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A
BILL
To
Provide for Legislative Standards.
BILL
To
Provide for Legislative Standards.
The people of Democracy Craft, 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 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Legislative Standards Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act was written by Representative Lord_Donuticus and Representative xEndeavour
2 - Reasons
(1) This Act will form a consolidated law of standards for the legislature.
(2) This Act will succeed the Congressional Process.
(3) This bill has too many working parts to include in what has been removed, changed, added etc. There were minor changes to wording and format which I encourage people to cross check with the constitution and the below acts of congress. Where necessary, use a text comparator as well.
'3 - Capitol Building
(1) Public spaces within the Capitol are to remain free of political branding and will remain impartial to passing traffic.
4 - The House of Representatives
(1) Upon commencing a new Congressional session, the chamber's first order of business is to amend or reconfirm it's extant standing orders.
5 - The Senate
(1) Upon commencing a new Congressional session, the chamber's first order of business is to amend or reconfirm it's extant standing orders.
6 - Sergeant at Arms
(1) The Sergeant at Arms is a temporary position, that is appointed before each Congressional session or hearing by the relevant Presiding Officer, and is relieved when the meeting is adjourned.
(a) The Sergeant-at-Arms must be a serving Police Officer.
(2) The Police Officer will be responsible for the following while acting in the capacity of Sergeant-at-Arms:
(a) Ensuring the safety and the security of the Capitol Building.
(b) Ensuring the safety and the security of Representatives, Senators, and citizens on Capitol Grounds.
(c) Removing anyone from the Capitol grounds at the request of the relevant Presiding Officer.
7 - The Office of Congressional Affairs
(1) The Office of Congressional Affairs is a statutory body which provides both chambers of congress with administrative support.
(2) The Office of Congressional Affairs is overseen by the Presiding Officers.
(3) The Office of Congressional Affairs is charged with:
(a) Making all necessary changes to documents of law
(b) Assists the Speaker with the administration of the House
(c) Assists the President of the Senate with the administration of the Senate
(d) Communicates with the Press and assists in the formatting and drafting of bills, if requested.
(e) Manages and publishes congressional transparency reports.
(f) Regularly informs the public of motions of significant public interest via government-announcements. Motions of significant public interest include but are not limited to the following:
(i) Nominations/Confirmations
(ii) Impeachments/Removals
(iii) Censures
(iv) New committees or changes to committees
(v) Veto overrides
(4) The roles within this Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff’ and will comprise of at least two clerks.
(5) Hiring
(a) The Presiding Officers must receive the approval of the Congress to hire Congressional Staff by way of nomination.
(b) The Congressional Staff position will carry over each term until the Presiding Officer actions Section 8(6.a) of this act.
(c) Congressional Staff may receive a salary decided by law outside of the Constitution.
(6) Dismissal Process
(a) Congressional Staff serve at the Presiding Officers pleasure.
(7) 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 Office of Congressional Affairs is authorised to adjust the numbering of sections and subsections within acts, provided that such changes do not alter the substantive meaning of the act and are limited to correcting administrative errors in the sequential numbering.
8 - Bills
(1) Representatives have the ability to officially propose bills to Congress. In order to propose a bill, the Representative will follow the congressional process.
(2) A rejected bill or a bill of the same nature will not be proposed for a period of 14 days unless a motion of reconsideration has been approved by Congress.
(a) A motion to reconsider, if passed, permits the proposal of an identical bill to the rejected bill or a bill of the same nature.
(b) Vetoed bills and bills that failed at referendum are considered rejected bills, and are thus subject to the same limitation.
(c) All bills will automatically be reconsidered following the enactment of results of a congressional general election.
(3) If there’s a tie (this is there are the same number of votes in favour and against independently of the number of abstains), the poll will be held again without the abstain option. If there is a tie once more, the bill will automatically be rejected.
(4) The template for bills will be annexed to this act in a separate thread. Any amendments to the Bill format will be an amendment to the Legislative Standards Act.
(5) When assigning a title to a bill it may not contain any personal identifier such as, any names, initials, abbreviations or other such personal identifiers. The bill title should exist to explain the purpose of the bill.
9 - Resolutions
(1) Congress may pass non-binding resolutions to express opinions or make formal requests. These do not require presidential assent.
(2) The template for Resolutions will be annexed to this act in a separate thread. Any amendments to the Resolution format will be an amendment to the Legislative Standards Act.
