S.21.2-3: Adding Gubernatorial Powers Amendment to Standing Rules of Southern Chamber (Failed)

[reagente]

Amendment to the Standing Rules of the Southern Chamber of Delegates-Adding Gubernatorial Powers

Rules and Procedure of the Southern Legislature:

Definitions:

1.) Legislation is defined as any Bill, Amendment, or Resolution to a current Act, Procedural Resolution, or Constitutional Amendment.

2.) In all past, present and future instances of the terms, a Bill is defined as a piece of legislation that is awaiting or is presently in debate on the Chamber floor. An Act is defined as a Bill that has achieved passage into Law.

3.) The Dean of the Chamber is defined as the serving Delegate, who is not the Speaker, with the longest continuous service in the Delegate in his or her present stint of service. For the purposes of this clause, continuous service begins at the moment of swearing-in in the first term of the stint of service. The Chamber may, by a two-thirds majority vote on an ordinary resolution, pass the title, powers and responsibilities of the Dean of the Chamber, to the next longest serving Delegate (not having been removed from the position by the Chamber previously), for any reason whatsoever.

4.) A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of the Chamber that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid, which is defined as a majority of the sitting Chamber.

5.) The Southern Legislature is defined as the ‘Chamber of Delegates’.

6.) Upon a motion of any Delegate, a vote of no confidence in the Speaker of the Chamber shall be entertained. Debate shall last no more than 72 hours, unless a majority of Delegates vote to extend the time. No Speaker shall be removed at-will, except upon the vote of 2/3rds of the Delegates. No Speaker shall be removed for-cause, except upon the vote of a majority of the Delegates. Upon a successful vote, the Dean of the Chamber, shall become acting Speaker, unless the Dean is also the Speaker, in which case the next most-senior Delegate shall by acting speaker. A new election for Speaker shall commence within 24 hours using the same process for electing a Speaker at the beginning of the Session. A Successful no-confidence vote shall not result in the expulsion of a Speaker who is also an elected Delegate, merely the forfeiture of the office of Speaker.

7.) The Chamber shall entrust the position of coordinating legislative debate and expediting floor motions to a majority leader and a minority leader, each of who shall serve at the will of the respective majority and minority factions. Any sitting member of the Southern Chamber of Delegates shall be eligible to serve as either majority leader or minority leader, but not both.

8.) At any time during which the Chamber of Delegates is in session, the members of a ruling coalition and the members of the opposition coalition may elect a majority leader or a minority leader respectively. An election for either majority leader or minority leader shall occur upon the initiation of any 2 members of the majority or minority caucus respectively, and shall being with a 24-hour nominating period for either Majority Leader or Minority Leader, followed by a 48-hour vote on these positions. The Speaker shall be ineligible to serve as either majority leader or minority leader. No Delegate shall vote for both majority leader and minority leader during a single session, unless a change in Chamber membership results in a new ruling coalition. There shall be no rule mandating the discounting of ballots cast before the end of the voting period on account of post-facto edits to those ballots, invalid preferences, or other trivial irregularities; but no ballot cast in a script other than the Latin alphabet shall be counted as valid.


Section I: Officers of the Chamber of Delegates

1.) The Chamber shall entrust the position of enforcing these rules with a Speaker who shall defend and protect both our constitution and these rules to the best of his or her ability. Any citizen of the Southern Region shall be eligible to serve as Speaker.

2.) On the first Monday after the Friday after a legislative election, the Dean of the Chamber shall start a 24-hour nominating period for Speaker, followed by a 48-hour vote on these positions. In the event of a tie, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Speaker to serve until the tie is resolved, or until a new Chamber is elected.

3.) The Speaker shall be tasked with upholding Chamber procedures, organizing the functions of the Chamber, including opening and closing votes, allowing for debate and amendments, and other functions as deemed necessary by the Speaker, all solely given the parameters and requirements provided in Section IV, V, VI, and VII.

4.) All sitting members of the Chamber of Delegates shall be eligible to vote in elections for the Speakership. There shall be no rule mandating the discounting of ballots cast before the end of the voting period on account of post-facto edits to those ballots, invalid preferences, or other trivial irregularities; but no ballot cast in a script other than the Latin alphabet shall be counted as valid.

5.) The Speaker’s term shall end upon the Friday after the regularly scheduled Chamber election. Until the next Speaker shall swear in, the Dean of the Chamber shall act as Speaker.


