Senate Legislation Introduction Thread

[Former President tack50]

Fulfilling Railway Promises Act
Senate Bill

To allow for the creation of a new passenger line between Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario
Be it enacted by both houses of Congress

Section I: Title
1: This bill shall be named the Fulfilling Railway Promises Act

Section II: Definitions
1: A train operator, or operator for short, shall be defined as a business that operates and controls the useage and exploits a passenger railway line.

Section III: Operation and ticketing
1: A new joint business between the Atlasian and Canadian governments shall be formed, with the intention of operating the rail line defined by this act.
2: This train operator shall be jointly owned by the Canadian government and the government of the region of Fremont.
3: There shall be at least one train a week operated in the entirety of the line.

Section IV: Route
1: This joint business shall operate a passenger line between the towns of Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario; with passenger stops in both towns
2: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow this route:
a) East from Whitefish to right before Shelby, Montana on currently existing lines
b) North from Shelby to the Canadian border, also on currently existing lines
3: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow any route the Canadian government shall decide, as long as there is continuous operation until the mandated stop at Thunder Bay, Ontario
4: The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Canadian side of the border, the operated train follows the following route:
a) From the Atlasian border to shortly past Cranbrook, Alberta; on currently existing lines
b) From Cranbrook to Calgary, Alberta; on currently existing lines
c) From Calgary to Winnipeg, Manitoba; on currently existing lines
d) From Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, Ontario; on currently existing lines
5: The train operator may operate the line past Whitefish or Thunder Bay if it deems it adequate. The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Atlasian side of the border, the line is extended to Seattle; on currently existing lines.

Section V: Funding
1: Funding for the train operator shall primarily come from the sale of railway tickets. No extra funding shall be given by the government of Atlasia unless all ticketing revenue has been exhausted first.
2: If extra funding is needed, it shall be divided depending on the section of the line that needs the extra funding:
a) In the section of the line corresponding to Atlasia, funding shall be given by the government of Fremont, in such a way as it sees fit and by the federal Department of Internal Affairs.
b) In the section of the line corresponding to Canada, funding shall be given by the government of Canada in any way it deems adequate
3: 700 000$ shall be allocated from the budget of the Department of Internal Affairs for the renovation of the railway switch near Shelby, Montana.

Section VI: Negotiations
1: The Secretary of State shall be empowered to conduct any negotiations necessary for agreeing to this operation with the Canadian government

Section VII: Passage
1: This bill shall be enacted when passed by the Atlasian Congress
2: No provisions of this act shall become effective unless the Canadian government has agreed to this operation.
3: This bill shall become effective 3 weeks after the operation is authorized by the Canadian government.

[Former President tack50]

Senate Resolution

To allow for recall of Senators by the Regions they represent.

Be it resolved by two-thirds of each chamber that the Constitution be amended, as follows, upon ratification by the regions.

Section I: Title
1. This Resolution shall be titled, "The Recall of Senators Amendment"

Section 2: Changes to the Constitution
Article III, Section II, Clause 1 is amended as follows.

1. The Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall consist of two Senators from each Region, elected for a term of four months in the manner prescribed by the legislature thereof. Senators shall be subject to recall according to such provisions as may be established in the constitutions of their respective Regions; but no Region shall make or enforce any Act or other Rule prescribing regular elections for the Senate, except in accordance with the provisions established herein.

This amendment modifies Article III, Section II, Clause I to insert language that explicitly allows for the regions to recall their Senators, provided that the vote has the participation of the majority of the region's registered voters. The added language also leaves the further terms and rules for such recalls to be determined by the regional legislature.

[Former President tack50]

Glasses are good to see
SENATE BILL

to help people with sight problems get their much needed visual aids

Be it enacted by both houses of Congress assembled:

SECTION I: NAME.
1. This Act may be cited as the Glasses are Good to See Act.

SECTION II: BENEFICIARIES
1. All Atlasian citizens or permanent residents shall be elegible for this bill as long as they have one or more of the following visual problems:
a) Myopia lower than -0.5 dioptres
b) Hypermetropia higher than +0.5 dioptres
c) Astigmatism
d) Any other kind of visual problem where the most adequate solution is the use of glasses or contact lenses, as prescribed by an ophthalmologist

SECTION III: IMPLEMENTATION.
1. All beneficiaries described in Section II shall be given a 110$ subsidy after they buy a new pair of glasses
2. No single beneificiary shall receive this subsidy more than once every 24 months.

SECTION IV: COST
1. This bill shall be funded through the following new taxes:
a) A 5% tax on video game sales
b) A 5% tax on movie ticket sales
c) A 5% tax on TV sales
d) A 5% tax on the sale of PC desktops and laptops
e) A 5% tax on the sale of lightbulbs

SECTION V: TIMING
1. This Act shall take effect immediately upon its passage.

[Former President tack50]

Region Moving Grace Period Act

SENATE BILL

to give players moving to other regions a grace period when changing regions.

Be it enacted by both houses of Congress assembled:

SECTION I. NAME.
1. This Act may be cited as the Region Moving Grace Period Act.

SEC. II. THE GRACE PERIOD.
1. Section 14 of the Federal Electoral Act (F.L. 1-9) is amended by adding the following sections and renumbering accordingly:

4. Upon voluntary deregistration, a person may not be allowed to register again until 168 hours have passed and, unless they were resident in their region of residence and/or deregistered for the previous 180 days  may not register in another region.
5. Congress, by a 2/3rds vote in each chamber, may unilaterally suspend Section 14 clause 3 in times of an emergency. For the purposes of this act, an emergency shall be defined as any event that leaves a significant vacuum in a regional government and/or legislature.
6. When a person changes regions, he or she shall have a 24 hour grace period where he may be allowed to return to his original region. If said person returns to his original region, the 180 day long restriction against registering in other regions will not apply. However, this person will not be able to change regions again for a period of 15 days starting from the return to the original region.

SEC. III. IMPLEMENTATION.
1. This Act shall take effect immediately upon its passage.
2. No provisions of this Act shall be applied retroactively.

