Legislation Introduction Thread

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

No we still use the USC when referring to the preexisting legislation.  It's merely that we haven't been accepting any modifications made to it since Atlasia began has having any validity.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Term Limits Amendment

Section 1
Subsection 1
2. No person shall be elected to the office of President or Vice-President more than one consecutive terms, or during the six months after achieving his term limit

How can one terms (sic) be consecutive?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

With only a limited time before the end of the session, I'm only going to introduce for now those measures that I have prepared that I think should prove relatively uncontroversial.

Roll Out The Barrel Act

§ 1. It is the sense of the Senate that the commerce of Atlasia would be improved if the current various legal definitions of the unit of measure known as the “barrel” which differ depending upon the product being sold were simplified to a single unit of general application to all items of commerce.  Further, it is the sense of Congress that since the barrel which is most commonly used in commerce is the petroleum barrel of 42 gallons that the term “barrel” under the laws of Atlasia should be standardized to that unit.

§ 2. The Acts of Aug. 3, 1912 (referring to apples), Mar. 4, 1915 (referring to general dry goods sold by volume), and Aug. 27, 1916 (referring to limes) which collectively are known as the “Standard Barrel Acts” are hereby repealed two years after the date of enactment of this Act.

§ 3. The term “barrel” as a unit of liquid volume means 42 liquid gallons.

§ 4. Each Federal agency shall no later than three months after the date of enactment of this Act identify all regulations issued by that agency referring to the measures defined in the Standard Barrel Acts and any other usage of a unit of measure known as a barrel which is not consistent with the measure defined in section 3 in a report to be issued to the Secretary of the Treasury who shall compile said reports into a single report to be issued to the President and the Senate no later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.  No later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, any agency which has identified such regulations shall propose revisions for said regulations which shall eliminate the usage of said measures.  Such regulations shall come into force no later than 21 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

§ 5. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to render invalid or unenforceable under the laws of Atlasia those contracts  which refer to any of the measures defined under the Standard Barrel Acts or under the regulations caused to be revised by section 4, provided said contracts were either entered into before the effective date of section 2 or explictly define the barrel as some other unit of measure.


Diplomatic Initiative for Regional East Caribbean Trade Act (DIRECT Act)

§1. Findings
(a) The Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), consisting of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is a collection of nine small democratic island nations that have a common currency and judicial system.
(b) Because of their small size, it has been traditional for Atlasia to handle relations with these states by our Ambassador to Barbados, in part because of Barbados proximity to the OECS states, but also because Barbados was the seat of a number of bodies of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) of which the OECS states are all members.
(c) With the designation of Liliendaal, Guyana as the site of the Caricom headquarters and Port-of-Spain, Trindad and Tobago as the site of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the bureaucratic factors that favored dealing with the OECS states via Barbados no longer apply.

§2. OECS Embassy
(a) The Secretary of State is directed to acquire, using funds already appropriated to his department, a site suitable for an embassy in Castries, Saint Lucia where the secretariat of the OECS is located.
(b) The Secretary is further directed to construct on said site, using funds already appropriated to his department, an embassy suitable for handling the diplomatic and consular relations of Atlasia towards the OECS states, and with sufficient space to accomodate the transfer of consular activities for Saba, Sint-Eustatius, Sint-Martin/Saint-Martin, and/or Saint-Barthélemy to the embassy at Castries as may seem proper following potential political realignments among those Dutch and French overseas possessions.
(c) The Secretary is additionally directed to promptly separate the functions of the staff of our embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados relating to our relations with the OECS states from the other functions of that staff and operate them effectively as a separate embassy, either within our current embassy in Bridgetown or in temporary accomodations in either Bridgetown or Castries until a permanent embassy in Castries can be opened.

§3. Ambassador to Saint Lucia
(a) Until such time as either a temporary or permanent embassy shall have opened in Castries, Saint Lucia, the President shall not appoint an ambassador to Saint Lucia.
(b) Our ambassador to Barbados shall remain our accredited representative to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines until an ambassador to Saint Lucia has been nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
(b) Upon the appointment and confirmation of an ambassador to Saint Lucia, said Ambassador shall also be the accredited representative of Atlasia to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and shall oversee our consular activites for the British possessions of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Override Debate Slot Amendment to the OPSR

§1. Article 3 Section 2 Clause 2 of the Official Senate Procedural Resolution is hereby amended to read as follows:
“2. There shall be six slots available for debating legislation on the Senate floor.  Of these slots, two shall be available for any purpose; two shall be available for any purpose except the debating of Amendments to the Constitution; one shall be available only for legislation that the PPT considers to be related to forum affairs or emergency legislation which can be introduced pursuant to Article 7, Section 1 of this resolution; and one shall be available for debating veto overides pursuant to Article 5, Section 3.”

