10th Council Noticeboard

[KaiserDave]

Government slots (S019, Dwarven Dragon, KaiserDave) :
Slot 1: L.C. 10.3 End of Affirmative Action Again Act
Slot 2:
Slot 3:  
Slot 4:
Slot 5:
Slot 6:
Slot 7:
Slot 8:

Opposition Slots (IBNU, Brother Jonathan):
Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:  
Slot 4:

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Previously Passed Legislation:

LC 10.4 Lincoln Election Law Act Amendment of 2021


Failed Legislation:

LC 10.1 Resolution Condemning Fast-Food Burger Restaurants

Rules of the Lincoln Council

AN ACT relative to establishing parliamentary procedure of the Council of Lincoln.

Be it resolved that the Council of Lincoln adopts the following:

Section 1: Proposed Legislation Thread
A. Members of the Council, the Governor, and any concerned Lincoln citizen shall post the full text of any proposed legislation in a response to the Council of Lincoln Legislation Introduction Thread. Each response shall contain only one piece of proposed legislation.

B. Nothing shall be posted to the Council of Lincoln proposed legislation thread except proposed legislation or a Lincoln citizen's signature for proposed citizen legislation.

Section 2: Movement of Legislation to the Floor
A. The Speaker shall keep a thread on the Regional Governments board wherein for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the Lincoln Council Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Councillors may post in this thread.

B. The number of threads about legislation that may be opened simultaneously shall be determined using the following formula. The number of Government slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the government, with an additional two slots. The number of Opposition slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the opposition.

C. The Speaker shall move government and opposition legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread. If a government sponsor has 3 or more pieces of legislation in the floor, or an opposition sponsor has 2 or more pieces of legislation in the floor, legislation from other government or opposition sponsors who do not shall take priority instead.



D. Each piece of legislation on the floor shall receive its own thread. Threads shall be titled as follows:

L 1.1: The BLANK Act, where L acknowledges the legislation is in the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation is in the first meeting of the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation was the first piece of legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread, and BLANK being replaced with the name of the piece of legislation.

E. If a change in government or in a bill's sponsorship implies that there are more bills than there are slots available for the government or the opposition, the speaker may open temporary extra slots for these pieces of legislation. These slots shall be removed once a permanent slot is opened (at which point the bill in the temporary slot shall moved to the opened permanent slot), or the bill is removed from the floor by the means described in Section 2.G.

F. Each thread shall remain open until the bill either (a) becomes law via the Governor's signature, lack of Gubernatorial action, or referendum override, (b) fails to receive majority support from Council, (c) is sent to the public for a referendum, pursuant to Article I, Section 6 of the Comprehensive Constitutional Amendment, or (d) the Chancellor moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote.

Section 3: Legislative Debates and Voting
A. All proposed legislation shall be open for debate for no less than 72 hours after the Speaker places it on the floor.

B. During debate, Councillors and sponsors of proposed legislation may suggest amendments to proposed legislation. If the sponsor of the proposed legislation publicly deems the amendment friendly, no vote on the amendment shall be required. If the sponsor of the proposed legislation does not publicly deem the amendment friendly, or any other Councillor objects to the amendment, a vote on the amendment shall be taken 24 hours after being proposed unless there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill. If there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill, a vote on the amendment shall be taken before proceeding to a final vote on the bill. Such vote shall be open for 24 hours, or until all Councillors have voted, if earlier. An amendment shall pass if a majority of Councillors vote in favor of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes).

C. The sponsor of a proposed amendment may remove it from the Council floor by tabling it at any time before a vote on the amendment is started.

D. After the conclusion of the first 72 hours for debate, any Councillor or the Chancellor may call for a vote on said legislation. The Speaker shall open a vote if neither another Councillor nor the Chancellor objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote. If a Councillor objects to the motion within 24 hours, a vote shall be held on whether or not to proceed to a final vote, with a two thirds majority required for the objection to be overruled if the legislation has been on the floor for less than 240 hours; and a simple majority required if the legislation has been on the floor for more than 240 hours.

E. After the conclusion of the first 72 hours for debate, the Chancellor or the Leader of the Opposition may move for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership, the Council shall end debate and the Speaker immediately declare a vote on the affected legislation. A motion for cloture shall overrule any ammendments presented and any ongoing debates, but any votes which are already open shall stay open; with the motion for cloture being opened inmediately after said open vote is closed

F. At the motion of the Chancellor, the Council may waive the 72 hour requirement by unanimous consent. Consent shall be granted should no Member object to the motion of the Chancellor within 24 hours of its introduction.