[Former President tack50]

SENATE BILL

To discourage firing employees and give compensation to employees fired without cause

Be it Enacted by both Houses of Congress assembled

Worker Retention and Firing Act

SECTION I: NAME
1) This bill may be cited as the Worker Retention and Firing Act

SECTION II: DEFINITIONS
1) A fixed term contract shall be defined as a contract where the employee's relation with the employer expires after a limited amount of time
2) An indefinite contract shall be defined as a contract where the employee's relation with the employer lasts for an unlimited amount of time until the employee or the employer decide otherwise.

SECTION III: WORKER PROTECTIONS
1) Employers shall have the right to terminate a contract with their employees at any time they desire
2) Without regards to the above, employers shall pay the equivalent of 20 days of salary for every year the fired employee has been employed at the company.
3) Employers shall not pay any compensation whatsoever if the firing is declared a justified firing. Causes for a justified firing shall include:

a) Repeated absence or lack of punctuality to work
b) Lack of discipline or obedience at work
c) Physical or verbal offences against the employer, co-workers, or the relatives of any of them
d) The breach of good faith or abuse of the employer's trust regarding the fired worker's job performance
e) Continuous and voluntary reductions in work performance
f) Drunkenness or impairedness at work
g) Harrassment to co-workers, the employer, or any of their family members based on ethnic, religious or gender based reasons
h) If the business is currently experiencing a net loss, or would experience it if said employee was not fired.

4) Employees who voluntarily resign shall not receive any compensation whatsoever.
5) Employers shall not pay any compensation for the expiration of fixed term contracts, but they will still need to pay the required compensation for an early unjustified firing.
6) No employee may be hired by a company for more than one year under one or several fixed term contracts. When the contract expires, said employee may not be hired again by the same business during 1 day for every 2 days under a fixed term contract, unless the new contract offered is an indefinite term contract.


SECTION IV: IMPLEMENTATION
1) This bill shall become effective inmediately after passage
2) The period considered eligible for compensation under section III.2 shall start from the day this bill is signed by the president of Atlasia, or his veto is overriden as specified by the Atlasian constitution

[Former President tack50]

Introducing this piece of legislation that originated in the Lincoln Council as civilian-sponsored legislation (or standard legislation if a sitting Senator decides to sponsor this); to try and avoid a possible issue of federal preemption. Credit for the bill goes to Pyro, the original sponsor.

Not sure how many signatures are needed for a civilian sponsored legislation but here goes mine

x tack50

Transactions Fairness Act

to protect consumers from common banking and credit abuse

Section I

1. A financial institution, also known as a banking institution, is defined as a corporation, company or other business entity that provides services as an intermediary of financial markets.

2. A consumer is defined as a person or organization that uses an economic service.

Section II

1. No financial institution shall charge a fee for the following services.

   a. Usage of an Automated Teller Machine, or ATM.

   b. Opening an account.

   c. Closing an account.

   d. Not interacting with the account.

   e. Replacing a lost or stolen credit or debit card.

   f. Stop payment on a check.

   g. Issuing paper statements.

   h. Paying an amount owed through cash, credit or debit.

2. No financial institution shall conduct the following practices.

     a. "Reordering Transactions." This is defined as processing of transactions from a consumer's account in an order that may be different from the order in which the transactions were made.

     b. "Dual Tracking." This is defined as the process in which a mortgage lender may request documents and begin processing a loan modification while simultaneously engaging in the foreclosure process.

3. All financial institutions engaging in credit card services must allocate a minimum five day grace period prior to issuing a late fee for balance payments.

4. In the case of an overdraft or overdrawn account, no fee shall be charged to the consumer until the amount exceeds $50 US. Once the $50 US cap is breached, a fee may be charged to the consumer ten business days following a mailed or electronic notice.

5. Owed funds to a financial institution cannot be collected through the garnishing of Social Security payments.

6. Financial institutions cannot sell or foreclose on real estate without signed authorization from the homeowner.

7. All financial institutions must have a customer service phone line printed clearly on its website home page.

8. Utilities may not charge a fee for the processing of credit or debit cards.

Section III

1. The penalty for failure to abide by the any of the above guidelines shall be no less than:

  a. If a Corporation, Limited Liability Company or Partnership with Gross Income under $10 Billion: 20% of the Business Gross Income and Seizure of Assets.

  b. If a Corporation, Limited Liability Company or Partnership with Gross Income over $10 Billion: 40% of the Business Gross Income and Seizure of Assets.

Section IV

1. This act takes effect on October 1st, 2019 contingent upon signing by the president.

[Former President tack50]

Legalize Voluntary Death Act

A bill to regulate and legalize euthanasia and voluntary death in Atlasia

SECTION I: Definitions
1. Informed consent shall be defined as the free and conscious decision of a person in full use of his faculties after receiving the adequate information to receive an assisted death.
2. A chronical severe disability shall be defined as a situation that produces in a person a general inability to function independently, without healing possibilities and with a high probability of the situation persisting for the remainder of the person's natural life
3. A severe and uncurable disease shall be defined as a disease which originates physical and psychological suffering, without the possibility of tolerable relief and with a limited life prognosis.

SECTION II: Assisted death
1. Citizens and legal residents in Atlasia shall have the right to request and receive help for an assisted death when a number of requirements are met.
2. The decision to request help for a voluntary death shall require the informed consent of the patient.

SECTION III: Requirements to request an assisted death
1. In order to request an assisted death the following requirements shall be met by the patient:
a) Being a citizen or legal resident of Atlasia, above the age of 18
b) Having received information regarding the process and regarding the different alternatives and possibilities, including but not limited to palliative care
c) Formulating the petition for an assited death, which shall be repeated at least once more no less than 15 days after the original request, and which shall not be signed by the patient as a result of external pressure.
d) The patient shall be suffering from a severe and uncurable disease or have a chronical severe disability, as established in Section I
2. Alternatively, patients which due to their medical situation are unable to give informed consent may be given an assisted death if they had previously specified as part of their last will that they wanted to receive said assisted death when they found themselves suffering from a situation where they would be unable to become conscious and able to give informed consent again.

