Reform Atlasia Plan

[Dr. Cynic]

REFORM ATLASIA PLAN

A DIRECT PROPOSAL FROM: THE PRESIDENT

TO: THE SENATE OF ATLASIA


OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT:

"As your President, it is my responsibility to preserve, protect, and defend Atlasia... Not just the country, but its citizens as well. It is my hope that this reformation plan will save the original Republic. Our history, our identity, and the work we put into this system shall hopefully not be lost."



1.   Legislative Branch
a.   National Assembly (lower house)
i.   15 members with four month terms
ii.   Election Style: Sainte-Lague Method
1.   Voters vote for lists put out by parties or individual lists in a nationwide vote, for example there could be an Independent Liberal List, or a True Democrat List (which would include only True Democrat or other members wishing to run with him as Independents)
2.   Total number of seats for a party determined by the formula V/(2S+1), where V is the total votes cast and S is the number of seats in the in the Lower House
3.   In this case, with 15 seats, a party or individual list would have to attain about 6-7% to attain a seat
4.   Elections held in February, June, and October

iii.   Prime Minister is elected by a majority coalition with these functions:
1.   Serves as Head of Government
2.   Appoints Cabinet
3.   Leads National Assembly
4.   Sets the agenda for the National Assembly
5.   Presents budget to National Assembly

iv.   Cabinet:
1.   Three positions, same as now
2.   Can be National Assembly members, Senators, or regular citizens
3.   Confirmed by a simple majority
v.   All legislation must originate in the National Assembly, with a simple majority to pass, including the budget
vi.   The budget shall be presented by the Prime Minister to the National Assembly, shall require a simple majority to pass, and no Senate approval is needed
1.   Budget shall be simplified into three parts: Domestic, Foreign, Misc.
vii.   To override a veto of the Senate, the National Assembly must have a two thirds majority in favor the legislation

b.   Senate (upper house)
i.   Seven members
ii.   Four month terms

iii.   Election Style:
1.   Six members elected from districts, apportioned by the Supreme Court after every election through IRV
2.   President of the Senate elected at the same time as the other six members in a nationwide vote through IRV
3.   Elections every April, August, and December

iv.   President of the Senate has these functions:
1.   Serves as Head of State
2.   Leads Senate
3.   Nominates Justices for Supreme Court who are confirmed by the rest of the Senate with a required two thirds majority (President does not vote)
4.   Nominates candidates for GM who are confirmed by the rest of the Senate with a required simple majority (President does not vote)
v.   Approves or vetoes legislation as passed by the National Assembly with a simple majority, except the budget

2.   Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)
a.   3 members
b.   Lifetime appointments
c.   Appointed by President of the Senate, with confirmation by the rest of the Senate with a required two thirds majority
d.   Same functions as now, with one additional function:
i.   Apportion districts for Senate elections before every Senate election
e.   The Supreme Court shall re-examine passed and signed Atlasian law of the past Senate, and may hold hearings on them. The Attorney General will be present, and will defend the Administration's position. The prosecutor shall be any private citizen in opposition to the law, and who is selected overall if there be more than one
f.   The Supreme Court shall review all regional law, which will be detailed at a later time

3.   Regions are eliminated

4.   Game Moderator
a.   Still only one GM
b.   Can be punished for inactivity
c.   Nominated by President of the Senate



SECOND OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT:

   "And so my fellow Atlasians, this is just an overall plan. Now, we both know it to be imperfect. So, Senators, I leave it to you to decide it's worth, and take steps accordingly to revise and make additions to this plan as you see fit. I will be open at most times for debate, discussion, and editing... However, the one thing I'm not receptive to is the collapse of this great nation. We must do all we can to ensure it's re-emergence. Now, these issues and areas that I have addressed shall hopefully lead to the revitilization of a proud and once great nation."

[True Democrat]

As one of the authors of this plan, I would like to thank the President for presenting a new way forward for Atlasia.

[Colin]

I would like to thank the President for putting foward an excellent plan for Atlasia. As one of the authors I think it shows a good, solid way towards a total reform of the system. I believe, and the President agreed with me, that this plan is an excellent step in the right direction for Atlasia.

