Commonwealth of Frémont • 19th Parliament

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

PARLIAMENT
OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

(1)

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! This house will now come to order!

It is my great pleasure to welcome so many faces to the house. May their gay voices ring forth from this place and drive the cold winter away, give hope to those sons and daughters of Frémont who wear the red and gold. While Eastern lords sit high in their castles, fat from their ill-gotten riches, a court poisoned by gluttony and avarice, this place ever remains the house of the people —from the badlands to the Rio Grande, from the Missouri to the Pacific Coast, from the islands of Hawai'i to the stony Aleutian shores, all that is good and just in the world comes back to Denver to inspire the next chapter in our glorious history, the last, best hope for mankind!

Citizens and members may use this thread to introduce legislation, motions, and resolutions for the consideration of the house. I invite our new members to take the oath of office at their earliest convenience that we may proceed with the election of a speaker. In the meantime, as president of parliament, I will adjudicate in our proceedings.

Gloria Frémontis!

Harry S Truman, first minister

(1) Wikimedia Commons.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

MEMBERS OF THE NINETEENTH FRÉMONT PARLIAMENT

Harry S Truman (Fianna Frémont—Labor, North Dakota), first minister
Amanda Huggenkiss (Fianna Frémont—Labor, Minnesota)
Australian Swing Voter (Meadowlark—Democratic Alliance, Washington)
Battista Minola (Unaffiliated, New Mexico)
FDB (Frémont Future—Democratic Alliance, Idaho)
Siren (Beauty & Bread—Peace, Idaho)
YE (Fine Gayle—Labor, Nevada)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

A majority of our members having been seated —we eagerly await the rest —we should proceed with the election of a speaker. Any nominations?

[YE]

I nominate Siren as speaker.

[Anna Komnene]

I accept the nomination with thanks to YE.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

If there are no further nominations, I move that Siren be elected speaker by acclamation.

[Amanda Huggenkiss]

No objection from me, and I support this nomination.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I support the nomination of Siren as speaker.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

With a majority of members in favor, the motion carries.

Congratulations, madam speaker!

[Anna Komnene]

Thanks everyone. I'm looking forward to a fun and productive session together.

Feel free to introduce your legislation here, and I will bring it to the floor for debate. It can be as long or as short as you like. We can always flesh it out (or cut it down!) later.

[Anna Komnene]

For our new members, I encourage you to check out the Standing Rules to get an idea of how parliament works. My PM box is open if you ever have any questions.

[YE]

Is that up to date?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to organize command of the Frémont National Guard

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Frémont National Guard Act of 2021."

Section 2 (Command structure)
i. The army and air national guards, naval and other defense forces of the constituent states of Frémont shall henceforth be organized as a single cohesive Frémont National Guard.
ii. The national guard shall be under the overall command of the adjutant general whom the first minister shall appoint, and whom shall serve at their pleasure.
iii. The adjutant general shall have the rank of major general and shall report directly to the first minister.
iv. All other officers of the national guard having the rank of lieutenant colonel or above shall have their commissions from, and serve at the pleasure of, the first minister.

Section 3 (Ministry of Defense)
i. The ministry of defense (MoD) is established to coordinate and supervise all agencies having to do with the internal and external security of Frémont and the Frémont National Guard.
ii. The ministry shall be led by the minister of defense, whom the first minister shall appoint, and whom shall serve at their pleasure.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to improve rural health

Section 1 (Title & definitions)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Rural Health Act."
ii. As it appears in this legislation, "depleted rural area" shall refer to communities so classified by the Ministry of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of healthcare workers.

