Midwest Legislative Assembly

[tmthforu94]

Hello,

In this thread, business regarding the Midwest Legislative Assembly will be conducted. For the time being, this will be where legislation is introduced, debated on and ultimately voted on.

Any Midwest citizen is able to introduce legislation, and I encourage you to do so. I will soon be introducing a constitutional amendment to revise small details in the Midwest Constitution, as well as legislation to revitalize the Midwestern economy.

For the time being, I will lead things until someone else is able to take over. This entire process will be as transparent as possible and I look forward to getting as many Midwesterners involved as we can.

Best,

Governor Tmthforu94

[tmthforu94]

This is a bill I am lifting from my time as Governor of the Mideast - with rising unemployment in our region and agriculture being one of the top employment providers in the region, I find this bill to be necessary and encourage the legislature to approve of it.


[quote]
Midwest Agricultural Relief Act

Section 1 - Definitions
1. The word "farm" in this act shall be defined as any land used to produce crops, livestock, specialty livestock, or grazing and includes woodland and wasteland not under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing.

Section 2 - Farming Investment
1. The Midwest Region shall be authorized to provide money to farmers for the purpose of capital investment to farms.
2. Grants shall be awarded by the region on the basis of the quality of farmers' business plans that is a part of their applications.
3. Farmer applicants must match or exceed the amount of the grant being requested. These funds must be used for projects that are defined as capital fixed assets and have a life expectancy of 10 years or more.
4. Should all funds not be used by the farmer within the time allotted, the farmer must return all remaining funds originally provided.
5. Funds must be used for the expansion of existing agricultural facilities, or diversification-expansion into new production areas and site improvements related to such expansion or diversification.

Section 3 - Eligibility
1. Agricultural producers, singularly or jointly, whether such producers are owners or tenants of existing agricultural production facilities must be located within the Midwest Region.
2. Applications must include an individual business plan. In the case of a joint venture, two business plans must be filed, one for the individual applicant and the other for the joint venture, demonstrating how the agricultural production facility will remain ongoing for at least ten years and show what impact the improvements will have on his or her business via projected increased sales, additional jobs, local taxes, etc.
3. Applicant must provide conceptual construction designs with a projected budget, should funds be planned to be used on such projects.
4. Applicant must be responsible for securing and complying with all necessary zoning, inland wetland, building and other permits, as well as environmental regulations, as required prior to receiving grant
5. Upon completion of project, applicant must provide an audit from a certified public accountant, a lending institution or an agricultural advisory institution that includes an itemized statement of expenses of the project.
6. Applicants must agree to a site inspection conducted by an agent from within the region prior to final approval or rejection of their application. If application approved and project monies awarded, applicant must agree to site inspections during the construction phase of the project.
7. Applicant's farm must receive less than $500,000 in revenue per year.

Section 5 - Funding and Longevity
1. $600 million will be allocated to fund this program.
2. This program shall last for five years, at which time, the Midwest Legislature may extend the program.

[tmthforu94]

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Continued...

[tmthforu94]

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[tmthforu94]

Welcome, everyone! Very excited to see that we have a full legislature.

Debate will begin with the Midwest Agricultural Relief Act. I will allow forty-eight hours for discussion, with an extension likely, should issues arrive.

Also, if anyone would like to become President of the Assembly, just let me know!

[tmthforu94]

Debate closes tomorrow morning. I believe this legislation provides incentives for small farms to expand and create more opportunities for the region.

[tmthforu94]

A final vote is now open on the Midwest Agricultural Relief Act and will last for 24 hours. Please vote, AYE, NAY or ABSTAIN.

[dead0man]

Nay

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Nay

[tmthforu94]

The legislation has failed. If any Midwesterner is wondering why this failed, I encourage you to contact your legislators, because I have no idea why it did.