G. Votes on legislation shall last for 48 hours, or until the whole membership has voted, whichever comes first. Only votes cast within the exact 48 hours after the Speaker has opened the vote shall be valid. Any votes cast after the 48 hours has expired are to be considered invalid, and may not be counted by the Speaker. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Councillors the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread. A piece of proposed legislation shall pass if a majority of Councillors vote in favour of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes). The Speaker shall certify the results of any vote within 24 hours of the end of the voting period.

H. Budget bills shall be considered a meaningful vote of confidence in the Government.

I. In the event that passed legislation is recommended to a referendum by the Governor, either the Chancellor or any Councilor may introduce a motion to override the move to a referendum within 72 hours for the Governor's move to a referendum being announced. An override vote shall last 48 hours, or until all Councillors have voted, if earlier. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Councillors the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread.

J. In the event where all Councilors have missed a vote, the Presiding Officer may exercise one of three options: they may extend the vote for 24 hours, this shall not require consent to suspend the rules, they may certify the vote as a failed vote, due to not receiving a single AYE vote. Whichever option the presiding officer chooses may be overridden if 2/3rd's of sitting Councilors object, in which case the presiding officer must choose another option. If a sufficient amount of Councilors object to all three options, the presiding officer may choose whichever option they desire.

Section 4: Final Business

A. Pursuant to Article 1.15 of the Lincoln Constitution, the Council shall be dissolved at the start of the general or snap elections.

B. The "Final Business" period of Council shall commence 36 hours prior to dissolution of the Council session and shall end at dissolution.

  i. At the start of Final Business, the Speaker shall declare in all pending legislative threads that Final Business has commenced and the session is nearing its end.

    a. At this time, the Speaker must no longer open new legislative threads.

    b. At this time, neither the Speaker nor legislative sponsors shall consider new amendment proposals or votes.

   ii. All legislation on the floor of the Council shall go to a final vote at the start of the final business period, if more than 72 hours of debate have occurred on the legislation, unless either the sponsor of the legislation or a majority of the Council voices an objection to the vote

Section 5: Non Sitting Days

A. The Chancellor may declare any other day a non-sitting day, subject to a majority vote.

B. A "Non-Sitting Day" shall be defined as a day not counted in the official duration of debates, votes, and other business of the Council. A member shall be entitled but not required to speak in any open business of the Council on a Non-Sitting Day.

Section 6: Role of the Speaker
A. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Council and is tasked with interpreting and enforcing the Standing Orders as prescribed in this bill.

B. At the beginning of each term of the Council, and at any time when the office is vacant, the second order of business of the Council shall be to elect the Speaker after the election of the Chancellor. Prior to the election of a Speaker, the Chancellor may serve as Acting Speaker for the purposes of electing a Speaker only. If there is not a Speaker, the Governor may preside over the election of the Chancellor. If the Governor is unavailable for any reason, the most senior Councillor shall preside.

C. The Chancellor shall introduce a piece of legislation to nominate a candidate for Speaker, who will then face a vote before the Council, requiring a majority support to assume office.

D. The Chancellor shall certify the results following the election, and the Speaker shall immediately assume office.

E. The Council may, at any time, remove the Speaker by making introducing repeal legislation to the introductory legislation of Section V, Part C. The motion shall take precedence over all other motions and bills before the Council, and shall be conducted in the manner outlined in the section entitled legislative debates and voting. The Chancellor will designate a Councillor to preside in the place of the Speaker.

Section 7: Rules Dispute

1. The Council may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Councilors.

2. The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Councillor objects. If a Councillor objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Councillors.

3. If the Council cannot resolve a rules dispute, Lincoln's chief judicial office may issue a binding decision dictating the proper interpretation.


Section 8. Amending the SOAP
A. In recognizing that the Lincoln Council has the right to determine its own operating procedures without outside approval, future amendments to the SOAP will no longer require the Governor's signature upon passing.


Section 9: Terminology
A. All legislation regarding the rules of the Council shall be called the Standing Orders.

B. All proposed legislation that requires the signature of the Governor shall be called a Bill until signed and thereafter an Act.

Note to Future Speakers: Please update this whenever a SOAP Amendment is passed

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Per "The number of threads about legislation that may be opened simultaneously shall be determined using the following formula. The number of Government slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the government, with an additional two slots. The number of Opposition slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the opposition."

