats, too few candidates. The work of the Assembly has become much less effective. Debating and voting takes much longer time, and bills that in the three seat assembly would have been handled in a single day or two, now is pending for a rather long time without reason. Many of this assembly's members have also been very inactive, I suspect in large part because there are to little work for 5 assemblymen to be busy.

We tried this model, and it is my oppinion that it has worked worse than our previous Assembly. A lot of Mideasterners share my oppinion, and during my run for Governor I promised them I'd push for a potential repeal. Therefore I'd like for this assembly to reconsider this amendment.     

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

In that case, you can stick it on a ballot whenever you want (within the guidelines of electoral calendaring, of course).

I can? Sweet

Of course if you guys don't mind me taking up some of your time I'd want to hear the Assemblymen's oppinion on this. I think it's important to have your oppinion before I move forward.

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Considering how close we are to the next Assembly elections, I doubt that there is any way I could possibly push this through before the next Assembly is seated, so you will have another chance to prove yourself before reform like this could be passed.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

On another note though

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- Swedish Cheese

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I'd like to veto this, but considering the vote was five in favour I see no point as it would be overriden, and would only cause a lot of procedural work and a minor delay. So...

- Swedish Cheese

 

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

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I could support a Lt. Governorship, but only if it was done simultaneously to reducing the number of assemblymen. I think that just continuing adding more and more offices is rather irresponisble but if it's simply replacing another office(s), I wouldn't mind serving with a Lt.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Btw, I think I should remind you guys that you haven't finished voting on the Labour Protection Act, and still needs to vote on the resolution about the SE.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

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*Facepalm*

Why do I keep missing these things? Oh well to the signing table.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

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- Swedish Cheese

[/quote]

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

The Return of Rhetoric Bill

Article I: All students grades 9-12 in public schools in the Mideast shall be required to take at least three years of debate and speech classes.
Article II: All schools in the Mideast that currently offer debate and speech classes will receive a 5% tax exemption from the Mideastern Government for the upcoming tax year.
Article III: All schools that cannot afford to have debate and speech classes will receive a subsidy from the Mideastern Government to hire teachers and buy supplies.
Article IV: Those funds will be paid for by reducing the amount the Mideast spends on education vouchers.
Article V: This bill will go into effect with the 2010-2011 school year.

Wouldn't a reasonable compromise be to require debate and speech be included as an element in already mandatory English classes, as we have it in Sweden, where debate and speech is a part of Swedish class?

I completely agree with you Ben on the virtues of debate and speech, and the knowledge you gain from it, but to make it a recuried subject for three years seems a bit excessive to me.

Also I have to agree with this:   

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[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

The Return of Rhetoric Bill

Article I: Debate and speech shall be a mandatory part of the English curriculum for Mideastern students grades 9-12.
Article II: This bill shall go into effect for the 2010-2011 school year.

- Swedish Cheese

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

I didn't know algae could be used so effectivly as a means to create fuel. This is something I'll definatley have to find out more about.

If Algea could indeed be used to create ethanol that could replace traditional oil, that would be an replacement that would pay off eventually, not just from an economic perspective, but from an enviormental perspective as well.

It is of course a problem that our budget is very tight right now, so I would suggest a potential cut in some other area to go with this. Personally I might suggest taking funding from farm subsides.

Purple State, could you possibly calculate how much the Region gives in farm subsides, and how much of it could possibly be cut, when you're on it?   

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

I didn't know algae could be used so effectivly as a means to create fuel. This is something I'll definatley have to find out more about.

If Algea could indeed be used to create ethanol that could replace traditional oil, that would be an replacement that would pay off eventually, not just from an economic perspective, but from an enviormental perspective as well.

It is of course a problem that our budget is very tight right now, so I would suggest a potential cut in some other area to go with this. Personally I might suggest taking funding from farm subsides.

Purple State, could you possibly calculate how much the Region gives in farm subsides, and how much of it could possibly be cut, when you're on it?   

How about cuts in ethanol subsidies to pay for algae? Corn Ethanol at its full potential, using all farmland in the US, wouldn't even replace 20% of our dependence on oil. Algae is a great breakthrough in the future, yet expensive which is why we should be focused in investing our money there instead of in corn or soy ethanol which can't even come close to the production of algae   

Sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

The Infrastructure Renovation Act

1.  The Mideast government shall undertake an extensive survey of all existing Mideast infrastructure, determining the condition of all existing infrastructure.  The report shall determine if any infrastructure is in need of renovation, and shall specify exactly what renovation is necessary.
2.  Following the completion of this report, the Mideast shall appropriate whatever funds are necessary to complete all the required renovations specified in the report.  The renovations shall begin as soon as possible following the completion of the report.
3.  The funding for the renovations shall come from increases on the gas, sales, and property taxes in the Mideast ranging from 1-3% each depending on the required funding for renovations.

Considering we recently had the Mideast Infrastructure evaluated and renovated for 9 billion dollars through The Mideast Save the Sinking Ship That Is Our Economy Act, I question the actual need of this. 

