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Region: The Thaecian Senate

History

Titanne wrote:VOTING ON AMENDMENTS

Voting on Indian Genius’ attached amendment will last until I can legally close it.

If the Minister who is called for the hearing is not able to come to it, s/he must inform the House of Commons/Senate beforehand and give the date s/he will be available on, and the chamber in which the hearing called, will have a vote that requires 2/3rd Aye votes to confirm the date.

[spoiler=SENATORS]

Cerdenia

Brototh

Asean Nations

Indian Genius

Catlin

[/spoiler]

The amendment has failed in a 3-2 vote.

We will now be voting on the full bill.

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=cerdenia/detail=factbook/id=1316916

After this we will be finally debating the unicameralism referendum.

Please cast your votes below.

My vote is “AYE”

Asean Nations

I am resigning from the senate, campaign promises achieved, no excitment to do any of this anymore.

Zanaana

Now that we’ve gotten our votes together, the bill has PASSED. Our next order of business is the Unicameralism Referendum Act, linked below.

Unicameralism Referendum Act (H.B. 033)

Author: Fishergate

Sponsor: Cerdenia

[spoiler=PREAMBLE]

Recognising the controversial nature and constitutional obstacles regarding the implementation of a unicameral legislature in Thaecia, Congress hereby approves a motion to give the people of Thaecia the power to determine the structure of their Congress by the means of a referendum of the following nature:[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE I: THE BALLOT]

Section I: The question to be posed to the people of Thaecia on the ballot card used in the referendum shall be as follows: "Should the Legislature of Thaecia be a Bicameral Legislature or a Unicameral Legislature?"

Section II: The answers to be available to voters on the ballot card used in the referendum shall be as follows:

"Bicameral" to approve of Bicameralism and "Unicameral" to approve of Unicameralism.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE II: CAMPAIGN AND REFERENDUM]

Section I: There shall be a period of 2 weeks following the approval of this bill by Congress in which parties and individuals may campaign for or against the proposal layed out in the referendum.

Section II: At the end of this 2 week period the referendum shall be initiated by the Electoral Commission and carried out impartially on terms set by the Commission.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE III: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESULT]

Congress hereby commits itself to carry out the will of the people as established by the result of the referendum.

In the event of a majority "Yes" vote, Congress will pass a constitutional amendment and any subsequent legislation required to establish a unicameral legislature in Thaecia.

In the event of a majority "Nay" vote, Congress will not revisit this question for the remainder of the current term.[/spoiler]

—————————————————————————

[spoiler=remaining senators]

Titanne

Catlin

Indian Genius

Asean Nations

Brototh[/spoiler]

I have nothing against it.

Indian Genius wrote:I have nothing against it.

mee too

Titanne wrote:Now that we’ve gotten our votes together, the bill has PASSED. Our next order of business is the Unicameralism Referendum Act, linked below.

Unicameralism Referendum Act (H.B. 033)

Author: Fishergate

Sponsor: Cerdenia

[spoiler=PREAMBLE]

Recognising the controversial nature and constitutional obstacles regarding the implementation of a unicameral legislature in Thaecia, Congress hereby approves a motion to give the people of Thaecia the power to determine the structure of their Congress by the means of a referendum of the following nature:[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE I: THE BALLOT]

Section I: The question to be posed to the people of Thaecia on the ballot card used in the referendum shall be as follows: "Should the Legislature of Thaecia be a Bicameral Legislature or a Unicameral Legislature?"

Section II: The answers to be available to voters on the ballot card used in the referendum shall be as follows:

"Bicameral" to approve of Bicameralism and "Unicameral" to approve of Unicameralism.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE II: CAMPAIGN AND REFERENDUM]

Section I: There shall be a period of 2 weeks following the approval of this bill by Congress in which parties and individuals may campaign for or against the proposal layed out in the referendum.

Section II: At the end of this 2 week period the referendum shall be initiated by the Electoral Commission and carried out impartially on terms set by the Commission.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=ARTICLE III: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESULT]

Congress hereby commits itself to carry out the will of the people as established by the result of the referendum.

In the event of a majority "Yes" vote, Congress will pass a constitutional amendment and any subsequent legislation required to establish a unicameral legislature in Thaecia.

In the event of a majority "Nay" vote, Congress will not revisit this question for the remainder of the current term.[/spoiler]

—————————————————————————

[spoiler=remaining senators]

Titanne

Catlin

Indian Genius

Asean Nations

Brototh[/spoiler]

Voting on the above bill will now begin.