Government should have 8 slots (not 12), and Opposition 4 (not 12), for this council.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

New post due to change in Speakership and the previous post falling into disrepair:

Government Slots (AGA, Dwarven Dragon, Brother Jonathan, IBNU, and S019):

Slot 1:
Slot 2:  
Slot 3:
Slot 4:
Slot 5:
Slot 6: L.C. 10.13 High Speed Highways Act (S019)
Slot 7:
Slot 8:
Slot 9:
Slot 10:
Slot 11:
Slot 12:


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Previously Passed Legislation:

LC 10.4 Lincoln Election Law Act Amendment of 2021 (STRUCK DOWN BY SCOA)
LC 10.5 Siren's Covid-19 Vaccine Promotion and Distribution Act
LC 10.7 Emergency Speaker Election Act
LC 10.3 End of Affirmative Action Again Act
LC 10.9 Further Extension of the No Need to Spread Disease Act
LC 10.8 Minor Constitutional Reforms Omnibus Amendment (Ratified 40-33)
LC 10.12 Open Schools Act
LC 10.11 Lincoln Pain-Capable Abortion Prohibition and Born Alive Survivor Protection Act (Passed Referendum 25-13)
LC 10.16 Discriminatory Training Ban (Passed Referendum 23-16)
LC 10.15 Harry S. Truman's School Day Restructuring Act
LC 9.9 Lincoln Budget Fiscal 2021
LC 10.6 Repeal of L.C. 10.4
LC 10.17 Comprehensive Rules Overhaul
LC 10.18 Cameras in the Courtroom Act
LC 10.19 Third Lincoln Constitution
LC 10.14 FF Act

Failed Legislation:

LC 10.1 Resolution Condemning Fast-Food Burger Restaurants
LC 10.2 Cis Tax Act
LC 10.10 Alcohol Policy Adjustment Act

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WALL OF SHAME: Councillors who have missed four or five consecutive final votes on legislation shall be listed here as Punishment. When they next remember to vote, a * will be placed next to their name to indicate they are in a state of repentance. Once they have remembered to vote on three consecutive pieces of legislation, they shall be removed from the wall of shame entirely until such time that they again miss four consecutive final votes.

This only applies to final votes on legislation, votes on amendments or procedural votes are not considered.

As a reminder, according to the Lincoln Constitution, missing six consecutive final votes on legislation is grounds for automatic expulsion from the Chamber.

The Wall of Shame is currently vacant

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

VII. Conclusion

The passage of the No Confidence Motion is hereby upheld as the court has no authority to do otherwise.

In accordance with the authority granted to it by Section 7.C of the Council rules, the Lincoln Court hereby dictates the following list to be the proper interpretation of the Rules of the Lincoln Council. It shall be legally binding. For ease of reference, this list shall be included in the Lincoln Council Noticeboard, immediately below the Rules of the Lincoln Council.

Lincoln Council Rules Errata

Section I: Preface

A. The Lincoln Council Rules Errata shall be considered part of the Lincoln Council Rules and included alongside it.
B. The Errata shall override the main text of the rules whenever the two contradict.
C. Additions to the Errata shall only be made by the Lincoln Justice, and only as the result of a hearing held under the purview of Section 7.C (7.3) of the Lincoln Council Rules.
D. Adherence to the Errata is legally binding and subject to court order.
E. The Lincoln Council may remove any part of the Errata other than what is contained in this section (i.e. Section I). It may do so in the form of an amendment, in the same manner as it would pass an amendment to the main text of the Lincoln Council Rules.
F. In the event that the Lincoln Council rescinds the Lincoln Court's authority to issue binding decisions dictating the proper interpretation of Council rules, the Lincoln Council shall thereafter assume full control of the entirety of the Errata, inheriting the authority they had previously delegated to the court. They shall thereafter have the power to amend, repeal, and/or add to any part of the Errata -- including this Section -- in the same manner they would do so for the main body of the Lincoln Council Rules.
G. In the event that an amendment to the main text of the Lincoln Council Rules affects the numbering of any Sections/subsections referenced in the Errata, those references contained here shall instead be considered to refer to the new designation of the section/subsection to which it previously referenced. In such an event, the section/subsection designations can be freely edited at will so they may continue referencing the same text.
H. This first section of the errata shall exist only for the purposes of explaining this document and describing the manner in which interpretations added to the following sections shall apply.
I. The outcome of any 7.C trial that provides new interpretations must be included in a new sequentially numbered section, starting with the first trial in the following section.