[afleitch]

I am delighted that the President has adressed many of my own concerns and the concerns and ideas of those I've worked with to bring forward this plan. Everyone involved is to be congratulated for their efforts and the President commended for making this his top priority in the early days of his administration.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As a firm believer in the advantages of federalism, if this were the real world, I'd oppose this simply for eliminating the Regions.  However, this isn't reality, and we don't have a lot of citizens (players) so I can live with this, so long as we retain States, perhaps including them as a part of the writ of the GM (or a GM if we ever split the GM duties among several people) as a way of complicating the jobs of Federal officials.

[Democratic Hawk]

It, broadly, receives my seal of approval . Of course, should such a plan be approved and adopted, we'd best have new Constitution. It could either be, for example, the Third Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia or the Constitution of the Second Republic of Atlasia

I applaud the efforts of the President and all those party to the plan

'Hawk'

[True Democrat]

Well technically I don't think Atlasia would be a Republic anymore.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Well technically I don't think Atlasia would be a Republic anymore.

Why ever not?

[Colin]

Well technically I don't think Atlasia would be a Republic anymore.

Why ever not?

Yes why not? It's still the Republic of Finland but they have a parliamentary system, Republic of Poland, Republic of Austria, Republic of Hungary, Czech Republic. Of course we would be the Republic of Atlasia unless we change the name.

I believe that the Second Republic would probably be the best name for this new system since it would delineate it from the older electoral system and older government structure.

[True Democrat]

Well technically I don't think Atlasia would be a Republic anymore.

Why ever not?

Yes why not? It's still the Republic of Finland but they have a parliamentary system, Republic of Poland, Republic of Austria, Republic of Hungary, Czech Republic. Of course we would be the Republic of Atlasia unless we change the name.

I believe that the Second Republic would probably be the best name for this new system since it would delineate it from the older electoral system and older government structure.

Nevermind.  I once heard that if Britain were to join the US it would have to change its govenrment because it's not a republic.  I guess I was a mistaken.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Talking of which, what about all the old laws (and budgets and so on) passed?
There's a certain (unfortunate?) tendency here to decide that once something becomes law, it's a settled issue, which isn't very healthy in real life and is even more dangerous in a game like this.
Either that culture has to change, or most laws & etc not relating to forum affairs etc, need to be scrapped.

[Colin]

Talking of which, what about all the old laws (and budgets and so on) passed?
There's a certain (unfortunate?) tendency here to decide that once something becomes law, it's a settled issue, which isn't very healthy in real life and is even more dangerous in a game like this.
Either that culture has to change, or most laws & etc not relating to forum affairs etc, need to be scrapped.

I believe that the judicial review of the regional and federal laws under Article 2 Clause e of this plan would cover that by, I'm guessing, voiding some laws and keeping others. I'm considering that most forum affairs legislation that doesn't completely conflict would stay in place but that we could work out some sort of system of doing away with some laws through judicial review.

That section was written by the President so I would suggest that he answer what his intent was upon placing that section in the Reform Atlasia Plan.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Give me a day or two and I'll try to turn this plan into a series of amendments.  I am not at all enthusiastic about yet another Constitutional Convention.

[True Democrat]

Give me a day or two and I'll try to turn this plan into a series of amendments.  I am not at all enthusiastic about yet another Constitutional Convention.

Although no constitutional convention would be needed, this would be extremely difficult for new people to understand, since they would have to refer to amendments for the actual frame of government.

[Democratic Hawk]

Give me a day or two and I'll try to turn this plan into a series of amendments.  I am not at all enthusiastic about yet another Constitutional Convention.