SECTION IV: Rights and duties of doctors regarding an assisted death
1. Doctors shall discuss with the patient his diagnosis, therapeutical possibilities, expected results and paliative care possibilities
2. Doctors shall verify that the request is done voluntarily, without external pressures and is expressed clearly.
3. Doctors shall verify that the patient fulfills al the requirements described in section III
4. Doctors shall administer the assisted death with the maximum care and professionality possible
5. Doctors shall have the right to excersise a voluntary refusal to an assisted death procedure through a conscious objection procedure.

SECTION V: Payment and other economical effects
1. Assisted death shall be included as part of the coverages of Atlascare. Part II, Section II of the Reforming and Regionalizing Public Healthcare Act of 2017 shall be amended accordingly
2. Assisted death shall be regarded as a natural death for all intents and purposes, including those related to life insurance

SECTION VI: Enactment
1. This bill shall become enacted inmediately after being signed by the president or after his veto is overriden as specified by the Atlasian Constitution

Credit for the idea goes to Michael19754

[Former President tack50]

FOOD LABEL DATES HARMONIZATION ACT

SECTION I: NAME.
a. This act shall be known as the Food Label Dates Harmonization Act

SECTION II: FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
a. As of the date of enactment of this Act, date labeling practices on food packaging cause confusion with “sell-by”, “best-by”, “use-by”, and “best before” dates, leading up to 90 percent of individuals in Atlasia to occasionally throw out still-fresh food.
b. Confusion over the meaning of date labels is estimated to account for 20 percent of consumer waste of safe, edible food, leading to approximately $29,000,000,000 of wasted consumer spending each year.
c. Wasted food costs consumers and industry money, squanders important natural resources that are used to grow, process, distribute, and store the food supply of Atlasia, and represents a missed opportunity to feed the millions of food insecure households in Atlasia that are struggling to access healthy, affordable food.

SECTION III: DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
a. The term “food labeler” means the producer, manufacturer, distributor, or retailer that places a date label on food packaging of a product.
b. The term “quality date” means a date voluntarily printed on food packaging that is intended to communicate to consumers the date after which the quality of the product may begin to deteriorate, but may still be acceptable for consumption.
c. The term “ready-to-eat product” means—
(A), a product that—
(i) is in a form that is edible without additional preparation to achieve food safety and may receive additional preparation for palatability or aesthetic, epicurean, gastronomic, or culinary purposes; and
(ii) is—
(I) a poultry product, as defined in section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453);
(II) a meat food product, as defined in section 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601); or
(III) an egg product, as defined in section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033); or
(iii) a food that is normally eaten in its raw state; or
(iv) any other food, including a processed food, for which it is reasonably foreseeable that the food will be eaten without further processing that would significantly minimize biological hazards.
d. The term “safety date” means a date printed on food packaging of a ready-to-eat product, which signifies the end of the estimated period of shelf life under any stated storage conditions, after which the product may pose a health safety risk.
e. The term “SOIA” means Secretary of Internal Affairs

SECTION IV: QUALITY DATES AND SAFETY DATES.
a. If a food labeler includes a quality date on food packaging, the label shall use the uniform quality date label phrase “best if used by”.
b. The decision to include a quality date on food packaging shall be at the discretion of the food labeler.

SECTION V: SAFETY DATES.
a.  The label of a ready-to-eat product shall include a safety date that is immediately preceded by the uniform safety date label phrase “expires on”, if the ready-to-eat product meets the criteria as defined herein.
b. The SOIA shall describe criteria that determine what ready-to-eat products may have a high level of risk associated with consumption after a certain date, including those that may be high or very high risk for Listeria monocytogenes or other contaminants or pathogens causing foodborne illness.
c. The SOIA may: (i) list additional ready-to-eat products that are high risk, but do not meet the criteria described in subparagraph (A); or (ii) exempt specific ready-to-eat products that meet the criteria described in subparagraph (A), but do not actually pose a high level of risk associated with consumption after a certain date.

SECTION VI: QUALITY DATE AND SAFETY DATE LABELING.
a. The quality date and safety date, as applicable, and immediately adjacent uniform quality date label phrase or safety date label phrase shall be located in a conspicuous place on the package of the food.
b. Each quality date and safety date shall be stated in terms of day and month and, as appropriate, year.
c. No one shall prohibit the sale, donation, or use of any product after the quality date for the product has passed.
d. 21 U.S.C. 343 , 21 U.S.C. 453(h), 21 U.S.C. 601(n), 21 U.S.C. 1036(b) shall all be amended accordingly.

SECTION VII: TIMING
a. This act shall take effect July 4, 2021.

Credit for this bill goes to Mr. Reactionary

[Former President tack50]

SENATE RESOLUTION

To grant equality of rights to all citizens of the Republic

Be it resolved by 2/3 of the House and Senate Assembled,

Equal Rights for Everyone Amendment

Article I of the Atlasian Constitution is amended by adding the following section:

Section 14

1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the Republic of Atlasia or by any Region on account of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, place of birth, disability or any other personal or social characteristic. Congress shall have power to enforce this section by appropriate legislation.

[Former President tack50]

Make Peebs Happy Again Act

A bill to make the life of the Registrar General easier

1. Section 14, point 6 of F.L. 1-9: Federal Election Act shall be amended as follows:

6. Any political party of three five or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

2. This bill shall become enacted immediately after passage

[Former President tack50]

AN ACT
to limit copyright abuses

Section 1 (Title)
i. The long title of this Act shall be, the "Dave Leip Copyright Defendant Protection Act." It may be cited as the "Leip Act."

Section 2 (Protecting creators from frivolous lawsuits)
i. In all cases where a copyright holder (hereafter "the plaintiff") shall bring suit against an individual or other party (hereafter "the defendant") alleging a violation or violations of their copyright under the laws of the Republic of Atlasia, the plaintiff must demonstrate either
(a) the alleged violation placed a significant burden on their ability to profit financially from the copyrighted work; or
(b) that any profit incurred by the defendant as a direct result of the alleged violation is in excess of $25,000.
ii. Should a copyright suit be decided in favor of the defendant, the plaintiff shall bear full financial responsibility for any legal costs incurred by the former in the course of their defense.

