SR 114-7: Regional Rights Amendment (At Final Vote)

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

REGIONAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

1. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Section 1

This Constitution, and those laws, treaties, and other acts made by the Republic of Atlasia in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the executive and judicial officers of this government and of the several Regions shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of the several Regions notwithstanding subject to the exceptions made in this Constitution. The constitution, laws, and other acts of the Regions shall be the supreme law within their respective territorial boundaries on the following subject matters, provided a given region has a legislative body consisting of at least 4 members, elected entirely at-large, with no member elected on the basis of Subregional or district support, except that existing members elected on such a basis may continue to serve without affecting this eligibility, provided they win a seat via a future at-large election concluded by July 31, 2023.: abortion; agriculture and farming; length of terms of imprisonment and parole eligibility; collective bargaining, maximum work hours lower than forty hours per week, and wage floors; education and school activities; energy exploration and generation; mining, provided that no Region shall permit mountaintop removal; the manufacturing, sale, carrying, and ownership of firearms; Regional defense forces and militias; and the time, place, manner, and all other responsibilities of conducting Regional, State, and local elections, but excluding federal subregional and regional Senate elections.

Amendment Explanation

This amendment enumerates a list of Regional powers over which each Region shall be the highest authority within their respective territories over, provided they meet a legislative body requirement. This listed powers include regulation and oversight of abortion, farming, length of prison sentences and parole eligibility, collective bargaining, minimum wages, maximum hours subject to a federal maximum of forty, education, mineral extraction subject to a federal ban on mountaintop removal, gun control, Regional guards, and internal election oversight for non-federal elections.

I will also sponsor Wulfric's amendment.

This got sponsored^, hopefully you can vote on this at the same time as the WM Amendment.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

REGIONAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

1. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Section 1

This Constitution, and those laws, treaties, and other acts made by the Republic of Atlasia in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the executive and judicial officers of this government and of the several Regions shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of the several Regions notwithstanding subject to the exceptions made in this Constitution. The constitution, laws, and other acts of the Regions shall be the supreme law within their respective territorial boundaries on the following subject matters, provided a given region has a legislative body consisting of at least 4 members, elected entirely at-large, with no member elected on the basis of Subregional or district support, except that existing members elected on such a basis may continue to serve without affecting this eligibility, provided they win a seat via a future at-large election concluded by July 31, 2023.: abortion; agriculture and farming; length of terms of imprisonment and parole eligibility; collective bargaining, maximum work hours lower than forty hours per week, and wage floors; education and school activities; energy exploration and generation; mining, provided that no Region shall permit mountaintop removal; the manufacturing, sale, carrying, and ownership of firearms; Regional defense forces and militias; and the time, place, manner, and all other responsibilities of conducting Regional, State, and local elections, but excluding federal subregional and regional Senate elections.

Amendment Explanation

This amendment enumerates a list of Regional powers over which each Region shall be the highest authority within their respective territories over, provided they meet a legislative body requirement. This listed powers include regulation and oversight of abortion, farming, length of prison sentences and parole eligibility, collective bargaining, minimum wages, maximum hours subject to a federal maximum of forty, education, mineral extraction subject to a federal ban on mountaintop removal, gun control, Regional guards, and internal election oversight for non-federal elections.

I will also sponsor Wulfric's amendment.

This got sponsored^, hopefully you can vote on this at the same time as the WM Amendment.

Sorry. An objection period is open on the Spiral Amendment.

If that gets objected to, a vote on both will open immediately. If it doesn't, then we will only vote on WM's amendment.

[West_Midlander]

Objecting.

For what reason?

[Mr. Reactionary]

I object to the Spiral Amendment.

Seems like overreach to micromanage the structure of Regional governments like that. Only 1 of 3 Regions comply with the overly prescriptive proposal.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

A 96-hour vote on the West Midlander and Spiral amendments are now open. Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

REGIONAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

1. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Section 1

This Constitution, and those laws, treaties, and other acts made by the Republic of Atlasia in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the executive and judicial officers of this government and of the several Regions shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of the several Regions notwithstanding subject to the exceptions made in this Constitution. The constitution, laws, and other acts of the Regions shall be the supreme law within their respective territorial boundaries on the following subject matters: abortion; agriculture and farming; LGBTQIA+ issues and furry non-discrimination; length of terms of imprisonment and parole eligibility; collective bargaining, maximum work hours lower than forty hours per week, and wage floors; education and school activities; energy exploration and generation; mining, provided that no Region shall permit mountaintop removal; the manufacturing, sale, carrying, and ownership of weapons; Regional defense forces and militias; and the time, place, manner, and all other responsibilities of conducting Regional, State, and local elections.