It might be better to incorporate the plan into the current Constitution, and do all the changes that way while leaving in what's unchanged. If Atlasia were to establish a Constitutuon of the Second Republic rather than a Third Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, then that should render a Constitutional Convention unnecessary

The Senate can then consider the 'new' Constitution in its entirety and should it pass, and I hope it will, then put the entire document out to Ratification

I think to do it peacemeal (i.e. one amendment at a time) would be cumbersome . Look at this Senate, for example, we've become pretty much bogged down with separate Amendments for this and that

'Hawk'

[True Democrat]

A few provisions still need to be made that Colin and I were talking about:

Expelling members (I was thinking three fourths) (probably procedural in the Senate)
Impeachment of the President of the Senate (three fourths of the Senate?)
Votes of No Confidence for the Prime Minister (maybe procedural also):
     1/5 (at this time three out of fifteen) members of the National Assembly   
          must petition for it to occur
     Can only be held once every two weeks, unless a majority of the National
          Assembly petitions for a sooner one
     A simple majority is needed to pass a VONC
     If a vote of no confidence passes, the Prime Minister must step down and
          new coalitions must be formed or a new prime minister must be elected
All impeachment occurs in the Senate (with the exception of the PM, which is a VONC)

[© tweed]

Cut terms in half...

[True Democrat]

Cut terms in half...

I think two months terms would be much too short.

[Dr. Cynic]

To answer Al's question, I realized that while writing that piece... The point was to have the court go over all of the old legislation, determine what needs changed and so forth...

[Colin]

To add to what True Democrat said above.

The Vote of No Confidence would be proposed by three members of the National Assembly in order to be put forth before the Assembly as a whole. If a majority of the National Assembly votes No Confidence in the government of the Prime Minister he is forced to resign the office of Prime Minister.

The parties may then form a new coalition or the old coalition can elect a new Prime Minister depending what coalitions form after the VONC. The outgoing Prime Minister cannot stand for election to be Prime Minister after losing a Vote of No Confidence.

A Vote of No Confidence can only be called once every two weeks unless a majority of the Senate calls for a Vote of No Confidence before the time limit is up.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I think to do it peacemeal (i.e. one amendment at a time) would be cumbersome . Look at this Senate, for example, we've become pretty much bogged down with separate Amendments for this and that.

I think I can manage the entire proposal in only three or four amendments, structured so that if any one of them should fail it wouldn't impact the others.  Besides, with the propensity for people to tinker with things, I doubt if this could in a single session of the Senate get through all of the amendments to it that will be proposed if it were introduced as a whole.

Later, once we've gotten it finally hammered out, we can go back and pass a new Constitution whose only purpose is to make elegant and incorporate the various amendments without making any changes.

[Colin]

Also another thing TD and I were talking about. If a member of the National Assembly resigns or is thrown out of the Assembly an nation-wide IRV by-election would be held. We were thinking about having the parties nominate another person to fill the seat but then we considered that this would not be applicable to those people running on 1 or 2 man lists. So an IRV nation-wide by-election is the only way to solve this problem.

[DWPerry]

Well technically I don't think Atlasia would be a Republic anymore.

Technically, we would still be a Republic, as Atlasia will still be a representative-democracy.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

OK, here's a first draft of turning this plan into an actual piece of legislation.  I did engage in a few tweaks of mine own, and given the lack of any clear direction on what the Supreme Court was supposed to do with regional law, I left that alone.  The main substantial tweak I added was a presidential line-item spending veto that could be overridden by 3/5 of the National Assembly.  It's four separate amendments, with the only dependency between them being that the Prime Minister Amendment presumes that some version of the National Assembly Amendment has passed.
National Assembly Amendment

Section 1. Congress
The legislative powers of the Republic of Atlasia that have heretofore been invested in the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall hereafter be invested in the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia which shall consist of two houses: the National Assembly and the Senate, which shall, save as provided in this amendment, jointly possess the powers now held by the Senate, with the separate approval of both houses required with the same quorum and majority as now required of the Senate.

Section 2. Senate
The method of election to and the selection of the officers of the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be unchanged by this amendment.

Section 3. National Assembly
1. The National Assembly shall consist of Representatives elected using party list proportional representation in a national election.
2. The number of Representatives and the method of their apportionment to parties shall be fixed by the Senate, but shall until otherwise determined by them be fifteen Representatives apportioned by the Sainte-Laguë method between the parties.  No change in the number or method of apportionment made by the Senate shall take effect until the next election of the General Assembly.
3. Elections to the National Assembly shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second to last Thursday of the months of February, June, and October and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
4. Representatives shall take office at noon Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.
5. The National Assembly shall chuse their Speaker and such other officers as they see fit to appoint for the organization of their House.  Following election, an incoming National Assembly may meet before the beginning of their term of office to elect such officers.