Section II: Outcome of tack50 v Lincoln Speaker Wulfric

A. A second is only valid if it is explicitly declared to be as such.
B. Motions are considered to be legislation.
C. All references to legislation in Section 2 apply only to Bills/Acts, as defined in Section 9.B
D. Motions of No Confidence in the Chancellor shall adhere to the requirements of Section 3 where possible, except when doing so would contradict any provision the Lincoln Constitution.
E. For a second to be valid, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded
F. If a second is required for a vote to begin, the second required to begin the vote must be made before the vote can begin.




Be it resolved,
Bacon King
Lincoln Justice; chief judicial officer of Lincoln

Also, expect to see a bill this week sometime to clean up the rules. Clearly there have been some mistakes made in their drafting over time. While I understand we may need a completely new set of rules before long in the event the constitution is replaced this session or next, I do believe there are things worth clearing up to appropriately guide the construction of any set of rules under a new constitution. Stay tuned.

Edit 4/14: The Council Struck the Section 2.G. as part of LC 10.17.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Redesigned Council Rules, passed as part of L.C. 10.17:

AN ACT relative to establishing parliamentary procedure of the Council of Lincoln.

Be it resolved that the Council of Lincoln adopts the following:

Section 1: Proposed Legislation Thread
A. Members of the Council, the Governor, and any concerned Lincoln citizen shall post the full text of any proposed legislation in a response to the Council of Lincoln Legislation Introduction Thread. Each response shall contain only one piece of proposed legislation.

B. Nothing shall be posted to the Council of Lincoln proposed legislation thread except proposed legislation or a Lincoln citizen's signature for proposed citizen legislation.

C: All action taken by the Council is considered to be Legislation. Items requiring the signature of the Governor shall be additionally categorized as Bills. All legislation regarding the rules of the Council shall be called the Standing Orders.

Section 2: Movement of Legislation to the Floor
A. The Speaker shall keep a thread on the Regional Governments board wherein for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the Lincoln Council Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Councillors may post in this thread.

B. The number of threads about legislation that may be opened simultaneously shall be determined using the following formula. The number of Government slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the government, with an additional two slots. The number of Opposition slots shall be twice the number of Councillors being members of the opposition.

C. The Speaker shall move government and opposition legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread. If a government sponsor has 3 or more pieces of legislation in the floor, or an opposition sponsor has 2 or more pieces of legislation in the floor, legislation from other government or opposition sponsors who do not shall take priority instead.

D. Each piece of legislation on the floor shall receive its own thread. Threads shall be titled as follows:

L 1.1: The BLANK Act, where L acknowledges the legislation is in the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation is in the first meeting of the Council of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation was the first piece of legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread, and BLANK being replaced with the name of the piece of legislation.

E. If a change in government or in sponsorship implies that there are more bills than there are slots available for the government or the opposition, the speaker may open temporary extra slots for these pieces of legislation. These slots shall be removed once a permanent slot is opened (at which point the bill in the temporary slot shall moved to the opened permanent slot), or the legislation is removed from the floor by the means described in Section 2.F., 2G., or 3.K..

F. If the thread is for a motion of no confidence, a motion to remove the Speaker or appoint a new one, a motion to appoint a chancellor (whether via the traditional state opening process or in the form of a bill), an amendment to modify the SOAP or the Errata, or a special rule providing for special consideration of a given bill, it shall remain open until it either (a) it becomes passed via majority vote of the Council, (b) fails to receive majority support from council, (c) the Chancellor moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote, or (d) it is removed pursuant to Section 3.K..


G. Each thread shall remain open until the bill either (a) becomes law via the Governor's signature, lack of Gubernatorial action, or referendum override, (b) fails to receive majority support from Council, (c) is sent to the public for a referendum, pursuant to Article I, Section 6 of the Comprehensive Constitutional Amendment, (d) it is removed pursuant to Section 3.K., or (e) the Chancellor moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote.

Section 3: Legislative Debates and Voting
A. All proposed legislation shall be open for debate for no less than 72 hours after the Speaker places it on the floor, except that a motion of no confidence or a motion to appoint a speaker or chancellor (whether via the traditional state opening process or otherwise), shall only be open for debate at the discretion of the presiding officer. The presiding officer, not withstanding any other part of these rules, may block amendments in such cases and open a final vote immediately, unless doing so is directly prohibited by the Lincoln Constitution.

