Southern Legislation Introduction Thread - 2019/2020

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
investing in our region’s community colleges and trade schools

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Earn While You Learn Act."
2. For the purposes of this Act, a “trade school” is an institution of post-secondary education within the Southern Region that provides its students a vocational education for a certain trade.
3. Unless stated otherwise, all forms of educational institutions mentioned in this Act shall only apply to public, and not private, institutions.

Section 2, FUNDING.
1. The government of the Southern Region shall allocate five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) from the regional budget per fiscal year that shall be used to fund this section.
2. The funds allocated in §2.1 of this Act shall be evenly dispersed among every community college and trade school in the Southern Region.
3. Funds shall be dispersed on the eleventh (11th) day of August every year to the schools mentioned in §2.2 of this Act.
4. Every year before the eleventh (11th) day of August, the Southern Department of Education shall come up with a list of trade schools in the South that can be funded.
5. Every public community college in the Southern Region shall automatically be included in regional funding. There will be no need to include a public community college on the list mentioned in §2.4 in order to receive funding.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. This bill shall take effect starting in FY2022.

For introduction at the start of the next session.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A CHAMBER RESOLUTION
referring to one of our states' usage of Confederate symbolism on its flag

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Resolution shall be, the "Vexillology On My Mind Resolution."

Section 2, RESOLUTION TEXT.

WHEREAS, the flag of the Confederate States of America’s government from November 28, 1861 to May 1, 1863, nicknamed the “Stars and Bars”, displays a blue canton with 13 stars alongside three horizontal stripes alternating red and white;

WHEREAS, the current flag of the state of Georgia is this exact design unchanged, with the exception of the state seal being charged in the middle of the canton;

WHEREAS, it is extremely inappropriate and distasteful for a state to bear such obvious Confederate symbolism on its flag in the 21st century;

WHEREAS, many African-Atlasians who live in Georgia are not comfortable with flying a flag of such checkered history;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CHAMBER OF DELEGATES:

1) Condemns the current state flag of Georgia for its blatant bigotry.

2) Desires to remove all instances of neo-Confederate symbolism from her states’ official symbolism, whether it be state seals, flags, or mottos.

3) Urges the state of Georgia to adopt a new flag that has absolutely no Confederate symbolism to speak of.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
allowing the Southern voter to cast a write-in vote using a sticker with candidate’s name on it

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND CLARIFICATIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Stick It To The Man Act."
2. This bill shall only apply to elections for offices with a write-in option.
3. This bill shall apply to all election precincts under the Southern Region’s authority, even if not for a regional office.

Section 2, TEXT.
1. On the write-in section of a paper ballot, the voter may affix a sticker on their ballot in said section indicating the candidate’s name.
2. If voting for a presidential ticket for president and vice president, this sticker may contain the names for both candidates on the ticket, although it is not required.
3. So long as the sticker is clearly legible, no vote counter in the Southern Region shall reject or delegitimize an election ballot on the sole basis of a write-in sticker being placed on it.
4. Due to the potential of causing paper jams or damage to election equipment, a precinct must place a clear warning on its ballot if votes are counted using ballot scanners.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. This legislation shall take effect for all elections starting on or after the first day of March in 2021.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
allowing the Southern voter to cast a write-in vote using a sticker with candidate’s name on it

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND CLARIFICATIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Local Voting System Reform Act."
2. This bill shall apply to elections for all offices in the Southern Region.
3. 'First past the post' refers to an electoral system in which a candidate is selected by achievement of a plurality of voters, with each voter getting exactly one vote per office.
4. A 'majority' of votes shall consist of at least 50% of total amount of remaining votes plus one.

