Bill: Draft Stop Derelict Presiding Officers Act

[EATB]

CONGRESS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT​

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A BILL TO

AMEND THE CONSTITUTION

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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 ‘Stop Derelict Presiding Officers Act’.

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage and constitutional passage by referendum.

(3) This Act has been authored by Speaker of the House EATB.

(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by President of the Senate HatManMC.

(5) This Act amends the following acts:

(a) Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) Extended absences by Presiding Officers cripple the functioning of the legislature.

(2) Currently, if a Presiding Officer goes on a prolonged Leave of Absence and commits dereliction, removing them from leadership requires a Supermajority.

(3) Furthermore, Section 11 of the Constitution requires the Presiding Officer to initiate the removal of a derelict member. If the Presiding Officer is the derelict member, this is worsened. Allowing a simple majority Motion of No Confidence for derelict leaders resolves this.

(4) By establishing a 1-month constitutional ceiling regarding Leaves of Absence sheilding from dereliction, we ensure no congress member can go inactive for an unreasonable amount of time.

(5) As the Constitution is the supreme law of the Commonwealth, these amendments shall immediately supersede any conflicting statutes, including the Legislative Standards Act, which may be updated subsequently to align with this text.

PART II - AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

3. Amendment to the Removal of the Speaker
(1) Part I, Section 5, Subsection (2) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont shall be amended as follows:

(2) Removal. The Speaker may be removed by a supermajority vote of no confidence in the House, or a simple majority vote of no confidence if the Speaker has committed dereliction of their duties.

4. Amendment to the Removal of the President of the Senate
(1) Part I, Section 6, Subsection (2) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont shall be amended as follows:

(2) Removal. The President of the Senate may be removed by a supermajority vote of no confidence in the Senate, or a simple majority vote of no confidence if the President of the Senate has committed dereliction of their duties.

5. Amendment to Leaves of Absence and Dereliction
(1) Part VIII, Section 52 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont shall be amended as follows:

52. Dereliction
A Congressional Member will be deemed to have committed dereliction of their duties if they fail to vote on 5 or more bills/motions which fail due to not meeting quorum, or fall below the playtime required to vote in elections. If these offenses occur while the Congressional Member is on Leave of Absence, they will not be deemed to have commited dereliction of their duties provided that their cumulative time spent on a Leave of Absence does not exceed 30 days during their current term. Changing the definition of Dereliction will require four-fifths majority in Congress.