The Imperial Dominion of the South's Legislature

[Zanas]

In response to the current constitutional and electoral crisis we are suffering in the South, I am asking my fellow Legislators, validly elected until proven and ruled otherwise by the judicial branch, to shake the legislative docket up a bit and allow me to introduce this :

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There is no provision of a quorum or qualified majority in the Constitution, at least that I have found, to pass an amendment in the Legislature, whereas there needs to be 2/3 majority of the citizens voting for it. So I'll kindly ask as a favor our three Class A Legislators, just recently elected, namely Dereich, Hashemite and myself, to Abstain in this vote, and only our two Class A ones to vote in favor, if they wish so, in order to prevent any dispute over the passing of this amendment thanks to the votes of eventually nullified Legislators.

So, voting shall begin now and end in exactly 48 hours, but I will be sending you PM to vote asap so we can go through with this quickly, so the next election can be fought under proper regional rules.

Please vote :
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Abstain

[Zanas]

Abstain.

[Zanas]

By a vote of 2 in favor, 3 abstentions, and none against, I'm pleased to say The Zanas Sensible Anti-Retroactivity Federal Electoral Rules Abidance Amendment has passed the Legislature !

If the Emperor could open another booth on this one, we can move along with things quite quickly. Plus, we're starting to get used to amending our constitution... We should do this on a weekly basis !

[Zanas]

Alright, so could the Emperor hint me to the exact part of the text of our Constitution that needs to be amended to include a provision for a quorum to pass a constitutional amendment ? Do you think this provision should just be a majority of registered Legislators, or higher than that a qualified majority of registered ? In less words : 3 out of 5, or 4 out of 5 ? I'm thinking 3 out of 5 should be enough, since it still has to be ratified by a 2/3 vote of the citizens.

Oh and is there a quorum on that vote by the citizens ? Need there be one ?

[Zanas]

Okay, so I wanted to wait a few days to see if our cases would be ruled by either our Southern judicial branch or the Scotroa, and Dibble made a clever ruling, but the Scotroa isn't ruling as of yet, so I guess we can go on with our work.

I won't be voting for the building of even the very first nuclear power plant, but I can bring this to a vote. Not sure I can bring the 22 reactor amendment by Sjoyce to the floor though, since he's not currently a Legislator. This ought to be proposed here or in the Legislation introduction thread by a Legislator (here would be best). Otherwise, I'll bring the latest (serious) one by Dereich with 11 reactors.

Regarding constitutional amendment, since we voted one but PiT said we should retract it and make a better one, I'm thinking maybe we can still keep the one we voted as it is, and make another one to include a provision for a quorum, and those two could be voted upon in the same voting booth. I think this has been seen in the past and doesn't pose a great problem, no ?

I'll draft something quickly so we can move on. So, Dereich, are you maintaining your 11 reactor proposal or switching to 22 like Sjoyce proposed ?

[Zanas]

I appreciate Legislator Dereich's will to compromise on this subject. As we have said and done all we could on the subject, I guess, I am now bringing this to a final vote, regardless of the ongoing trials and Dibble-ations.

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This is certainly not the last we heard about energy policy. Great challenges open before us that we are going to have to address with other bills in the future.

The vote on the following bill is opened for 48 hours starting now :

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Please vote :
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Cabbage

[Zanas]

     EDIT: Since we were talking about packaging another amendment along with Zanas's amendment and then wound up voting on this, should I just go ahead and open the booth on the first amendment now?

No, not yet. I'll write a provision for a quorum shortly, we'll pass it (hopefully), and we'll include both of them in a same booth.

After that, and probably under the next administration, we'll go under a long process of rewriting the whole constitution.


As for the Nuclear Power bill, as much as I'd like to appear as the moderate hero that compromises across the aisle, this one is definitely one where I cannot do that.  My concerns, views and proposals can be read here.

So I'm having to vote No on this one.

