Lincoln General Court Noticeboard

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

Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:
Slot 4:
Slot 5:
Slot 6:
Slot 7:
Slot 8:
Slot 9:  
Slot 10:
Slot 11:
Slot 12:
Slot 13:
Slot 14:

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 1.1 SOAP
LGC 1.3 Establishment of New Flag/Seal
LGC 1.2 Amendment to the Lincoln Downballot Elections Act
LGC 1.9 Bettering Lincoln and Nurturing Knowledge Act
LGC 1.7 Repeal of L.C. 10.16
LGC 1.8 Way Excess Amounts of Loot, To Hell! Act
LGC 1.11 NPC Recall Elections Act
LGC 1.12 Duplex Act

Failed Legislation:

LGC 1.5 Amendment to L.C. 10.11
LGC 1.6 Amendment to the End of Affirmative Action Again Act
LGC 1.10 Peconic Act
LGC 1.4 Amendment to the FF Act
L.C. 10.13 High Speed Highways Act

---

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

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

I'd like to briefly outline the floor schedule as we wrap up this session.

Monday: Possible Amendment Debate and Vote in relation to LGC 10.4
Tuesday: Possible Amendment Debate and Vote in relation to L.C. 10.13
Wednesday-Thursday: Final vote on LGC 10.4. Possible Final Vote on L.C. 10.13.
Thursday at 23:59:59: 1st General Court adjourns sine die

Any further legislation should be introduced no later than tomorrow, and amendments no later than Tuesday, to ensure they can be considered. Thanks for all your "hard work" this Session.

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

Final business has commenced. No further business may be introduced.  Remaining final votes are open. Once all have voted, or the time of dissolution has been reached, we will adjourn sine die.

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

The 1st Lincoln General Court is adjourned sine die

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

4th General Court Noticeboard


Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:
Slot 4:
Slot 5:
Slot 6:

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 4.2 - Clean up defunded statutes act
LGC 4.3 - FRT Restrictions Act
LGC 4.9 - Bilingual Education Act
LGC 4.10 - Improving our Pipe System Act
LGC 4.7 - High Speed Highways and Climate Change Control Act (Veto Override)
LGC 4.8 - Police Transparency Act
LGC 4.12 - Small Tax Modification Act
LGC 4.13 - Lincoln Roads and Bridges Improvement Act (Gubernatorial Inaction)
LGC 4.16 - Power Grid Security Act
LGC 4.11 - Tax Reduction and Cleanup Act

Failed Legislation:

LGC 4.1 - Reinstate Offshore Drilling Act
LGC 4.6 - Periodic Secession Referendum Act
LGC 3.1 - French Future for Lincoln
LGC 4.4 - Amendment to the FF Act
LGC 4.5 - Ban McDonald's Act
LGC 4.15 - Lincoln Clean Power and Emission Reducing Act
LGC 4.14 - Lincoln Public Transit Improvement Act

---

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

-----------------


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC

---

- The WALL OF SHAME is currently vacant

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

Anticipated Voting Schedule for this week:

Tomorrow: LGC 4.1 and LGC 4.2
Wednesday: LGC 4.3
Thursday: LGC 4.5 and LGC 4.6


Veto overrides may be brought up at any time

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

Locking this one too just to ensure the army of spam calls it a night.

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

Session is coming to an end.

On December 8th, Pursuant to Section 4 of the SOAP, I plan to hold votes on the passage of LGC 4.11 and LGC 4.16. The 4th Court shall then stand adjourned sine die.

LGC 4.14 should become law by December 10th, via either signature or inaction. I will keep the thread updated.

Thanks for a great session. Many twists and turns, some perhaps misguided, but many accomplishments as well.

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

In order to allow a special election to take place on the same day as Senate elections, and to ensure maximum turnout and uptake of positions by those who have not run for other offices, I will be resigning from the Court with immediate effect. I implore the Governor to hold the election on the same day as the Senate elections. I wish the members of the Court every success in governing in the interests of Lincoln citizens.

The whole court is already up for election in the February elections. But yes, indeed this is timed to prevent a special for the current session from having to be called.

