Northeast Assembly Thread

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aye.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Constitutional amendments should be voted on by the full citizenry of the Northeast before they go into effect.  I'm fine with removing the requirement that says that x% of all registered citizens must vote on an amendment before it can be passed (if that is, in fact, still a requirement), but I do want to see the public involved in this procedure.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Constitutional amendments should be voted on by the full citizenry of the Northeast before they go into effect.  I'm fine with removing the requirement that says that x% of all registered citizens must vote on an amendment before it can be passed (if that is, in fact, still a requirement), but I do want to see the public involved in this procedure.

So the current draft should perfectly suit you.

That's weird, did the bill change again?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Constitutional amendments should be voted on by the full citizenry of the Northeast before they go into effect.  I'm fine with removing the requirement that says that x% of all registered citizens must vote on an amendment before it can be passed (if that is, in fact, still a requirement), but I do want to see the public involved in this procedure.

So the current draft should perfectly suit you.

That's weird, did the bill change again?

Just read the latest post in which you see a bill, and some red characters.

Maybe I just didn't read the bill right the first time.  It initially made it seem like citizens were only involved in a Maine-like people's veto of an amendment once it had already been pushed into law.

Anyway.  I'm okay with this amendment.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aye.

PS: Hamilton and Purple State: take it elsewhere.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Yikes.  Sorry folks, been really busy lately (and there's been a work crackdown on Internets.)

Anyway, Aye for the record.  I'm very glad to see this bill got passed—I believe it will do a lot of good to reassure mortgage lenders, homeowners, and the housing market in general by protecting those who face the loss of their home because of the economy, and not because of the kind of greed that caused this mess.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I don't care much for requiring companies to guarantee the survivability of replaced forests. It seems unusually burdensome considering there's no time attached. Maybe amend to say that it needs to be guaranteed for a year?

Also, how many people chop trees for firewood on PUBLIC land, currently? I wouldn't have thought that to be legal.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

ok sure

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Could the sponsor please provide some brief background to the lazier members: What is the current (but, of course, defunct) Northeast minimum wage?  What is the current federal minimum wage that this bill seeks to match?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Indeed, should debate be reopened for the bill, I would like to see it amended, changing "gender" to "gender identity."

Anyway, with response to us "more casual" posters:
As many of you know, I was just kinda thrust into the Assembly by our kind governor after making a career of legislating in the "big boy" Senate (and soon after, the presidency). Things are done a bit differently there. More bills, longer debate.

I understand there is a desire to have fast paced action here, but the number of people who are addicted to this forum are limited. Some of us have great legislation or debate points to offer, but simply don't get around to it when a bill can be almost entirely finalized before we even see it. I generally don't get to check this forum during the weekends, which can cause me to miss debates and votes in their entirety.

A possible solution to this would be to take up this "two bills at the same time" idea, while simultaneously doubling the amount of time spent debating and voting on each. That way, you leave people like myself more time to participate while still moving along the business of the Assembly at the bill-per-day rate as before.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

My vote for speaker goes to Cinyc.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I respectfully abstain. AndyCT is a big boy and he can make big boy decisions all on his lonesome here, just as we don't need him making an executive order suggesting who should be assembly speaker.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I respectfully abstain. AndyCT is a big boy and he can make big boy decisions all on his lonesome here, just as we don't need him making an executive order suggesting who should be assembly speaker.

It's not about what he needs or not, it's just how the Northeast Constitution works. Seeing how often you make lawsuits about the unconstitutionality of some practices, I thought you knew it better.

There's a lot of stupid crap in our constitution, and no reason why I can't abstain here on an essentially pointless vote to make commentary on it.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Perhaps establish a program to identify the most gifted students within inner city communities and ensure they are able to thrive in well-funded competitive schools, upon graduation of which they would be immediately eligible for a grant if they remain to improve their area?

Students who aren't interested in academics, on the other hand, should be provided the with the resources to develop another skill or trade valuable to society, rather than be forced to fail and grow disillusioned.

One of the things I had passed in the Northeast about a year or two ago was a bill creating a system of public school choice.  How it essentially works is that, in the Northeast, a parent has the right to choose which public school their student attends within certain reasonable limits. (It does not allow for regional funding of private schools, like a traditional voucher program might.)

Presumably, this law has encouraged the creation of magnet schools across the region.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Motion to amend.

Anti-Discrimination Act

1. The Northeast Government pledges to uphold the rights of all citizens regardless of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.
2. The Northeast Government will hereby refuse government contracts to any company or organization which is found to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.
3. The Northeast Government, in hiring, and in representation, shall not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Motion to amend.

Anti-Discrimination Act

1. The Northeast Government pledges to uphold the rights of all citizens regardless of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.
2. The Northeast Government will hereby refuse government contracts to any company or organization which is found to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.
3. The Northeast Government, in hiring, and in representation, shall not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and disability status.

What's the purpose of this now-unfriendly amendment, i.e., what's the difference?

Males than identify as women, females that idenitfy as men.

It's not something believe in or support legitimizing.

Yes, it would provide protection for the transgendered. Which is, frankly, much better grounded in science as "not a choice" than homosexuality.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Agreed that "socioeconomic status" is preferred to "class."

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aye
Aye
Nay
Aye

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

sure whatever aye fine by me i don't care'

Is it just me or do we deal with this particular issue, like, a lot?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Is it just me or do we deal with this particular issue, like, a lot?

Yes


Too much do we deal with it.


Abstain in protest.

Is it just because someone here really wants to nail a 16-year-old or something?  I don't get it.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Age of contest of 16 is simply ridicolous.

If we can't have 14, why not 15 as a compromise?

Anyway, I would vote against 16 under ANY circumstances.

Because those of us who aren't card-carrying NAMBLA members are uncomfortable enough with 16 as-is.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Oh yes, what's wrong with 15?

Why should a college senior not be having sex with a high school sophomore?  Really?  You need reasons why?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aye.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aye.


I'd like to offer a (hopefully friendly) amendment to strike all instances of billions and replace them with billion to correct a grammatical issue.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I again bring up the following grammatical point: It should be $500 million, not millions. And billion, again, without an s. Can we please correct this as friendly?