Post self-deleted by Brototh.

An election is coming. This will overlap with the election and everything will be a mess.

Nay

Cerdenia, Titanne, The Bigtopia, Catlin

Titanne wrote:Voting on the above bill will now begin.

I vote “aye”.

Given Brototh’s statement, my vote is now nay.

Brototh, The Bigtopia

ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEBATE

The Unicameralism Referendum Act has FAILED to achieve a simple majority of votes in the Senate. We now move on to the Observance of Regional Holidays Bill. Terentiland may speak on the RMB on behalf of this bill for the duration of it’s debating period. The bill can be found below. I invite all Senators to cast their votes.

[spoiler=The Bill]

Written and Sponsored by: Terentiland

PREAMBLE

By creating Thaecian holidays and observances, this bill will increase community, friendship, and culture in the region; hereby enacts the following:

Congress hereby agrees,

Article I - Regional Holidays

i) Defines regional holiday as a day celebrating various events, activities, or topics. Holidays differ from observances in that regional workers are given a day free from work on holidays except in extenuating circumstances or if a crisis prevents it, but not on observances.

ii) Declares the following as regional holidays:

New Years Day (Jan. 1)

Thaecia Day celebrating our region’s founding (Jan. 22)

Godsinia Day celebrating the coming of Godsinia (July 3)

Christmas Day (Dec. 25)

Article 2- Regional Observances

i) Defines regional observance as the commemoration or other observance of various events, activities, or topics. These observances differ from Regional holidays in that Regional workers only are guaranteed a day free from work on holidays, not observances.

ii) Declares the following as regional observances:

Groundhog Day (Feb. 2)

Valentine's Day (Feb. 14)

St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)

Easter (date varies)

Earth Day celebrating our planet (April 22)

Eid-Ul-Fitr (date varies)

Flag Day celebrating flags (June 14)

Handover Day in remembrance of a loss of freedom for 7 million people (July 1)

Climate Change Action Day raising awareness encouraging action (July 8)

Eid-ul-Adha (date varies)

Founder’s Day celebrating our founding citizens (Aug. 5)

Immigration Day a day set aside for getting tons of people to move to Thaecia and to celebrate immigrants and immigration (Aug. 25)

Constitution Day celebrating the creation of the Third Constitution (Sep. 27)

Yom Kippur (date varies)

Democracy Day celebrating democracy (Nov. 1)

Diwali (date varies)

Sir Cattus-Mooman Day commemorating two lost Thaecian *heroes* (Dec. 20)

Hanukkah (date varies)

Christmas Eve (Dec. 24)

Boxing Day (Dec. 26)

Article 3- Adding or Removing Holidays and Observances

i) To add or remove a regional observance to the list in this original law, either

an amendment needs to be passed through Congress with a simple majority in both houses a petition signed by at least 20 nations must be submitted to and approved by the Culture Minister (CM), or

a decree from the The Prime Minister and President creating a regional observance is given and approved by the CM.

ii) To upgrade an observance to a holiday or downgrade a holiday to an observance in this original law, either

an amendment needs to be passed through Congress with a 2/3rds majority in the House of Commons and simple majority in the Senate and be approved by the CM, or a petition signed by at least 40 nations must be submitted to and approved by the CM.

iii) To create or remove a holiday in or from this original law, either

an amendment needs to be passed through Congress with a 2/3rds majority in both bodies of the legislature and approved by the CM, or a petition signed by at least 60 nations must be submitted to and approved by the CM.

iii) This law can only be repealed or replaced with a 2/3 majority in both bodies of Congress and approval from the Prime Minister and Culture Minister. [/spoiler]

[spoiler=Senators]

Catlin

Asean Nations

Brototh

Indian Genius

[/spoiler]

Brototh, Asean Nations

I am in favor of this bill because it boosts the culture of the region and it serves to remind us of our history. Any other thoughts?

Brototh, Asean Nations

Aye, I agree, the bill is good for the region's culture and I do plan to vote aye.

I personally dislike Article 3, iii) This law can only be repealed or replaced with a 2/3 majority in both bodies of Congress and approval from the Prime Minister and Culture Minister, but I doubt this would ever be repealed in the first place, so this is only a personal concern rather than something to actually be raised.