§2. Article 5 Section 3 of the Official Senate Procedural Resolution is hereby amended by adding the following Clause 4:
“4. Upon a piece of legislation being vetoed by the President, if the slot reserved for debating overrides is empty, that legislation shall be moved to that slot and a new piece of legislation, if available, shall be moved into the vacated slot; but if the slot reserved for debating overrides is occupied, then debate shall take place in its current slot and it shall remain there until said debate is concluded, even if the slot reserved for debating overrides should be vacated.”
I believe most vetos will not require much discussion to enable them to be decided.  Adding a slot for overrides will enable the Senate to not be bogged down when vetos occur with legislation that is merely awaiting a second vote.  I took the opportunity to substantially revise the text of Article 3 Section 2 Clause 2, but save for adding a slot for considering overrides, it is identical in provision to the existing clause.

The proposed Article 5 Section 3 Clause 4 is intended to ensure that if multiple vetos are received, we don't get too rushed, since that indicates that we probably need to slow down and consider things more carefully.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I really don't expect this to be debated this Senate, but since there has been interest in the past for possibly forming some sort of committee system. I'm going to present the following, since I've taken the time to prepare it.  It probably won't be passed without being tweaked, but I've tried to make it so that a lack of interest in committee work won't stall the Senate.

A Resolution to Amend the OPSR to allow for Committees

§1. Be it resolved that the operation of the Senate would be improved by introducing committees to debate legislation before it arrives on the floor.

§2. The Official Senate Procedure Resolution (OPSR) is amended by adding the following Article 9:

“Article 9: Committees

“Section 1: Standing Committees

“1. The standing committees of the Senate shall be the Committee on Defense and Security, the Committee on Economic Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Forum Affairs, and the Committee on Law and Justice.

“2. The Committee on Defense and Security shall have jurisdiction over any legislation involving the Department of Defense and Security and the nomination of officers thereof by the President.

“3. The Committee on Economic Affairs shall have jurisdiction over any legislation involving the Department of Treasury and the nomination of officers thereof by the President.

“4. The Committee on Foreign Affairs shall have jurisdiction over any legislation involving the Department of State and the nomination of officers thereof by the President.

“5. The Committee on Forum Affairs shall have jurisdiction over any legislation involving the Department of Forum Affairs and the nomination of officers thereof by the President.

“6. The Committee on Law and Justice shall have jurisdiction over any legislation involving the Department of Justice and the nomination of officers thereof by the President.

“Section 2: Membership of the Standing Committees

“1. After the election of a President Pro Tempore (PPT) under Article 8, then in order of seniority each Senator, other than the PPT, may select a standing committee to be the chair and senior member thereof.  If after all Senators have had the opportunity to claim the chairship of a standing committee, there are any chairships left unclaimed, then the chair may be claimed at any time by any Senator not already the chair of a standing committee, but until the standing committee has a chair it shall transact no business. 

“2. After the determination of the chairs of the standing committees, then in order of Seniority, each member of the Senate shall select one or more standing committees to be a member of.  No Senator shall be a member of more than half (rounding up) of the standing committees and no standing committee shall have more than five members. A Senator may join or resign from a standing committee at any time, subject to the limits on standing committee membership, save that he may not rejoin a committee he resigned from earlier in that Senate save with the approval of either the chair or the PPT.

“3. In the event that the chair of a standing committee should subsequently be chosen to be PPT or should become the chair of a different standing commitee, he shall remain a member of said committee, but the chairship thereof shall pass to the senior member of the committee who desires to be the chair.  If there be no such member of the committee, then the senior member of the Senate who desires to be the chair shall become both chair and member of the committee, not withstanding if that would cause the committee to have more members than allowed by clause 2.

“4. In the event that the chair of a standing committee should subsequently be no longer a member of the Senate, the chairship of the committee shall pass to the senior member of the committee who desires to be the chair of the committee.  If there be no such member of the committee, then the senior member of the Senate who desires to be the chair of the committee.

“5. In the event that more than one Senator has equal seniority, it shall be the perogative of the PPT to determine the order of selection to be used under this section.  The PPT shall not be bound by any previous determination under this section.

“Section 3. Select Committees

“1. From time to time, select committees may be formed to consider particular legislation.

“2. A select committee may only be formed by the PPT when legislation or a nomination reaches the Senate floor without having been the subject of hearings by any other committee.  A select committee may also be formed by a motion of the Senate under Article 4 Section 5 Clause 2.