Section II: The Southern Legislation Introduction Thread and Chamber Noticeboard

1. The "Southern Chamber Introduction” thread shall be used for the following purposes: a. The introduction of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments. b. The posting of any updates to the schedule, calendar, recesses, or other procedural details of the Legislature. c. Any motions involving the procedure or hierarchy of the Legislature, including a motion for Speaker of the Legislature as well as votes on such a motion. d. General discussion among members that is pertinent to the Southern Legislature but not related to debate on a bill, resolution, or constitutional amendment. E. The Speaker of the Chamber, or a person of his or her choosing shall be the manager of this thread

2. The Chamber Noticeboard will be a thread managed by the Governor, or a person of his or her choosing, to update this board with recent events on the Southern Chamber’s legislation, and amendments, along with Rejected and Passed Legislation.


Section III: Legislative Threads


1. The Speaker of the Legislature shall create a new thread for each piece of legislation introduced; however, such a thread shall only be created when the Legislature is debating said legislation, "legislation" means any bill, resolution, or constitutional amendment introduced in the Southern Legislature Thread, with the exception of resolutions on the procedure or hierarchy of the Legislature.

2. The following shall be performed in the legislation thread: a. All debate on the piece of legislation. b. The introduction of any amendments to the piece of legislation. c. Any votes on the piece of legislation, including amendments to it.

3. Included in the thread title should be the current state of the piece of legislation followed by the title in parenthesis: a. "Debating" - the piece of legislation is actively being debated by the Legislature. b. "Voting on Amendment" - the Legislature is in the process of voting on an amendment to the proposed legislation. c. "Final vote" - the Legislature is in the process of taking a final vote. d. "Passed" - the Legislature voted in favor of the piece of legislation; however, the Governor has not yet signed it. e. "Failed" - the Legislature voted against the the piece of legislation. f. "Statute" - the Legislature voted in favor of the piece of legislation, and the Governor signed it into law. g. "Vetoed" - the Legislature voted in favor of the piece of legislation; however, the Governor vetoed the legislation. h. "Vote to Override" - the Legislature voted in favor of the piece of legislation; however, the Governor vetoed the legislation, and the Legislature is in a vote to override the veto. i. "Tabled" - the Legislature voted to table the piece of legislation until a further time.


Section IV: Introducing and Managing Legislation

1.) If the Speaker determines that a piece of legislation is functionally impractical, frivolous, or is directly unconstitutional, they may, in a public post on the Legislation Introduction thread, remove said legislation from the Chamber queue. Delegates shall have seventy-two hours to challenge the decision(s), or until the end of the legislative session, whichever is earlier. If there is a challenge, the Speaker shall call a seventy-two hour vote on the challenge, offering an individual vote for each challenged decision, in the Southern Legislature Thread. If three Delegates vote in the affirmative (in favor of the challenge), the legislation shall be re-introduced at the same position in the queue. If the legislation's position in the queue was already passed, it shall be re-introduced at the beginning of the queue.

2.) 12 threads about legislation may be open for voting and debate simultaneously. a) The first 10 open threads shall be open to all legislations initially regarding bills, resolutions or constitutional amendments. If the sponsor already has 4 or more pieces legislation on the Chamber floor, legislation from Delegates who do not shall take priority until all such other legislation is completed. The Speaker shall be the presiding officer for these open threads. b) The eleventh open thread shall be reserved for bills submitted by civilians in the Public Consultation and Legislation Submission thread. The Speaker shall be the presiding officer for this open thread. c) The twelfth open thread shall be reserved for legislation related to regional emergencies declared by the Governor of the South. The Speaker shall introduce legislation to this thread as directed by the Governor, but only when the Governor has declared a state of regional emergency.

3.) A piece of legislation is no longer on the Chamber Floor when it has been withdrawn, tabled, rejected, or passed by the members of the Chamber of Delegates.

4.) All legislative activity and legislation introduced shall be dropped at the end of the legislative session, thereby clearing the queue. Delegates-elect and re-elected Delegates may pre-file legislation and re-sponsor failed legislation, including legislation never brought to the floor, from previous sessions, after the certification of their elections; to be added immediately to the new queue in the order of pre-filing. Legislation on the floor at the end of a legislative session shall remain on the floor at the start of the new session. The sponsor shall continue to hold sponsorship if he or she remains a Delegate or the Governor for the new session. If the piece of legislation was sponsored by an outgoing Delegate or Governor, the legislation shall be open for 48 hours for claiming by a new sponsor. If the legislation is left unclaimed, it shall be automatically tabled.

5.) Co-sponsors of legislation under consideration shall have no power to withdraw legislation nor contest withdrawal of legislation by the original sponsor. Any office-holding Delegates may assume sponsorship of the legislation within 72 hours after the original sponsor has motioned to withdraw. Once a motion to assume sponsorship has been filed by a Delegates, Delegates shall have 24 hours to object to this motion. If any Delegate objects, the Speaker shall open a vote on the motion lasting until a majority has voted for or against the motion, but not more than 72 hours. If the motion is rejected, the bill shall be removed from the floor.


