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A
BILL
TO
Establish Standing Orders for the 25th Senate
The people of DemocracyCraft, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:
BILL
TO
Establish Standing Orders for the 25th Senate
The people of DemocracyCraft, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:
1 - Election of the President of the Senate
(1) Nomination Period. The most senior Senator is to assume the chair of the chamber and ask for those who wish to be elected Senate President to nominate themselves by notifying the Chair.
(a) The most senior Senator is to be the Senator who:
(i) Has served the most terms; or if equal:
(ii) of the most terms and who has the largest popular vote; or if equal:
(iii) by common agreement among them or by an informal Senate vote; and if still undecided:
(iv) The President will serve in place of the Senior Senator.
(b) The nomination period lasts 24 hours, or less with the consent of all Senators.
(c) Should only one member be nominated then they shall be declared President of the Senate at the end of the nomincation period.
(d) Should two or more members be nominated, all members are to vote for the President of the Senate in the voting period.
(2) Voting Period. The voting period lasts 24 hours, or less once a majority has been reached and declared by the President.
(a) The ballot is to be conducted through instant runoff voting.
(b) In the event of a tie, the Vice President will cast a tie-breaking vote.
(3) Announcement Period. The President will announce the winning Senator from the instant run-off as the President of the Senate. (a) Once announced, the winning Senator is to assume the authority of the Presiding Officer of the Chamber.
(b) The Presiding Officer becomes custodian of these Standing orders and calls the Senate to order.
2 - Election of the Deputy President of the Senate
(1) Nomination Period. After the selection of the Senate President, the Senate President is to assume the chair of the Chamber and ask for those who wish to be elected Deputy President of the Senate to nominate themselves by notifying the Senate President.
(a) The nomination period shall last for 24 hours unless all Senators inform and reply on the Nomination.
(b) Should only one member be nominated then they shall be declared Deputy President of the Senate.
(4) Voting Period. Should more than two members be nominated, all members are to vote for the Deputy President of the Senate by instant run-off vote. The winner of the ballot is to be declared the Deputy President of the Senate.
(5) Announcement Period. Upon certifying the election of the Deputy President of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate shall be vested with the power to enforce the rules of the Senate in the absence of the Senate President.
3 - The Senate Floor
(1) The Senate Floor is accessible to senators 24 hours a day unless the Senate is in recess.
(2) Senators may speak on the Senate Floor for the following reasons:
(a) Proposing a motion
(b) Raising a point of order
(c) When recognised by the presiding officer to speak on a particular topic.
(3) The discord channel #Senate-Floor serves as the digital representation of the Senate floor. All relevant statements acknowledged during an in-game session on the Senate floor must be documented on the discord channel, except for those involved in a debate or exclusively related to an in-game event.
(4) Solely for legislative administration, the President of the Senate may authorize congressional staff to speak on the Senate floor as well.
(5) All votes on motions and points of order are conducted and recorded in the #Senate-Voting channel. Senators will also receive notifications when bills are up for a vote, within the same channel.
(a) Senators can choose to vote Aye, Nay or abstain. Any Senator abstaining on a motion must provide a reason.
4 - Commencing Debate
(1) Any bill that has successfully passed the House will be moved to the Senate on the forums with the prefix "Bill: Pending". The presiding officer will announce that debate has opened for the relevant bills.
(2) After a successfully proposed motion the presiding officer will announce that debate has opened for the relevant motion.
5 - Closing Debate
(1) After Debate has ended votation will begin as soon as possible.
(2) Unless otherwise prescribed in law, these are the following ways debate can be ended:
(a) All relevant members have been notified that the vote will take place at least 24 hours in advance and no members have objected.
(b) A motion to end debate(cloture) has successfully been passed.
(c) The presiding officer has sent the item to a committee to be debated and the committee has voted to close debate.
6 - Special types of motions
(1) A motion to end debate, also known as a cloture motion, will override and close any ongoing debate, such a motion is not subject to debate.
(a) To speed up the votation process, if the subject of a cloture motion requires the same or a lower majority as the cloture motion, a clause can be added stating that the passage of the cloture motion constitutes the passage of the subject motion.
(2) A motion to end debate requires a simple majority if the following are all true, otherwise, it requires a supermajority:
(a) It has been more than 48 hours since the debate opened and there has been no discussion on the Senate floor on the item for over 6 hours.
(b) The item is not being debated in committee.
(3) A motion for leave is a motion to allow for a certain action to take place, which would otherwise not be consistent with the standing orders. Such a motion requires a supermajority.
7 - Recess
(1) The Presiding Officer may move the Senate to recess for no more than 5 days with the approval of a supermajority of the Senate.
8 - In-game Hearings
(1) All hearings shall take place in-game unless deemed otherwise by the chair of the hearing.
9 - Passage of bills
(1) Should a bill pass the Senate it shall be sent to the President for assent.
10 - Rules of Debate
(1) All Senators may debate during a reading.
(2) Senators are not to make personal attacks against anyone.
(3) Senators are to contribute to the debate in a constructive and relevant fashion.
(4) Senators are to cease speaking and resume their seats if directed to by the chair.
(5) Senators are not to exhibit disorderly, inappropriate, or offensive conduct.
(6) Senators are not to misrepresent a statement or viewpoint of another individual.
(7) Senators are not to threaten others.
(8) Senators who voice chat during debate should be asked for consent to recording in the scenario an in-game session is being recorded.
11 - Points of Order
(1) All individuals may raise points of order. Points of order are to be considered immediately.
(2) The chair rules on points of order.
(3) Individuals are not to raise vexatious points of order.
(4) Points of order are matters between the individual raising them and the chair.
(5) Points of order may be made at any time even during recess and must be ruled on by the chair.
12 - Presiding Officer Code of Conduct
(1) The Presiding Officer(s) must present motions in the order proposed.
(2) The Presiding Officer(s) must act appropriately.
(3) The Presiding Officer(s) must make necessary motions public once passed.
(4) The Presiding Officer(s) must be accommodative of those who do not use voice chat and each event or proceeding must make all Senators feel comfortable in their environment to a reasonable degree.
(5) The Senators have a right to expect the Presiding Officer(s) to maintain the standing orders.
13 - Senate Confirmation Hearings
1) When the President (or President-Elect) nominates any player to a position in the Cabinet or the Judiciary, a Senate Confirmation Hearing must be held.
2) The President of the Senate will then create a space for the Senators to ask the nominee questions and for the nominee to respond.
3) In the event that no Senator wishes to ask the nominee any questions, a senator can motion for a vote to skip the hearing. The vote must pass with a simple majority to skip the hearing.
4) After a hearing or motion to skip the hearing has ended, a vote will be held to confirm or reject the nominee.
5) Confirmation hearings will automatically close and proceed to vote following three days of no new questions or motions
14 - Amendments
(1) These Standing Orders can be amended at any time with the approval of the chamber (simple majority)
(2) These Standing Orders are extant, for the chamber, regardless of session, until otherwise amended.
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