However, my only gripe with this is "given a day free from work". Define work. Is work for chambers of Congress, is work the Executive, or both the legislative and executive? The bill is really vague in this area. Is "work" simply RP work like "oh, the citizens of Brototh get a free day off"? Or is it actual NS proceedings. If the bill intends to do things concerning "regional workers", it should at least tell us what work is, and at that point tell us what a regional worker is-- it can be interpreted in several ways.

Also, if we are to give a "free day of work" for members of the legislative/executive, by which time zone do we use? Does it automatically vary for each member of the legislative/executive so they get their individual day off--or are we going to base it by GMT/UTC?

If this bill passes without defining what work is, then it just seems like a law that's as good as the Culture Ministry saying "regional holidays" or "regional anthem"-- it's just RP and flavor-- which seems really unfair for people who do take observances on these dates.

However, I do plan to vote aye to this bill if Terentiland does not give us a few definitions regardless, but it just seems a bit unfair for those who are religious and would miss the opportunity to vote on a bill and other parts of their job akin to this.

Titanne, Asean Nations

Brototh wrote:Aye, I agree, the bill is good for the region's culture and I do plan to vote aye.

I personally dislike Article 3, iii) This law can only be repealed or replaced with a 2/3 majority in both bodies of Congress and approval from the Prime Minister and Culture Minister, but I doubt this would ever be repealed in the first place, so this is only a personal concern rather than something to actually be raised.

However, my only gripe with this is "given a day free from work". Define work. Is work for chambers of Congress, is work the Executive, or both the legislative and executive? The bill is really vague in this area. Is "work" simply RP work like "oh, the citizens of Brototh get a free day off"? Or is it actual NS proceedings. If the bill intends to do things concerning "regional workers", it should at least tell us what work is, and at that point tell us what a regional worker is-- it can be interpreted in several ways.

Also, if we are to give a "free day of work" for members of the legislative/executive, by which time zone do we use? Does it automatically vary for each member of the legislative/executive so they get their individual day off--or are we going to base it by GMT/UTC?

If this bill passes without defining what work is, then it just seems like a law that's as good as the Culture Ministry saying "regional holidays" or "regional anthem"-- it's just RP and flavor-- which seems really unfair for people who do take observances on these dates.

However, I do plan to vote aye to this bill if Terentiland does not give us a few definitions regardless, but it just seems a bit unfair for those who are religious and would miss the opportunity to vote on a bill and other parts of their job akin to this.

I agree. Definitions would be helpful.

Brototh, Asean Nations

Chairman, I move for a vote on the bill considering we have not have any response from the author in 25 hours.

Titanne

Terentiland

Titanne

Brototh wrote:Chairman, I move for a vote on the bill considering we have not have any response from the author in 25 hours.

Titanne

Terentiland

Oh sorry about that, I didn't realize you wanted a response directly.

The thought behind the free day is that in a way similar to what we do during elections, the government would be closed on a recess for the time of the holiday. This would mean for instance that official voting or debating wouldn't be done during these times in Congress. I think a definition of a free day from work could be helpful to make this a clearer bill, so perhaps you could write and pass an amendment to clear that up.

Brototh, The Bigtopia

To save time, in this Amendment I have included a UTC/GMT mention of the timezone. This works better than it varying for each official & most of Thaecia is either under an American or European time zone anyway, so it should generally work for everyone.

Amendment

Define "free day from work" (and subsequently other mentions of "free day") as Congress being closed in recess - no official voting & debating - for the duration of the Regional Holidays and Regional Observances.

Define "day" as one UTC/GMT day.

Asean Nations

I am totally in favor of this bill.

Brototh, Titanne

Brototh wrote:To save time, in this Amendment I have included a UTC/GMT mention of the timezone. This works better than it varying for each official & most of Thaecia is either under an American or European time zone anyway, so it should generally work for everyone.

Amendment

Define "free day from work" (and subsequently other mentions of "free day") as Congress being closed in recess - no official voting & debating - for the duration of the Regional Holidays and Regional Observances.

Define "day" as one UTC/GMT day.

Please vote on the above amendment.

[spoiler]Brototh

Catlin

Titanne

Asean Nations

Indian Genius[/spoiler]

My vote is aye.

Brototh, Asean Nations, Zanaana

Senators we will now vote on the amended bill.

[spoiler=sen.]Brototh

Catlin

Asean Nations

Indian Genius[/spoiler]

Brototh

Aye

Brototh, Terentiland

Aye

Brototh, Terentiland

Aye

Terentiland

The Chairman Titanne has instructed me to close the vote and move onto the next order of business.

