Act of Congress Congressional Support Reform Act

[End]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT
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A BILL TO

REUNITE THE OCA AND LSC




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The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, 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:


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PART I — PRELIMINARIES

1. Short Title and Enactment

(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Congressional Support Reform Act’

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.

(3) This Act has been authored by End

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by malka

(5) This Act amends the following acts:

(a) LSA

(6) This Act repeals the following acts:

(a) Legislative Service Commission Act

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) The LSC and OCA duties are duplicated.

(2) It has become apparent that there is a desire for the role of draftsman to be re-raised.

(3) The LSC’s functions should be integrated into the Legislative Standards Act with the OCA.

(4) Impartiality requirements for congressional administrative staff must be strengthened.

PART II — AMENDMENTS

3. Standing Orders

(1) All references to the LSC are removed from the Standing Orders and the LSA becomes the primary source of truth.

4. Amendments to the Legislative Standards Act

6 - The Office of Congressional Affairs

(1) The Office of Congressional Affairs is a statutory body which provides both chambers of congress with impartial administrative support.

(2) The Office of Congressional Affairs is responsible to congress, but reports to and is tasked by the Presiding Officers through the Director of Legislative Affairs.

(3) The Office of Congressional Affairs is charged with:

(a) Making the following changes to documents of law:

(i) correcting administrative errors in sequential numbering

(ii) implementing congressional amendments.

(b) Assisting the Speaker with the administration of the House

(c) Assisting the President of the Senate with the administration of the Senate

(d) Communicating with the Press

(e) Assisting in the formatting and drafting of Bills

(f) Managing and publishing congressional transparency reports.

(g) Regularly informing the public of motions of significant public interest via government-announcements. Motions of significant public interest include but are not limited to:

(i) Nominations/Confirmations

(ii) Impeachments/Removals

(iii) Censures

(iv) New committees or changes to committees

(v) Veto overrides

(h) Legislative research and drafting support for bills and resolutions.

(i) Impartial research on law and policy to aid legislators.
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(4) The OCA shall maintain neutrality and may not engage in political campaigning or advocacy.

(5) The members of the Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff':

(a) Director of Legislative Affairs - Presiding Officer's delegate in the management and coordination of the Office. This position is limited to one qualified attorney.

(b) Clerks - Responsible for OCA administrative functions and the facilitation of the Congressional Process under the guidance of the Presiding Officers.

(c) Draftsman - Responsible for legislative procedure, research, providing impartial advice to Members of Congress upon request, and drafting legislation upon request.

(5) The Office of Congressional Affairs will comprise at least two clerks.

(6) Hiring

(a) The Presiding Officers must obtain approval of Congress to appoint the Director of Legislative Affairs.

(b) The Director of Legislative Affairs may hire or contract Congressional Staff.

(c) Congressional Staff may receive salaries as determined by law.

(b) A Congressional Staff position will carry over each term until a Presiding Officer actions §6(7)(a).

(7) Tenure and Dismissal Process

(a) Congressional Staff are not tied to congressional terms and remain in office until dismissed.

(b) Congressional Staff serve at the pleasure of the Director of Legislative Affairs and the Presiding Officers.

(c) The Director of Legislative Affairs is prohibited from holding any leadership role in a political party or elected congressional office during their tenure.

(d) Congressional Staff must serve in a strictly neutral capacity in support of all Members of Congress.

(8) In the Presiding Officer’s absence, or if otherwise delegated, the Deputy Presiding Officer will assume the Presiding Officer's authority over Congressional Staff.

(8) The OCA is authorised to correct section and subsection numbering within Acts, provided such corrections do not alter the substantive meaning of any provision and are limited solely to administrative numbering errors.

(9) The Presiding Officers fund the OCA's activities through provisions in the Legislative budget.

5. Amendments to the Congressional Discord

(a) All existing channels and categories previously used by the Legislative Service Commission (LSC) shall be merged, restructured, and renamed to represent the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA).

6. Transition

(a) Existing Clerks, Draftsman, and Directors will be transitioned to equivalent roles within the OCA.

(b) Existing channels will be renamed and integrated into the OCA to prevent the loss of work.

 

[ToadKing]

I will just highlight something.

(5) The members of the Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff':

(b) Clerks - Responsible for OCA administrative functions and the facilitation of the Congressional Process under the guidance of the Presiding Officers.

(c) Congressional Staff are prohibited from holding any leadership role in a political party or elected congressional office during their tenure.

The author and proposer of this bill has asked to be hired back as a Congressional Clerk. Under this bill, he would be prohibited from serving as a Clerk.

 

[End]

I will just highlight something.



The author and proposer of this bill has asked to be hired back as a Congressional Clerk. Under this bill, he would be prohibited from serving as a Clerk.

And if it passes I will graciously resign.

 

[Talion77]

Nay, pending motion to amend.

 

[Technofied]

Presidential Assent

This bill has received Presidential assent and is hereby signed into law.

Reason: This Bill merges the Legislative Services Commission (LSC) into the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA), due to overlap in duties between both offices.

Additionally, the Draftsman role is reintroduced with the intent to provide legislative research, drafting, and impartial advice to Congress. Congressional Staff also persist between Congressional Terms until dismissed.

A Director of Legislative Affairs is now responsible for hiring Staff independently, with the Director's appointment needing congressional approval. The Office also gains new powers to fix numbering errors where it does not change meaning substantively, and implementing congressional amendments.

Technofied