Amendment Explanation

This amendment enumerates a list of Regional powers over which each Region shall be the highest authority within their respective territories over. This listed powers include certain non-discrimination laws , regulation and oversight of abortion, farming, length of prison sentences and parole eligibility, collective bargaining, minimum wages, maximum hours subject to a federal maximum of forty, education, mineral extraction subject to a federal ban on mountain top removal, gun control, Regional guards, and internal election oversight for non-federal elections.

REGIONAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

1. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Section 1

This Constitution, and those laws, treaties, and other acts made by the Republic of Atlasia in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the executive and judicial officers of this government and of the several Regions shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of the several Regions notwithstanding subject to the exceptions made in this Constitution. The constitution, laws, and other acts of the Regions shall be the supreme law within their respective territorial boundaries on the following subject matters, provided a given region has a legislative body consisting of at least 4 members, elected entirely at-large, with no member elected on the basis of Subregional or district support, except that existing members elected on such a basis may continue to serve without affecting this eligibility, provided they win a seat via a future at-large election concluded by July 31, 2023.: abortion; agriculture and farming; length of terms of imprisonment and parole eligibility; collective bargaining, maximum work hours lower than forty hours per week, and wage floors; education and school activities; energy exploration and generation; mining, provided that no Region shall permit mountaintop removal; the manufacturing, sale, carrying, and ownership of firearms; Regional defense forces and militias; and the time, place, manner, and all other responsibilities of conducting Regional, State, and local elections, but excluding federal subregional and regional Senate elections.

Amendment Explanation

This amendment enumerates a list of Regional powers over which each Region shall be the highest authority within their respective territories over, provided they meet a legislative body requirement. This listed powers include regulation and oversight of abortion, farming, length of prison sentences and parole eligibility, collective bargaining, minimum wages, maximum hours subject to a federal maximum of forty, education, mineral extraction subject to a federal ban on mountaintop removal, gun control, Regional guards, and internal election oversight for non-federal elections.

[West_Midlander]

Aye on mine; Present on Spiral's

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Aye on WM's, Nay on Spiral's because while this would undo the South's dumb system, regions cannot guarantee maintaining this threshold. Fremont currently doesn't.

This would also (I think?) outlaw direct democratic systems. Of the current senators just me and Adam would remember what was the good old Midwest Region.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Aye on WM
Nay on Spiral

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Aye on WestMidlander's amendment

Nay on Wulfric's amendment sponsored by Spiral

[Utah Neolib]

Aye on WM
Nay on Spiral

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Aye on WM's, Nay on Spiral's because while this would undo the South's the dumb system, regions cannot guarantee maintaining this threshold. Fremont currently doesn't.

This would also (I think?) outlaw direct democratic systems. Of the current senators just me and Adam would remember what was the good old Midwest Region.

Direct Democracy you could do if you were clever about it. Put every registered voter on a ballot for a "election" and then declare everyone to be elected, minus anyone who opts out.

As I explained above, outlawing three member systems is fully intentional as I feel they do a poor job of representing the populace. The last three member legislature in Lincoln supported secession despite two thirds of the population opposing it.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Aye on WM's, Nay on Spiral's because while this would undo the South's the dumb system, regions cannot guarantee maintaining this threshold. Fremont currently doesn't.

This would also (I think?) outlaw direct democratic systems. Of the current senators just me and Adam would remember what was the good old Midwest Region.

Direct Democracy you could do if you were clever about it. Put every registered voter on a ballot for a "election" and then declare everyone to be elected, minus anyone who opts out.

As I explained above, outlawing three member systems is fully intentional as I feel they do a poor job of representing the populace. The last three member legislature in Lincoln supported secession despite two thirds of the population opposing it.

You still need to take activity into account. We can sometimes barely elect 2 MPs + the First Minister let alone hold competitive elections, due to the struggle of just finding warm bodies.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

There is no need to screw Fremont to bring Democracy to the South. Just require a regularly (3 or 4 month terms max) elected at-large legislature and don't set any minimum size.

