Bill: Rejected National Symbols Act

[MJL]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT
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A BILL TO

Establish National Symbols for Redmont, and Other Related Matters

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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 'National Symbols Act'

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

(3) This Act has been authored by MJL_.

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Stanley582.

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) This bill is to reverse, in whole or in part, the repeal of (a) Executive Order 04/26 - Establishing National Food, Drink, and Culinary Celebration; (b) Executive Order 31/25 - National Sport; and (c) Executive Order 11/2 - National Symbols II.

(2) It is also meant to respond to the public petition to make the bee the national animal of Redmont.

(3) Nothing in this bill is meant to create an affirmative obligation to support the national symbols from any individual, but to codify long-standing traditions with its second and fourth parts.

(4) Finally, with the issuing of Executive Order 14/26 - National Symbols, it was understood for the third part that the people of Redmont should have a democratic means to decide various national symbols beyond what was established in Part II of this act.

3. Definitions
As used in this act:
(1) "National Symbols" means the national symbols established under Part II of this act as well as the Democratic National Symbols.
(2) "Democratic National Symbols" means the national symbols established under the DNS Policy and Part III of this act.
(3) "DNS Policy" means the Democratic National Symbols Policy.

PART II — ESTABLISHED SYMBOLS

1. National Drink
Tea shall be the national drink of Redmont.

2. National Sport
Hockey shall be the official national sport of Redmont.

3. National Flower
The national flower shall be the Blue Orchid.

4. National Animal
Anthophila shall bee the national animal of Redmont.

PART III — DEMOCRATIC SYMBOLS

1. Establishment of DNS Policy
(1) The Department of State shall create and maintain a Democratic National Symbols Policy for the Commonwealth.

(2) The Democratic National Symbols Policy shall:
(a) list the Democratic National Symbols recognised by the Executive; and
(b) record the manner in which each Democratic National Symbol is intended to be recognised or represented in-game.

2. DNS Policy Minimums
The Democratic National Symbols Policy should ordinarily include, at minimum:
(1) National Block;
(2) National Mob;
(3) National Food;
(4) National Dinosaur; and
(5) National Bird.

3. National Food Requirements
The National Food shall, in accordance with the next section, be chosen between either pancakes or waffles.

4. Selection of Democratic National Symbols

(1) Democratic National Symbols must be chosen by public referendum or other public vote administered by the Department of State at the request of the President.

(2) Subject to the requirements of this Act and in accordance with the direction of the President, The Department of State may determine the timing, format, shortlist, and administration of any such referendum or vote.

(3) In preparing a shortlist, the Department of State should launch a public consultation, lasting at least three days, to invite suggestions and reasoned proposals from the public.

(4) Before any proposed Democratic National Symbol is put to public vote, the Department of State shall publish:
(a) The proposed symbol, or shortlist of proposed symbols;
(b) The reasoning behind the proposals; and
(c) The intended means by which the symbol would be recognised or represented in-game if selected.

(5) The Department of State should not ordinarily advance proposals which lack any practical means of recognition or representation by the Executive.

(6) Unless otherwise stated in advance, the option receiving the greatest number of valid votes cast shall be recognised as the relevant National Symbol and entered into the Democratic National Symbols Policy.

5. Recognition and Representation of Democratic National Symbols

(1) The Department of State shall coordinate the recognition and promotion of Democratic National Symbols across the Executive.

(2) Executive departments shall, where relevant and reasonably practicable, support the recognition and promotion of Democratic National Symbols under this part.

(3) Executive departments shall cooperate with the Department of State in the implementation of this part.

(4) National Symbols may be recognised or represented through:
(a) Official announcements, publications, and promotional material;
(b) Public events, festivals, celebrations, and commemorations;
(c) Official builds, decorations, displays, gardens, parks, museums, monuments, and other public-facing projects; and
(d) The maintenance, use, or display of relevant foods, drinks, blocks, flowers, mobs, or other in-game features.

6. DNS Policy Date
The Department of State shall be granted a period no longer than 28 days to publish the initial Democratic National Symbols Policy.

PART IV — TACO TUESDAY

1. Establishment of Taco Tuesday
Every Tuesday within the Commonwealth of Redmont is hereby designated as "Taco Tuesday." Taco Tuesday shall serve as a weekly celebration of community, cuisine, and the culinary diversity of the Commonwealth.

2. Obligations and Expectations
On Taco Tuesday:
(1) All government-operated food facilities within the Commonwealth are encouraged to offer at least one taco-based menu item;
(2) Private food vendors and restaurants are encouraged, but not required, to participate by offering taco specials or promotions;
(3) Town governments may organize local Taco Tuesday events.

3. Definition of a Taco
For the purposes of this part, a "taco" is defined as any food item consisting of a filling wrapped or served in a folded or rolled tortilla or similar flatbread. Burritos, quesadillas, and similar tortilla-based items shall qualify under this definition, and the Department of Education is encouraged to create and maintain custom foods in order to ensure Taco Tuesday may provide enjoyment for diverse palates.

3. Department Responsibilities

(1) Department of Public Affairs. The Department of Public Affairs is encouraged to coordinate Taco Tuesday promotional efforts and may organize Commonwealth-wide events to celebrate the designation.

(2) Department of Health. The Department of Health is encouraged to ensure that tea and tacos are sold in the Hospital.

(3) Department of Education. The Department of Education is encouraged to ensure that all items named in this part be maintained as recipes in-game.

4. Taco Towns.
Towns are encouraged, but not required, to adopt local bylaws supporting Taco Tuesday. Town-specific adaptations, such as themed taco menus reflecting the town's designated industry or theme, are permitted and encouraged.

 

[Plura72]

- the president already made an announcement about the national symbols and the citizens would vote on it

 

[Julia_]

NAY - This should be democratically decided.

 

[MJL]

AYE - I am not against democratically deciding these symbols, but we are deciding way too many symbols way too quickly. We need room to acknowledge past generations of players AND to keep our options open for the future ones to decide these things too.

I know no-one will read this or care what I have to say, but I feel very strongly about this. Deciding these all at once is a really bad idea. Decision fatigue is real concern of mine, and we aren't going to get the participation necessary to actually get the pulse on our nation's character with the current process.

The end result of Tech's executive order is that this current set of players will pick whatever they think is funny to exclusion of any other consideration. It will not represent a meaningful symbol from our history but a popularity poll from with a limited window of time.

Just like with the Executive Order 12/21 - Creation of National Symbols, the results will then be forgotten by time only for us to repeat the cycle in five more years. Set your calendars because we will be back here again on 26 May 2031 if this server is still around.