Bill: Draft Statutory Authority Clarification Amendment

[zLost]

A
BILL
To
Amend the Constitution​

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 'Statutory Authority Clarification Amendment'

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

(3) This Act has been authored by ToadKing and Multiman155.

(4) This Act has been sponsored and co-authored by Representative zLost.

(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Senator Omegabiebel.

2 - Reasons

(1) Recent judicial interpretation has asserted that statutes enacted by Congress cannot impose binding requirements on the exercise of constitutional powers assigned exclusively to a particular chamber or office. This interpretation is incompatible with the constitutional structure of Redmont, under which Congress has long enacted statutes that regulate and structure the exercise of constitutional powers across all branches.

(2) The Legislative Standards Act and Standing Orders impose mandatory procedures, timelines, eligibility rules, enforcement mechanisms, and conduct requirements that are not exhaustively defined in the Constitution, yet are treated as binding law essential to the functioning of government. Interpreting constitutional silence as immunity from statute would place these laws in legal doubt and undermine the coherence of the legislative framework.

(3) If left uncorrected, this interpretation would allow constitutional powers to be exercised without binding statutory standards unless voluntarily adopted by the body exercising them, weakening accountability, consistency, and the rule of law. It would create an artificial distinction between statutory law and standing orders despite both deriving authority from the Constitution.

(4) Clarification is therefore essential to reaffirm that statutory regulation of constitutional powers is a normal and necessary function of Congress, and that constitutional authority does not exist apart from the laws enacted to govern its exercise.

3 - Amendments
(1) PART VII of the Constitution shall be amended by inserting the following new section:

"52. Statutory Regulation of Constitutional Powers

(1) Unless this Constitution expressly provides otherwise, any power granted by this Constitution to the Congress, the House of Representatives, and the Senate may be regulated, conditioned, structured, or limited by statute enacted by Congress, so long as such statute doesn't negate, abolish, or materially contradict the intent or substance of the constitutional power granted.

(2) Unless this Constitution expressly provides otherwise, any power granted by this Constitution to a Secretary and/or Government Department overseen by a Secretary under Section (29) may be conditioned, structured, or limited by statute enacted by Congress, so long as such statute doesn't negate, abolish, or materially contradict the intent or substance of the constitutional power granted.

(3) Statutory requirements enacted under subsections (1-2) shall be binding on all affected offices and officials when exercising constitutional powers.

(4) A failure to comply with a binding statutory requirement under subsections (1-2) that governs the exercise of a constitutional power shall render the resulting action invalid, unless the statute itself provides otherwise."

Note: "52. Statutory Regulation of Constitutional Powers" shall have the colour of hex code #2C82C9 when implemented.

4 - Clarification
(1) Nothing in this amendment permits Congress to remove, transfer, or usurp a constitutional power expressly denied to it by this Constitution.
(3) Courts shall not infer immunity from statute solely from the constitutional assignment of a power.