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

8th General Court Noticeboard


Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:
Slot 4: LGC 8.9 - Lincoln Budget Fiscal 2023
Slot 5:
Slot 6:
Slot 7:
Slot 8:

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 7.3 - Freedom of Public Information Act
LGC 6.10 - Video Games Looting Regulation Act
LGC 8.1 - BAN DECLAWING ACT
LGC 8.2 - Regional Harmony Act
LGC 8.3 - Stop Gun Trafficking Act
LGC 8.5 - Proxy Voting SOAP Amendment
LGC 8.6 - Child Pornography Eradication Act
LGC 8.8 - Stop Ghost Guns and Store Guns Safely Act

Failed Legislation:

LGC 7.5 - Assault Weapons Ban and Buyback Act
LGC 8.4 - Regulating Disruptive Telecommunications Act
LGC 8.7 - 1-800-This-is-a-Sin-Act

---

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

-----------------


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC

---

- The WALL OF SHAME is currently vacant

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

9th General Court Noticeboard

Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:
Slot 4:
Slot 5:
Slot 6:
Slot 7:
Slot 8:

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 9.1 - Expunge the Kansas Crisis Act
LGC 9.3 - Domestic Violence Awareness Day Act
LGC 9.4 - THE BEANTOWN-TO-CHITOWN HSR ACT (2)
LGC 9.5 - LGBTI Rights Defence Act
LGC 9.6 - Bed Sheets Waving Act
LGC 9.7 - Juvenile Life Sentences Are Cruel Act
LGC 9.9 - Cracking Down on Gang Stalking Act
LGC 9.8 - Lincolnite Spaceport Act
LGC 9.10 - Riot Response Reform Act
LGC 9.12 - Cheese Deregulation Act
LGC 9.13 - Active Shooter Alert Act
LGC 9.11 - Big Cat Public Safety Act
LGC 9.14 - NeuroDivergent Lincolnites Act
LGC 8.9 - Lincoln Budget Fiscal 2023
LGC 9.16 - Discriminatory Training Ban

Failed Legislation:

LGC 9.2 - Beantown-to-Chitown HSR Act
LGC 9.15 - Vote at 16 Act
---

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

-----------------


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC

---

Wall of Shame:

VACANT

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

Statement on LGC 5.6 (avoids bumping an old thread): For purposes of future generations, I simply acknowledge that this bill failed as the governor at the time of this bill never cast a tie breaking vote and the sponsor has left the LGC.

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

New Speaker = New Reply

12th General Court Noticeboard

Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1 —
Slot 2 —
Slot 3 — LGC 12.19 (Free Community College Act)
Slot 4 —
Slot 5 —
Slot 6 —
Slot 7 —
Slot 8 —
Slot 9 —
Slot 10 —

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 12.1 (Lincoln Referendum Amendment)
LGC 12.2 (Lincoln Shall Benefit From Greenland Act)
LGC 12.4 (Gun License Defense Act)
LGC 12.3 (Prisoner Second Chance Act)
LGC 12.5 (Sub/Urban Community Policing Act)
LGC 12.6 (Discriminatory Training Ban)
LGC 12.7 (Closing Corporate Loopholes)
LGC 12.8 (Community Liberty Act)
LGC 12.12 (Don't Encourage Drug Use Act)
LGC 12.15 (Modern Response Act)
LGC 12.17 (Congratulating the University of Connecticut)
LGC 12.16 (Better Business Practices Act)
LGC 12.14 (Streamlining Amendment Adoption Amendment)
LGC 12.20 (Places to Live, Not Places to Park Act)
LGC 12.18 (Maximum Wage Law)
LGC 12.21 (Reaffirming Commitment to the Republic)

Failed Legislation:

LGC 12.9 (Amendment to LGC 11.54)
LGC 12.10 (Omnibus Repeals Act)
LGC 12.11 (Lincoln Marshall Plan)
LGC 12.13 (REPUB Act)

———

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

——————————


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC!