Section 2, TEXT.
1. No election in the Southern Region shall be permitted to use the first past the post voting system.
2. §2.1 of this Act shall be null and void if the election in question contains only two candidates with no write-in option given.
3. Unless another voting system is explicitly chosen by state law that complies with regional law, each jurisdiction in the Southern Region, including state and city governments, that holds municipal elections shall be permitted to choose from one of three voting systems mentioned in §2.3a, §2.3b, and §2.3c of this Act to use when counting a certain election.
   a. Instant-runoff voting; Voters rank the listed candidates on the ballot in order of preference, starting at 1 and then counting up to whatever number they please. If no candidate attains a majority, the lowest-placing candidate shall have their votes redistributed among the remaining candidates. This cycle shall repeat until a candidate wins a majority of the vote, where the candidate in question wins.
   b. Approval voting; A list of candidates shall be provided to the voter. The voter in question may vote for any and all candidates that they approve of. Once the votes are tallied, whoever has the most votes of approval wins the election.
   c. Proportional representation; This voting system is to be used in legislative elections. Instead of candidates, the voter is given a list of parties. The voter shall cast their ballot for a party of their choice. Parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them. It is up to the party to decide who shall fill each seat.
4. If a state's legislature is bicameral, then they are permitted to have the upper house use proportional representation, but the lower house must elect the members of its chamber via local elections in representative districts.
5. This Act shall take effect immediately after final enactment, and all elections held after this Act's passage, even if still in campaigning season, shall be affected.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A CHAMBER RESOLUTION
criticizing a particular substandard Nintendo game

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Resolution shall be, the "Condemnation of Hotel Mario Resolution."

Section 2, RESOLUTION TEXT.

WHEREAS, Nintendo has made many good, objectively excellent games over the years,  and their games have generally met a playable standard, thus showing consistency that is the mark of a good gaming company;

WHEREAS, Nintendo has gone far since selling cards in the late 1800s, making itself a highly successful gaming company with assets and sales exceeding that of many, many companies in its line of business, both in Japan and all over the world;

WHEREAS, the Mario franchise stands as a testament to the fact that Nintendo is capable of good games, and its newest Mario Kart app is highly engaging, a worthy part of the multi-platform experience Japanese firms like to provide to their consumers;

WHEREAS, the worst Mario game ever, Hotel Mario, while doubtless made with the same dedication that characterizes other Nintendo games, is a sorry excuse for a Nintendo game, and not at all hewing to the standard expected from Nintendo;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CHAMBER OF DELEGATES:

1) Condemns Hotel Mario, a game released in 1994, for failure to reach the standard of excellence that is expected and delivered consistently from the Mario team and Nintendo generally.

2) Looks down on anyone who says that Hotel Mario was the best Nintendo game of all time. Don't you know that your actions have consequences? In general, the members of the Chamber of Delegates would rather play a three-dimensional platforming classic Sonic game over a badly made 1994 video game any day. Even Sonic Adventure 3 would be better.

3) Urges all fans of Hotel Mario to recognize the fact that it's very much an acquired taste, not suitable for everyone.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A CHAMBER RESOLUTION
supporting a recent executive order issued by the federal government

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Resolution shall be, the "Liberate Hong Kong Resolution."

Section 2, RESOLUTION TEXT.

WHEREAS, the people of Hong Kong have been brutally oppressed by the government of the People's Republic of China for the past two and a half decades;

WHEREAS, the human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government under CCP rule within her borders cannot be overstated;

WHEREAS, the President of the Atlasian Republic recently issued an executive order allowing citizens of Hong Kong to seek refuge within our country;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CHAMBER OF DELEGATES:

1) Officially supports Executive Order 008 of the MB Administration.

2) Condemns the Chinese Communist Party.

3) Commends President MB.

4) Encourages complete and total independence of Hong Kong from the People's Republic of China.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

AN ACT
amending the Southern Constitution to protect our region's canines

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "Greyhound Racing Amendment."

Section 2, AMENDMENT TEXT.
1. The Southern Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

i. No person or group authorized to conduct gaming or pari-mutuel operations within the Southern Region shall be permitted to race any member of the Canis Familiaris subspecies with connection to any wager for money or any other thing of value within the Southern Region or her states.
ii. No person or persons within the Southern Region shall wager, whether for money or any other thing of value within the Southern Region or her states, on the outcome of a live dog race occurring in this region.
iii. This amendment to the Southern Constitution shall take effect 365 days after ratification by the voters of the Southern Region.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A CHAMBER RESOLUTION
getting the record straight on which vegetables are better than others

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The title of this Resolution shall be, the "Pretty Obviously Penultimately ExcellentlY hEalthy Vegetables Resolution", or "POPEYE Vegetables Resolution" for short.

