L.C. 10.17 Comprehensive Rules Cleanup

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Comprehensive Rules Cleanup


1. The Rules of the Lincoln Council are hereby amended as followed:

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 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 legislation is removed from the floor by the means described in Section 2.F., 2G., or 3.H..

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.H..


F.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.H., or (d)(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 the sponsor of the proposed legislation publicly deems the amendment friendly, no one objects to the amendment within 24 hours,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 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 2448 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.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 three 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.

H. 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, neither the Speaker nor legislative sponsors 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 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 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

1A. 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.

2B. 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.



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


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.

2. Section 2.G. of the Errata shall hereby be removed in its entirety.

Sponsor: Speaker Dwarven Dragon
Occupying: Government Slot 4 of 12

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

For advocacy, I'll summarize by section:

Section 1: Clearly defines that everything the Council does is Legislation, but that certain items may also be called bills or standing orders.

Section 2: Removes inconsistencies between "legislation" and "bill" to avoid confusion. Cleans up the criteria for closing a thread to be clear that only certain actions are eligible for signature or referendum.

Section 3: Makes it clear that motions of no confidence and officer appointments do not need 72 hours of debate. Eliminates the rarely enforced "friendly" system for amendments, with the current practice of simply allowing 24 hours to object to amendments. Makes it clear that one may withdraw their bill by withdrawing sponsorship thereof, provided no one else sponsors within 24 hours. Makes a change to amendment votes to ensure they can always last 48 hours if we are waiting on someone to vote. Makes other grammatical corrections.

Section 4: Removes reference to the old friendly system for amendments

Section 5: Grammatical correction

Section 6: Grammatical correction and clarification of the process of replacing the Speaker.

Section 8 & 9: Eliminated as all relevant provisions are now stated elsewhere

Section 7: Cleared up the suspension procedure, including how it may be initiated and how one may object. Eliminated the Court's potentially dangerous 7.C. Authority, and replaced with a point of order system for enforcing the rules. The court does get limited authority in Section 7.D., but far narrower than what it currently has.


---

The final part of this legislation eliminates section 2.G. of the Errata, regarding suspensions, as Section 7 now adequately covers that procedure.

--------

I do hope we can move expeditiously on this. While I acknowledge the rules may need a complete rewrite if our constitution is eventually replaced, this will provide a guide for such rewrite where applicable, and clear up potential areas of dispute. Therefore I urge its passage.

[S019]

Okay so I read over this and I'm confused, first line 2E mentions removing legislation and then references section 3H referencing budget bills, I'm not sure what the connection is there. Second, where is this introductory legislation that is mentioned in Section 6E, referencing Section 7C?

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Okay so I read over this and I'm confused, first line 2E mentions removing legislation and then references section 3H referencing budget bills, I'm not sure what the connection is there. Second, where is this introductory legislation that is mentioned in Section 6E, referencing Section 7C?

So, Section 6E reads:

E. The Council may, at any time, remove the Speaker by making introducing repeal legislation to the introductory legislation of Section VI, Part C.

VI in Roman Numerals is Six, so this is referencing Section 6, C, as intended.

However..., on your other thing...I messed up and there are two section 3Hs in this. Needs to be a 3K. Amendment forthcoming.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Amended Version fixing the issue of two section 3H's.

Comprehensive Rules Cleanup


1. The Rules of the Lincoln Council are hereby amended as followed:

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 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 legislation is removed from the floor by the means described in Section 2.F., 2G., or 3.HK..

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.HK..


F.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.HK., or (d)(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 the sponsor of the proposed legislation publicly deems the amendment friendly, no one objects to the amendment within 24 hours,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 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 2448 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.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 three 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.

HK. 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, neither the Speaker nor legislative sponsors 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 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 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

1A. 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.

2B. 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.



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


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.

2. Section 2.G. of the Errata shall hereby be removed in its entirety.

[S019]

Ok so I just read through the case and the errata and now I have a better understanding of what's going on, I think we should move for a final vote tomorrow

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Amendment adopted. Moving for a final vote.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

A vote has begun.

Aye

[S019]

AYE

[AGA]

Aye

[Brother Jonathan]

Aye

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

This has passed on a vote of 4-0.

Pursuant to Section 8 of the previous rules and Section 1-F of these new rules, no action from the Governor is needed on these changes.