Section 2 (Addressing the rural healthcare worker shortage)
i. The government shall appropriate a sum of $1 billion in the fiscal year of 2021 to finance a program of grants to students majoring in medicine and other healthcare-related fields to recompense up to 80% of their total educational expenses, including tuition, textbook fees, and room and board, who will agree to accept employment at a hospital, pharmacy, or healthcare clinic in a depleted rural area for five years after graduation.
ii. The government shall appropriate a further sum of $1 billion annually to finance a program of grants to hospitals and healthcare clinics in depleted rural areas to pay the salaries of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers hired after 1 April 2021.
(a) To qualify to receive this grant, the hospital or healthcare clinic must demonstrate
(1) the hired positions were necessary to adequately perform its mission; and
(2) the hospital or clinic would be otherwise unable to pay the salaries for the hired positions.

[YE]

AN ACT
To prohibit candidates from running in more than one election on a given weekend

Section 1: Title

This legislation may be cited as the Amendment to the Electoral Procedures 2.0 Act.

Section 2: Text

Section 2 of the Election Procedures Codification Act of 2017 is hereby amended:

vii. All such House of Commons candidates as shall have met the requirements imposed by Article V of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Fremont, and being eligible to hold the office for which they are a candidate, shall be included on the sample ballot, provided that they are not candidates for more than one (1) election, Regional or Federal, that occurs on the same weekend.

[YE]

AN ACT
to fund an expansion of parks and recreational services at the local level

Section 1: Title
1. This act is titled "The Fremont Parks and Recreation Act of 2021" and may also be cited as the "Park Act 3.0".
Section 2: Parks and Recreation
1. An addition $50,000,000 will be allocated to the Corporation for Fremont Parks and Recreation (CFPR), of which no less than 90% must be allocated towards town and city governments.
2. Cities and towns may be eligible for a regional grant not exceeding $3,000,000 for the purposes of building new parks and maintaining existing recreational sites.  All maintenance and construction plans must receive approval from the CFPR prior to obtaining the grant.
3. The CFPR shall be entrusted to prioritize eligible grants for park projects from communities with high rates of poverty and crime, as well as communities with a large population of residents under the age of 35.
4. No more than 20% of the allocated funds may be used in any given year.
5. The CFPR will disband once the funds have been exhausted, unless replenished at a later time.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to guarantee continuity of representation

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Second Parliamentary Vacancies Act."

Section 2 (Resignation by default)
i. Whenever any person who shall have been chosen a member of the Frémont parliament in consequence of a general election shall fail to take their seat at or before 11:59 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on the first Saturday succeeding the constitutional commencement of the term to which they were elected, that person shall be considered to have resigned their seat by default. The first minister shall accordingly nominate an eligible person to the vacant seat to serve until such time as a by-election may be held.
ii. Whenever any person who shall have been appointed a member of the Frémont parliament in consequence of a ministerial nomination, or who shall have been so chosen in consequence of a by-election, shall fail to take their seat at or before 11:59 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on the third day succeeding the constitutional commencement of the term to which they were appointed or elected, that person shall be considered to have resigned their seat by default. The first minister shall accordingly nominate an eligible person to the vacant seat to serve until such time as a by-election may be held.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

AN ACT
to revise the Preventing Atlasian Anti-Choice Coercion Act

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be "Frémont Response to the Mexico City Policy Act"

Section 2 (Text)
i. Whenever the Republic of Atlasia should restrict its expenditures according to the so-called "Mexico City Policy", the Commonwealth of Frémont shall be able to make its own funds available to those organisations affected by the aforementioned restriction, if the House of Commons should find such appropriate, not exceeding $500 million annually.

Section 3 (Repealed Acts)
i. The Preventing Atlasian Anti-Choice Coercion Act and the PAACCA Funding Act are hereby repealed.

[Anna Komnene]

Is that up to date?

It's what was being used when I came into parliament, so AFAIK, yes.

[Anna Komnene]

Introducing an amendment to the Standing Orders Article II, Section 3.

It helps to make the legislative body more open to everyone and could come in handy now that we have more members this session.

3) The number of threads open to all legislation introduced by Members of Parliament or the First Minister shall be limited to six (6). The first four slots shall be reserved for ordinary legislation introduced by Members of Parliament or the First Minister. The final two slots shall be reserved for emergencies at the speaker's discretion. The Speaker shall move legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the thread specified in (1). Priority may be given to legislation sponsored by members without anything currently sponsored on the floor.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I have no objection to this amendment.

