Senate Legislation Introduction Thread

[Pyro]

The ACE Act

A BILL

To encourage the growth of worker-owned enterprises

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

Section I: Recognition

1. We, the elected representatives of Atlasia, recognize that the working class first and foremost generates the wealth that propels our society forward. We stand alongside all laborers in the pursuit of economic justice.

2. In recognition that worker-owned and cooperative enterprises constitute the best possible arrangement for the workers of Atlasia, we resolve to encourage the growth of these organizations above for-profit corporate enterprise.

Section II: Definitions

1. Cooperative: A cooperative, or co-op, is a type of business or organization that is both controlled and owned by its members, who may also utilize the goods and services of the cooperative.

2. Worker-Owned Enterprise: Also known as an employee-owned enterprise (EO), this is a company in which the workers have a stake in ownership and/or may be 100% owned and operated by said workers.

Section III: ACE

1. The Agency of Cooperative Enterprises, or ACE, is established.

  a. This shall be an agency of the Federal Government of Atlasia stationed with the task to assist in the economic viability, recovery and persistence of cooperative and worker-owned enterprises. It shall aid, counsel and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of cooperative and worker-owned enterprise concerns.

  b. The agency shall be led by an Administrator and Deputy Administrator as appointed by the President.

    i. Administrative Associates shall be appointed by the Administrator.

2. The Administrator shall lead an agency-wide research effort within the first 120 days of this act's passage to

  a. Consider opportunities for relevant existing federal programs to support the growth of cooperative and employee-owned enterprises.

  b. Develop relationships with relevant existing federal agencies, included yet not limited to the Small Business Administration and Minority Business Development Agency, with the purpose to foster the development of cooperative and employee-owned enterprises.

  c. Publish an indexed report on its findings for public access.

3. ACE shall establish the EO Project.

   a. This shall be a directive, as led by the Administrator, to invest in the gradual process of transitioning existing small businesses to cooperative and employee-owned enterprises.

   b. ACE shall establish an EO Transition Promotion Program to offer educational resources, training, and assistance to qualified small businesses.

4. ACE shall be empowered to provide loans to cooperative and worker-owned enterprises.

  a. The Administrator shall have the authority to direct and conduct oversight for the methods by which lenders determine the details of the business loan.
   
    i. The Administrator may not guarantee a loan if the lender determines that the borrower

    ii. The Administrator must verify the applicant's criminal background, or lack thereof, through the best available means.

    iii. No loans shall be made if the total amount outstanding would exceed $5 million.

  b. The Administrator shall oversee a Loan Guarantee Program.

   i. The Loan Guarantee Program shall provide capital to cooperative and worker-owned enterprises to help start or expand their businesses.

   ii. Loans issues through this program shall not exceed $5 million.

  c. The Administrator shall oversee a Disaster Loan Program.

   i. The Disaster Loan Program shall provide zero-interest loans to cooperative and worker-owned enterprises to help repair or rebuild damaged property to its condition pre-disaster.

   ii. Loans issues through this program shall not exceed $5 million.

  d. The Administrator shall oversee a Microloan Program.

   i. The Microloan Program shall provide direct loans to cooperative and worker-owned enterprises with a total net worth below $5 million.

   ii. Loans issues through this program shall not exceed $50,000.

Section IV: Appropriations

1. The Agency of Cooperative Enterprises shall receive an annual fiscal budget of $1,000,000,000.

Section V: Enactment

1. This act takes effect on November 1st, 2020.

[Pyro]

Public Sector Union Endurance Act

SENATE BILL

To protect collective bargaining for public sector workers

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

Section I.

1. This Act may be cited as the "Public Sector Union Endurance Act".

Section II.

1. In the Atlasian public sector, workers can be required to pay the documented costs of labor contract arbitration, handling and management.

  a. In the case that a worker objects to this requirement, a neutral negotiator shall be appointed to research the case and thereby deliver a conclusive, binding verdict as to the congruity of the assessed fees.

Section III.