Section V: Debate

1.) After a piece of legislation is introduced to the Chamber of Delegates floor, debate shall begin immediately. Debate on the legislation shall last for no less than 48 hours. The Chamber of Delegates may waive the 48-hour requirement on any legislation by passing cloture by unanimous consent. To waive the 48-hour requirement, the presiding officer must request unanimous consent to waive the minimum debate time requirement and provide 24 hours for a Delegate to object to this request. The Chamber of Delegates may also waive the 48-hour requirement upon the public affirmation of the Speaker, the Majority Leader, and the Minority Leader. If the 48-hour requirement is waived, the presiding officer shall immediately open a final vote.

2.) The sponsor of a piece of legislation may at any time withdraw his or her sponsorship. In addition, when the sponsor is no longer a Delegate or Governor, his or her sponsorship shall be revoked automatically. If no member of the Chamber of Delegates moves to assume sponsorship of the legislation within 48 hours, the legislation shall be tabled automatically. The sponsor of a piece of legislation may be any Delegate or the Governor. Legislation posted by private citizens must have a Delegate or the Governor claim sponsorship for them.

3.) At any time during debate on a piece of legislation, a Delegate or the Governor may propose an amendment to that legislation. The presiding officer may ignore amendments that he or she deems frivolous, functionally impractical, or unconstitutional at his or her discretion, but the Chamber may compel the presiding officer to consider the amendment by majority consent.

4.) The presiding officer shall allow 24 hours for objections to an amendment following its introduction. If no objections are filed, the amendment shall pass. If any objections are filed, a vote shall be held. This vote shall last until a majority of sitting Delegates have voted to either approve or reject the amendment or until 3 days, i.e. 72 hours, have elapsed. No Delegate may change his or her vote once the voting period has concluded.

5.) Any Delegate may file a motion to table a piece of legislation during debate. The presiding officer shall open a vote on the motion to table when at least two other Delegates have seconded the motion. A two thirds simple majority of Delegates present is required for the approval of the motion to table.

6.) When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 24 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours, any Delegates or the Governor may call for a vote on said legislation. The presiding officer shall open a vote if no other member of the Chamber of Delegates or the Governor objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote. When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 24 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours but no more than 336 hours, any Delegates may motion for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the Chamber of Delegates, the Chamber of Delegates shall end debate. If the legislation has been on the floor for more than 336 hours, a simple majority is needed in order to end the debates. The presiding officer shall then open a final vote.

7.) If a bill has been vetoed, a Delegate has 24 hours to motion for a veto override. A two-thirds majority of the members of the Chamber of Delegates is needed in order to override a veto.


Section VI: Amendments
1.) During the course of debate on legislation, any sitting Delegate or Governor may offer amendments to the legislation. The Speaker may remove amendments from consideration that are functionally impractical, frivolous, directly unconstitutional, or lack clear intent regarding the changes to be made. The amendment sponsor shall have 24 hours to object to the decision and may overturn the action with the concurrence of 1/3rd of his or her fellow Delegates. Unless stated otherwise in the amendment, components of the underlying legislation not referenced in an amendment will remain unchanged.

2.) The legislation's primary sponsor shall judge the amendment(s) in relation to their intent with the legislation. If judged friendly by the sponsor, the Speaker shall give twenty four hours for objections to the amendment, after which, with no objections having been entered the amendment shall be considered as passed.

3.) If judged hostile by the sponsor, or if a Delegate has objected, a vote shall be started by the Speaker once the amendment has been on the floor twenty four hours. The vote shall last for three days or until a majority has voted in favor or against the amendment, at which point Delegates who have voted shall be prohibited from changing their votes and the vote shall be declared final.

4.) The Speaker Whoever is selected to do so in accordance with Section II-2 shall number and track all amendments offered during the course of each Chamber session. These shall be tracked in the “Chamber Noticeboard” thread.


Section VII: Voting

1.) Votes on legislation shall last for a maximum of 3 days (i.e. 72 hours).

2.) When a piece of legislation has enough votes to pass or fail, the office in control of the legislative slot shall announce that he or she will close the vote in 24 hours and that any Delegate who wishes to change his or her vote must do so during that interval.

3.) If a piece of legislation is vetoed by the Governor, the bill's sponsor may request an override of the veto within 3 days, i.e. 72 hours, of the veto taking place. The Speaker may extend this period if the bill's sponsor is on a publicly-declared leave of absence.

4.) For the purposes of overriding vetoes, any Delegate who abstains from voting shall be counted as a vote against overriding the veto.