Section 4. Prerogatives of the National Assembly
1. Subject to funds available from revenues and borrowing authorized by law, the National Assembly shall have sole power to appropriate funds for spending, subject to a line-item veto by the President, which the National Assembly may override by a three-fifths majority.
2. The Senate shall consider those resolutions, bills, and constitutional amendments which have passed the National Assembly before any other legislation except for a resolution pertaining to the rules of the Senate.
3. If the Senate shall not concur with the National Assembly in the passing of any bill requiring the approval of a majority of both houses, the National Assembly may enact such bill into law itself by a two-thirds vote.

Section 5. Prerogatives of the Senate
1. The National Assembly shall have no role in the process of Impeachment, and those portions of the Constitution that refer to the Senate’s role in such process shall continue to refer to the Senate alone.
2. The National Assembly shall have no role in the process of advice and consent of Presidential nominees, and those portions of the Constitution that refer to the Senate’s role in such process shall continue to refer to the Senate alone.
Prime Minister Amendment

Section 1. Prime Minister
1. The National Assembly shall select in the same manner as its officers a Prime Minister to function as Head of Government, while the President shall remain as Head of State.
2. Notwithstanding Article V Section 1 Clause 1 of the Second Constitution, the National Assembly may appoint any person to be Prime Minister except for the Speaker of the General Assembly, the President of the Senate, or any member of the Supreme Court.
3. The Prime Minister shall have the executive powers now held by the President of the Republic of Atlasia under clauses 1 and 4 of Section 1 of Article II of the Second Constitution.
4. The Prime Minister shall set the agenda (other than a vote of no confidence) of the National Assembly.

Section 2. Vote of Confidence
1. Subject to clause 2, upon the petition of any three Representatives, a vote of no confidence shall be held.  If a majority of the National Assembly assert their lack of confidence in the government headed by the Prime Minister then the National Assembly shall proceed to select a new Prime Minister.
2. A vote of no confidence may not be called for unless there has been at least two weeks since the appointment of the Prime Minister or the conclusion of the last vote of no confidence.  A vote of confidence shall last no longer than one week, but the National Assembly may by rule provide for the closing of a vote sooner provided that the result could only be changed by a changed vote on the part of one or more Representatives.

Section 3. Cabinet
1. Notwithstanding Article V Section 1 Clause 1 of the Second Constitution, members of the Cabinet may be any person except for the Speaker of the National Assembly, the President of the Senate, or any member of the Supreme Court.
2. Notwithstanding Article II Section 1 Clause 4 of the Second Constitution, members of the Cabinet shall not be required to be confirmed by the Senate.

Section 4. Caretaker
1. Following a successful vote of no confidence or the resignation of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall be acting Prime Minister until the appointment of a new Prime Minister.
2. The National Assembly shall not give final approval of any bill or constitutional amendment while there is an acting Prime Minister.

Section 5. Transition
Until such time as the National Assembly shall first appoint a Prime Minister, the Speaker of the national Assembly shall also serve as Prime Minister of Atlasia.
Abolition of Regions Amendment
1. The Regions of Atlasia are hereby abolished.
2. Class A Senators shall continue to serve until the end of their current term, but shall have no successor elected or appointed.
3. The drawing of districts for Class B Senators shall be done by the Supreme Court instead of the Governors of the Regions.
4.  As of the next redistricting, the number of Class B Senators shall be increased to 6.
Consolidated Presidency Amendment
1. As of the next Presidential election, the offices of President of the Republic of Atlasia and President of the Senate of Atlasia shall be consolidated into one office, with the office of Vice President to be abolished.
2. The term of the next President shall end at the same time as the Class B Senators, and the President shall thereafter be elected at the same time as the Class B Senators.

[Dr. Cynic]

Kudos to Senator Ernest for putting the plan into a coherent bill!!!!