[YE]

Never been an issue in Parliament before but sure.

[Amanda Huggenkiss]

AN ACT
To promote reading among the youth.

Section I. Title.

This legislation may be cited as the Frémont Reading Act of 2021.

Section II. Establishing the Octavia Butler Stipend.

i. The Commonwealth of Frémont establishes the Octavia Butler Stipend. Its purpose is to assist young writers in the process of the production of their first independent work.
ii. A selection board of renowned writers, literary critics, and literary scholars shall each year grant 50 stipends to applicants.
iii. Eligible for the Octavia Butler Stipend are
    a. young fiction writers aged 18 to 30 with
    b. permanent residency in the Commonwealth of Frémont who
    c. have never published an independent piece of work but may have previously written published
works in literary journals or anthologies.
iv. Besides high literary quality, the selection board should take the personal background of the applicants into account. The Octavia Butler Stipends actively and specifically seeks to promote minority writers and writers of low socioeconomic status. The selection board will aim for a regional balance within the group of stipendiaries.
v. The stipend shall award a monthly grant of $2,200 for 18 months to each stipendiary. An extension for 12 months for substantiated reasons is permissible.
vi. The stipend shall assist writers in finding literary agents and publishers for the publication of their work.

Section III. Promoting reading among school students.

i. Schools may request up to $7,000 annually from the Commonwealth for the acquisition of fiction and non-fiction books. Their respective students will be able to lend these books without charge.
ii. Each month, the Commonwealth designates Books of The Month for different age groups. School students may request their schools to order a copy of the Book of The Month for them, which they will be allowed to keep. The Commonwealth will cover the expenses. Books produced by Octavia-Butler-stipendiaries will be treated preferably in the selection of the Book of The Month.
iii. Students may request to place the number of books they have privately read during the respective grading period on their report cards if they, in brief oral examinations by a teacher of their choice, can convincingly demonstrate that they have read those books. Schools should actively encourage students to take these options.
iv. Middle schools will devote at least 30 minutes per day to silent independent reading of a book of the students’ choice.
v. Elementary schools will devote at least 30 minutes per day to silent independent reading. In lower classes, the teacher will read a book to the students.

Section IV. Establishing the Frémont Literature Week.

i. The 20th calendar week (May) shall be declared the Frémont Literature Week.
ii. The Monday of the Frémont Literature Week is designated the Frémont Reading Day. Office-holders are encouraged to visit schools on this day and read to young students.
iii. On Wednesday, Tuesday, and Friday of the Frémont Literature Week, the Commonwealth government shall invite school classes for the Frémont Literature Days. The Frémont Literary Days are a decentral event which takes place simultaneously in at least ten places in the Commonwealth with similar events and activities.
iv. The Frémont Literature Days shall offer a variety of literature-related events and activities, such as meet-ups with writers, workshops, and other activities that aim to promote reading and interest in literature.
vi. The Commonwealth government guarantees the coverage of
     a. all travel-related expenses for schools from school districts with a child poverty rate above 35%;
     b. 80% of travel-related expenses for schools from school districts with a child poverty rate between 25% and 35%;
     c. 65% of travel-related expenses for schools from school districts with a child poverty rate between 20% and 25%;
     d. 50% of travel-related expenses for schools from school districts with a child poverty rate between 10% and 20%.

Section V. Public bookcases.

i. The Commonwealth provides the municipalities with a total sum of $15,000,000 funds for the construction and maintenance of public bookcases.
ii. The Commonwealth will primarily grant these funds for construction and maintenance projects in areas with high poverty rates.

Section VI. Enactment.

This act shall be enacted on January 1st, 2022.

[Anna Komnene]

A BILL
To identify, prepare, and respond to risks of climate disaster.