[Zanas]

I suggest a 75/25 split of funding for solar/nuclear projects.

I'm pretty sure Zanas would rather eat his own grandmother then allow even one new nuclear plant to be built in the IDS.

I'd eat my grandmother if she was not so radioactive because of your lobby ! ^^

Seriously though, I'm not so radical. I'm just quite strongly believed on this particular subject, and yes I'm not able to personally abstain to oppose any expansion of nuclear power. I'd vote no on the building of one nuclear plant, I'd vote no on the prorogation of life of one nuclear plant. But I'd vote yes with the Feds on plenty other subjects, as history in this Assembly has shown ! I'm also practically sure that you or Sjoyce would be as principled as I am now on any restriction of the right to keep and bear arms, no ?

Awaiting for Hash's vote now. The booth's supposed to close in 3 hours but as I had set a closing time of 7 AM, I'll allow a few more hours for him to wake up and come cast his ballot. That's a nail-biter by the way.

[Zanas]

I am not one for bitching when people advance thoroughly considered arguments and weighed reasoning. I would like to thank the Legislators and other participants in this debate, or, to use Midwestern language, *hughughug* them, and apologize for the (rare) times I went a bit over myself and exaggerated. This debate might actually have me reconsider my RL position on the subject, at least I'll be thinking about it a lot.

So, with 3 votes In Favor, 2 votes Against, and no Abstentions,

The Clean Power Act has passed the IDS Legislature, awaiting signature or veto by the Emperor.

[Zanas]

Following will be an adjunct to the Constitutional Amendment we passed last week, to include a necessary quorum to pass future amendments in the Legislature. I'll try drafting that today and submit it here as soon as it's written.

Then we will be moving on with the regular legislative docket.

[Zanas]

I'm off for this weekend, will get back to work tomorrow around noon.

[Zanas]

The Legislative docket now : (texts can be seen here)
-Abolition of Income Tax Act Veto Overrule Vote : needs sponsoring

-Clean Government Act

-The Official Snack of the IDS Act

-The Creating Job Opportunities Act of 2013

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-Annexation of the states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas : kept in the back of the queue for potential federal leverage

I'm thinking of opening an office to have the Legislative docket always available. Yeah I'll do that. Or even better, I'll open a new Legislation introduction thread, with a more understandable and findable name than the one we have now, and on the front page there will always be the legislative docket kept updated by whoever is Speaker at the time. Yeah that seems great. Don't you think ?

So, anyone wants to hold a vote to overrule the veto on the abolition of income tax ? If anyone wants to sponsor it and bring it to a vote, as Legislator I must say I'll vote Nay on it.

Then I really have to try and take the necessary time to make the complement to our previous electoral law amendment to include a quorum and get it passed to open a voting booth.

[Zanas]

If my fellow Legislators would deem it adequate, I would like to present them with another unending-titled constitutional amendment to complete the one we passed just before the nuclear thing.

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If nobody's opposed to us voting on it before getting on with the rest of the docket, please vote :

[ ] Yes.
[ ] No.
[ ] Marsupial feces.

The booth will be open for 48 hours again, but I guess we can cover this quite quickly.

[Zanas]

[X] Yes.

[Zanas]

With a vote of 5 In Favor, 0 Against and no Abstentions, The Constitutional Amendment Legislative Passing Quorum Implementation Act has succesfully passed the Legislature.

Now, along with The Zanas Sensible Anti-Retroactivity Federal Electoral Rules Abidance Amendment, they can both be submitted to the People of the South in a specific voting booth, and I thank we can say that we are becoming the most referendal region of Atlasia ! I think that's great that every citizen can participate in as much as possible.

Judging from consensus on the matter, I think we can the veto override on abolition of income tax is tabled.

Hence, moving along to our next bill and SURPRISE ! Energy strikes again !

