Office of Secretary pikachu

[DemPGH]

You know, I don't know that this is an amendment? This is a vote to approve the Assembly to draft a bill. That bill would presumably change the Northeast constitution (by declaring independence), so only that bill would change the Northeast constitution. I think we can have this "Yes or No" vote whenever we deem it reasonable, tbh. If it passes, then a bill has to be drafted which changes the Northeast Constitution, and that would be subject to amendment rules.

At least, a year or so ago we had stand-alone votes on whether or not the Pac and the MW should merge. Like this proposal, it was a precursor to the legislatures taking action. I think with proper notification a stand-alone vote here could be taken.

[pikachu]

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x pikachu

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I'm going to hold onto this until cinyc responds to Clyde's question.

At this point, I expect a referendum is probably inevitable, considering how the Assembly vote went (3-1), so if the date's valid, I see no point in a veto, considering it will likely get overridden.

If the current date isn't valid, I'd rather that we get the constitutionality of the date sorted out in a redraft rather than get stuck in a slow-moving lawsuit about it and I'd urge the Assembly to bump up the redraft to the top of the queue.

Hopefully, we can resolve asap, and I still expect a vote in mid-October barring new issues coming up.

[cinyc]

You know, I don't know that this is an amendment? This is a vote to approve the Assembly to draft a bill. That bill would presumably change the Northeast constitution (by declaring independence), so only that bill would change the Northeast constitution. I think we can have this "Yes or No" vote whenever we deem it reasonable, tbh. If it passes, then a bill has to be drafted which changes the Northeast Constitution, and that would be subject to amendment rules.

At least, a year or so ago we had stand-alone votes on whether or not the Pac and the MW should merge. Like this proposal, it was a precursor to the legislatures taking action. I think with proper notification a stand-alone vote here could be taken.

If it is only an advisory vote that is not binding, I suppose we could hold it at any time.  But I don't feel very good about holding votes outside of the constitutionally-prescribed periods for them. It places a cloud of doubt over the vote, which I'd rather not do.

We really should put language into the constitution regarding when non-Amendment referenda can be voted on.  It's silent on them no, IIRC.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

we had a referendum on the save the animals act recently because of a tie vote in the assembly. that was just folded into the next regularly scheduled election iirc

[cinyc]

we had a referendum on the save the animals act recently because of a tie vote in the assembly. that was just folded into the next regularly scheduled election iirc

That's because it was a tie vote, and the governor forwarded it to the voted on by the public.  The constitution calls for this, and prescribes a particular voting period for tied legislation forwarded to the public (which IIRC, is usually the next Friday).  Thus, the timing of the vote with the general election was purely a function of when the governor decided to forward the bill to be voted on by the public.  Had it been a week earlier or later, it would not have been on the ballot at the same time as the other constitutional referenda and gubernatorial special election.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

we had a referendum on the save the animals act recently because of a tie vote in the assembly. that was just folded into the next regularly scheduled election iirc

That's because it was a tie vote, and the governor forwarded it to the voted on by the public.  The constitution calls for this, and prescribes a particular voting period for tied legislation forwarded to the public (which IIRC, is usually the next Friday).  Thus, the timing of the vote with the general election was purely a function of when the governor decided to forward the bill to be voted on by the public.  Had it been a week earlier or later, it would not have been on the ballot at the same time as the other constitutional referenda and gubernatorial special election.

i just mentioned it because you were talking about "non-amendment referenda", but you are right that it is a different situation.

[Blair]

There seems to be several problems with this referendum, firstly the fact that the bill was passed or even discussed as a constitutional amendment-I'd even question whether regions have a right to simply amend the constitution and then be seen as separate. The rest of the bill is merky-for example

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This is one of the bad aspects, you can't tie the hands of an elected legislature like this. It goes against the foundations of our system even if it's from a referendum result. You can't have a bill that orders assembly members to vote in a certain way.