Section 3 (Reducing copyright terms)
i. The maximum length of copyrights shall be of the lifetime of the author plus 50 years for works that follow copyright terms based upon the death of the author.
ii. The maximum length of copyrights shall be of 60 years after release in all other cases.

Section 4 (Resolution condemning copyright trolls)
i. RESOLVED, that it is the opinion of the Senate and House of Representatives that so-called "copyright trolls" are a species of imp distinguished by the total absence of grace or civilization even in comparison to their brother demons, and when they burn in Hell for eternity, it will be neither soon nor harsh enough.

Section 5 (Enactment)
i. Sections 1, 2 and 4 shall become enacted immediately after passage.
ii. Section 3 shall become enacted 1 year after passage.

Introducing this on behalf of Truman with some additions by myself

[Former President tack50]

Assistance to Rural Farm Stress Assistance Act

A BILL
To establish a farm and ranch stress assistance network
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following
1. Agricultural work continues to be highly stressful, characterized by uncertainty, and subject to changing market conditions, the unpredictable nature of weather, and other factors beyond the control of agricultural producers
2. Individuals working in agriculture have the highest overall suicide rate among all occupations
3. Access to behavioral health care is often limited among individuals working in agriculture due to time and geographical constraints
4. Agricultural workers are in need of specialized behavioral health programs that are affordable, available as needed, and carried out with understanding of concerns specific to agricultural work

SECTION 2. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORKS.

(a) State Networks.—
(1) Grants.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a program providing competitive grants to State departments of agriculture, State cooperative extension services, and nonprofit organizations.
(2) Eligibility.—Eligibility for competitive grants provided under paragraph (1) shall only be provided in which the purpose of which is to establish a farm and ranch stress assistance network to provide stress assistance programs to affected individuals, including counseling and support through—
 (A) farm telephone helplines and internet websites
 (B) training for advocates for affected individuals and other individuals or entities that may assist affected individuals in crises
 (C) support groups
 (D) outreach services and activities
 (E) home delivery of assistance
(3) Use of Funds.—A competitive grant provided under this subsection may be used to enter into a contract with a community-based, direct-service organization to initiate, expand, or maintain an eligible cooperative program in the State.

(b) National Network.—
(1) Establishment.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a National Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to coordinate stress assistance programs on a national scale for affected individuals
(2) Director.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall appoint an individual in the Department of Agriculture to be the Director of the national network.

(c) Authorization Of Appropriations
1. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, to carry out activities through the national network and State networks, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
 
SECTION 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report.—
(1) In General.—One year after the enactment of this act, a report describing the state of behavioral and mental health in farmers and ranchers shall be submitted to Congress, and made publicly available.
(2) Contents of Report.—The report under paragraph (1) shall include—
 (A) an assessment of efforts made to support the mental health of farmers and ranchers by the federal, state, entities of local government, and communities that are comprised of farmers and ranchers
 (B) a description of challenges faced by farmers and ranchers, including financial, medical, and other challenges, that may impact the mental health of farmers and ranchers
 (C) an evaluation of the impact of farmer and rancher suicides on the agricultural workforce, production, and rural families

Introducing this on behalf of Representative MB, as the Senate queue seems to be emptier and moving more quickly

[Former President tack50]

Air Travel Bill of Rights

A bill to establish the rights of passengers in the cases of several flight incidents

SECTION 1. APPLICABILITY
1. This bill shall establish the rights of passengers and the duties of airlines in case of:
a) Flight delays
b) Flight cancellations
c) Overbooking and boarding denials
d) Unwillful class upgrades and downgrades
e) Lost, damaged or delayed luggage
2. The regulations established by this act shall apply:
a) All domestic flights within the Republic of Atlasia
b) All international flights departing from the Republic of Atlasia
c) All international flights arriving to the Republic of Atlasia and flown by an Atlasian airline
3. The regulations established by this act shall not apply to passengers who did not check in on time to their flight

SECTION II. FLIGHT RIGHTS
1. The right to assistance shall be defined as the right for passengers to be provided by airlines:
a) Adequate food and drink vouchers
b) A stay at a hotel and transportation to and from said hotel and the airport, if the flight won't depart until the following day
2. The right to economic compensation shall be defined as the right for passengers to demand, and the duty of airlines to pay within 7 days to passengers:
a) 250$ for flights shorter than 900 miles
b) 400$ for flights between 900 and 1900 miles
c) 600$ for flights longer than 1900 miles
3. The right to reimbursement or re-routing shall be defined as the right of passengers to demand to airlines a choice between:
a) Reimbursment of their flight tickets, and if applicable, a return flight to the airport of departure
b) Re-routing to their final destination at the earliest opportunity

SECTION III. FLIGHT DELAYS
1. Air passengers shall be granted the right to assistance as specified in Section II.1 by airlines if their flight is delayed by at least:
a) 2 hours, in cases of a flight distance shorter than 900 miles
b) 3 hours, in cases of a flight distance of between 900 miles and 1900 miles
c) 4 hours, in cases of a flight distance of at least 1901 miles
2. Passengers shall also receive the right to economic compensation as specified in Section II.2 if their arrival at their final destination at least 3 hours after their initial scheduled arrival time:
3. Section III.2 shall not apply if the delay is caused by extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances.
4. Passengers shall also be given the right to a full reimbursement of their flight costs instead if the delay is of at least 5 hours.

SECTION IV. FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS
1. A flight cancellation shall be defined as:
a) Whenever the original flight is abandoned and passengers are transferred to another scheduled flight
b) Whenever the aircraft takes off but was forced to return to the airport of departure and passengers are transferred to another flight
c) Whenever the flight arrives at an airport which is not the final destination indicated in the passenger's ticket, unless said airport also serves the same city
2. In the case of a flight cancellation, passengers shall be granted the right to reimbursement or re-routing as specified in Section II.3
3. Passengers shall also get the right to assistance as specified in Section II.1
4. Passengers shall also get the right to the compensation specified in Section II.2, unless they were informed at least 14 days before the departure of the flight or the flight was cancelled due to extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances

SECTION V. OVERBOOKING AND BOARDING DENIALS
1. Passengers who are denied boarding shall have the following rights:
a) Economic compensation as specified in Section II.3
b) The right to choose between reimbursement or re-routing as specified in Section II.2
c) The right to assistance as specified in Section II.1
2. Section V.1 shall not apply if passengers are denied boarding for the following reasons:
a) Safety, security or health reasons
b) Not having the correct travel documents

SECTION VI. UNWILLFUL CLASS UPGRADES AND DOWNGRADES
1. Passengers who are upgraded against their will can't be requested any additional payments by airlines
2. Passengers who are downgraded against their will shall have the right to reimbursement of a percentage of the price of their ticket as follows:
a) 30% for flights shorter than 900 miles
b) 50% for flights between 900 and 1900 miles
c) 75% for flights longer than 1900 miles
3. Passengers on connecting flights can only be reimbursed for the flight which was downgraded and not for the entire journey.