(3) Resolutions shall follow the same process and rules of Bills as outlined in this Act unless otherwise specified.
(4) Standing orders and other legislation may still make distinctions between Bills and Resolutions.
(5) Sub-subsection 10(5)(a) and Subsection (6) do not apply to Resolutions. After a Resolution passes both chambers of Congress, it shall be moved to the Resolutions forum rather than await assent.
10 - Congressional Process
(1) The Bill is posted to forums by the sponsoring Representative as a Bill: Draft. A link will be posted to #bills by the representative.
(2) After at least 24 hours have passed, the Speaker will then add a poll in which congressional members will be able to change their vote to the bill for a 48 hour voting period and the prefix will be changed to Bill: Voting.
(3) After the 48 hours have passed, there will be 2 situations:
(a) If the Bill is passed, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Pending and move it to the Senate, notifying the President of the Senate; or
(b) If the Bill is rejected, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Rejected and move it to the Rejected sub-forum.
(i) Passage shall be considered as a simple majority, unless otherwise provided by law, of ayes out of all non-abstention votes cast, and rejection shall be a failure to reach such a majority.
(ii) No bill shall pass the House unless over 50% of all sitting Representatives have voted on the bill.
(4) When debate is finished in the Senate, the Presiding Officer will re-open the poll for 48 hours. The prefix will be changed to Bill: Voting.
(5) After the 48 hours have passed; all votes have been submitted; or a majority is reached, there will be 2 situations:
(a) If the Bill is passed, the Presiding Officer will move the bill to the Congressional forum applying the 'awaiting assent' prefix, notifying the President for their assent; or
(b) If the Bill is rejected, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Rejected and move it to the Rejected sub-forum with Senate recommendations in the comments.
(i) Passage shall be considered as a simple majority, unless otherwise provided by law, of ayes out of all non-abstention votes cast, and rejection shall be a failure to reach such a majority.
(ii) No bill shall pass the Senate unless over 50% of all sitting Senators have voted on the bill.
(6) If a bill is passed by Congress, the President will do the following:
(a) The President will sign the Bill and move it to the Acts of Congress forum. The Speaker’s Office will update the relevant Rules and Laws; or
(b) The President will Veto the Bill and move it to the Rejected forum, providing the reason in the comments.
(7) Once the changes have been made, the Speaker's office will announce the changes to the public, assuming the law is of significant public interest. Laws of significant public interest include but are not limited to the following:
(a) Changes to tax or property laws
(b) New restrictions against common or widespread crimes
(c) Laws requiring public referendum
11 - Acts of Congress
(1) When amending a Bill everything being edited or changed to the bill must be highlighted in this way.
(a) Any text being removed from the bill must be in red and made bold.
(b) Any text being added to the bill must be in green and made bold.
(c) Any changes to the wording of the text in a bill must be made yellow and be made bold.
(d) In addition changes made must be clear so the previous bill in its entire before any edits must be posted on the thread so it is clear what is being changed.
(2) Sub Forums
(a) Acts of Congress shall be split into the following categories and Acts will be sorted between them based on their primary function:
(i) Budgets
(ii) Constitutional Law
(iii) Property Law
(iv) Wilderness Law
(v) Economic & Business Law
(vi) Breach of Peace Law
(vii) Administrative Law
(viii) Miscellaneous Laws
(ix) Resolutions
(3) Amendments
(a) When an amendment to a bill passes, it will be added as a reply to the original act’s thread under the Bills in Acts of Congress.
(b) The original act will be edited and updated as new amendments are added to it.
(c) When a bill intends to amend an Act of Congress, a link to the Act of Congress must be present within the reasons section of a bill.
(4) All votes on bill polls on the forums are to be made public to ensure Transparency between the public and the elected representatives.
12 - Congressional Motions
A motion in Congressional channels is a formal request for approval or disapproval by Congress. Unless otherwise provided, all motions are passed or failed on a majority basis. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(1) Motion of No Confidence
(a) Response Requirement. Before voting begins, the officeholder subject to a motion of no confidence must submit a response, which will be posted alongside the vote. If no response is received within 12 hours, the Presiding Officer will proceed without it.
(b) Government Stability. This motion carries serious consequences, as it can destabilize the government. If removal is for an appointment (presiding officer), the subject of the motion will revert to their regular role (Representative or Senator).