1. This act takes effect on January 1st, 2020.

[Pyro]

The Black Hills Reclamation Act

SENATE BILL

To recognize an historical pact and seek a cordial conclusion

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

Section I: Title

1. This Act may be cited as the "The Black Hills Reclamation Act".

Section II: Resolution

1. Recognizing:

  a. The historical annexation of native lands, the violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, and the desecration of the sacred Black Hills mountain range by the Republic of Atlasia were unjustified acts of barbarism.

2. We Resolve:

  a. To conduct a peaceful and permanent arrangement with the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota people on the basis of mutual friendship and self-determination.

Section III: The Objective

1. The Atlasia Senate Committee on Indian Affairs shall oversee an initiative to gradually return territory once belonging to the Great Sioux Reservation back to the Sioux in the form of a newly constituted reservation.

  a. This shall total 7.25 million acres of land encompassing the Black Hills, the Cheyenne River, Standing Rock, Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Badlands N.P., Western Crow Creek, and Lower Brule.
 
     i. Of this, the Sioux shall receive direct ownership and title over 1.2 million acres of federal land. In the remaining land designated to the reservation, residents of the State of South Dakota shall retain ownership over their property.  

  b. All lands directly owned by the Sioux shall be exempt from local, state and federal taxation.

  c. The Sioux shall attain complete mineral and water rights to all directly owned territory.

2. The Committee shall consult with leaders and representatives of the Sioux and thereby determine the steps most necessary and suitable with all present-day conditions in mind.

3. Upon passage of this legislation, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Park shall be closed to the public.

Section IV: Effective Date

1. This act takes effect on November 28th, 2019.

[Pyro]

Worker Protection Supplement Act

SENATE BILL

To strengthen workers' rights and federal protections in existing legislation

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

Section I: Title

1. This act may be cited as the "Worker Protection Supplement Act".

Section II: Amendments

1. Section II of the Woke Worker Protection Act is amended as follows:
 

1. Any employer subject to regulation under the Fair Labor Standards Act shall be responsible for ensuring that areas provided to employees to express breast milk shall be kept sanitary. No prison or jail employer shall prohibit employees from possessing a breast pump within their workspace. 29 USC 207(r)(1)(B) shall be amended accordingly.

2. Any employer subject to regulation under the Fair Labor Standards Act that pays an hourly wage and calls-in employees to work partial shifts on an unscheduled day shall guarantee either a minimum shift of four (4) paid hours or an elevated a wage rate equivalent to four (4) eight hours wages for the time worked. 29 USC 207 and 29 CFR 778 shall be amended accordingly.

  a. Employers may not terminate or otherwise penalize an employee due to unwillingness or inability to work unscheduled days.

  b. Employers may not terminate or otherwise penalize an employee due to unwillingness or inability to work partial shifts.

3. No federal employer, private employer contracting with the federal government, public employer receiving federal funds, or private employer in interstate commerce shall be permitted to deduct contributions to a third-party from employee paychecks, excluding worker associations and labor unions, without the affirmative consent of the employee or any equitable remedy including but not limited to garnishment awarded by a federal, Regional, or State court with appropriate jurisdiction.

4. The regulation mandating employers give out private employee contact information is hereby eliminated. 29 CFR 102.62(d) shall be amended accordingly.

5. Eligible whistleblowers to the SEC shall be permitted to keep up to 30% of resulting fines exceeding $1 Million dollars. 15 USC 78u-6 shall be amended accordingly.

2. Section III of the Woke Worker Protection Act is amended as follows:

1. The regulation requiring employers to physically display posters referencing federal minimum wage and hour laws, workplace safety laws, polygraph protection laws, Drug free workplace laws, Discrimination laws, and whistleblower protection laws, shall not apply to employers who:
     a. Distribute all information that is contained on the posters to each employee upon their initial hiring
     b. Maintains a website displaying all information that is contained on the posters
     c. Provides written notice to all employees whenever information contained on the posters is changed by law

1. Employers must ensure that information regarding federal minimum wage and hour laws, workplace safety laws, polygraph protection laws, drug free workplace laws, discrimination laws, and whistle blower protection laws is easily accessible to all employees.

  a. All employers must:

     i.  Physically display posters referencing the above information.

     ii. Distribute the information referenced above to new hires.

     iii. Provide digital access to the above information.

     iv. Provide written notice to all employees whenever the above information is changed by law.