SECTION VII. LOST, DAMAGED OR DELAYED LUGAGE
1. If a passenger's checked-in luggage is lost, damaged or delayed, the airline is liable and the passenger shall be entitled to compensation up to 1300$.
2. If a passenger's flight is a departure flight starting at an airport closer to their home than their arrival airport, airlines may instead provide compensation of 50$ per day and per passenger whose luggage got lost; until:
a) Said luggage is returned to the passenger,
b) The airline gives up on finding the luggage, at which point passengers may apply to the right to luggage compensation specified in Section VII.1
c) 15 days from the departure of the flight have passed.

SECTION VIII. ENACTMENT
1. This bill shall become enacted immediately after passage

[Former President tack50]

Congressional Resolution On Brexit
To make an statement regarding the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

WHEREAS, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is set to leave the European Union on October 31st, 2019 if no further extensions are given

WHEREAS, the Atlasian-United Kingdom Common Market Agreement has been extremely beneficial to both nations

WHEREAS, some parts of said agreement will not come into effect until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union

WHEREAS, most economists and experts predict that a disorderly withdrawal without a deal will be damaging to the UK, the EU and the entire world economy

RESOLVED, that the office of the Secretary of State shall analyze the possible consequences of a no deal Brexit for Atlasia, in order to adopt measures that will reduce the negative impacts of said disorderly exit

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Republic of Atlasia formally recommends the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to reach a deal on an orderly Brexit procedure

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Republic of Atlasia is fully commited to strengthening its relations with the United Kingdom and developing deeper ties between both nations, as specified by the Atlasian-United Kingdom Common Market Agreement

[Former President tack50]

SENATE RESOLUTION
to support the Registrar General of Atlasia in her actions in office

Section 1. Title
1. This resolution shall be referred to as "Resolution to support Registrar General Peebs"

Section 2. The resolution

WHEREAS, the Registrar General of Atlasia, Peebs, has been sued in court over her impartiality in office

WHEREAS, Congress does not find the actions of Registrar General to have been done in an unjust way or under a double standard

It is therefore RESOLVED, that Congress formally recommends Registrar General Peebs to stay in her position and retained as Registrar General

FURTHER RESOLVED, that Congress finds petitioner Ben Kenobi formulated his request to the court in a deliberately mean and discriminatory way to annoy the Registrar General

[Former President tack50]

Real Life Protections Criminal Code Reform Act

SENATE BILL

To protect the right of Atlasian players to have their personal real life identities kept secret

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled,

Section I: Title

1. This Act may be cited as the "Real Life Protections Criminal Code Reform Act".

Section II: The Amendment

1. Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act of 2016 is amended as follows:

i. The following shall be crimes against Atlasia:
(a) Impersonation. This offense shall be defined as the impersonation of another Atlas Forum member, be they a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia or not, within the territory of the Republic of Atlasia.
(b) Identity Theft. This offence shall be defined as the illicit taking of control by any means of another Atlas Forum member's person account, be they a citizen of the republic or not, without explicit and provable consent.
(c) Voter Fraud. This offence shall be defined as the creation of identities other than a citizen's primary identity in the Republic of Atlasia and subsequently entering this identity into the tally of registered voters.
1. If a citizen no longer has access to their previous forum account and wishes to register with a new forum account in Atlasia, then they shall be allowed to do so legally only if they make it clear in the registration thread who they are and which forum account they previously registered under so that the Secretary of Federal Elections may appropriately update the registration without having any duplicate accounts on the voter roll.
2. This shall exclude those who have had their previous account banned from the Atlas Forum.
(d) Electoral Fraud. This offence shall be defined as the manipulation of of the republic's electoral procedures and practices with the aim of fraudulently altering the results of a specific electoral contest.
(e) Obscenity. This offence shall be defined as the posting of any threads, messages, images, videos, links or other media of a pornographic or sexually explicit nature on the territory of the Republic of Atlasia. In cases where the material posted is of a clearly pornographic nature, the offence shall be known as Gross Obscenity.
(f) Electoral Intimidation. This offence shall be defined as the placing of undue pressure on a citizen of the Republic to cast a ballot in a particular way, to not cast a ballot at all, or to invalidate a ballot already cast via direct threats of revenge, blackmail, or retribution. In those cases in which undue pressure has been applied in the form of credible threats to disclose personal information, the offence shall be known as Grievous Electoral Intimidation.

(g) Ballot Tampering. This offense shall be defined as the deletion of a ballot during a period between vote was closed and elected officeholders sworn-in, soliciting to delete a ballot during the same period or deleting a ballot within the election period after 20 minutes of the vote being cast and re-voting within the election period.
(h) Misconduct in Public Office. This offence shall be defined as the abuse of office for provable personal gain by cabinet officials or deputy cabinet officials.
(i) Perjury. This offence shall be defined as "any person who takes an oath before a competent tribunal or officer that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, wilfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true."
(j) Breach of the Peace. This offence shall be defined as the wilful undertaking of activities that though not treasonous nevertheless undermine the stability and security of the Republic of Atlasia.
(k) Malicious Editing of the Wiki. This offence shall be defined as the editing of the Atlasia Wiki with malicious intent.
(l) Improper Behaviour on the Wiki. This offence shall be defined as the knowing violation or flagrant disregard of standards and guidelines for the Atlasia Wiki established by the National Archivist.
(m) Contempt of Court. See Section 5, clause iii of this Act.
(n) Terrorism. This offense shall be defined as the malacious deletion or destruction of threads housing government institutions, voting booths, or the legislation threads of any legislative body in Atlasia.
(o) Doxxing. This offense shall be defined as the disclosal of the personal information of any user of the Atlas Forum against their will by a citizen of Atlasia.
(p) Blackmail. This offense shall be defined as the threat to disclose personal information about a user of the Atlas Forum, for political or personal gain.