(2) Motion to Fund
(a) Allocation of Funds. Congress may allocate funds through a simple majority vote, following budgetary regulations.
This motion may be used for any purpose that supports legislative operations.
(b) Individual Chamber Approval. Either the House of Representatives or the Senate may pass a motion to fund independently.
(c) Spending Limits. No chamber may spend more than 50% of the legislative branch’s allocated funds in a fiscal period without joint approval from both chambers.
(3) Motion of Commendation
(a) Scope of Commendation. The motion must specify whether it seeks a Congressional Commendation (requiring approval from both chambers) or recognition in just one chamber.
(b) Public Acknowledgment. If passed, the Office of the Presiding Officers will issue a public statement of commendation, which may be awarded to any community member.
(4) Motion of Urgent Consideration
(a) Proposal and Voting. A Representative may propose this motion, and it will be voted on by the House of Representatives.
(b) Expedited Process. If passed, the bill must be opened for voting within 12 hours. If approved by the House, it will receive priority when advancing to the Senate.
(5) Motion of Censure
(a) Purpose and Scope. Any Representative or Senator may move a motion of censure against an individual to publicly condemn their actions. Censure does not impose penalties but serves as a formal reprimand.
(b) Restrictions. A motion to censure may only target one individual at a time. Multiple individuals cannot be censured under a single motion; separate motions must be filed. However, government departments or agencies may be censured collectively.
(6) Motion of Replacement
If a Representative or Senator resigns or is removed, their replacement will be appointed according to constitutional procedures.
(7) Motion of Removal
Congress may remove a member in accordance with constitutional processes.
This power should only be exercised under appropriate circumstances, such as repeated censures.
(8) Motion of Nomination
(a) Legislative Nominations. A majority vote in both chambers is required to confirm a nomination to the Legislative Branch.
(b) Judicial Nominations. A majority vote in the Senate alone is required to confirm a nomination to the Judiciary.
(9) Motion to Override
If the President vetoes a bill, Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
(10) Motion to Subpoena
Congress may subpoena personnel or records for the purposes of a hearing or investigation.
(11) Motion to Classify
(a) Motion for Classification. A Representative or Senator may propose a motion to classify a motion and its voting records, preventing public release.
(b) Motion for Declassification. A previously classified motion may be declassified through a separate motion.
(c) Voting Requirements. Classification or declassification requires a simple majority in all chambers where the original motion was passed.
(d) Justification for Classification. A motion should only be classified if its disclosure could harm government stability or the well-being of Redmont.
(e) Voting Restrictions. While a motion to classify is under vote, the motion in question cannot be publicized unless classification fails.
(12) Motion to Amend
(a) Amendments During Voting. A Representative may propose a motion to amend a bill that is currently undergoing voting in the House of Representatives, and a Senator may propose a motion to amend a bill that is currently pending in the Senate or undergoing voting in the Senate. A Motion to Amend a bill cannot be proposed once that bill has passed voting in both chambers.
(b) Required Majority. A Motion to Amend proposed in the House of Representatives requires the same majority required for passage of that bill in only that chamber, and a Motion to Amend proposed in the Senate requires the same majority required for passage of that bill in both chambers.
(c) Procedure. Following the passage of a Motion to Amend a bill, the bill will restart voting for 48 hours in the chamber it was in when the motion to amend was proposed, if that bill was up to vote in that chamber at any point between the motion’s proposal and the motion’s passage.
13 - Voting
(1) Conflict of Interests. If or when there is a motion against or relating specifically to a member of Congress, their vote shall not be included. (e.g. Motion of nomination, no confidence, removal)
(2) Abstentions. An abstention vote must be submitted during voting if the member is not voting for or against the matter before congress. Failure to vote at all will be considered a non-vote and for the purposes of all other acts will be counted as an abstention.
14 - Dereliction
(1) Congressional Members will be considered to have committed dereliction of their duties, if:
(a) they fail to vote on five or more bills/motions which fail due to not meeting quorum.
(b) they do not have enough playtime to vote in elections.
(2) Congressional Members will be exempt from this if they request a leave of absence before committing these acts.
15 - Congressional Hearings
(1) Location
(a) Hearings must take place in a Discord channel visible to the public.
(2) Initiating a Hearing
(a) Through a simple majority vote in a chamber of Congress, that chamber can open a chamber-specific hearing. Through a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress, Congress can open a joint hearing.