The amended Observance of Regional Holidays Bill has passed through the Senate-- I am unclear if it has already gone through the House so I would like the Chairman to take any act necessary when he arrives.

Ayes: 3 Titanne Asean Nations Brototh

Nays: 1 Catlin

Abstain: 1 Indian Genius

We will now move onto the debate of the Contractual Obligations Act.

---

Contractual Obligations Act: S.B. XXX

Author: Titanne

Sponsor: Titanne

[spoiler=Preamble]This act of Congress aims to allow citizens and organizations of Thaecia to enter into legally binding contractual arrangements.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article I]A position shall be created under the Prime Minister to oversee the signing and drawing up of legally binding contracts. This position can also be combined with the Minister of Legal Affairs. The holder of said position should be granted the title of “Contractual Overseer”.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article II]It will be up to the parties (who will henceforth be known as filings) involved in the contract to negotiate the terms, and up to the Contractual Overseer to determine whether the contract is in violation of any laws. The contract may then be signed, as soon as both parties have telegrammed the Contractual Overseer giving their consent. The Contractual Overseer will be required to maintain a factbook registering all contracts and their filings.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article III]The term “Violation Of A Contract” shall be added to the Thaecian Legal Code. It will be defined as “breaking the terms of a legally binding contract which the citizen in question has signed.[/spoiler]

---

[spoiler=Senators]Titanne or Titannea

Brototh

Catlin

Asean Nations

Indian Genius[/spoiler]

Titanne, The Bigtopia, Asean Nations, Terentiland

Brototh wrote:The Chairman Titanne has instructed me to close the vote and move onto the next order of business.

The amended Observance of Regional Holidays Bill has passed through the Senate-- I am unclear if it has already gone through the House so I would like the Chairman to take any act necessary when he arrives.

Ayes: 3 Titanne Asean Nations Brototh

Nays: 1 Catlin

Abstain: 1 Indian Genius

We will now move onto the debate of the Contractual Obligations Act.

---

Contractual Obligations Act: S.B. XXX

Author: Titanne

Sponsor: Titanne

[spoiler=Preamble]This act of Congress aims to allow citizens and organizations of Thaecia to enter into legally binding contractual arrangements.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article I]A position shall be created under the Prime Minister to oversee the signing and drawing up of legally binding contracts. This position can also be combined with the Minister of Legal Affairs. The holder of said position should be granted the title of “Contractual Overseer”.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article II]It will be up to the parties (who will henceforth be known as filings) involved in the contract to negotiate the terms, and up to the Contractual Overseer to determine whether the contract is in violation of any laws. The contract may then be signed, as soon as both parties have telegrammed the Contractual Overseer giving their consent. The Contractual Overseer will be required to maintain a factbook registering all contracts and their filings.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Article III]The term “Violation Of A Contract” shall be added to the Thaecian Legal Code. It will be defined as “breaking the terms of a legally binding contract which the citizen in question has signed.[/spoiler]

---

[spoiler=Senators]Titanne or Titannea

Brototh

Catlin

Asean Nations

Indian Genius[/spoiler]

I’m open to any feedback on this bill. Also, Creckelenney the House needs to vote on the new, amended bill.

Santa Lucia, Brototh, Asean Nations

The binding contract can be over anything Titanne?

Santa Lucia, Asean Nations

Brototh wrote:The binding contract can be over anything Titanne?

Yes. But both parties have to sign off and so should the contractual overseer to make sure it’s not ridiculous.

Brototh, Asean Nations

How can we make sure that it will not be abused? and Imagine for a sec that a Violation comes to terms and the Overseer and the respective parties haven't notice and consistently approved the deal, How can it be reversed or revoked?

Asean Nations wrote:How can we make sure that it will not be abused? and Imagine for a sec that a Violation comes to terms and the Overseer and the respective parties haven't notice and consistently approved the deal, How can it be reversed or revoked?

So you’re proposing an amendment to give the Overseer more authority?

Asean Nations

Titanne wrote:So you’re proposing an amendment to give the Overseer more authority?

I think he is proposing an amendment to allow for it to be revoked or reversed.

Asean Nations

Brototh wrote:I think he is proposing an amendment to allow for it to be revoked or reversed.

That is also a good idea. If one of you writes up an amendment, I’d gladly vote for it.

Brototh, Asean Nations

Titanne wrote:That is also a good idea. If one of you writes up an amendment, I’d gladly vote for it.