Section 2, RESOLUTION TEXT.

WHEREAS, broccoli is a good source of fibre and protein, and contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium, and spinach is also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C and folate;

WHEREAS, cauliflower is bland and not as good as broccoli or spinach;

WHEREAS, the color of our dollar bills, green, is the color of broccoli and spinach, and not cauliflower;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CHAMBER OF DELEGATES:

1) Officially considers broccoli and spinach to be superior to cauliflower.

2) Will express official support for broccoli and spinach to hold a daul, symbolically superior, position to cauliflower in the capitol building's cafeteria.

3) Encourages the consumption of alfredo spinach pizza and/or broccoli caserole, within healthy limits.

4) Commends Elzie Crisler Segar, posthumously, for having created Popeye and thus helping us more directly visualize the greatness of spinach.

5) Commends scientists who have, in past and present, shown dedication towards reseatching the health benefits of broccoli.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

I'm reintroducing this bill. It has been modified slightly since the last chamber

AN ACT
To support federal officers in enforcing our laws

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: "Enforcing Our Laws"
II. "Sanctuary cities" is defined as a city whose municipal laws protect illegal immigrants against deportation, prosecution, or cooperation with federal immigration authority.

Section 2: End Sanctuary Cities

I. Cities are not allowed to declare themselves as "Sanctuary Cities". They must comply with federal immigration enforcement.

Section 3: Religious Protection

I. Southern law enforcement will not carry out immigration arrests on property owned by religious groups.

Section 4: Immigration Statement

I. The southern chamber declares, "The south welcomes all immigrants who come to the south legally. Legal immigrants enrich our culture with their diverse perspectives and backgrounds".

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

AN ACT
to make Christmas wholesome again

Section 1: Naming and Definitions.

I. The name of this act shall be: Christmas Cheer Act

Section 2: Costumes

On Christmas, the following costumes will be worn in the chamber:
I. The Governor will wear a Santa costume
II. The southern speaker will wear an Elf costume
III. The southern delegates will wear a Reindeer costume
III. The southern deputy speaker will wear a Rudolph costume

Section 3: Christmas Card
I. A Christmas card of Benson will be sent to everyone in the South. The Christmas card will say, "Merry Christmas from the Benson family. We wish you the best during these trying times. The Coronavirus pandemic and economic recession has put a lot of stress on everyone. Let the people around you know that they are loved during the holidays, and may God and the South always be with you. Times may be Ruff, but we'll have a bone together when the dust is settled." - Benson

Section 4: Christmas Goodies

I. All "Happy Holidays" signs on government property will be changed to "Merry Christmas"
II. Carrots will have a 0% tax rate until March 1, 2021
III. Chocolate and hot chocolate will have a 0% tax rate until March 1, 2021
III. All elected officials of the Labor party who reside in the South will be sent coal in the mail.
IV. A $100,000 check will be written to the coal mine with the best Labor standards. Only coal mines that employ 50 employees or more are eligible to win this contest. The winning mine must send the southern government their highest quality coal possible.
V. All Elves employed in the south must be guaranteed $200 extra hazard pay until January 1, 2021
VI. All cable news networks will be required to run Holiday movies from 8 PM to 10 PM on the week of December 21 - December 25. It's time to take a break from the news.


Section 5: Funding

I. Labor party officeholders will send a $500 check from their salary to the Southern government to make up for their war on coal and Christmas

[tmthforu94]

Amendment to the Appointment Regulation Act

The Appointment Regulation Act is hereby amended to read:

Appointment Regulation Act

1. When filling a vacancy in the Southern Chamber of Delegates, the Governor shall select an eligible individual who is registered under the same party that the resigned, deregistered, or deceased incumbent was registered under at the time of their resignation, deregistration, or death.

2. If the resigned, deregistered, or deceased incumbent was registered as an independent, or if the party they were registered under has since been abolished, the governor may then select any eligible individual, regardless of party registration or lack thereof.