We are now debating the Midwest 6th Constitution - this is an amendment to the current Midwest Constitution. A lot of this comes down to explaining things out in a bit more detail and also making a couple processes more simple, such as appointments to the legislature. This also sets up a clearer process in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy so we don't have as much confusion as we did last time. Finally, this puts the governor into four-month terms instead of two-month. We have an activity problem in the region, and I think it brings further fatigue when we are having elections nearly every month.

There will be a forty-eight (48) hour debate. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

I have one question about the language of the Constitution.

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Does this mean that the right to bear arms is a protected right?

[tmthforu94]

I have one question about the language of the Constitution.

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Does this mean that the right to bear arms is a protected right?

That is how the constitution previously had it listed. That would be my interepation, but if you would like to introduce an amendment clarifying it, I would definitely be open to it.

[tmthforu94]

We will be moving into a final vote tomorrow. If anyone has any concerns or amendments, please voice them now. As a whole, this amendment fixes several errors in the constitution, so if you have small objections and don't make them before the vote begins, please vote for final passage and we can then introduce a new amendment with your concerns. I don't feel closely tied to any part of the constitution, so will be open to just about anything.

[Gass3268]

What are the major changes from the 6th and the recently passed 5th?

[tmthforu94]

What are the major changes from the 6th and the recently passed 5th?

I compared our constitution to the Mideast's and closed a few loopholes, nothing major. I changed the requirement to be considered an official language from 100,000 to 50,000. The recall procedure is the same. However, I did change the appointment to the legislature - before there were about three different scenarios, depending on when the resignation occurred. I think that is unnecessary for the time being, as we will take just about whoever we can get for the legislature at this point. Instead, now the governor may make an appointment with the consent of the legislature. There were various processes in place depending on which position was vacant - they are all now consistent. Previously there was a clause saying that legislators would be removed after three missed votes, I took that away. I also made the process stricter for passing constitutional amendments - previously it would only require 2/3s in the legislature and the Governor's approval. I feel like if it can't get the unanimous support of legislators, it should probably be considered by the entire voting population. Lastly, and this is a point I should have made earlier, this would nullify previous legislation. My reason for doing this is because due to frequent lapses in activity the region has seen, we do not have records on a lot of legislation - we simply don't know what all has passed, and it would take a lot of manpower to collect a history of all legislation. I believe that a fresh start could benefit the region and also provide an opportunity for increased activity in the legislature, with various issues to tackle.

Please let me know if there are any concerns - I'm open to changes. I'll extend the debate time until all issues are resolved.

[tmthforu94]

On another note, Maxwell has been appointed to the regional senate seat. Legislators have 24 hours to either confirm or deny the nominee.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Aye on the new Constitution

Aye on the confirmation of Maxwell

[Gass3268]

Aye on Maxwell.

Also, I'm cool with the changes for the Constitution, except for the part that clears all past legislation. That's a big no-no for me.

[tmthforu94]

Aye on Maxwell.

Also, I'm cool with the changes for the Constitution, except for the part that clears all past legislation. That's a big no-no for me.

What would you recommend we do, then? I understand your concerns, but it is going to be very difficult to govern effectively if we have few records on what is in the books.

[tmthforu94]

Actually, after giving it some more thought, lets not tackle this issue now. We can wait and see what happens at the ConCon, then go from there.

Friendly amendment:

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Senators have 24 hours to object.


With two votes to confirm, Maxwell has been confirmed as the next senator for the Midwest. He may now swear in.

[Maxwell]

Thank you legislators! I will serve our region with dignity!

[tmthforu94]

Thank you legislators! I will serve our region with dignity!

*hughughug*

[Gass3268]

Actually, after giving it some more thought, lets not tackle this issue now. We can wait and see what happens at the ConCon, then go from there.

Friendly amendment:

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Senators have 24 hours to object.

Appropriate way to move forward.

[tmthforu94]

The amendment has been adopted.

We are now voting on the 6th Midwest Constitution. Please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[Gass3268]

Aye