1st Council of Lincoln Legislation Introduction Thread

[Comrade Funk]

snip

I will sponsor. Also:

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[Comrade Funk]

I'd like for one of the MCs to sponsor this for me:

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[/quote]
[/quote]I will sponsor

[Comrade Funk]

Amendment to the Standing Orders:

Section II
A. No more than four bills shall be allowed on the floor concurrently, to be referred to as Legislative Slots on the Docket, except pursuant to Article I, Section 13 of the Comprehensive Constitutional Amendment.

Government Slot 1: The Speaker shall place a piece of legislation in this slot as directed by the Chancellor.

Government Slot 2: The Speaker shall place a piece of legislation in this slot as directed by the Chancellor.

Government Slot 3: The Speaker shall place a piece of legislation in this slot as directed by the Chancellor.

Government Slot 4: The Speaker shall place a piece of legislation in this slot as directed by the Chancellor.

Opposition Slot 1: The Speaker shall place a piece of legislation in this slot as directed by the Chancellor on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition.

A. The Speaker shall keep a thread on the Regional Governments board wherein for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the Lincoln Council Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Councillors may post in this thread.

B. 7 threads about legislation may be open for voting and debate simultaneously. Of these 7 threads, 5 threads shall be reserved for legislation introduced or sponsored by members of the government, and 2 threads shall be reserved for legislation introduced or sponsored by members of the opposition. The Speaker shall move government and opposition legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread.

B. C. Each piece of legislation on the floor shall receive its own thread. Threads shall be titled as follows:

L 1.1: The BLANK Act, where L acknowledges the legislation is in the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation is in the first meeting of the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation was the first piece of legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread, and BLANK being replaced with the name of the piece of legislation.

C. D. Each thread shall remain open until the bill either (a) becomes law via the Governor's signature, lack of Gubernatorial action, or referendum override, (b) fails to receive majority support from Council, (c) is sent to the public for a referendum, pursuant to Article I, Section 6 of the Comprehensive Constitutional Amendment, or (d) the Chancellor moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote.

I will sponsor

[Comrade Funk]

Amendment to Constitution:

Article V. Elections
The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least seven (7) days prior to the commencement of the election.

Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period.

All elections and referendums of this Region shall be administered by the Minister of Regional Elections. Whenever the Minister of Regional Elections is unable to execute this duty, the Speaker of the Council shall administer the election.

Regular elections for governor shall be held in the months of March, July, and November. Elections for Council shall be held in the months of January, April, July, and October.

The manner for electing the governor shall be as follows, using a two-round voting system: a general ballot of all declared candidates shall begin at 12:00:00 am on the penultimate Friday of the given month and conclude seventy-two hours thereafter. Voters shall mark their ballot for a single candidate only. In the event one candidate should receive a majority of all the votes cast, inclusive of blank or spoilt ballots, that candidate shall be elected governor. Should no majority exist, the recipients of the largest and next-largest shares of the votes cast shall advance to a second ballot to be held beginning at 12:00:00 am on the final Friday of the given month and to conclude seventy-hours thereafter. No more than two candidates shall advance to the second ballot, and none save these shall be eligible to receive votes. Should the number of candidates qualified to advance be greater than two as the result of a tie, the Council shall nominate two candidates to advance to the second ballot, unless a sufficient number should earlier concede. A majority of valid votes on the second ballot shall be sufficient to elect the governor; in the event of a tie, the governor shall be elected by a vote of the Council. Special elections for governor shall be by Instant Runoff Voting.

Candidates for governor, Council and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot. Party identification of gubernatorial candidates may not be displayed anywhere on the ballot. Party identification for candidates for any other office may be displayed below their name.

Except in December, all elections for governor, Council, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for governor and by-elections for Council shall begin on the second first Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the third second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election.

Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected.
All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law or elsewhere in this Constitution.

The terms of the elected governor and councilors shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Tuesday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Lincoln Region and the Republic of Atlasia.” Appointment of the chancellor by the governor may not be made before this time.

All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall; but if the petition is received on a Thursday, the recall election shall begin on the second Friday following receipt. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid.

In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum.

[Comrade Funk]

An Act
Safe Injection Act

A Bill to approve entities to operate overdose prevention programs that satisfy specified requirements

Section I: Establishment
1.) Upon passage of the bill, it will be legal for municipalities to establish injection sites for drug addicts, provided they uphold safety regulations.
2.) Municipalities will provide advanced notice to law enforcement regarding the establishment of all new injection sites.

Section II: Purpose
1.) Injection sites are designed to provide a safe and hygienic space for people to use preobtained drugs.
     - All injection sites must be monitored by licensed healthcare professionals
2.) All injection sites will have staff to administer first aid and provide treatment for potential overdoses.

Section III: Safety Regulations
1.) All injections sites must provide:
     - Sterile and unused hyperdermic needles/syringes
     - Security to protect staff and users
     - Education, provided by staff, in regards to drug abuse and STDs
     - Access and referrals to substance abuse clinics
2.) All injection sites are required to provide a monthly report detailing the number of patients, overdoses, and referred persons. This report shall be delivered to both the municipality and the Lincoln region as a whole.

Section IV
1.) This bill takes effect upon signing by the Governor.

[Comrade Funk]

An Act
Parks and Forests Protection Act

A Bill to instate a ban of all oil and shale drilling in regional parks and forest lands.

Section I: Environmental protections
1.) Exploration companies have failed to demonstrate that oil and gas development can be conducted in an environmentally responsible manner.
2.) All regional parks and forests lands are hereby barred from any oil, shale, or gas drilling.

Section II
1.) This bill takes effect upon signing by the Governor.

[Comrade Funk]

An Act
End Food Waste Act

A Bill to require the state’s largest food waste generators to donate excess edible food to local food charity organizations and to recycle food scraps.

Section I: Establishment
1.) Large producers of food waste such as restaurants, supermarkets, colleges, and arenas are required to begin recycling their food scraps, provided that adequate processing capacity exists within 25 miles.
2.) Recyclable food are to be donated to local food banks and charity organizations fighting hunger.

Section II: Purpose
1.) Food waste has major environmental and economic effects on Lincoln. Requiring large generators of food waste to recycle or donate will:
     - Decrease climate footprint
     - Help combat hunger in Lincoln
2.) Unused food that cannot be donated should be separated for recycling at composting or facilities.

Section III
1.) This bill takes effect upon signing by the Governor.