The New Midwest Universal Alþing Thread

[Lumine]

Midwest Governor, Most Serene Representatives and Midwest citizens:

Good evening to all of you.

Right after swearing in as the next Archduke, I am opening a new official thread for the Alþing, since the old one was filled with bill discussions and had accomplished its purpose. While I will open new threads with the bills that are currently being discussed, I strongly encourage the Most Serene Representatives to keep up the good work they have done so far by sending new bills so we can keep up our region's progress.

That said, I'm really looking forward to work with all you during this term in the Alþing.

Thank you very much!

LumineVonReuental (UNDA-MT), Archduke of the Alþing.

[Lumine]

Now, before we can get to business, I'd like to give my new tenure as the Archduke a new personal meaning. Therefore, I have some personal rules that I would like to use here:

The somewhat unfair and completely unnecessary rules of the Archduke:

1.   Ties: All ties shall be resolved with a Nay, considering a single Aye does not mean real consensus on a bill.
2.   Governor Veto: I'm against overturning a gubernatorial veto, thus, motions of override them will have to be requested by a Most Serene Representative.
3.   Going along with the spirit of the Midwest, I shall close the final voting of each bill and or amendment with a catchphrase and a traditional Midwestern expression. (I'm still thinking about this one)

Threads: (Obvious, I know, but I want to clarify everything)

1.   Main Thread: It shall be used to present and sponsor bills and amendments, to write down the Alþing’s statistics, and for formal statements, NOT for bill discussion.
2.   Other Threads: Every single bill and amendment that comes before the Alþing shall have its own thread.

[Lumine]

For #3, there is already a rule for Serene Representatives inactivity. I will add the law to wiki and send you a more concrete link, but it is in the old thread. Sorry to be discussing bills or ideas, but I don't think you can make punishments if people don't vote. It's just the law that's already in place.

Sorry, I failed to notice that, I will delete that idea right away.

Also, I still have to create the new threads for the bills and send the ones that are ready to the Governor, but I'm running out of time right now, so I will do so tomorrow!

[Lumine]

Congratulations! *hughughug*

Thanks!

Well, those are the bills that were being discussed: The Pacific Irridentialist Act (no voting yet), The ilikeverin School Act (passed by a 3-0 vote, will be sent to the Governor) and the
The Midwest Fix Our Toll Roads Bill (on a tie, will open a thread to break said tie):

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[Lumine]

I would support all of them, it's quite dangerous to lack a plan B in case we lost the Senators or the Governor.

[Lumine]

A message from the Archduke:

Right, with the election over we will begin a new legislative session! Sadly, I think nobody knows which number is it, so we'll have to leave it at that. I'm reserving this space for the statistics and the list of bills passed during this session (not including Wyodon's term), which I will post once we have finished voting the gambling act.

During my month as Archduke I have developed a certain fondness for the office (and the sceptre, especially the sceptre), and the current work and activity of the Alþing should be a source of pride for all of us: Windjammer, Thomas D, ilikeverin and Governor Maxwell, let us keep up the good work!

[Lumine]

Voting Statistics:

Bill, Amendments or Acts:

The ilikeverin School Act (Passed)
Pacific Irridentialist Act (Failed)
The Midwest Fix Our Toll Roads Bill (Failed)
The Recall Amendment (Passed)
Dude, Where's My Governor? Amendment (Passed)
Holding Our Senators Accountable Amendment(Passed)
Non-Reusable Bag Act (Passed)
Midwest Tax Reform (Passed)
The Midwest Gambling Freedom Act (Passed)
 
Total: 9
Passed: 7
Failed: 2

Ties: 1 (Broken by the Archduke with a Nay)

Windjammer:
Aye: 8 (89%)
Nay: 1 (11%)
Abstain: 0 (0%)
Absent: 0 (0%)

ilikeverin:
Aye: 5 (55%)
Nay: 2 (22%)
Abstain: 0 (0%)
Absent: 2 (22%)

Thomas D:
Aye: 6 (66%)
Nay: 1 (11%)
Abstain: 0 (0%)
Absent: 2 (22%)

[Lumine]

On the First State of the Midwest:

The Most Serene Representatives are invited to draft a written statement response to the Governor, should they wish to. The Alþing Thread won't be open to discuss said response to avoid confusion, but I would like to break the supposed neutrality of the Archdukedom and personally commend the Governor for writing a great statement that shows how much of a success his term has been.

[Lumine]

On the approaching Alþing election:

The Archduke and Alþing elections are set for Thursday 19th, and so far we have Windjammer as the sole candidate for Archduke and new citizen GAworth as candidate for Representative. I would like to ask our incumbents to please announce if you are going to run for reelection (please, run!) just to avoid confusion.

[Lumine]

Thanks for the reminder Yes, I'll run again.  Though I suspect we'll want some fresh blood in the Alþing in due time.

Excellent news! But yes, recruiting didn't work very well this time (we got a great candidate in Windjammer, but three other people turned me down), so I'll have to make a major search for candidates for the next Alþing election.

[Lumine]

I think I'll wait for the Althing election to be over to start the new threads on bills, otherwise we'll have a small problem if I start them now. Is that okay?

[Lumine]

A small farewell:

Right now I leave the office of Archduke (after a June-September term) to give way to Windjammer, whom I'm confident will prove to be a fantastic and efficient Archduke. I will remain involved here as Governor, but I will miss being in charge of the legislative process. I'd like to thank the incumbents for all the work we did, and I hope we can continue to improve our region.