“3. The first five members to indicate an interest shall be members of said select committee.  If the chair of a select committee be not determined by a motion of the Senate under Article 4 Section 5 Clause 2, the chair shall be chosen by the PPT no earlier than 24 hours after the select comittee has formed, and subject to the restriction that he shall give first consideration to those members of the select committee who are not the chair of any other committee. Hearings shall be conducted in the same manner as if the select committee were a standing committee, save the attachment of a rule.

“4. If after 72 hours, no Senator has expressed a desire to be a member of a select committee on a piece of legislation, the legislation shall be returned to the head of the legislation introduction queue and shall have been considered to have been the subject of hearings by a committee.

“5. If after 72 hours, no Senator has expresses a desire to be a member of a select committee on a nomination, the nomination shall be sent to the Committee of the Whole Senate for debate and questions.”

“Section 4. Powers of the Standing Committees

“1. Standing committees shall, by decision of either the chair thereof or a majority of the committee, be able to hold hearings on any legislation in the legislation introduction thread for which falls within its jurisdiction.  Such hearings shall last at least 72 hours once begun and once completed, the chair shall return the bill to the legislation introduction queue at either the place it held before, or at the top of the queue.  Each standing committee may only hold hearings on one particular piece of legislation at a time.

“2. Standing committees shall be able to amend any legislation before it, notwithstanding any rule attached under clause 4.

“3. In the case where more than one standing committee claims jurisdiction on a particular legislation, the PPT shall decide which shall have primary jurisdiction. Only the committee with primary jurisdiction shall be able to attach a rule under clause 4 or 5 or to place the legislation at the top of the legislation queue under clause 1.”

“4. Standing committees shall be able to attach a rule to any legislation that it has considered requiring that any amendment to the legislation considered on the floor have from one to three cosponsors before being introduced under Article 4 Section 2.

“5. Standing committees shall be able to attach a rule limiting the period of floor debate to a maximum period of time that may be no less than 72 hours.

“Section 5. Committee of the Whole Senate

“1. All Senators shall be members of the Committee of the Whole Senate and the PPT shall be the chair thereof.  Save for rules concerning membership of the committee or as provided in this section, the Committee of the Whole Senate shall operate in the same manner as a standing committee.

“2. The Committee of the Whole Senate shall have primary jurisdiction in any question involving the rules of the Senate.

“3. The Committee of the Whole Senate shall have jurisdiction in any nomination for which a standing committee does not have jurisdiction and for which a select committee fails to be formed as specified by Section 3 Clause 5 of this Article.”

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

(continued)

§3. Article 6 of the OPSR is repealed and replaced by the following:

“Article 6: Rules on Presidential Nominations

“Section 1: General Statements on Nominees

“1. From time to time, various nominations may be made by the President requiring the advice and consent of the Senate for approval.

“2. Each nominee shall be referred by the PPT to the standing committee with appropriate jurisdiction, or if there be no such standing committee to a select committee.  The chair of such committee shall immediately begin hearings on each nominee referred to the commitee.

“3. After concluding such hearings, the commitee shall send the nomination to the floor of the Senate immediately, with or without a recommendation for or against approving the nomination.  The PPT may skip the processes dealing with Legislation Introduction, as so laid out in Article 3 of this Resolution.

“4. Nominees under consideration specifically do not count towards the restrictions laid out towards in Article 3, Section 2, Clause 2 in limiting the amount of legislation on the Senate floor at one time.

“Section 2: Rules on Committee Debate and Questioning of Nominees

“1. For each Presidential nomination, the chair must give each Nominee under consideration an amount of debate and question time in front of the committee of no less than twenty-four (24) hours and no greater than seventy-two (72) hours.

“2. If debate and questions with regards to the Nominee under consideration have halted for longer than twenty-four (24) hours, the chair may call for a vote on the presumptive Nominee.

“3. After seventy-two (72) hours, debate and question time shall cease, and the chair must call for a vote on the Nominee under consideration.

“4. If needed, an injunction may be brought by a member of the committee to keep debate and question time on the Nominee under consideration open for another forty-eight (48) hours, after which time the debate and question time shall end for good and a vote shall be called.

“5. Once debate and question time has ended, the chair shall open a vote on said Nominee. This vote shall last forty-eight (48) hours during which time the members of the commitee must vote whether the comittee shall recommend to the Senate that the nominee be approved, shall recommend to the Senate that the nominee be rejected, or that the committee not make any recommendation.  Any and all members of the committee who do not vote will be considered to have voted that the committee not make any recommendation.  The option with the most votes shall be passed save that if two or more options are tied for the most votes, then the committee shall send the Nominee to the Senate floor with no recommendation.