———

Wall of Shame:

VACANT

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

13th General Court Noticeboard

Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1 —
Slot 2 —
Slot 3 —
Slot 4 —
Slot 5 —
Slot 6 —
Slot 7 —
Slot 8 —
Slot 9 —
Slot 10 —

Previously Passed Legislation:
LGC 13.2 (Furry Celebration Day Resolution)
LGC 12.19 (Free Community College Act)
LGC 13.3 (The Protection of Horses Act)
LGC 13.5 (Amendment Adoption Acceleration Amendment)
LGC 13.4 (AI Voice Commercial Restriction Act)
LGC 13.10 (Revival of Regional Defense Act)
LGC 13.7 (Fur Farming Ban Act)
LGC 13.8 (Tax Holidays for the Energy Industry)
LGC 13.9 (The package of protection of the region act)
LGC 13.6 (Animal Welfare in food act)
LGC 13.11 (Emergency Petroleum Impact Act)
LGC 13.12 (Emergency Replenishment of the National Guard Act)
LGC 13.14 (Second Package of Protection of the Region Act)
LGC 13.13 (Prohibition of Defenselessness of the Region Amendment)
LGC 13.18 (Censure S019 Resolution)
LGC 13.21 (Chicago Bears Stadium Act (II))
LGC 13.23 (Fund the creation of accessible playgrounds and other recreational areas)

Failed Legislation:
LGC 13.1 (The Curbing Greed for Attorneys and Politicians Act)
LGC 13.16 (Fair Tax Act)
LGC 13.17 (Amendment to Limit Powers of Acting Public Officials)
LGC 13.15 (New York Bridge Renaming Act of 2023)
LGC 13.19 (Anti-Separatist Amendment)
LGC 13.20 (Chicago Bears Stadium Act)
LGC 13.22 (The Portion Control Act of 2023)
———

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

——————————


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC!

———

Wall of Shame:

VACANT

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

Title: Resolution of Censure for Representative S019 by the Lincoln General Court

Section 1: General Findings

The Lincoln General Court finds that Representative S019 has displayed conduct and actions that are contrary to the principles and expectations of their position as a representative of the Lincoln region within the Republic of Atlasia.

Section 2: Censure of Representative S019

Representative S019 is hereby formally censured by the Lincoln General Court for the following reasons:

a. Whereas S019 has expressed strong sympathies for a known traitor to the Republic of Atlasia and whereas S019 continues to show disrespect towards fellow Atlasians, behaving annoyingly and obnoxiously and resorts to bullying, S019 will hereby be censured from the Lincoln General Court.

Section 3: Consequences of Censure

Representative S019 shall be officially reprimanded and condemned for their actions by the Lincoln General Court.

The censure of Representative S019 shall be recorded in the official minutes and records of the Lincoln General Court as a permanent entry.

The censure shall serve as a public declaration and disapproval of Representative S019's actions, and it shall be communicated to the citizens of the Lincoln region through appropriate channels.

Section 4: Rehabilitation and Future Conduct

Representative S019 is encouraged to reflect upon their actions and take steps to regain the trust and confidence of their constituents and fellow members of the Lincoln General Court.

Section 5: Effective Date

This resolution shall come into effect immediately upon its passage by the Lincoln General Court and shall remain in force until expressly repealed or modified by a subsequent act of the Lincoln General Court.

This resolution represents only the views of the Lincoln General Court, and not the Government or Region at large. No enforcement action from the Lincoln Government at large is needed or desired. Therefore, gubernatorial input will not be sought or needed.

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

17th General Court Noticeboard

MEMBERS (Name, National Party, Regional Party, State)

Adam Griffin(Labor - Independent - Michigan)
Lawer (Peace - Independent - Massachusetts)
Dwarven Dragon (Peace - United for Lincoln - New Hampshire)
Rep. Joseph Cao (Federalist - Independent - Illinois)
Utah Neolib (Democratic Alliance - Antarctic Conservation Party - Wisconsin)
JGibson (Democratic Alliance - Labor Left - Illinois)
Weatherboy1102 (Democratic Alliance - Atlasian Future Party - Pennsylvania)


Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1 —
Slot 2 —
Slot 3 —
Slot 4 —
Slot 5 —
Slot 6 —
Slot 7 —
Slot 8 —
Slot 9 —
Slot 10 —

Previously Passed Legislation:

LGC 17.1: Henry George Memorial Act for Liberation of Lincoln from NIMBYism
LGC 17.2: Lead Abatement Act
LGC 17.3: Lincoln Isn't Afraid to be Woke Resolution
LGC 17.4: Regional Minimum Wage Act (REDRAFTED)
LGC 17.5: Lincoln Citizen Initiative Amendment
LGC 17.6: Age of Culpability Act
LGC 17.7: Lincoln Euthansia Act of 2024
LGC 17.11: Lincoln Forestry Act

Failed Legislation:

LGC 17.8: Lincoln Steel Act (VETOED)
LGC 17.9: Ban McDonalds Act
LGC 17.10: Stop Useless Traffic Enforcement Act
———

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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. The speaker shall move any legislation proposed by a citizen which has received the signatures of three or more citizens to the floor provided there is an open slot. However, if there are bills in the queue from deputies, or that have been directly sponsored by a deputy, those bills will be prioritized.

E. 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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

——————————


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC!

———

Wall of Shame:

Vacant

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

18th General Court Noticeboard

MEMBERS (Name, National Party, Regional Party, State)

Cosmo Kramer (Labor - Libertarian - Michigan)
Illiniwek (Labor - Independent - Illinois)
Dwarven Dragon (Peace - United for Lincoln - New Hampshire)
Christian Man (Peace - United for Lincoln - Massachusetts)
Lawer (Peace - Independent - Massachusetts)
Rep. Joseph Cao (Federalist - Independent - Illinois)


Legislation currently on the floor:

Slot 1 —  
Slot 2 —
Slot 3 —
Slot 4 —
Slot 5 —
Slot 6 —
Slot 7 —
Slot 8 —
Slot 9 —
Slot 10 —

Previously Passed Legislation:
LGC 18.1 Stop Useless Traffic Enforcement Act
LGC 18.2 Reasonable Traffic Enforcement Act

Failed Legislation:
LGC 18.3 Fast Food Excise Tax Act
LGC 18.4 Fast Food is Acceptable Act

———

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. The Provisions of Section 2F shall be applicable to bills and acts, with section 2E applying to all other legislation.

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. The speaker shall move any legislation proposed by a citizen which has received the signatures of three or more citizens to the floor provided there is an open slot. However, if there are bills in the queue from deputies, or that have been directly sponsored by a deputy, those bills will be prioritized.

E. 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 simple majority vote of the General Court, (b) fails to receive simple majority support from General Court, (c) the Speaker moves to revoke it from the floor, subject to a simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 simple 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 dispose of existing amendments, in such cases the Court shall take votes on amendments followed by the final vote if such call for a vote is successful. However, new amendments may not be offered when a final vote motion is pending.

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 simple 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 by objection from a two-thirds absolute majority, 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.

K. Should there be a case where a second is required to take action, it must occur on this forum and in the same thread as the thing being seconded. 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. A second must be explicitly stated as such.

L. There is no right under this document for a deputy to vote on a question for which a vote has not yet been formally opened by the presiding officer. Nor is there a right for a deputy to designate another to act as their proxy, or for any deputy to cast a vote on behalf of another deputy. Such actions shall not be recognized as valid by the presiding officer or be permitted to effect any outcome or decision made by the General Court.

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 an absolute 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. Any Deputy may appeal the ruling within 24 hours by calling for an immediate vote on it. The Question shall be "Shall the Decision of the Officer stand as the judgment of the Court?" 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 judiciary 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 judiciary 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.

E. The text known as the "Lincoln Council Errata" is hereby repealed in its entirety.

——————————


WALL OF SHAME

- Deputies who miss two consecutive final votes or six final votes within the session as a whole shall be placed on this list.
- If placed on this list for missing two consecutive final votes, the deputy shall be removed from the list when they next remember to participate in a final vote.
- If placed on this list for missing six final votes within the session, the placement is permanent for the rest of the session.
- Final vote shall be defined as it is defined by the Activity Enforcement Amendment to the 3rd Lincoln Constitution. Please be aware that veto override votes, confirmation votes, and votes regarding the speakership are included within that definition. I will, in accordance with the amendment, omit from the list anyone who is on a publicly announced leave of absence.
- As a reminder, missing four consecutive final votes, or 8 final votes within the session as a whole, without a publicly announced leave of absence, is grounds for automatic expulsion from the LGC!

———

Wall of Shame:

Vacant