Be it enacted by the Parliament of Frémont assembled;

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Climate Preparedness and Response Act or the CPR Act.

Section 2. Climate Preparedness and Response Commission

1. A multi-disciplinary commission shall be established under the purview of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to monitor and mitigate threats of climate disaster.
2. The First Minister shall appoint members to the commission to be composed of scientists from three separate institutions, including one climatologist; representatives from public works and utilities, emergency management, and health; and individuals with expertise in the diverse geographies of the region.
3. The commission shall compile a report on projected changes in weather, water availability, sea levels, power supply maintenance and availability, and disaster mitigation strategies across the region for a period of:
a. Five years beginning with the next even-numbered year; and
b. At least 20 years and not longer than 50 years beginning with the next even-numbered year.

Section 3. Weatherizing the Grid

1. Power supply providers within the region shall submit annual reports to the Climate Preparedness and Response Commission, demonstrating that they have:
a. Weatherized their equipment to withstand projected weather patterns.
b. Evaluated and addressed risks to their ability to provide a stable power supply during adverse weather conditions.
c. Established contingency plans to mitigate large scale power outages.
2. Power supply providers shall be subject to inspection and review by the Climate Preparedness and Response Commission.

Section 4. Climate Disaster Response Assistance

1. $500 million shall be set aside annually to establish programs and services that respond to officially declared climate disasters, as well as to provide assistance to victims.
2. A hotline shall be established where individuals may report issues related to officially declared climate disasters.
3. The Region will cooperate with the government of the Republic of Atlasia in finding shelter for any victims of officially declared climate disasters, including immigrants and those who have been granted refugee status.

Section 5. Incentives for Individuals to Weatherize their Homes

1. A tax rebate of up to $3000 will be made available to all individuals that agree to weatherize their homes, including:
a. Contracting a Home Energy Audit to identify weatherization needs
b. Window and Door Repair and Replacement
c. Adding insulation
d. Other weatherization and climate mitigation strategies endorsed by the Commission

Section 6. Effectiveness

1. This act shall be effective immediately upon passage.

[Anna Komnene]

A BILL
To honor Lumine's contributions to the advancement of performing arts in the Republic of Atlasia.

Be it enacted by the Parliament of Frémont assembled;

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Lumine Act.

Section 2. Naming the Regional Center for the Arts

1. Whereas, the Reuental Media Group has received near universal and unrivaled acclaim for such distinguished musicals as The Convention, The Death of Kings, Discord, and The Atlasians.
2. Whereas, said musicals have contributed to the advancement of performing arts and history throughout the Republic of Atlasia by fostering a spirit of fellowship, camaraderie, and joy.
3. Whereas, the Commonwealth of Frémont wishes to honor LumineVonReuental for his contributions in the performing arts, as well as his distinguished service to the region in a myriad of public offices.
4. The Frémontian Center for the Arts established under the Sacagawea Regional Heritage Act is hereby renamed the Lumine Regional Center for the Arts.

Section 3. Reuental Media Group Historical Repository

1. $5 million is appropriated to the Lumine Regional Center for the Arts for the purpose of establishing a Reuental Media Group Historical Repository for preserving and displaying costumes, props, photographs, scripts, personal artifacts, posters, and other vintage memorabilia from Reuental Media Group musicals.

Section 4. Subsidizing Low Cost Performances

1. $20 million is appropriated annually to the Lumine Regional Center for the Arts for the purpose of covering all operating expenses on the condition that the center provide reduced cost ticket options for students from schools in low income areas.

Section 5. Support for School Drama Programs and Scholarship Fund

1. $50 million is appropriated annually for the Lumine Regional Center for the Arts to provide programs and assistance to school drama programs in the region, as well as to establish a scholarship fund to help students with financial needs attend college to study theater, dance, or other performing arts.
2. At least one musical from the Reuental Media Group collection shall be put on per year, to be performed by a cast and crew of scholarship fund recipients.

Section 6. Effectiveness

1. This act shall be effective immediately upon passage.