Governor Pikachu, veto this bill and send it back to the Assembly so that they can at least improve it

[pikachu]

the big one.

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Veto.

My explanation is mostly in my prior post, so hopefully we can fix the legal issues that are facing this.

[Clyde1998]

There seems to be several problems with this referendum, firstly the fact that the bill was passed or even discussed as a constitutional amendment-I'd even question whether regions have a right to simply amend the constitution and then be seen as separate. The rest of the bill is merky-for example

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This is one of the bad aspects, you can't tie the hands of an elected legislature like this. It goes against the foundations of our system even if it's from a referendum result. You can't have a bill that orders assembly members to vote in a certain way.

Governor Pikachu, veto this bill and send it back to the Assembly so that they can at least improve it

There is nothing in the constitution preventing a region from becoming independent.

The two-week period following the referendum will take place before the next election - so we're only tying our own hands by passing this bill. I'm of the belief that the Assembly and Northeast Government will act based on the referendum result.

---

I've already submitted a modified bill - to, hopefully, fix the issues that Pikachu talked about previously.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

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[pikachu]

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x pikachu

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

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[Clark Kent]

Mr. Governor, this act passed 3-2, which is not enough to override your veto. As a Unionist Northeasterner, I ask you to veto Independence Referendum Act.

[Oakvale]

Disgusting anti-democratic behaviour from the far-right in the Assembly.

[Clyde1998]

Mr. Governor, this act passed 3-2, which is not enough to override your veto. As a Unionist Northeasterner, I ask you to veto Independence Referendum Act.

I feel we should let the voters decide the future of the region.

[DemPGH]

Yeah, and you know, there's a reason why people think fixing the system from within is just shy of impossible. Until the right actually helps get something moving, it's just lip service.

[pikachu]

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x pikachu

Potential legal issues aside, I do believe that it's best that we get this issue solved sooner rather than later. As a strong advocate of a unified Atlasia, I think that when we get to the ConCon, it's better that we do not have a potential secessionist threat to worry about and mess with plans. The campaign is a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but I think this is still long enough for the campaigns to get their messages out.

[Clyde1998]

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x pikachu

Potential legal issues aside, I do believe that it's best that we get this issue solved sooner rather than later. As a strong advocate of a unified Atlasia, I think that when we get to the ConCon, it's better that we do not have a potential secessionist threat to worry about and mess with plans. The campaign is a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but I think this is still long enough for the campaigns to get their messages out.

Thanks. The campaign will be shorter than I would have liked, as well, but I didn't want a clash with the next NE elections.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

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[pikachu]

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x pikachu

I believe the amendment doesn't need my signature.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

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[pikachu]

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x pikachu

[pikachu]

Hi all,

Just making a really short plea for my fellow Northeasterners to vote for me a delegate to the ConCon. I know that there are a lot of great people running for this, but I hope as a still relatively fresh and active face, you're willing to send me as one of your representatives to this historic event.

Thanks, pikachu

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

got a triple for you:

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[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I urge the governor to veto the Northeast Children in Sport Act, for the following reasons:

1. This act makes no provision for children who cannot play sports due to a physical impairment. Under this law, such children would be required to participate in sports anyways, which could lead to serious medical injury.
2. This act does not specify whether said sporting activities are to take place during or after the school day. (The act specifies that children are required to participate in sports "when at school", but it is unclear whether this means during school hours or simply when school is in session.) Many families, especially those in which both parents work multiple jobs, cannot arrange for their children to participate in after-school sports, and this act would place an unreasonable strain on them in the latter case.
3. As this act applies to all children under the age of 16, a three-year-old enrolled in a pre-school program would also be required to complete three hours of sport participation per week (keep in mind that many pre-schoolers attend school on a half-day basis). While physical activity at a young age is important, this requirement seems unusually extreme for such a young age group.
4. This act does not make it clear why it is necessary for students to participate in formal sports, as opposed to traditional P.E. classes or longer recess periods.