Southern Legislation Introduction Thread - 2019/2020

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to coupons and discounts for nicotine products

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE & DEFINITIONS.
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Nicotine Discount Prohibition Act."
ii. “Product with nicotine” and “product containing nicotine” both refer to any commercial product that contains the stimulant nicotine, which includes, but is not limited to:
   a. Cigarettes
   b. Cigars
   c. Pipe tobacco
   d. Chewing tobacco
   e. Snuff tobacco, whether wet or dry
   f. Electronic cigarettes
iii. Clause (ii) of this section does not include nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, or nicotine gum.
iv. “Coupon” refers to any instrument or mechanism, either print or digital, that provides the consumer who redeems it with a product or bundle of products containing nicotine at either no cost or a cost lower than the listed retail price.

Section 2, COUPONS.
i. No commercial distributor of products containing nicotine shall accept or redeem any coupon for said products within the borders of the Southern Region.
ii. No magazine, newspaper, or other publication is allowed to distribute coupons for products containing nicotine within the Southern Region.
iii. A Southern citizen who wishes to redeem a coupon for products with nicotine is permitted to do so in another region that permits coupons for said products, and is also permitted to use those products purchased with it within the Southern Region.
iv. An establishment caught accepting coupons for products with nicotine will be given with a fine of $X for each incident.

Section 3, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
i. This act shall take effect on the first (1st) day of the January after final enactment by the legislature of the Southern Region.
ii. Coupons that are invalid and/or non-redeemable on or before the thirty-first (31st) day of December 2020 are not subject to this law.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
addressing the wrongful murder of Breonna Taylor

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE.
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Say Her Name Act."

Section 2, CONDEMNATION.
WHEREAS, on the thirteenth day of March 2020, Southern citizen Breonna Taylor was fatally shot in Louisville, Kentucky;
WHEREAS, the three police officers who allegedly killed her had no reasonable excuse for such actions;
WHEREAS, none of the three men were properly indicted for Taylor’s death;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Chamber of Delegates:
1. Officially condemns the Louisville Metro Police Department officers responsible for Taylor’s death, being Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove.

Section 3, COMPENSATION.
WHEREAS, the Southern Chamber feels deep sorrow for the grieving family of Breonna Taylor;
WHEREAS, no action can truly be taken to fully and completely compensate for what happened in Louisville;
WHEREAS, the Southern Chamber wishes to do whatever it can to aide in this troubling time for the Taylor family;
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Chamber of Delegates:
1. Shall appropriate fourteen million dollars ($14,000,000) from the budget of the Southern Region to the parents of Breonna Taylor.
2. Anticipates to make sure the Taylor family receives this money before the thirteenth (13th) day of March 2022.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
extending the official regional symbolism of the Southern Region

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SOUTHERN CHAMBER RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE.
1. The title of this Act shall be, the “Regional Symbols Act Part II: Electric Boogaloo.”

Section 2, NEW SYMBOLS.
1. Lemonade is hereby designated as the official beverage of the Southern Region.
2. Sabal palmetto, otherwise known as the cabbage-palm or palmetto, is hereby designated as the official tree of the Southern Region.
3. Pelecanus occidentalis, otherwise known as the brown pelican, is hereby designated as the official bird of the Southern Region.
4. The freshwater pearl is hereby designated as the official gem of the Southern Region.
5. Fried chicken and waffles is hereby designated as the official meal of the Southern Region.

[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.

[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.

[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.