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I was the one introducing this bill, and it's frankly deeply inspired about Barnes' bill in whatever region he was living in at the time. The dates may be a bit off due to the fact I introduced it in early December... :S

We should really be working a bit faster... But I may be the first to blame for that. Anyway now we're cooking.

Go on, debate. I'll write something to defend it.

[Zanas]

Been busy campaigning a bit, but I'm back.

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I've adopted most of Hash's additions. I figured the whole nuclear controversy would be very much settled by just leaving renewable instead of clean. Nuclear energy is undeniably not renewable. So that's that.

I think we can be ambitious on our LEED certifications, and ask for gold standard for new buildings, and certified standards for old ones in 2017.

I've included a provision for the Authority to gather at least on a quarterly basis, otherwise it could never even be gathered to begin with.

I had the idea to select the local citizens that will sit in this like the jurors, so they are not professionals or people deeply committed (and therefore prejudiced) in this field and just normal citizens with their future interest at heart. But I'll scrap it if you don't like it.

I want some kind of environmental education beginning early in school. Not lobotomy, mind you, but a few lessons on a regular basis so children don't forget what they're taught. I remember we created a textbook review board back with the Is our children learning Act, but I don't know if we have a board that determines the content of what is taught, or maybe it's a federal thing ? Otherwise, we could also give that work to the Clean Authority.

Oh and I recall someone explaining to me that "carbon footprint" didn't really make sense, but I don't remember why... :s anyway I scrapped it for "environmental impact", which may be a bit broader.

So, your turn now.

[Zanas]

Make it 8 years then.

[Zanas]

So I see the weekend hasn't sparkled much discussion in here. I brushed the thing up a bit, and here is the present version.

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Does this lack of debate mean that you guys are comfortable with the bill as it stands ? I'll let you another day to react, but if nothing comes out, I guess I may be bringing it to a vote some time tomorrow evening.

[Zanas]

Until then, I'm fulfilling a promise I made in these walls on the occasion when I was confirmed as Speaker a little over three weeks ago. I know I had promised to do these every two weeks, but time goes really fast when we are enjoying ourselves, so I'll have this now :

Do you approve of my job as Speaker since the last election ?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Rainbow Dash

I'll step down as Speaker if there are 3 No.

I'm voting myself in to stay so :
[X] Yes

[Zanas]

Errrr... Hello ? Am I the only one here ? Is everybody dead ?

Well, screw it. I'm considering myself confirmed as Speaker. And you know what ? I might just bring the Clean Government bill to a vote some time in the coming hours. I think I let all of you more than enough time to amend it if you wanted. I guess I'll let you wake up and see this, and if no one has said anything at 11 AM, I'll launch the vote.

[Zanas]

Yeah and this time it's not my fault !

[Zanas]

Ok, so I guess that's it. The Clean Government Act of 2013 is now open to a vote in its following form :

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The vote shall be open for 48 hours beginning now.

Please vote :
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Cherry-flavored rat poison

Since I am a super-cool Speaker, I'll accept Hash's vote which was cast before I opened the vote, but I'll still give him the and move on.

So it's 1 In Favor as of now.

[Zanas]

[X] Eeyup!

[Zanas]

Ok, so with 4 In Favor, None Against, and 1 Not participating in the vote, the Clean Government Act has passed the Legislature, and is now sent to PiT's office for signature into law or veto.

Moving on to the next bill :

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I introduced this, and I'm willing to present you with all the evidence needed to show you the superiority of the bretzels on other snacks. Plus, Andrew, our cook, has already learned how to make them and they are finger lickin' good, almost as much as Sjoyce is.

[Zanas]

I like cornbread.

You neither work nor legislate in the Legislature right now, so you wouldn't mind.

Anyway, I want to make things clear. We're not talking about these :

or these :


No. We're talking about these :


These are like bread, only better. They are versatile. Not too salted, you can have them at breakfast or during morning break. With a bit of cheese on them, you can have them at lunch. You just can have them all day long.