SB 120-09: Senate Vacancy Amendment Act (Sent to the Regions)

[PPT Spiral]

An Amendment
To close loopholes in senate vacancy appointments

Be it enacted by two-thirds of the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia assembled, and at least two-thirds of the Regions henceforth;

1. The title of this resolution shall be the Senate Vacancy Amendment Act
2. Section 2, article 1 of the constitution of Atlasia shall be amended as follows:

1. The manner of election for at-large Senators shall be as follows:

    i. The nine at-large Senators shall be elected for a term of two months by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Senate. Elections for the seats shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
    ii. If no other method of proportional representation is prescribed by law, at-large Senate elections shall operate on single transferable vote.
    iii. At-large Senate vacancies shall be filled through appointment by the executive of the former Senator’s Party at the time the vacancy was created; but should a vacancy occur as the result of the death, expulsion, or resignation of an at-large Senator not being a member of a major Party or being a member of a major party lacking an executive and/or party bylaws at the time of the vacancy, then a special election shall be held within twenty days of the vacancy to choose a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term. Should a Senator indirectly resign via deregistration, and should this deregistration bring the Senator's party at the time of deregistration below the legal limit to be considered a major party, then a special election shall be held by the same standards as if the senator was from a minor party or an independent.

Sponsor: Weatherboy

Debate has commenced and the Senator is recognized.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

after the mess that happened yesterday, and the green panty raid previously, it's pretty obvious this glaring hole needs to be filled before we have another minor party takeover.

[Pyro]

Catching up on recent events, I understand the need to enact new reforms such as this.

All things considered, I am unsure whether it is appropriate to include the "Should a Senator..." segment into this proposal. It covers an extremely specific chain of events that is unlikely to be replicated. Perhaps just reinforce that minor party vacancies shall be filled via special election?

[reagente]

What do fellow Senators think of the following text:

1. The manner of election for at-large Senators shall be as follows:

i. The nine at-large Senators shall be elected for a term of two months by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Senate. Elections for the seats shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.

ii. If no other method of proportional representation is prescribed by law, at-large Senate elections shall operate on single transferable vote.

iii. At-large Senate vacancies shall be filled through appointment by the executive or acting executive of the former Senator’s Party at the time the vacancy was created. However, if the former Senator's Party lacks an executive or acting executive, if the former Senator's Party loses major party status before an appointment can be made, or if the former Senator was not registered as a member of a major party at the time of resignation, then a special election shall be held within twenty days of the vacancy to choose a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Catching up on recent events, I understand the need to enact new reforms such as this.

All things considered, I am unsure whether it is appropriate to include the "Should a Senator..." segment into this proposal. It covers an extremely specific chain of events that is unlikely to be replicated. Perhaps just reinforce that minor party vacancies shall be filled via special election?

considering that the exact set of circumstances just happened, I feel it is necessary to cover this edge case.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

No objection to the amendment btw, seems to more concisely cover what I’m trying to cover here

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I could see circumstances in which this wording triggers special elections that we wouldn't foresee.
It might be better practice to replace the or in there for and.

[YE]

Why an amendment and not just legislation?

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Why an amendment and not just legislation?

Vacancies are addressed in the Constitution therefore you must change the Constitution to change how they are handled.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

motion for a final vote.

[reagente]

motion for a final vote.

Are we voting on my text or the initial text?

[PPT Spiral]

motion for a final vote.

Are we voting on my text or the initial text?

This would be for the text as amended by you. No objections were raised within the 24 hours after introducing it, so it was accepted.

[Joseph Cao]

motion for a final vote.

Are we voting on my text or the initial text?

This would be for the text as amended by you. No objections were raised within the 24 hours after introducing it, so it was accepted.

Would probably be good (and consistent with past best practice) to publicly announce 24 hours allowed for objection to this-and-such amendment or the adoption of this-and-such amendment so everyone can be kept on the same page.

[YE]

Where are we with this?

[PPT Spiral]

As amended:

An Amendment
To close loopholes in senate vacancy appointments

Be it enacted by two-thirds of the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia assembled, and at least two-thirds of the Regions henceforth;

1. The title of this resolution shall be the Senate Vacancy Amendment Act
2. Section 2, article 1 of the constitution of Atlasia shall be amended as follows:

1. The manner of election for at-large Senators shall be as follows:

    i. The nine at-large Senators shall be elected for a term of two months by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Senate. Elections for the seats shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
    ii. If no other method of proportional representation is prescribed by law, at-large Senate elections shall operate on single transferable vote.
    iii. At-large Senate vacancies shall be filled through appointment by the executive or acting executive of the former Senator’s Party at the time the vacancy was created. However, if the former Senator's Party lacks an executive or acting executive, if the former Senator's Party loses major party status before an appointment can be made, or if the former Senator was not registered as a member of a major party at the time of resignation, then a special election shall be held within twenty days of the vacancy to choose a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

A final vote on this legislation shall now take place for the next 96 hours. Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

[PPT Spiral]

Aye

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Aye

[YE]

Aye

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Aye

[reagente]

Aye

[RFayette]

Aye

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Aye

[Saint Milei]

Aye

[Pyro]

Aye

[Ragnaroni]

Aye