2. Employer policies allowing guns to be stored in locked cars on employee parking lots shall not be interpreted to violate the general duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Letter from Director Roger Clark, OSHA policy regarding violent employee behavior, OSHA Std. Interp. 1226 (D.O.L.), (1992) is hereby rescinded.

Section III: Effective Date

1. This bill shall become effective immediately upon passage.

[Pyro]

Reproductive Health Protection Act

Section I: Recognition

1. We recognize that reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion, is a core component of women's health, privacy and equality.

2. It is the solemn duty of Atlasia to protect the right of women to access safe and legal abortion services.

Section II: Abortion

1. A licensed or certified health care practitioner acting within his or her lawful scope of practice may perform an abortion when, according to the practitioner's reasonable and professional judgement, the patient is within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient's life or health.

Section III: Enactment

1. This act takes effect immediately upon receiving the President's signature.

[Pyro]

The Red-Green New Deal

SENATE BILL

To address climate change in Atlasia

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

Section I: Title

1. This Act may be cited as the "Red-Green New Deal" or "RGND".

Section II: Resolution

1. We Recognize:

  a. The seriousness and urgency associated with climate change must be met with swift action in order to ensure the continued welfare and prosperity of all Atlasians.

  b. Those at fault must be held accountable, and the industries polluting our environment must be eliminated.

  c. We must aim for a total phase-out of fossil fuels by 2035.

  d. We can spark a green revolution in Atlasia and become a focal point in a new age of industry and technology.

Section III: Extraction

1. Offshore drilling within 25 miles of the Atlasian coastline is hereby prohibited.

2. The use of hydraulic fracking in Atlasia is hereby prohibited.

3. The placing of new oil pipeline, other than for the use of repair or renovation of existing lines, is hereby prohibited.

  a. Any update, repair, or alteration to existing pipeline must comply with existing regulation and be reviewed by appropriate local and federal agencies.

Section IV: Utility Ownership

1. The Office of the Secretary of Internal Affairs shall be instructed to create a Social Energy Fund.

  a. The Fund shall receive an amount equivalent to gaining public control over the top twenty five largest publicly traded energy companies.

    i. "Public Control" is defined as at least 51% of total shares.

  b. The Fund shall offer to voluntarily purchase up to 51% of the total shares in the companies described in IV.1.a.
 
    i. With each offer, the Department of Internal Affairs shall release a statement declaring its aim to compulsorily purchase the shares required to acquire a majority within sixteen months.

  c. The Fund shall be chartered to utilize its stake in the companies described in IV.1.a to achieve the following.

    i. Compliance with international de-carbonization objectives.
    
    ii. The transition to an energy sector led by publicly owned renewable energy companies.
  
    iii. The gradual phase-out of fossil fuel extraction.

Section V: Public Works

1. The Office of the Secretary of Internal Affairs shall be instructed to create a New Public Works Administration

  a. The NPWA shall develop, administrate, maintain and oversee public building projects.

  b. The NPWA shall be led by the Secretary of Internal Affairs.

    i. Shall the position of Secretary of Internal Affairs be vacant, these duties shall fall to the President of Atlasia.

2. The Office of the Secretary of Internal Affairs may appoint a board of NPCs to assist in the development of NPWA projects.

3. NPWA projects shall include

    a. Steel and Auto Manufacturing

    b. Construction and Enginering

    c. Renewable Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Retrofitting

    d. Coding, Server Farms and Technological Development

    e. Sustainable Agriculture

    f. Civil Corps
 
    g. Finance and Information

    h. Statistics and Social Research

4. All NPWA projects shall provide workers with the following.

  a. Pay equivalent to 10% above a "living wage" determined by residency.

  b. Full membership in a labor union.

  c. Employment benefits delegated per project.

5. The NPWA shall seek to employ twenty million workers over a ten-year period.

6. The NPWA shall operate with an annual budget of $250 billion.

Section VI: Effective Date

1. This act takes effect on June 1st, 2020.