B. During debate, Councillors and sponsors of proposed legislation may suggest amendments to proposed legislation. If no one objects to the amendment within 24 hours, no vote on the amendment shall be required. Otherwise, a vote on the amendment shall be taken 24 hours after being proposed unless there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill. If there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill, a vote on the amendment shall be taken before proceeding to a final vote on the bill. Such vote shall be open for 48 hours, or until all Councillors have voted, if earlier. An amendment shall pass if a majority of Councillors vote in favor of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes).

C. The sponsor of a proposed amendment may remove it from the Council floor by tabling it at any time before a vote on the amendment has concluded.

D. After the conclusion of the first 72 hours for debate, any Councillor or the Chancellor may call for a vote on said legislation. The Speaker shall open a vote if neither another Councillor nor the Chancellor objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote. If a Councillor objects to the motion within 24 hours, a vote shall be held on whether or not to proceed to a final vote, with a two thirds majority required for the objection to be overruled if the legislation has been on the floor for less than 240 hours; and a simple majority required if the legislation has been on the floor for more than 240 hours.

E. After the conclusion of the first 72 hours for debate, the Chancellor or the Leader of the Opposition may move for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the membership, the Council shall end debate and the Speaker immediately declare a vote on the affected legislation. A motion for cloture shall overrule any amendments presented and any ongoing debates, but any votes which are already open shall stay open; with the motion for cloture being opened immediately after said open vote is closed.

F. At the motion of the Chancellor, the Council may waive the 72 hour requirement by unanimous consent. Consent shall be granted should no Member object to the motion of the Chancellor within 24 hours of its introduction.

G. Votes on legislation shall last for 48 hours, or until the whole membership has voted, whichever comes first. Only votes cast within the exact 48 hours after the Speaker has opened the vote shall be valid. Any votes cast after the 48 hours has expired are to be considered invalid, and may not be counted by the Speaker. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Councillors the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread. A piece of proposed legislation shall pass if a majority of Councillors vote in favour of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes). The Speaker shall certify the results of any vote within 24 hours of the end of the voting period.

H. Budget bills shall be considered a meaningful vote of confidence in the Government.

I. In the event that passed legislation is recommended to a referendum by the Governor, either the Chancellor or any Councilor may introduce a motion to override the move to a referendum within 72 hours for the Governor's move to a referendum being announced. An override vote shall last 48 hours, or until all Councillors have voted, if earlier. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Councillors the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread.

J. In the event where all Councilors have missed a vote, the Presiding Officer may exercise one of two options: they may extend the vote for 24 hours, this shall not require consent to suspend the rules, or they may certify the vote as a failed vote, due to not receiving a single AYE vote. Whichever option the presiding officer chooses may be overridden if 2/3rd's of sitting Councilors object, in which case the presiding officer must choose another option. If a sufficient amount of Councilors object to all three options, the presiding officer may choose whichever option they desire.

K. Any Councillor may remove their sponsorship of a bill at any time. If no one sponsors the bill within 24 hours, the bill shall be removed from the floor.

Section 4: Final Business

A. Pursuant to Article 1.15 of the Lincoln Constitution, the Council shall be dissolved at the start of the general or snap elections.

B. The "Final Business" period of Council shall commence 36 hours prior to dissolution of the Council session and shall end at dissolution.

  i. At the start of Final Business, the Speaker shall declare in all pending legislative threads that Final Business has commenced and the session is nearing its end.

    a. At this time, the Speaker must no longer open new legislative threads.

    b. At this time,the Speaker shall not consider new amendment proposals or votes.

   ii. All legislation on the floor of the Council shall go to a final vote at the start of the final business period, if more than 72 hours of debate have occurred on the legislation, unless either the sponsor of the legislation or a majority of the Council voices an objection to the vote

Section 5: Non Sitting Days

A. The Chancellor may declare any day a non-sitting day, subject to a majority vote.

B. A "Non-Sitting Day" shall be defined as a day not counted in the official duration of debates, votes, and other business of the Council. A member shall be entitled but not required to speak in any open business of the Council on a Non-Sitting Day.

Section 6: Role of the Speaker
A. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Council and is tasked with interpreting and enforcing the Standing Orders as prescribed in this bill.