(b) In chamber-specific hearings, only members of Congress from that chamber shall be able to participate. In joint hearings, members of both chambers of Congress shall be able to participate.
(c) A motion to hold a hearing may specify whether it is a chamber-specific hearing or a joint hearing. If unspecified, then it shall automatically be assumed to be a chamber-specific hearing.
(d) A chamber-specific hearing can become a joint hearing through a simple majority vote in both chambers, with such a motion initiating in the chamber that the hearing began in.
(i) If a subpoena is issued in a chamber-specific hearing that later becomes a joint hearing, the subpoena is still valid and in effect.
(e) A motion to hold a hearing may include one or more subpoenas as a part of the motion. Further subpoenas can be issued through passage of a motion in the chamber(s) holding the hearing.
(3) Closing a Hearing
(a) A hearing shall automatically be closed after five (5) days of no:
(i) invitations to testify;
(ii) questions asked by participating members of Congress;
(iii) proposals of motions to subpoena;
(iv) votes on motions to subpoena; and
(v) passage of motions to subpoena.
(b) A hearing may be closed through a consent of a simple majority of the chamber(s) holding the hearing.
(c) No hearing shall close solely as the result of a Congressional election.
(d) The five-day count mentioned in 3(a) of this Section shall pause when:
(i) at least one of the chambers of Congress participating in the hearing has no presiding officer;
(ii) at least one of the chambers of Congress participating in the hearing has not amended or reaffirmed its extant standing orders as required by law; and/or
(iii) the hearing has no chairperson.
(4) Subpoenas
(a) Through a simple majority, the chamber(s) of Congress holding a hearing can subpoena any number of persons or entities to appear before that hearing. Failure to appear within 72 hours of being summoned will result in a Contempt of Congress charge.
(b) The subpoena must state its reason.
(c) Where the subpoena is for a Government or business entity, the subpoenaed entity may offer an alternative representative to attend in their place. However, if any individual (e.g. the President or a Secretary) is specifically summoned, then an alternative representative cannot be offered.
(d) Subpoenaed persons and entities are required to testify in the hearing when questioned by any member of a participating chamber of Congress.
(5) Invitations to Testify
(a) The chairperson of a hearing may offer an invitation to testify to any person or entity. This does not require the consent of any other member of Congress, but may be overridden through a simple majority in the relevant chamber(s). An invitation to testify may still be overridden even if it has been accepted to the invitee, which the invitee shall no longer have permission to testify in the hearing.
(i) If an invitation to testify in a specific hearing is overridden, then another invitation to testify in that hearing cannot be offered to the same person or entity.
(b) Those invited to testify cannot provide false testimony, but they may choose to not answer certain questions as long as they explicitly state that they are opting not to answer.
(c) A person or entity invited to testify may dismiss itself from the hearing at any time, and the chairperson of the hearing may dismiss any invited persons or entities at any time.
(i) If dismissed, the person or entity shall require another invitation to testify or a subpoena to testify in the hearing once more.
(d) Any offered invitations to testify must be disclosed to the chamber(s) of Congress holding the hearing.
(6) Chairperson
(a) The chairperson of a hearing shall be the member of Congress who proposed that hearing.
(b) If the chairperson of a hearing ceases to be a member of a chamber participating in that hearing, the presiding officer of the chamber in which the hearing motion was proposed shall become the new chairperson of that hearing (once elected, if not yet elected).
(c) The chamber(s) holding the hearing may change the chairperson of the hearing to a different member of Congress through a simple majority vote.
(7) Right to Not Self-Incriminate
(a) A person or entity that is subpoenaed and/or invited to testify may invoke their right not to produce self-incriminating evidence during the hearing.
(8) Confirmation Hearings
(a) A Confirmation Hearing shall occur within 24 hours whenever an individual is nominated for a position in which the Senate must vote on the nomination.
(i) Positions may be exempt from this as specified in the Standing Orders of the Senate.
(b) Confirmation Hearings shall be Senate chamber-specific hearings and may not be expanded to include both chambers.
(c) The nominee shall automatically be subpoenaed.
(d) Unless otherwise specified by the Standing Orders of the Senate, the President of the Senate shall be the initial chairperson of a Confirmation Hearing.
(9) Standing Orders
(a) Each chamber of Congress may create further rules for their own chamber-specific hearings in their Standing Orders, as long as such rules do not conflict with any law.
(i) The Senate may create separate rules for Confirmation Hearings and other hearings specific to the Senate.