3. In all cases, the governor is encouraged to select someone of similar ideology to the incumbent.

4. In the event that the governor cannot find anyone from the appropriate party to take the seat, they then have the following options:
 a. They may appoint an eligible individual outside of the party, but this individual must be approved by a unanimous vote of the chamber before that individual can take office.
 b. In the event the Governor and the Chamber cannot settle on an appointment, the Governor may call a special election. The election shall occur on the following weekend and adhere to all regional election laws, but may not occur within 48 hours of the special election being called. If no appointment is made within 7 days of the vacancy arising, a special election shall automatically be called.

5. Once the appointed individual is sworn in, or once an election is called under 4b., the action is final and cannot be rescinded

[tmthforu94]

K9 Unit Reform Act

1)   The use of narcotics-detection dogs by Southern law enforcement agencies is hereby banned in the South. This does not prohibit other legal police activity involving dogs.

2)   Narcotics-detection dogs may be adopted by individuals trained to work with police dogs including but not limited to retired or former police officers and military officials.

3)   This legislation shall go into effect on July 1, 2021.

Inspired by: https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=190517.0

[tmthforu94]

Efficient Products Credit Act
1. Southerners may receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the product cost of energy efficient windows and doors. This credit shall be applied on their regional tax return.
2. For windows and skylights, this credit may not exceed $200 in a given year.
3. For doors, this credit may not exceed $500 in a given year.
4. Southerns may receive no more than $2000 in a lifetime for all energy efficiency tax credits.
5. This act shall take effect for the 2022 fiscal year.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
allowing the Southern voter to cast a write-in vote using a sticker with candidate’s name on it

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND CLARIFICATIONS.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the "New Stick It To The Man Act."
2. This bill shall only apply to elections for offices with a write-in option.
3. This bill shall apply to all election precincts under the Southern Region’s authority, even if not for a regional office.

Section 2, TEXT.
1. On the write-in section of a paper ballot, the voter may affix a sticker on their ballot in said section indicating the candidate’s name.
2. If voting for a presidential ticket for president and vice president, this sticker may contain the names for both candidates on the ticket, although it is not required.
3. So long as the sticker is clearly legible, no vote counter in the Southern Region shall reject or delegitimize an election ballot on the sole basis of a write-in sticker being placed on it.
4. Due to the potential of causing paper jams or damage to election equipment, a precinct must place a clear warning on its ballot if votes are counted using ballot scanners.
5. By no means should this bill, either in part or in whole, should be construed as ever requiring the banning the usage of voting machines or affecting the actual presence of voting machines or lack thereof.
6. $100 million dollars will be allocated to allow for a mechanical equivalent of a write-in sticker to be developed and put in effect.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. This legislation shall take effect for all elections starting on or after the first day of March in 2021.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

A BILL
To coordinate state efforts to establish a regional senior protection progam

Be it enacted by the Southern Chamber of Delegates resolved

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Southern Safe Seniors Act.

Section 2. Establishment of regional Silver Alert network

i.) By March 31, 2021, all states and territories of the Southern Region must have established a Silver Alert program utilizing existing Amber Alert infrastructure for the effort of locating missing seniors and following recommendations per guidelines of the federal National Silver Alert Act.

ii.) No later than April 7, 2021, all states and territories must submit requests for matching grants to implement the program to the Atlasian Department of Justice.

Almost completely derived from Fremont's version, and with Scott's permission.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Southern Recycling Act
1. In the Southern Region, the following items or groups of items may be redeemed at retail stores in return for eight cents each: one paper bag; one soda can; and four plastic bags.
2. All items thus redeemed for money has to, whenever possible, find itself reused in the making of a product.
3. Retailers can ask the Southern Region to cover the entirety of their costs under this Act.
4. This Act shall take effect on September 1, 2021.

[Lumine]

I wonder if a legislator might be kind enough to sponsor this, as the South remains the only region not to take action on this specific situation.

A BILL
To postpone the state and local elections in the South

Be it enacted by the Southern Chamber of Delegates resolved

Section 1. Title.

This legislation may be cited as the State and Local Government Special Extension Act.

Section 2. Term Extension.

i. The governors, legislators, and local officers elected between July and December 2020 shall remain in office an additional month after the expiration of the ordinary six-month terms to which they were elected, and the dates of the election of their successors shall be adjusted accordingly.

