Bill: Draft Official Town Establishment Act

[Moyfr]

A
BILL
To

Create and Define the Legal Structure of Redmont Towns and Cities​

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:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Official Town Establishment Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Representative Moyfr.
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Representatives RealImza and Senator Sofia2750.

2 - Reasons
(1) For the past 5 years of the Commonwealth of Redmont's existence, there has never been binding legislation passed by congress to legally define what towns are and their respective rights/privileges.
(2) The only previous action taken to define towns and bring them into the modern day has been Executive Orders issued by the President and staff policy.
(3) Redmont is long overdue for official legislation that can be used to support the existing towns, support their citizens, and provide a sense of autonomy for any jurisdiction outside of the City of Reveille.

3 - Definitions
(1) A "town" shall be defined as any established settlement, that has been approved by staff, which possesses a functioning city counsel, led by a Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
(2) A "settlement" shall be defined as an area which is inhabited by individuals with a sense of identity and a loose self-governing structure.
(3) A "resident" shall be defined as any player who lives in a town or city which they have set their in-game residency to.

(a) Once a residency is set, players must wait 30 days before changing residency again.​

(4) "Bylaws" are to be defined as legislation and the governing documents of a respective local government and its jurisdiction
(5) A "constitution", as defined in this act, shall be a legally-binding document which establishes and structures a government.
(6) The "federal government" shall be defined as any government body, institution, or structure which holds jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Redmont.
(7) The "capitol" or "Capitol of Redmont" shall be defined as the City of Reveille.

4 - Town Constitutions
(1) Towns shall be required to have a constitution which shall establish at minimum the structure of government, process for elections, process for amendments, and rights and freedoms of citizens.
(2) Town Constitutions shall only be subject to change by the government and residents of the town, and the Commonwealth of Redmont shall not pressure or intimidate towns into changing their own constitutions.

(a) Town Constitutions may be subject to change only by staff members with the reasoning of a possible conflict in server rules or procedures.​

(b) Any federal government official(s) found, through due process, to have intimidated, pressured, or bribed town officials into changing their respective constitution shall be charged with corruption under the Criminal Code​

(3) Towns shall be responsible for updating and maintaining the current version of any constitution on the forums or any respective forums page.

5 - Town Rights to Self Governance
(1) Towns shall create bylaws which serve as legislative measures to enforce regulations or laws within that town's jurisdiction.
(2) Towns shall not make any law which strips residents of their rights or freedoms under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont or the Town Constitution.
(3) Towns shall have the authority to enforce laws and regulation through respective executive positions.
(4) Towns shall have the authority to conduct their own elections with the supervision and assistance of the Department of State.

(a) Towns must set their own election requirements for all elected offices within the town constitution.​

(i) The federal government shall have no authority to impose requirements or regulations on town elected offices or positions.​

(b) Results and voting information must be shared with the Department of State once elections close and vote counting shall be done collaboratively to ensure transparency on both sides.​

(c) Elections must take place within the Town Hall building of any town which holds elections.​

(i) For the City of Reveille, or any federal elections, the polling place shall remain the Department of State building.​

(5) Towns shall have full autonomy over building regulations, plot zoning, plot evictions, and build height limits within their jurisdiction, and shall work alongside the Department of Construction and Transportation to enforce laws.

(a) Regulations or laws which originate from the town legislature that are violated and impose a fee will go to the town treasury.​

(b) If federal law or policy is broken within town jurisdiction, and the punishment imposes a fee on the individual or entity, the money taken shall instead fall into the federal treasury or department budget.​

(c) The Executive of the Commonwealth of Redmont shall not impose a fine, fee, or any sort of tax on town plots without the advice and consent of the town legislature.​

(d) Towns have the right to use the DCT's paste services.​

(6) Transportation within towns shall be managed by the town government.
(7) Towns are allowed to have economic autonomy, and shall maintain a town treasury which shall be published to the public on a monthly basis to ensure transparency.

(a) Towns may apply for town grants under the Department of State so long as they follow department policy and requirements for the grant which is being applied for.​

(8) Departments such as the Department of Health and Department of the Interior are authorized to operate the Town Clinic and Town Animal Shelter, however the land will remain town property and can be subject to design changes and structural changes depending on town needs and desires.
(9) Federal government departments and agencies can conduct business within a town if the town legislature passes a law allowing them to do so, or the town constitution specifically allows federal departments to operate on town soil.

6 - City of Reveille
(1) The City of Reveille is and shall remain the Capitol of the Commonwealth of Redmont.
(2) Due to no existing city council or city government, the city shall operate as a federal district under direct authority and governance of the federal government of Redmont.
(3) The City of Reveille shall remain the spawn point and default spawn point of all players on DemocracyCraft.
(4) No town or territory shall be carved out of land belonging to the City of Reveille.

(a) Districts can be allowed to form within city limits, but cannot become independent or form their own government, as a means to have themes, build similarities, etc.​

7 - Supremacy Clause
(1) In times where federal law and town law conflict, federal law shall be enforced, unless specified in federal legislation.
(2) Any Federal code which is not an Act of Congress, an Executive Order, or within the Constitution, such as department policy, does not take precedence over Town legislation.

8 - Grandfather Clause
(1) The towns of Aventura and Oakridge shall be grandfathered in as already existing towns.