Hell Adam and I wanted to cap the regional legislatures at maximum 3 in 2015 but it got narrowly voted down in the Con-Con. Now there is a push for a minimum 4?

True it is more representative at larger sizes but you have to be bound by activity restraints.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This would also (I think?) outlaw direct democratic systems. Of the current senators just me and Adam would remember what was the good old Midwest Region.

Until last week, there was a Senator who remembered when only one region out of five had a regional legislature, the Mideast.

Everyone else had initiatives. The Northeast came next, followed by the South. The Midwest was the last to create one IIRC.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

There is no need to screw Fremont to bring Democracy to the South. Just require a regularly (3 or 4 month terms max) elected at-large legislature and don't set any minimum size.

I worry about the South resorting to a one or two member legislature to lock out the left (Yes, YT is that type of person). Hence I don't see a no-minimums but all at-large rule as really undoing anything.

Here is text for a minimum of 3 members, which I have clear misgivings about but I guess is still less gerrymandered than the current system, if anyone wants to pursue it. Also added in a frequency of elections requirement as suggested above. Fremont would have no issues qualifying under this:

REGIONAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

1. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Atlasian Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Section 1

This Constitution, and those laws, treaties, and other acts made by the Republic of Atlasia in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the executive and judicial officers of this government and of the several Regions shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of the several Regions notwithstanding subject to the exceptions made in this Constitution. The constitution, laws, and other acts of the Regions shall be the supreme law within their respective territorial boundaries on the following subject matters, provided a given region has a legislative body consisting of at least 3 members, elected entirely at-large (elections being held at least quarterly after August 1, 2023), with no member elected on the basis of Subregional or district support, except that existing members elected on such a basis may continue to serve without affecting this eligibility, provided they win a seat via a future at-large election concluded by July 31, 2023.: abortion; agriculture and farming; length of terms of imprisonment and parole eligibility; collective bargaining, maximum work hours lower than forty hours per week, and wage floors; education and school activities; energy exploration and generation; mining, provided that no Region shall permit mountaintop removal; the manufacturing, sale, carrying, and ownership of firearms; Regional defense forces and militias; and the time, place, manner, and all other responsibilities of conducting Regional, State, and local elections, but excluding federal subregional and regional Senate elections.

Amendment Explanation

This amendment enumerates a list of Regional powers over which each Region shall be the highest authority within their respective territories over, provided they meet a legislative body requirement. This listed powers include regulation and oversight of abortion, farming, length of prison sentences and parole eligibility, collective bargaining, minimum wages, maximum hours subject to a federal maximum of forty, education, mineral extraction subject to a federal ban on mountaintop removal, gun control, Regional guards, and internal election oversight for non-federal elections.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

I think it's time for a final vote on this. Guidelines pertaining to the size of regional legislatures should be left to debate on a separate constitutional amendment. So I move for a final vote once the current amendment votes close.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Just remember, for well over a year the South had a legislature with 3 at-large and 2 subregional seats (which would become prohibited) and no one had any issues with it. This just seems like a clumsy way to limit the Regions and require them to copy Lincoln.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Just remember, for well over a year the South had a legislature with 3 at-large and 2 subregional seats (which would become prohibited) and no one had any issues with it. This just seems like a clumsy way to limit the Regions and require them to copy Lincoln.

I never supported that system either, though I suppose Opposition was muted when it was still giving representation to both sides.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Just remember, for well over a year the South had a legislature with 3 at-large and 2 subregional seats (which would become prohibited) and no one had any issues with it. This just seems like a clumsy way to limit the Regions and require them to copy Lincoln.

That's the price of letting YT and Reagente take things too far and abuse their powers and authority.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I think it's time for a final vote on this. Guidelines pertaining to the size of regional legislatures should be left to debate on a separate constitutional amendment. So I move for a final vote once the current amendment votes close.

Given where we are now after... everything, I'd rather do this.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Aye on both

[Vice President Christian Man]

Aye on Westie's
Nay on Spiral

[Sirius_]

Abstain on both amendments

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Abstain on both amendments.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Withdrawing the latest amendment I posted. In light of recent events, recommending the Senate reject this legislation