(b) Further rules for joint hearings must be agreed upon by both chambers of Congress.
(c) Further rules may substitute the provisions for the automatic closure of hearings described in Subsection 3(a) of this Section.
16 - Congressional Subpoenas
(1) Process
(a) Any member of the Congress may propose a motion to subpoena any number of people or entities to testify.
(b) Motions to exercise Congressional Subpoenas are accepted or denied by the chamber that they are proposed. Congressional Committees are also able to accept or deny Congressional Subpoenas.
(c) Should the motion pass, the subject(s) of the motion will be compelled to testify before Congress by the date specified in the motion.
(d) Should the subject of a subpoena fail to appear before Congress without reasonable justification they will be charged 1% of their balance for each day with a minimum of $100.
(e) Subjects of Congressional subpoenas may invoke their right not to incriminate themselves during the hearing.
17 - Congressional Funds
(1) Codified Spending:
(a) The reference to the legislative budget in this bill relates to the respective balance of the 'DCGovernmentLEG' account.
(b) The legislative branch may pass bills to limit or enforce spending on a specific subject.
(c) Spending remains subject to all bills regarding appropriations, including the logging and transparency of such spending.
(2) Facilitation of Funding
(a) The Office of the Presiding Officers is responsible for appropriating the proper funds once a motion is passed, unless otherwise directed in such motion.
(3) Legislative bonuses
(a) Congressional members are barred from appropriating themselves and or accepting bonuses for the purpose of extra remuneration.
(i) Members of the speakers office are the only members exempt from this exclusion.
(b) Representatives may still receive appropriations to assist them in the course of their official duties (e.g. paying a staffer).
(4) Any official gifts made to a Representative or Senator are to be property of the state and should be surrendered to the Speaker's office at the member's first opportunity.
(a) The speaker's office may choose to display or simply retain and archive these gifts.
18 - Contempt of Congress
(1) The House of Representatives, Senate, or any committee may vote to hold a person "in contempt" by a majority vote. The Speaker will then report the incident to the Department of Justice to be actioned.
To refuse to testify, won't provide information requested by the House or the Senate, or obstructs an inquiry by a congressional committee.
First Offence: $1500 fine and 10 minutes of jail time
Second Offence: $2000 fine and 20 minutes of jail time
Third Offence: $4000 fine, 40 minutes of jailtime, and a Censure
19 - Redundancy
(1) A 'Redundant' prefix will be made available to the Speaker's office.
(2) This prefix may be applied to bills by the Speaker's office where a bill no longer has legal relevance. Bills with the redundancy prefix will be moved to the rescinded / vetoed / rejected forum.
(3) Redundant bills will remain law until they are formally rescinded.
20 - Peer Review
(1) A co-sponsor is required on all bills proposed.
(a) This co-sponsor must be a Representative or Senator who is not the poster of the bill and this co-sponsor must be willing in the process of co-sponsorship.
(b) The bill and resolution format will be updated to include a space under section 1 for the co-sponsor to be put.
(c) If a listed co-sponsor claims that legislation was introduced without their consent, it is to be withdrawn from consideration at the discretion of the presiding officer of the House unless evidence of consent is provided. Consent may not be withdrawn once legislation is introduced.
21 - Oath of Office
(1) Any Presiding Officer of a chamber of Congress may choose to hold a swearing-in ceremony for their chamber each term.
(2) All Representatives and Senators in attendance of such a ceremony shall be sworn in by the Clerk with the following oath: 'I, (username), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont for the people. So help me End and Tech.'
(a) Congressional staff shall be sworn in by a Presiding Officer with the same oath.
(3) Congressional swearing-ins are entirely ceremonial and shall have no legal effect.
22 - Ethical Standards
(1) Members of Congress should recuse themselves from any investigations in which they may have a conflict of interest.
(2) Members of Congress cannot engage in questioning, proposing subpoenas, or any other investigative matter if they have a conflict of interest. This may only be overridden via a supermajority of Congress.
(3) Members of Congress should maintain the same level of activity required for voters in Section 16 of the Electoral Act. If a member of Congress continues to not be active on Discord, Forums, or in-game it may be considered a failure to perform duty and a removable offense.
23 - Amendments
(1) Any changes to this process should take the form of an amendment to the Legislative Standards Act.
24 - Bill & Resolution Format Thread
(1) See Information - Bill & Resolution Formats
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