I don't think we're in need of another upgrading for quite a while.

The Mideast Save the Sinking Ship That Is Our Economy Act

<snip>

Section II: The Assembly proposes that a number of 9 billion dollars be used in programs designed to extend and repair the region's infrastructure, such as building new roads, bridges, tunnels and railroad, increasing and promoting train activity, and renovate decayed roads.

<snip>

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

A-Bob this version of the bill is as have been pointed out not very fiscally responsible, in that it lacks proper details on how this thing will be funded. Although I'm convinced this would eventually lead to economic gains for our region, for example by exporting algae fuel and a decrease (or even better elimination) of importation of foregin oil.

We do still however need to keep in mind our current budget, which is as it is now a bit unbalanced. To add another unfunded tax credit would not be wise. I'd like to see a modified version of this bill that clearly states how this would be funded. That's a bill I'd be happy to sign. This bill has a good base, but lacks a little in excicution. Would you be willing to agree to this compromise?

HW, although I obviously agree with you on this bill currently lacks fiscal soundness, I still think this is a good idea with a few small modifications. It's true that scientific reaserch IRL might not be quite there yet, but this is Atlasia, and the extra funding we gave to enviorment-friendly science a while ago might have resulted in a scientific report that supports the that the use of algae to create ethanol does indeed work perfectly well. (Besides, when you know the GM, everything is possible ) I think it's important that we don't loose this oppertunity for a bi-partisan act that will help our economic and enviormental future.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Inks I'm intending to make my decission as how to handle this once I know if there will be a bill amending this to clearify how we will fund the project. I still have a few days before it goes into law without my signature.

A-Bob, I believe a cut in other farm subsides would be the most sensible cut to make. A small raise in taxes on tobaccoo products wouldn't be something I'd object to either.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

If you draft a bill amending this one, I'll sign the other one into law, so that you'll be able to pass that one.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

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It's not completely unrealated, as a decrease of tobaccoo and maruijuana sells would encourage farmers to turn their cannabis and tobaccoo fields into algae fields instead. And that was my reasoning behind it when proposing it.



 

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Why won't you guys just let me leave my offiece without having to make any hard and controversial last-minute decissions?

I realise that since I'll be away tomorrow night, and the time for me acting on the GI Jane bill will be up tomorrow anyway, I have to come to a decission now and both the GI Jane bill, and this abortion statue if I wish to act upon them.

I'm sorry to say that I will veto the GI Jane bill. I say sorry, because I believe that some portions of the bill are very good, and would probably do a lot to help the Mideast economy. However there are a mjor problem with this bill being extreamly unfunded. I'm all for lowering taxes, especially for growing companies that could use a lot of the money they pay to the region for new jobs, but if we cut taxes, we need to have an equally big or bigger cut in the region's spending. The cuts outlined by the bill do not in any way provide a cut even nearly equal to the money the region would lose in income from this tax, and would thus if this was RL create a huge defecit in the region's already shaky budget. Since it looks likely that my successor will have to actually create a budget for this region, I think we at least need to give him a chance to being able to make that budget balanced and therefor I cannot let this bill go forward.

As to what the change to Abortion statue is concerned, it is no secret where my belifes on this issue lies. I have campaigned as a pro-lifer, I have been elected as a pro-lifer, and I thus have a responsibility to pro-lifers who voted for me, and to myself and my own beliefs, and I will not betray that by vetoing this bill.

I however stand by what I've told some of you in private, that I believe this bill might be a bit too harsh, and that it will in all likelyhood just drive women who wish to have an abortion to neighbouring regions with more liberal laws to have the procedure done, rather than actually attacking the abortion problem itself.

That being said, again I will not act to stop this law. I will leave it to the incoming Governor to make a final decission on this. No doubt, being a good friend of Tmth, I know he'll be more than happy to get the oppertunity to sign this bill himself.
   

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

That being said, again I will not act to stop this law. I will leave it to the incoming Governor to make a final decission on this. No doubt, being a good friend of Tmth, I know he'll be more than happy to get the oppertunity to sign this bill himself.

Are you sure I can do that? Wouldn't a new session have started?

Yes you can do that. After a bill is passed the Governor has ten days to sign or veto it. When you take office on Friday the bill still has a few days before it automaticly goes into law, so as the Governor the bill will be on your desk when you take office. 

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Yes you can do that. After a bill is passed the Governor has ten days to sign or veto it. When you take office on Friday the bill still has a few days before it automaticly goes into law, so as the Governor the bill will be on your desk when you take office. 

Okay. I had a lot more ideas for my first item of business that didn't involve signing or vetoeing a controversial piece of legislation.

Also, I believe legislation becomes law after 7 days, not 10. That's what the Wiki says. If that's the case, then the GI Jane bill would go into law.

Yes, by the look from the wiki it seems you are correct. (I was sure it was suppose to be ten days the Governor had )

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

I nominate Inks.LWC for Speaker