“Section 3: Rules on Senate Debate of Nominees

“1. For each Presidential nomination, the PPT must give each Nominee under consideration an amount of debate time in front of the Senate of no less than twenty-four (24) hours and no greater than seventy-two (72) hours.

“2. If debate with regards to the Nominee under consideration have halted for longer than twenty-four (24) hours, any Senator may call for a motion to vote on the presumptive Nominee.

“3. After seventy-two (72) hours, debate time shall cease, and the PPT must call for a vote on the Nominee under consideration.

“4.  Once a motion has been brought to bring the Nominee under consideration to a vote or debate and question time has publicly ended, the PPT shall open a vote on said Nominee. This vote shall last seventy-two (72) hours during which time the Senators must vote. Any and all Senators who do not vote will be considered to have abstained.”

§4. Article 2 Section 1 of the OPSR is ammending by adding the following clause 4:
“4. The PPT may not be the chair of a standing committee of the Senate, nor may he select himself to be the chair of a select committee, but he may be specified as the chair of a select commitee pursuant to a motion under Article 4 Section 5 Clause 2.”

§5. Article 4 Section 2 Clause 1 of the OPSR is amended by adding the following sentence:  “Such amemdments shall be subject to any rule attached to the legislation by a standing committee under Article 9 Section 4 Clause 3.”

§6. Article 4 of the OPSR is amended by adding the following Sections 5 and 6:

“Section 5: Rules for Referring Legislation to a Committee

“1. If legislation is ready to reach the Senate floor without a committee hearing, then the PPT may at his discretion refer the legislation to either a standing committee or a select committee.  Legislation may be referred by the PPT to a select committee only if there is no standing committee that has primary jurisdiction over the bill and is not currently holding hearings on a piece of legislation.”

“2. Once legislation has reached the Senate floor without a committee hearing, then a motion to send the legislation shall be in order at anytime except during a vote on an amendment. cloture, or passage of the legislation. The motion may designate that the legislation be sent to a select committee and may specify the chair of the committee. If the motion does not specify the chair, the PPT shall select the chair.  If the motion does not specify that the legislation shall be sent to a select committee, it shall be referred by the PPT to a committee as if he had done so under clause 1.

“3. Once legislation has reached the Senate floor with a committee hearing, then a motion to send the legislation to a committee shall be in order only during the first 72 hours of floor debate.  If the motion passes then the legislation shall be referred to a committee as under clause 2, save that it may not be sent back to a standing committee that has already held hearings on the legislation. No legislation may be sent to a select committee more than twice.

“Section 6: Rules for Recalling Legislation from a Committee

“1. If legislation would be debatable on the Senate floor save for the fact that it is the subject of hearings by a committee, and such hearings have lasted at least 72 hours, then such legislation shall be recallable from the committee either by the PPT or by a motion subject to the same requirements as a motion for cloture.”

“2. A motion for recall shall not be deemed to be occupying any debate slot.

“3. Legislation recalled from committee either by the PPT or a motion shall be brought to debate in the next available debate slot.”

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

While I think banning asbestos is overkill, Section 1 of the Act falls under clause 3 of the Enumerated Powers section of the Constitution; Section 3 falls under clause 10,; Section 4 and 5 falls under clause 9; and Section 6 is a statement of what the Act doesn't do.  The only potentially dicey section is Section 2, but if you can't sell, transport, or make something from the Asbestos once you've mined it, I think a reasonable intrepetation that it falls under clause 30 as a means to enforce the other Constitutional provisions can be made.  In short, while the Asbestos Ban Act has its faults, I don't think Constitutionality is among them.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

History Months Abolition Bill

Section 1: Applicability
1. This law shall not be construed as to alter or repeal and regional laws regarding Black and Women’s History Months.

Section 2: Abolition of Black and Women’s History Months
1. Black and Women’s History Months are hereby abolished.
2. The laws that created Black and Women’s History Months are hereby repealed.
3. References to Black and Women’s History Months in previous legislation are hereby stricken.

From http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/

Black History Month
February    

Women's History Month
March    

Asian Pacific American History Month
May    

Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 - October 15    

American Indian Heritage Month
November

I will let you know if I find any others.

Thanks, but weren't a lot of those made after Atlasia was? If so they wouldn't have any effect here.

Actually, the only ones of these established by law are Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month (in 1998).  The others traditionally get Presidential Proclamations each year, but these are the only two ethnic heritage/history months codified into law.  There are a whole bunch of celebratory days, weeeks, and months of various types in the law, and they are all to be found in chapter 1 of title 36, United States Code.