Legislation Introduction Thread

[Ebowed]

I withdraw the Tobacco Reform Bill & the Cocaine Punishment Harmonization Bill.

Electroshock Weapons Restrictions Bill
1. In all areas of federal jurisdiction, the use of electroshock weapons (including, but not limited to, tasers) by law enforcement is hereby prohibited.


Comprehensive Drug Reform Bill of 2007

Section 1: Findings
1. Current Atlasian policy has led to the incarceration of millions of nonviolent drug users, as well as the devastation of several South American economies and environments, and an overall increase in violent crime associated with drug dealing and untreated addiction.
2. Current Atlasian policy treats drug addiction first and foremost as a criminal problem rather than a medical one.
3. Current Atlasian policy is inherently contradictory in that one of the most intoxicating and addictive substances known to man, alcohol, is legal while possession of softer drugs remains a criminal activity.
4. Current Atlasian policy places harsh sentencing and punishment ahead of harm minimization, effective drug education, and addiction treatment.

Section 2: Decriminalized Substances
1. All federal laws, as well as District of Columbia and federal territory laws, prohibiting the private possession, consumption, or profitless distribution of the following substances are repealed: 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA), mescaline, Peyote, psilocin, psilocybin, d-lysergic acid amide (LSA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), salvia divinorum, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ephedrine, opium, cocaine (including freebase cocaine), gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), ibogaine, heroin, 5-methoxy-n,n-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT), 2C-T-7, 2C-B, cathinone (khat), alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT), 5-OH-DMT, amphetamines, dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, morphine, phencyclidine (PCP), benzylpiperazine, codeine, synthetic cannabinoids, marinol, and ketamine.
2. This section shall not be interpreted to legalize the sale or underage use of the listed substances.
3. All federal laws, including District of Columbia and federal territory laws, prohibiting certain forms of tobacco (including homegrown tobacco, smokeless tobacco, clove cigarettes, or N. rustica), alcohol (including absinthe, and all related ingredients), or associated paraphanelia (including rolling papers, rolling filter tips, matches, and water pipes) are repealed.

Section 3: Safe Injection Sites
1. The federal government will invest $10 million FY 2009 in the construction of a Safe Injection Site in the District of Columbia.
2. No person using illicit drugs inside of a Safe Injection Site may face prosecution of any kind in relation to the possession or consumption of the drug.
3. All persons entering the Safe Injection Site will be provided with clean needle syringes and any medical care necessary free of charge.

Section 4: Good Samaritan Provision
1. In all areas under federal jurisdiction, persons calling for medical help for a person who is suffering immediate health problems due to drug use may not face arrest charges for possession or consumption of illicit substances.

[Ebowed]

Sec 5, Clause 3 should include Italian.  And/or a suggestion that other languages may be offered and counted towards the required total of two.

[Ebowed]

Constitutional Amendment to Allow Gun Control

1. Article I, Section 5 shall be amended to include a new clause as follows: "To regulate and ban firearms as necessary throughout the Republic of Atlasia."
2. Amendment I shall be amended to read "The right to keep and detonate low-potency explosives shall not be infringed."

[Ebowed]

Network Neutrality Bill

1. No Internet service provider may charge a discriminating fee, intentionally offer a discriminating speed of access, nor bar access to online material on the basis of its content (excepting illegal pornographic content) to any of its users.

[Ebowed]

Constitutional Amendment to Prohibit Conscription

1. Article VI shall be amended to include a new clause as follows: "No person may be required to serve in defense of the country against their will."

Constitutional Amendment to Protect Substance Addicts

1. Article VI shall be amended to include a new clause as follows: "No person who suffers a physical or mental addiction to any substance may be charged for the possession or consumption of the substance in question."

Constitutional Amendment to Prohibit Capital Punishment

1. Article VI shall be amended to include a new clause as follows: "No person may receive the death penalty as punishment for any crime."

[Ebowed]

Trans Fats Regulation Bill

1. No product intended for human consumption that is sold within the District of Columbia or any federal territories may contain any non-naturally occurring trans fats.
2. This regulation will come into effect nine months after it has become law.

[Ebowed]

Ratification of the Kyoto Treaty

1. The Republic of Atlasia hereby ratifies the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as agreed in Japan in 1997.

Miners' Widows Bill

1. The widows of miners or former miners who die as a result of their occupation or former occupation shall each be given $10,000 a year from the federal government.

[Ebowed]

Return to September 10th Bill

Section 1: Telecommunications Immunity Clarification
1. The current Atlasian government acknowledges that after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, telecommunications companies cooperated with the United States government in providing illegal access to customers' private information, including conversations which were 'wiretapped.'
2. The current Atlasian government supports prosecuting all companies involved, as well as anyone found guilty of providing these orders within the government, to the fullest extent of the law.

Section 2: Torture and Simulated Drowning
1. The government recognizes that torture is, and has been regardless of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, illegal, as confirmed in F.L. 22-7.
2. Simulated drowning, or 'waterboarding,' is a form of torture and remains prohibited by law.
3. The current government encourages that any member of the government found to have ordered or performed acts of torture be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Section 3: Free Speech Zones
1. The use of "free speech zones" as restricted areas where protesting may be permitted is to be discontinued immediately.

Section 4: PATRIOT Act
1. The PATRIOT Act is repealed.

Section 5: Guantanamo Bay
1. The prison camp located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is to be closed within two months after this act becomes law.

[Ebowed]

Latex Balloons Littering Prevention Bill

1. It shall henceforth be prohibited for manufacturers of latex balloons to mislead consumers by referencing their product as being 'biodegradable.'
2. All packs of balloons manufactured for general sale must contain a warning (outlined below) that makes up no less than 25% of the front packaging and no less than 40% of the back packaging.
a. The warning must have a black background and a white text in capital letters which simply states that "LETTING BALLOONS GO IS LITTERING".
b. The warning must be accompanied by an image, which will alternate randomly on each piece of packaging, which will depict bird and/or marine life and the negative impacts of balloon littering on these animals.
3. All packs of balloons manufactured for general sale must clearly indicate on the front and back of the packaging, separately from the warning outlined in Section 2, which states in capital letters that "HELIUM IS A FINITE RESOURCE."
4. Manufacturers of balloons will have three months, effective upon passage, to find themselves compliant to new packaging standards and those manufacturers found to be in violation of this law will be fined a minimum of $500,000 per violation.  (One violation being defined as one piece of packaging in contravention of the stipulations outlined above.)

[Ebowed]

Cetacean and Pinniped Protection and Establishment of Rights Bill

1. All cetaceans and pinnipeds shall henceforth be protected as non-human persons, entitling them to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
2. Owners of entertainment or other venues currently holding cetaceans and/or pinnipeds imprisoned will have up to 12 months to comply with the stipulations of this act, immediately upon becoming law.
3. Persons found to be in violation of section 1 (including mistreatment, enslavement, intended harm, or murder of a cetacean or pinniped, or involvement in smuggle or trade of cetacean-made or pinniped-made products) will be fined a maximum of $948,500 and/or imprisoned for a maximum of 5 years per violation.
a. The maximum fine of $948,500 shall be subject to an annual increase adjusted for inflation.
4. An exemption shall remain in place for indigenous Alaskans, subject to review in five years.