Bill: Draft Town Rights Amendment Act

[Franciscus]

A
BILL
To

Amend the Constitution to Enshrine Local Governance​

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 'Town Rights Amendment Act'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Oakridge Town Attorney General Multiman155.
(4) This Act has been sponsored by Speaker Multiman155 and co-sponsored by Senator Bezzergeezer.

2 - Reasons
(1) The Commonwealth ought provide local governments with fundamental rights and privileges under the constitution;
(2) The Executive has in the past used its existing discretion in ways that would unduly harm residents of towns, such as by imposing an auction tax involving town plots without congressional approval;
(3) Many players find purposes in their towns, and these players deserve constitutional protections;
(4) Providing constitutional legislative authority to towns will allow them to function more autonomously;
(5) The Congress seeks to enshrine the following guarantees into the constitution regarding towns:

(a) A guarantee that Towns cannot be dissolved by the mere whim of the Executive;​

(b) A guarantee of the ability to lawfully build, zone, and create properties within the town;​

(c) A guarantee that only the towns may tax or collect fees based upon properties owned in their jurisdictions;​

(d) A guarantee that Towns may create and enforce local laws relating to properties, businesses, and actions in the towns;​

(e) A guarantee for Towns for permissions to effectuate transfers of properties without reliance upon Federal Authorities;​

(f) A guarantee against unjust discrimination for residence in a town;​

(g) A guarantee against undue Federal intervention in affairs properly left to a town.​

(6) The Congress seeks to amend the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Redmont to address these concerns and achieve these goals.

3 - Amendment
(1) The Constitution shall be amended by inserting the following Part VIII at the end of the Constitution:

PART VIII – TOWNS​

52. Recognition
Towns are autonomous local governments of the Commonwealth. Oakridge and Aventura are recognized as the two Towns.

53. Establishment & Dissolution
A Town may be established or dissolved only by an amendment to this Constitution. No Town may be dissolved by Executive action nor by ordinary statute.

54. Local Legislature
Legislative power over local matters is vested in each Town legislature. Town bylaws, as applicable, have force within Town limits and/or on Town residents.

55. Zoning & Development
Towns may create, zone, merge, and delete plots; set and enforce building standards; and approve or deny construction and designs.

56. Property Administration
Towns may evict for cause, conduct auctions, and effectuate transfers of property within Town limits without reliance on federal authorities.

57. Taxation & Fees
Only a Town may levy property-based taxes, fees, or charges on plots within its jurisdiction. Revenues from Town property and/or arising from Town bylaws accrue to the Town.

58. Local Execution
Towns may create executive offices and services to administer bylaws, issue permits, and enforce compliance, including by municipal fines consistent with due process.

59. Residency & Equality
No person shall face unjust discrimination for residing, or seeking to reside, in a Town. Town residents enjoy equal protection of Commonwealth law.

60. Town Domain
The Town Domain includes, without limitation:
(a) land use, zoning, building, and property administration;
(b) business licensing and regulation within Town limits;
(c) municipal services, public spaces, and events;
(d) local roads, transport, signage, and traffic within Town limits;
(e) public safety and welfare within Town limits;
(f) Town finance, budgets, procurement, and property-based taxes and fees applied to or arising from town plots;
(g) Town elections, officers, and procedures;
(h) any conduct whose primary effects occur within Town limits.

61. Home-Rule Presumption
Town bylaws governing the Town Domain are valid and supreme within Town limits unless displaced under §§62–66.

62. Non-Interference and Territorial Integrity
Federal departments shall not operate, regulate, or enforce in subjects within the Town Domain without Town consent, except for uniform criminal law enforcement, elections facilitation provided by law, or protection of fundamental rights guaranteed by this Constitution. The Commonwealth may not remove territory from a town’s jurisdiction without a Town bylaw authorizing such removal.

63. Express, Narrow Preemption Only
Department policy or executive order shall not displace a Town bylaw. Field or implied preemption is prohibited. An Act of Congress may displace a Town bylaw within the Town Domain only if it:

(a) expressly states an intent to displace Town bylaws;
(b) states the national interest necessitating displacement; and
(c) is narrowly tailored.

64. Extraterritorial Effects Test
A Town bylaw falls outside the Town Domain only if the Commonwealth proves by clear and convincing evidence that it imposes a material obligation on non-Town residents outside Town limits, directly regulates inter-town or interstate commerce beyond a de minimis effect, or materially impacts fundamental rights granted to citizens under this Constitution.

65. Standard of Review
Any federal displacement of a Town bylaw under §63 is subject to strict scrutiny and construed in favor of the Town where ambiguity remains.

66. Saver for General Laws
Acts of general applicability apply in Towns and shall be construed to avoid unnecessary intrusion into the Town Domain.

67. Elections
Towns shall take a republican form of government. Town elections shall be fair and facilitated by Federal departments as provided by law. Towns may set reasonable candidacy and voting requirements consistent with Commonwealth law.

68. Budget & Grants
Towns control their treasuries and budgets. Towns may receive grants from the Federal government by law but are not owed recurring federal appropriations.

69. Judicial Review
Courts may resolve conflicts between Town and federal law consistent with §§60–66 and this Constitution.

70. Continuity
Existing Town constitutions and Town bylaws remain in force unless inconsistent with this Part or other constitutional provisions, or if subsequently repealed and/or amended by the towns.