ii. In those cases in which a Crime Against Atlasia has been attempted unsuccessfully, it shall nevertheless be possible to charge a citizen with the offense that they unsuccessfully attempted to commit. In such cases the official record of the charge shall be prefaced with 'Attempted', but no other alterations to procedure shall be made. This applies to all Crimes Against Atlasia with the exception of Obscenity (including Gross Obscenity), Misconduct in Public Office, Perjury, and Contempt of Court.

iii. In those cases in which the perpetrator of a Crime Against Atlasia has been instructed, commissioned, mandated, or otherwise aided by other persons in the planning or execution of the offence in question, then those persons may also be charged with the offence that they conspired to commit. In such cases the record of the charge shall be prefaced with Conspiracy to Commit, but no other alterations to procedure shall be made. It shall not be necessary to charge an individual with a specific Crime Against Atlasia in order to charge other persons in this manner.

Section III: Implementation

1. This bill shall become effective immediatly after passage

2. No provisions of this amendment to the Criminal Justice Act of 2016 shall be applied retroactively.

[Former President tack50]

Atlasia says Trans Rights Act

SENATE BILL

To strengthen trans rights and fund their required treatment

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled,

SECTION I. Definitions
1. A person known as Transgender shall be defined as someone with a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth.
2. A person known as Cisgender shall be defined as someone with a gender identity or gender expression that coincides with their sex assigned at birth.

SECTION II. The Cis Tax
1. All cisgender Atlasians shall be taxed an additional 2 cents a year.
2. The funds raised by this tax shall be used to cover treatments for transgender people, including but not limited to hormone therapy

SECTION III. Further protecting Trans rights
1. No federal government agency shall discriminate against any Atlasian because of their sexual orientation or self identification.
2. Transgender Atlasians will not be denied housing, employment, etc. based on their self identified gender or status as transgender Atlasians.
3. Treatments for transgender Atlasians as prescribed by a certified psychologist shall be covered by AtlasCare, as defined in Section 2 of the Reforming and Regionalizing Public Healthcare Act of 2017

SECTION IV. Enactment
1. This bill shall become enacted immediately after passage

Decided to finally introduce to Congress Peebs' infamous proposal. While I still think it's unconstitutional and unenforceable (in fact her second proposal was 100% unenforceable, that's why I introduced her original proposal of a flat 2 cent tax), I guess we also need to give the justices something to do; and it's not like I'm going to be in the Senate by the time this passes, so others can pass it for me (it would be weird to sue for a bill you drafted)

Plus Section III should be fine I guess.

[Former President tack50]

Bob the House Builder Act

SENATE BILL

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

SECTION I: Name
1. This bill may be cited as the Bob the House Builder Act

SECTION II: Bob
1. A new federal agency, called the Budget Organization for Buildings, or BOB for short, shall be created.
2. The purpose of this federal agency shall be the construction of affordable housing in the most expensive housing markets in the Republic of Atlasia
3. BOB shall cease to opperate if a housing oversupply happens, though it will still collect revenue from its tenants

SECTION III: Its mission
1. BOB shall construct mixed use appartment buildings with funds provided by the federal government. These appartment buildings shall have their ground floor dedicated for commercial use and any floors further up. These appartments shall follow relatively standardized blueprints and shall be designed to be cheap but of a livable standard.
2. No building built by BOB shall have less than 5 stories or housing for less than 16 families.
3. BOB shall construct its buildings in areas suitable for construction located in areas that are desirable by prospective dwellers.

SECTION IV: NIMBY destruction
1. Federal, state and local building regulations intended to discourage the building of affordable housing or other dense housing compositions shall not apply to buildings constructed by BOB. These include but are not limited to zoning regulations, maximum height regulations or parking minimums, among others.
2. Buildings constructed by BOB still shall follow local, state and federal safety and sanitation regulations, including but not limited to building codes, safety codes or requirements for public sanitation, water supplies or electricity
3. Local administrations that have building and zoning regulations determined as unnecessarily sparse or otherwise discouraging construction, as determined by the department of the federal government responsible for internal policy, shall have 20% of their federal funds withheld, and shall pay 3% of their yearly revenue to the federal government
4. Section IV.2 shall only apply to housing markets that have an average housing or rental price 150% above the national average.

SECTION V: Targets
1. 70% of buildings built by BOB shall be built on the top 15 most expensive housing markets, and a further 20% shall be built on the next 30 most expensive housing markets.
2. 35% of buildings built by BOB shall be destined to social housing as determined by the regions, and rented at a flat price of 100$ a month (adjusted for inflation). The remaining 65% shall be destined to affordable but general housing, and shall be rented at a price determined by the federal department responsible for internal policy, but this price shall be no higher than 66% of the average housing price in the relevant market; or no higher than 1000$ a month (adjusted for inflation)
3. 5% of buildings built by BOB shall be rented on a room by room basis. 95% of buildings shall be rented on a whole apartment basis.
4. People renting whole appartments from BOB shall have the option to buy them for 1$ once they have paid BOB 115% of the original construction costs of the building, divided by the number of appartments in the building (adjusted for inflation).

SECTION VI: Funding
1. BOB shall be treated like a public corporation. Therefore while profits will not be its objective, a majority of its revenue shall be reinvested into the company, unless the department responsible for internal policy declares the housing shortages over.
2. BOB's opperations shall be funded by a federal property tax of 0.1%
3. BOB shall be given an initial budget for construction of 1 billion dollars.

SECTION VII: Timing
1. This bill shall become enacted immediately after passage
2. BOB shall begin operations 3 months after the passage of this bill.