[tmthforu94]

Sponsoring the below bill. I'll admit I haven't been paying attention to NPC elections the last two months which is while this slipped my radar.

I wonder if a legislator might be kind enough to sponsor this, as the South remains the only region not to take action on this specific situation.

A BILL
To postpone the state and local elections in the South

Be it enacted by the Southern Chamber of Delegates resolved

Section 1. Title.

This legislation may be cited as the State and Local Government Special Extension Act.

Section 2. Term Extension.

i. The governors, legislators, and local officers elected between July and December 2020 shall remain in office an additional month after the expiration of the ordinary six-month terms to which they were elected, and the dates of the election of their successors shall be adjusted accordingly.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Sponsoring the below bill. I'll admit I haven't been paying attention to NPC elections the last two months which is while this slipped my radar.

Yeah, we all kind of didn't pay attention to this issue over the most recent two months, so I would thank Lumine for bringing this to our attention and you for sponsoring.

[tmthforu94]

Sponsoring these bills, which I co-authored with our Governor-elect:

Southern COVID-19 Vaccination Act

Section 1: Vaccination Infrastructure
1. $2 billion shall be allocated from regional reserves for the purchase of the Moderna vaccine approved by the FDA.
2. $500 million shall be allocated to secure physical infrastructure to securely hold and distribute the vaccines.
3. Training shall begin immediately to ensure healthcare worked at distribution and holding locations are trained and capable to properly store and administer all vaccines.
4. The Southern Government shall set up and maintain a website that will provide vaccination resources to residents, included, but not limited to: distribution locations, reasons to get the vaccine and tracking on what percentage of residents in each state have received the vaccine.

Section 2: Distribution Priorities
1. The distribution of the vaccine shall be divided into phases to ensure it is dispersed based on importance and need:
a. Phase 1 - Front-line healthcare workers, ambulance drivers, cleaners, first responders and all individuals working at distribution and storage locations.
b. Phase 2 - Those determined to have underlying conditions that put them at a significantly higher risk, those with two or more chronic conditions, those aged 65 and above living in group living facilities, all individuals age 80 and over.
c. Phase 3- Critical workers in high risk situations, including: teachers, child care workers, all remaining healthcare workers, those with underlying conditions that put them at a moderately higher risk.
d. Phase 4 - All individuals working in the service and other industries whose job requires working at a physical location and all people living in prisons, jails and detention centers.
e. Phase 5 - All remaining Southern residents who opt in to take the vaccine.

Section 3: Advertising Campaign
1. $50 million shall be allocated from regional reserves to launch a public advertising campaign encouraging Southern citizens to get vaccinated according to what phase they qualify for.


Section 4: Implementation
1. This act is effective immediately upon passage.

Southern COVID-19 Regulations Act

Section 1: School Regulations
1. All Southern Schools may operate in-person learning with the following conditions:
a. Masks must be worn at all times by students and staff, except when eating or drinking.
b. Social distancing practices must be encouraged at all times, with a minimum 6 feet apart rule enforced. Students and staff must regularly undergo temperature checks and must be sent home and participate virtually if temperature is deemed too high or if they are exhibiting other COVID-19 related symptoms.
c. In the event of a positive test from a student or staff member on-site, all operations must immediately move to virtual learning until affected areas have been cleaned and it is determined safe to return.
2. Repeated failure to comply with Section 1 of this act may result in loss of government funding.

Section 2: Business Regulations
1. Regional offices shall operate at a 50% capacity limit.
2. All Southern businesses may operate at 50% capacity with the following conditions:
a. Masks must be worn at all times by staff and guests, except when eating or drinking.
b. Social distancing practices must be encouraged at all times, with a minimum 6 feet apart rule enforced for separate parties.
3. These capacity restrictions shall be baseline numbers - local governments may adjust to a higher capacity percentage as needed based on the risk in their area.

Section 3: Implementation
1. This legislation shall go into effect immediately and will expire on March 31st, 2021, at which time, reauthorization by the legislature shall be required.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Kindly asking the Speaker of the 21st session, whoever they may be, to start a new thread, as we're a over a year overdue for one.