B. At the beginning of each term of the Council, and at any time when the office is vacant, the second order of business of the Council shall be to elect the Speaker after the election of the Chancellor. Prior to the election of a Speaker, the Chancellor may serve as Acting Speaker for the purposes of electing a Speaker only. If there is not a Speaker, the Governor may preside over the election of the Chancellor. If the Governor is unavailable for any reason, the most senior Councillor shall preside.

C. The Chancellor shall introduce a piece of legislation to nominate a candidate for Speaker, who will then face a vote before the Council, requiring a majority support to assume office.

D. The Chancellor shall certify the results following the election, and the Speaker shall immediately assume office.

E. The Council may, at any time, remove the Speaker by making introducing repeal legislation to the introductory legislation of Section VI, Part C. The motion shall take precedence over all other motions and bills before the Council, and shall be conducted in the manner outlined in the section entitled legislative debates and voting. The Chancellor will designate a Councillor to preside in the place of the Speaker. The Repeal Legislation may designate the new Speaker, or the Chancellor may introduce a separate bill to do that.

Section 7: Rules Dispute

A. The Council may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Councilors. Such a vote may begin at any time,  shall last for 48 hours, and shall not require any debate period beforehand.

B. The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Councillor objects. If a Councillor objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Councillors.

--- Such objection must be raised within 24 hours. The presiding officer shall have the option to proceed with the effect of the suspension without waiting for an objection, and then turn back if an objection is raised within 24 hours, but if this option is taken, all action taken going back to the moment of the suspension becomes null and void if an objection is raised. The presiding officer may also elect to wait the full 24 hours before proceeding. The suspension must be announced in some form - there does not need to be any specific phrasing, but it must be made clear that some sort of action is being taken that one could stop or alter by the means of objecting within 24 hours.

C. If a Councillor believes that a given action is in violation of the rules, such a Councillor may raise a point of order. This can be done on the thread in which rules are being broken, or on a new thread the Councillor may create. The Speaker shall immediately rule on the point of order. If there is no speaker, The Chancellor shall rule. If there is neither, the most senior Councillor shall rule. If the point of order is upheld, all action objected to by the point of order shall be null and void. If the point of order is overruled, any Councillor may demand an immediate vote on it within 24 hours. Such a vote will last 48 hours and serve as the final disposition of the point of order.

D. Questions or Disputes regarding the Council Rules shall not be within the purview of the Lincoln Court or the Supreme Court, unless:

1) Such provision of the Rules violates the Constitution of Lincoln or the Republic of Atlasia, or

2) The Speaker is refusing to recognize the existence of a point of order, in which case the court shall be limited to the ability to compel the Speaker to proceed with handling the point of order and any related appeal. However, in this case, the authority of the court to hear the case ends the moment the Speaker complies with his duties relevant to the point of order, even if such compliance comes during legal proceedings.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

PROPOSED LINCOLN GENERAL COURT SOAP/ERRATA

Will be formally introduced following the election of a Speaker.

Title I. SOAP
Be it resolved that the Lincoln General Court adopts the following to govern its proceedings, except when governed by a special rule for a given bill:

Section 1: Proposed Legislation Thread
A. Deputies of the General Court, the Governor, and any concerned Lincoln citizen shall post the full text of any proposed legislation in a response to the Lincoln General Court Legislation Introduction Thread. Each response shall contain only one piece of proposed legislation.

B. Nothing shall be posted to the Lincoln General Court proposed legislation thread except proposed legislation or a Lincoln citizen's signature for proposed citizen legislation.

C: All action taken by the General Court is considered to be Legislation. Items requiring the signature of the Governor shall be additionally categorized as Bills. All legislation regarding the rules of the General Court shall be called the Standing Orders.

Section 2: Movement of Legislation to the Floor
A. The Speaker shall keep a thread on the Regional Governments board for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the Lincoln General Court Legislation Introduction Thread.

B. The number of threads about legislation that may be opened simultaneously shall be two for each Deputy of the General Court. All Deputies shall be able to use all slots, except as stated in C.

C. The Speaker shall move legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread, except that legislation without a Court sponsor shall be skipped until it obtains one, and that if a sponsor has 2 or more pieces of legislation on the floor, legislation from other sponsors shall take priority until all such other legislation is on the floor.