A bill I have written to try and get more housing built in order to combat the various housing crisis. I am not sure if it is particularly well written but oh well. Honestly I tried looking into what housing regulations harm the building of dense appartment complexes, to just build them to get housing prices to go down. I would have preferred specific regulations repeal but I guess this is the next best thing.

Oh well, I hope the bill gets debated in Congress and thoroughly revised if it isn't written good enough.

Edit: withdrawing the bill as I don't think it is good enough. I might repost a redrafted version at another time

[Former President tack50]

Resolution for the Atlasian Congress to put more effort into fighting climate change

SENATE RESOLUTION

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1: Recognizing the severity of climate change

WHEREAS, the continuous growth of maximum temperatures, heat waves, droughts and the rise in extreme weather events in general are undenyable evidence of the effects of climate change

WHEREAS, the IPCC confirms these findings and predicts a rise of up to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2052 if greenhouse gas emissions remain at their current rate; not allowing for the global objective of a maximum rise of temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100

WHEREAS, a temperature rise higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius increases the risks and effects of climate change exponencially and is associated with permanent and irreversible changes in the planet

WHEREAS, a fast and deep reaching transformation and transition is needed worldwide and in the Republic of Atlasia to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Atlasian federal government; including Congress, the president and the cabinet; shall have future ambitions and work towards reducing the public and private resistance towards measures to fight climate change; in particular climate change denialism

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Atlasian Congress regognizes the reality and severity of human caused global warming and will support such actions and manifestations directed to fighting the causes of climate change and against those actions and manifestations that deny the reality of climate change

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Atlasian Congress urges the President to work into implementing a climate change directive that will attempt to decarbonize the Atlasian economy by 2050 while still maintaining the current amount of jobs and ensuring a transition in vulnerable sectors

SECTION 2: Ratifying the Paris Agreement

WHEREAS, the Paris Agreement on climate change were signed by all nations of the world in April 2016

WHEREAS, President Blair signed the Paris Agreements on behalf of the Republic of Atlasia

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Atlasian Congress formally ratifies the Paris Agreements on Climate Change; as it is empowered by Article IV; Section 2 of the Atlasian Constitution

FURTHER RESOLVED, that Executive order 40-008; referred to as Executive order 40-013 in the Atlasia Wiki; shall be given the same status for juridical purposes as any other bill or treaty passed and ratified by the Atlasian Congress

Notes for when this gets to the Senate floor:

This is based on a RL resolution here; the "Non law proposition relative to the compromise on the support against climate change. God I hate RL legalese

I know borrowing bills from RL is lazy and I have been very guilty of doing so lately though this one is simple enough that we should all understand it, it's not a super complicated resolution.

I also added a section to actually ratify the Paris Agreements and put them into statute. Blair signed the agreements all the way back when he was president, but I don't think that counts as a formal ratification. In any case this should do it as I do not think his executive order is getting rescinded by Pericles any time soon.

[Former President tack50]

AN AMENDMENT
to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Amendment shall be, the “Kansas-Nebraska go together Amendment.” It may be cited by its ordinal number in order of ratification.

Section 2 (Kansas-Nebraska go together Amendment)
i. The state of Kansas is hereby removed from the jurisdiction of the Southern Region and incorporated as a state into the region of Frémont

ii. To that effect, Article II, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The several states of this Republic shall be apportioned among three contiguous, autonomous Regions.

2. The northern Region shall consist of the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

3. The southern Region shall consist of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

4. The western Region shall consist of the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

5. Each Region shall have the sole authority to designate its title, and the titles of the officers of its government, such as they will be recognized by the Republic of Atlasia in all official acts and processes.

This amendment will fix the illogical placement of Kansas as part of the Southern Region and place it into the Fremont region for which it is a much better fit culturally and geographically

I actually wasn't planning on introducing this, but given how Thumb took my meme amendment guess I will actually introduce a serious version in order to fulfill Truman's big dream

[Former President tack50]

Permanent Punishment Abolition Act

SENATE BILL

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

SECTION I: NAME

1. This may be cited as the Permanent Punishment Abolition Act

SECTION II: ABOLITION OF PERMANENT PUNISHMENTS

1. No federal crimes punishable according to federal laws may carry an indefinite or otherwise permanent sentence of prison
2. No federal crimes punishable according to federal laws may carry a prison sentence longer than 40 years in prison.
3. Judges may deny a prisoner's right to exit prison under parole if they find probable cause that the prisoner will make crimes again or will otherwise break his parole terms if released.
4. Prisoners over the age of 75 shall be given the option to finish the remainder of their sentence under home arrest instead of in prison. This shall not apply to prisoners convicted of terrorism or belonging to other illegal organizations; including but not limited to mafias and criminal gangs.

SECTION III: FURTHER ENCOURAGING BETTER USE OF PRISON SENTENCES
1. The Atlasian Congress herby encourages the regions to pass similar bills to this one for the reduction of prison sentences.
2. The Atlasian Congress hereby establishes that the main guiding principle of the justice system shall be rehabilitation and not punishment, and that all prisoners shall be given the support they need towards their reintegration in society after their prison sentences expire.

SECTION IV: ENACTMENT
1. This bill shall be enacted 1 week after passage

[Former President tack50]

Videogames Ratings Restructuring Act

SENATE BILL

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

SECTION I: NAME
1. This bill may be cited as the Video Game Ratings Restructuring Act

SECTION II: DEFINITIONS AND FINDINGS
1. Lootbox shall be defined as a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomized selection of further virtual items, usually found as part of certain video games
2. Digital video game purchase shall be defined as the purchasing of a video game or other downloadable content, or unlock or the purchase of virtual video game currency digitally through the internet.
3. The Atlasian Congress finds that loot boxes are the video game equivalent to gambling, and therefore should be regulated accordingly
4. The Atlasian Congress finds that digital video game purchases are usually not clearly marked and actively try to mislead consumers, which leads to children making large purchases they never intended to do if they knew the real value of what they were doing

SECTION III: REGULATING LOOTBOXES
1. Any video games that contain loot boxes that can be bought with real life currency shall be considered as gambling devices, and therefore shall follow the appropiate federal and regional regulations on gambling.
2. Any video games that contain loot boxes may not be sold to people under 18 years of age.
3. Any video games that contain loot boxes shall carry the highest ESRB rating, and shall carry a "gambling (loot boxes)" content descriptor
4. Any digital video game purchases with real life currency shall be clearly marked and shall require the manual introduction of a credit card number and a password for every instance an item is purchased.