[Lumine]

Trying to replicate my small achievement in the Mideast, here comes a small bill:

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[Lumine]

Well, as far as I know we lack one, so it would be great to see some changes there... What ideas so you have for it, GAworth?

[Lumine]

I'd like to introduce before the Alþing my package of amendments to our Constitution as promised in my November State of the Midwest speech:

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[Lumine]

While I acknowledge Windjammer's control of the Althing rules (I created my own rules when I started my term as Archduke), I want to propose a rule for the Archduke to submit for a vote:

Rule #1: Discussion of Bills, Amendments or Acts in the Althing must last for at least 24 hours.

[Lumine]

Well,
I apologize for  This
I should have waited but I just though that debate had ended because all most representatives supported this bill.

Maxwell and Lumine want to create Althing rules. I will explain why I oppose their plan.
During my term of Archduke, only GAworth never missed a vote. If rules existed, for instance:
-at least 2 votes
-a 48 hour vote

I want to be clear, 25-35% of bill would have failed because of this. That's why I don't believe Althing rules are necessary, they could be disastrous for the Althing.

I don't think that I have used the Althing for personal political gains. I'm not a troll, I'm serious in my job, I'm not Xahar. If the Midwest voters elect a troll, they will be able to recall him. So, Althing rules aren't necessary.

Oh, I actually agree with you, we do need a more relaxed environment here than when compared to other regions, which is why I don't want to regulate votes until I see how the current Althing works. Arturo, Cris and GAworth seem very active to me, so the possibility of having things go faster is certainly there.

However, I believe we should have a least one or two written rules to avoid confusion, like rules on ties, on a Governor's veto and a minimum limit for discussion. Otherwise, we might have problems that are quite serious (not the Urban Agriculture Assistance Grant Act, of course, that is just a small confusion). With you in charge of the Althing we all know that there are no problems at all, but what if we ended up with a troll in charge of the legislative process? He would be able to do as he pleases.

Of course, it's your duty and you're in charge of all rules, so doing some of this stuff (like unoficially enforcing discussion limits) without leaving it as a written rule is also competely fine with me.

[Lumine]

Please relinquish your claim on New Mexico. It was traded fairly for Montana 8 years ago.

Thank you, PJ. As the sole resident of New Mexico, I object very strongly. Stop trying to take the land out from under Tyrion's feet!

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In my frank opinion, Senator, this is a regional issue that only involves the internal affairs of the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest, and thus it does not concern the Senate nor the Federal Government. I'm certainly trying to deal with said issue and I'm open to relinquish the claim of this state, but only after proper Althing debate and the vote of our citizens. I strongly believe that a Senate resolution instead of a direct appeal to the Most Serene Republic (via Althing, Archduke, the Governor or even the press) creates unnecessary controversy.

[Lumine]

Please relinquish your claim on New Mexico. It was traded fairly for Montana 8 years ago.

Thank you, PJ. As the sole resident of New Mexico, I object very strongly. Stop trying to take the land out from under Tyrion's feet!

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In my frank opinion, Senator, this is a regional issue that only involves the internal affairs of the Most Serene Republic of the Midwest, and thus it does not concern the Senate nor the Federal Government. I'm certainly trying to deal with said issue and I'm open to relinquish the claim of this state, but only after proper Althing debate and the vote of our citizens. I strongly believe that a Senate resolution instead of a direct appeal to the Most Serene Republic (via Althing, Archduke, the Governor or even the press) creates unnecessary controversy.

The federal government absolutely has jurisdiction in interregional disputes. That's literally a large reason why it exists!

I know, but it would be more diplomatic if you appealed to said region first instead of immediately asking the Senate to take a position on the matter. But if your prefer them to apply pressure instead of letting us actually debate on the matter and try to find a solution, very well, I'll begin discussing these affairs with actual members of the Regional Governments.

[Lumine]

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Yeah, I know, I'm flip flopping here, but I want to pass this with an actual majority of the Midwest citizens, and while I still accept the two names compromise, I decided to drop the claim on New Mexico. I'll give more details once the thread is open.

[Lumine]

Is that an official statement? If the Midwest is dropping the claim on New Mexico, I'll drop my bill from the federal queue.

Well, not really, this has to pass the Althing and then a vote from the citizens, given that we are changing our Constitution. Should the Althing or the people reject this, I'm afraid that the claim will stay.

[Lumine]

Is that an official statement? If the Midwest is dropping the claim on New Mexico, I'll drop my bill from the federal queue.

Well, not really, this has to pass the Althing and then a vote from the citizens, given that we are changing our Constitution. Should the Althing or the people reject this, I'm afraid that the claim will stay.

Hrm, well I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and just wait.

Thanks Senator, hopefully our citizens will be able to make a final decision very soon.

[Lumine]

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[Lumine]

I understand the need for a pause and a small legislative holiday, but after five days I think we should resume our work as soon as possible. We have less than a month before the election and the new Alþing, and we have a lot to discuss.

[Lumine]

Bump, with the Althing election in less than three weeks, I don't want to see so many bills without discussion, so I think we really need to start discussing all these projects. And Cris and Arturo, please, I need you to start making more appearances, even if you support the bills, at least state it.