Article VIII: Rules Disputes

1.) The Southern Legislature may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Delegates.

2.) The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Delegate objects. If two Delegates object, suspending the rules shall require the consent of a majority of sitting Delegates.

3.) If the Chamber of Delegates cannot resolve a rules dispute, within 168 hours of the start of the dispute, the Supreme Court of The South may issue a binding decision dictating the proper interpretation of these rules, bound by the Constitution.

4.)Any Delegate or the Governor may enforce the rules of this chamber.

Sponsor: Governor LouisvilleThunder (Co-Sponsored by Deputy Speaker Punxsutawney Phil)
Minimum 48h of debate, sponsors are invited to advocate for the bill

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

As far as I am concerned, this is the governor's package, I sponsored it out of concern that in case the governor introduced other bills/amendments/whatever, this would otherwise have to wait to reach the floor. I will maintain that sponsorship because whatever bills the Governor writes and thereafter wants to get to the floor shouldn't have to wait on this.
I await the Governor's words; this has some changes that I am undecided on and I have interest in what the Governor has to say.
I do support wholeheartedly the removing of sections 7 and 8 from the first part of the standing rules, and fixing small mini-errors of grammar here and there isn't bad. I ask the Chamber to consider keeping those parts of the proposed changes even if it decides to nix other parts it would presumably oppose in that scenario.

[Biden his time]

I do support wholeheartedly the removing of sections 7 and 8 from the first part of the standing rules, and fixing small mini-errors of grammar here and there isn't bad. I ask the Chamber to consider keeping those parts of the proposed changes even if it decides to nix other parts it would presumably oppose in that scenario.

I agree with that as well, those clauses seem a little obsolete. Do we even have a majority and minority leader currently? We're just five people, so I don't think it's necessary.

I'm also favorable to the change in IV-4. Not really much of a difference except more continuity, I can't really see any downside to doing that.

The change in clause V-2 seems unnecessary. I'm thinking we should go the other way honestly there, maybe giving private citizens the right to introduce bills by themselves if they really want (it's not like there'll be an overload of work, just maybe 3 or 4 extra). It'll also increase activity. IDK though maybe there's another good reason.

Rest seems like mainly giving the governor a few powers that delegates have, and grammatical fixes.

[reagente]

As far as I am concerned, this is the governor's package, I sponsored it out of concern that in case the governor introduced other bills/amendments/whatever, this would otherwise have to wait to reach the floor. I will maintain that sponsorship because whatever bills the Governor writes and thereafter wants to get to the floor shouldn't have to wait on this.
I await the Governor's words; this has some changes that I am undecided on and I have interest in what the Governor has to say.
I do support wholeheartedly the removing of sections 7 and 8 from the first part of the standing rules, and fixing small mini-errors of grammar here and there isn't bad. I ask the Chamber to consider keeping those parts of the proposed changes even if it decides to nix other parts it would presumably oppose in that scenario.

I think the chamber has forgotten about this bill - would the governor like to provide some words of advocacy?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

As far as I am concerned, this is the governor's package, I sponsored it out of concern that in case the governor introduced other bills/amendments/whatever, this would otherwise have to wait to reach the floor. I will maintain that sponsorship because whatever bills the Governor writes and thereafter wants to get to the floor shouldn't have to wait on this.
I await the Governor's words; this has some changes that I am undecided on and I have interest in what the Governor has to say.
I do support wholeheartedly the removing of sections 7 and 8 from the first part of the standing rules, and fixing small mini-errors of grammar here and there isn't bad. I ask the Chamber to consider keeping those parts of the proposed changes even if it decides to nix other parts it would presumably oppose in that scenario.

I think the chamber has forgotten about this bill - would the governor like to provide some words of advocacy?

Yeah, there has not been enough advocacy and in pacticular we haven't heard enough from other delegates on such a fundamentally transformative measure.

[Biden his time]

Motion for a final vote

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Motion for a final vote

Seconded.

[reagente]

Final vote has started, 48 hours.

[Biden his time]

Aye!

The change in Clause V-2 can be subject to change in another bill

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

The governor never did anything in the way of advocacy for these changes and there was not enough deliberation on the contents of the bill, especially when considering the large impact it would have on the way we operate.

I have to vote Nay. These changes could be pondered in another session in which there is more debate and/or discussion, and I might well vote Aye then.

[reagente]

The governor never did anything in the way of advocacy for these changes and there was not enough deliberation on the contents of the bill, especially when considering the large impact it would have on the way we operate.

I have to vote Nay. These changes could be pondered in another session in which there is more debate and/or discussion, and I might well vote Aye then.

Reluctantly agree, I will also be voting Nay.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

2 Nays, 1 Aye. This bill fails.