SECTION IV: REORGANIZING ESRB RATINGS

The ratings from the Entertainment Software Rating Board shall be reorganized as follows:

1. The Rating Pending (RP), Everyone (E) Everyone 10+ (E10+) and Teen (T) ratings are kept as they exist presently
2. The Mature (M) and Adults Only (AO) ratings shall be abolished
3. A new rating called Grown-Up (G-Up) shall be created to be applied when the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence, apparently motiveless killing, or violence towards defenseless characters. The glamorization of the use of illegal drugs, explicit sexual activity and strong language should also fall into this age category.
4. The content descriptors as well as the ratings implementation shall be kept as they exist presently

SECTION V: ENACTMENT
1. This bill shall be enacted 2 weeks after passage
2. Physically distributed video games which have been already printed, manufactured and/or shipped as of the passage of this bill may still be legally sold under the previously standing regulations.

[Former President tack50]

A RESOLUTION
To clarify the name of this fictional Republic after the change in domain names

Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

1. This resolution may be cited as the "Name clarification Resolution of 2020"

2. Congress finds that the Atlas forum, which has hosted the Republic of Atlasia since 2004, has been renamed to the Talk Elections forum

3. IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that unless the moderators and administrators of the Talk Elections forum instruct otherwise, the Republic of Atlasia shall keep its current name and flag.

4. FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the moderators and administrators instruct the Republic of Atlasia to change its name, the president may nominate a new temporary name via executive order; that shall be legally equal to the current name of "Republic of Atlasia", and shall be the name used in all acts and resolutions until Congress passes legislation and the Constitution is amended in such a way as to remove the references to the old Atlas forum.

5. FURTHER RESOLVED, that the name "Republic of Atlasia" and any of its derivatives shall be considered equally valid from a legal standpoint to any future name of this Republic

[/quote]

Here is a resolution to try and clarify that unless Virginia tells us otherwise, the name "Republic of Atlasia" is here to stay. Points 4 and 5 could use a bit more fine tuning but that is what Congressional debates are for

[Former President tack50]

A BILL
To get rid of small denominations in Atlasian currency

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Eliminating small Dollar denominations Act.

Section 2. Eliminating small dollar denominations

1. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; the Atlasian Mint shall not produce any more Pennies or coins that are worth 1 Atlasian cent (1% of one Atlasian Dollar); or any other sort of coin worth less than a Nickel (5 Atlasian cents, or 5% of an Atlasian Dollar).

2. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; the Bureau of Engraving and Printing may not print any bill that is worth less than 5 Atlasian dollars (500% of one Atlasian Dollar); including but not limited to 1 and 2$ bills.

3. Prices may still be displayed by stores and other sellers though 2 full decimal places.

4. If a consumer is paying with a credit card, cheque or other form of payment where the exact amount can be paid; the seller must deduct the exact amount the buyer owes. If the consumer is paying with cash, the transaction's final price shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.

Section 3. Amending old legislation

1. Section II.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows:

  a. Penny - shall be worth 1¢ (or equivalent 1% of the $1 dollar bill).
        a. Nickel - shall be worth 5¢ (or equivalent 5% of $1 dollar).
        b. Dime - shall be worth 10¢ (or equivalent 10% of $1 dollar).
        c. Quarter - shall be worth 25¢ (or equivalent 25% of $1 dollar).
        d. Dollar - shall be worth 1$ (or equivalent 100% of 1$ dollar)
        e. Two Dollar - shall be worth 2$ (or equivalent 200% of 1$ dollar)

2. Section III.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows

a. $1 bill
        a. $5 bill
        b. $10 bill
        c. $20 bill
        d. $50 bill
        e. $100 bill
        f. $200 bill

Section 4. Enactment

1. This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage
2. Old coins and bill shall remain legal tender until December 31st, 2023
3. After December 31st, 2023; all legal tender minted before said date shall be able to be exchanged for its equivalent legal tender minted after said date at bureaux de change. However, 1 cent coins must be exchanged in full multiples of 5 with no rounding.

[Former President tack50]

A BILL
To stop the proliferation of dangerous presicription drug ads

Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1: Name
1. This bill may be cited as the "No ads for Prescription Drugs Act"

Section 2: The Drug Ad ban
1. Starting on July 1st, 2020; the advertising of drugs for human consumption in media intended for the general public may only be allowed for drugs that fulfill all of the following requirements:

a) Are designed and conceived for their usage without the intervention of a doctor that performs their prescription and diagnostic
b) Do not constitute psychotropic substances in accordance to international treaties

2. All other forms of drug advertising intended for usage by sanitary professionals, in particular the advertising of prescription drugs, is hereby banned in the Republic of Atlasia.

3. This ban shall not apply for professional magazines intended targeted towards doctors, scientists or other healthcare professionals. Companies wanting to advertise in these publications shall obtain a binding report from the office of the Attorney General.

Section 3: The ads themselves

1. Advertisements that do comply with the requirements established in Section 2.1 must follow the following guidelines about their messages:

a) The advertising nature of the message must be clear and it must be clearly specified that the product in question is a drug
b) The scientific denomination(s) of the drug in question shall be included in the advertisement
c) All information necessary for the correct usage of the drug, as well as an invitation to read the drug's instructions shall be provided in the advertisement
d) Advertisements must not include expressions that provide certainty of healing or testimony about the product's virtues from professionals or people whose notoriety could induce to consumption
e) Advertisements must not use as an argument the fact that they have obtained a sanitary authorization in a foreign country, nor any other sort of sanitary authorization or certification that is mandatory by law
f) Adverstisements in audiovisual media must comply with the guidelines for accessibility for disabled people covered in the relevant guidelines for government publicity

2. Contests, raffles, bonifications and similar methods are banned to be used as linked to the advertisement of drugs

Section 4. Enactment
1. This bill shall be enacted immediately after passage

Note for self: Modeled after Article 80 of the RDL 1/2015