D. Each piece of legislation on the floor shall receive its own thread. Threads shall be titled as follows:

LGC 1.1: The BLANK Act, where LGC acknowledges the legislation is in the General Court of Lincoln, 1 indicating that the legislation is in the first meeting of the General Court, 1 indicating that the legislation was the first piece of legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread, and BLANK being replaced with the name of the piece of legislation.

E. If the thread is for a motion to remove the Speaker or appoint a new one, an amendment to modify the SOAP or the Errata, or a special rule providing for special consideration of a given bill, it shall remain open until it either (a) it becomes passed via majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote, or (d) it is removed pursuant to Section 3.J..

F. Otherwise, each thread shall remain open until the bill either (a) becomes law, (b) fails to receive majority support from General Court, (c) it is removed pursuant to Section 3.J., or (d) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a majority vote.

Section 3: Legislative Debates and Voting
A. All proposed legislation shall be open for debate for no less than 72 hours after the Speaker places it on the floor, except that a motion to remove the Speaker or appoint a new one shall only be open for debate pursuant to Section 5.

B. During debate, General Court Deputies may suggest amendments to proposed legislation. The Speaker may ignore amendments they deem frivolous or unconstitutional, subject to a majority vote to consider said amendment. If no Deputy objects to the amendment within 24 hours, it shall be adopted. Otherwise, a vote on the amendment shall be taken 24 hours after being proposed unless there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill. If there is less than 24 hours of debate remaining on the bill, a vote on the amendment shall be taken before proceeding to a final vote on the bill. Such vote shall be open for 48 hours, or until all General Court Deputies have voted, if earlier. An amendment shall pass if a majority of General Court Deputies vote in favor of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes).

C. The sponsor of a proposed amendment may remove it from the floor by tabling it at any time before a vote on the amendment has concluded.

D. After the conclusion of the first 72 hours for debate, any General Court Deputy may call for a vote on said legislation. The Speaker shall open a vote if there is no objection from the Court within 24 hours of the call for a vote. If a General Court Deputy objects to the motion within 24 hours, a vote shall be held on whether or not to proceed to a final vote, with a two thirds majority required for the objection to be overruled if the legislation has been on the floor for less than 240 hours; and a simple majority required if the legislation has been on the floor for more than 240 hours. The presentation of a call for a vote shall not impact the ability to introduce or dispose of amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful.

E. At the motion of the Speaker, the General Court may waive the 72 hour requirement by unanimous consent. Consent shall be granted should no Deputy object within 24 hours.

F. Votes on legislation shall last for 48 hours, or until the whole membership has voted, whichever comes first. Only votes cast within the exact 48 hours after the Speaker has opened the vote shall be valid. Any votes cast after the 48 hours has expired are to be considered invalid, and may not be counted by the Speaker. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Deputies the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread. A piece of proposed legislation shall pass if a majority of Deputies vote in favour of it (with abstentions and absences not counted as votes). The Speaker shall certify the results of any vote within 24 hours of the end of the voting period.

G. In the event that passed legislation is vetoed, any Deputy may introduce a motion to override within 72 hours. No debate shall be required. An override vote shall last 48 hours, or until all Deputies have voted, if earlier. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Deputies the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread.

H. In the event where all Deputies have missed a vote, the Presiding Officer may exercise one of two options: they may extend the vote for 24 hours (they may do so repeatedly), this shall not require consent to suspend the rules, or they may certify the vote as a failed vote, due to not receiving a single AYE vote. Whichever option the presiding officer chooses may be overridden if 2/3rd's of sitting Deputies object, in which case the presiding officer must choose the other option. If a sufficient amount of Deputies object to both options, the presiding officer may choose whichever option they desire.

I. In the event that a gubernatorial redraft is sent to the General Court, the Speaker shall open an immediate vote. No debate shall be required. The vote shall last 48 hours, or until all Deputies have voted, if earlier. This text shall not be interpreted as to deny Deputies the right to change their vote before the Speaker has officially closed voting via a post in the appropriate legislation thread.

J. Any Deputy may remove their sponsorship of a bill at any time. If no Deputy sponsors the bill within 24 hours, the bill shall be removed from the floor.

Section 4: Final Business

A. The General Court shall be dissolved at the start of the general elections.

B. The "Final Business" period of the General Court shall commence 36 hours prior to dissolution of the General Court session and shall end at dissolution.

  i. At the start of Final Business, the Speaker shall declare in all pending legislative threads that Final Business has commenced and the session is nearing its end.

    a. At this time, the Speaker must no longer open new legislative threads.

    b. At this time, the General Court shall not consider new amendment proposals or votes.

   ii. All legislation on the floor of the General Court shall go to a final vote at the start of the final business period, unless either the sponsor of the legislation or a majority of the General Court voices an objection to the vote. Such a vote shall close no later than the time of dissolution. Any legislation left incomplete at the end of a session shall be carried over to the next session.

Section 5: Role of the Speaker
A. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the General Court and is tasked with interpreting and enforcing the Standing Orders as prescribed in this act.

B. At the beginning of each term of the General Court, and at any time when the office is vacant, the first order of business shall be to elect the Speaker. Prior to the election of a Speaker, the most senior Deputy may serve as Acting Speaker for the purposes of electing a Speaker only. If such individual is not available, the Governor may act as Speaker. If the Governor is also unavailable, the next most senior deputy shall preside, and so on and so forth until a deputy able to preside is found. Time served in the 10th Lincoln Council may be used to determine seniority in the 1st General Court.

C. The Presiding Officer shall begin with a nomination period, to last 24 hours, followed by a 48 hour vote between the nominated candidates. The vote may be certified early if all Deputies have voted. Votes may be changed until certification. Write in votes will be allowed. Late votes shall not be counted. The Speaker shall immediately assume office.

D. The General Court may, at any time, remove the Speaker by introducing legislation to do such. The motion shall take precedence over all other business before the Court, and shall only be open to debate at the discretion of the presiding officer. A 48 hour vote, according to the provisions of Section 3, may begin immediately. The Governor will designate a Deputy to preside in the place of the Speaker. The Legislation may designate the new Speaker, or a new one may be elected afterward as detailed above.

Section 6: Rules Dispute

A. The Court may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Deputies. Such a vote may begin at any time, shall last for 48 hours, and shall not require any debate period beforehand.

B. The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Deputy objects. If a Deputy objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Deputies.

--- Such objection must be raised within 24 hours. The presiding officer shall have the option to proceed with the effect of the suspension without waiting for an objection, and then turn back if an objection is raised within 24 hours, but if this option is taken, all action taken going back to the moment of the suspension becomes null and void if an objection is raised. The presiding officer may also elect to wait the full 24 hours before proceeding. The suspension must be announced in some form - there does not need to be any specific phrasing, but it must be made clear that some sort of action is being taken that one could stop or alter by the means of objecting within 24 hours.

C. If a Deputy believes that a given action is in violation of the rules, such a Deputy may raise a point of order. This can be done on the thread in which rules are being broken, or on a new thread the Deputy may create. The Presiding Officer shall immediately rule on the point of order. If the point of order is upheld, all action objected to by the point of order shall be null and void. If the point of order is overruled, any Deputy may demand an immediate vote on it within 24 hours. Such a vote will last 48 hours and serve as the final disposition of the point of order.

D. Questions or Disputes regarding the General Court Rules shall not be within the purview of the Lincoln Court or the Supreme Court, unless the Presiding Officer is refusing to recognize the existence of a point of order, in which case the court shall be limited to the ability to compel the Presiding Officer to proceed with handling the point of order and any related appeal. However, in this case, the authority of the court to hear the case ends the moment the Presiding Officer complies with their duties relevant to the point of order, even if such compliance comes during legal proceedings.

Title II. ERRATA


Section I: Preface

A. The Lincoln General Court Rules Errata shall be considered part of the Lincoln General Court Rules and included alongside it.
B. The Errata shall override the main text of the rules whenever the two contradict.
C. Adherence to the Errata is legally binding and subject to court order.
D. The Lincoln General Court may amend this errata as it sees fit, as the Courts no longer have the authority to directly interpret the rules. The Courts may not change the Errata.
E. In the event that an amendment to the main text of the Lincoln General Court Rules affects the numbering of any Sections/subsections referenced in the Errata, those references contained here shall instead be considered to refer to the new designation of the section/subsection to which it previously referenced.
F. This first section of the errata shall exist only for the purposes of explaining this document and describing the manner in which interpretations added to the following sections shall apply.

Section II: Outcome of tack50 v Lincoln Speaker Wulfric

A. A second is only valid if it is explicitly declared to be as such.
B. Motions are considered to be legislation.
C. All references to legislation in Section 2F apply only to Bills/Acts, as defined in Section 1.C
D. For a second to be valid, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded
E. If a second is required for a vote to begin, the second required to begin the vote must be made before the vote can begin.