I don't fully understand what he meant, but I do like this idea, however I'm not too sure to word it so I would like the Senator Asean Nations to take this one, I'll vote for it.

Titanne, Asean Nations

I've created an Amendment but let me know if it needs editing

[spoiler=Article IV]

If a Deal or Contract comes to terms and after review proves to violate any Existing Law or Guidelines, Party(ies) may request the Agreement revoked or reversed and if needed must create a New Contract. Revoking or Reversing Contracts will fall to the Contract Overseer or the Ministry of Legal Affairs if see fit. [/spoiler]

Titanne

Asean Nations wrote:I've created an Amendment but let me know if it needs editing

[spoiler=Article IV]

If a Deal or Contract comes to terms and after review proves to violate any Existing Law or Guidelines, Party(ies) may request the Agreement revoked or reversed and if needed must create a New Contract. Revoking or Reversing Contracts will fall to the Contract Overseer or the Ministry of Legal Affairs if see fit. [/spoiler]

Voting on this will begin now.

Brototh

Catlin

AYE

Asean Nations

Titanne wrote:Voting on this will begin now.

Brototh

Catlin

AYE

nay

Asean Nations

Aye

Asean Nations

The ayes have it. We will now vote on the amended bill.

Catlin

Brototh

Asean Nations

Aye.

Brototh, Asean Nations

Aye

Asean Nations

Apologies for the slow proceedings. All 4 of us have to vote aye on everything to let it pass, so we’re waiting on Catlin.

Brototh, Asean Nations

Catlin wrote:I said nay

You said nay on the amendment not the final bill.

Unfortunately I must call the Senate into recess. The bill fails.

Brototh

With great hope and strong pride, I invite all newly elected Senators to take their Oath of Office!

[spoiler=OATH]"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."[/Spoiler]

[spoiler=Senator-Elects] Aexodian

Asean Nations

Brototh

Catlin

Fishergate

Marvinville

Snowflame [/Spoiler]

After doing so you are hereby inaugurated as members of the Senate of Thaecia.

Korsinia, Brototh, The Bigtopia, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Zanaana

I, Fishergate, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Aexodian, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, The Bigtopia, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Brototh, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, The Bigtopia, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Snowflame, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, The Bigtopia, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Asean Nations, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Catlin solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

I, Marvinville, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Thaecia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

Korsinia, Brototh, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Terentiland, Zanaana

[spoiler=Hello Senators!] Aexodian

Asean Nations

Brototh

Catlin

Fishergate

Marvinville

Snowflame [/Spoiler]

If anyone wishes to stand for the Chair of the Senate position, you may do so now.

Korsinia, Brototh, The Bigtopia, Zanaana

I am proud to announce my candidacy for the position of Senate Chairman.

Korsinia, Rayekka, Snowflame, Brototh, Zon Island, Terentiland, Marvinville, Zanaana

I will run for chairmanship of the Senate

Korsinia, Terentiland, Zanaana

There is just under 6 hours left to declare yourself as a candidate for the Chairship.

[spoiler=Senators] Aexodian

Asean Nations

Brototh

Catlin

Fishergate

Marvinville

Snowflame [/Spoiler]

Brototh

You may now vote on who you wish to be your Chair! If no member achieves a majority (which is likely with four candidates), the EC will initiate a runoff between the two candidates with the most votes per the Constitution.

[spoiler=Senators]Asean Nations, Brototh, Catlin, Fishergate, Marvinville, Snowflame[/spoiler]

Aexodian wrote:You may now vote on who you wish to be your Chair! If no member achieves a majority (which is likely with four candidates), the EC will initiate a runoff between the two candidates with the most votes per the Constitution.

[spoiler=Senators]Asean Nations, Brototh, Catlin, Fishergate, Marvinville, Snowflame[/spoiler]

Isn't Terentiland suppose to do this? also there are two candidates

Brototh, Zanaana

Running for Chair: Fishergate

Marvinville

Fishergate

I should be Senate Chairman as I am the most experienced and qualified member of the Senate. I have six months of Congressional experience including four months as Speaker of the House. During that time I oversaw an efficient and productive House of Commons. I have extensive knowledge of and great respect for Congressional protocol. I am very active and committed to Thaecia and have been for over a year, so I will never abandon the position as former Congressional leaders have done. Leading a chamber of Congress is not a difficult job, but it is hard work and requires great organisational skill. Not everyone is made for it, especially over a long four-month term. I've proved during my time in the House that I am.

Marvinville

I should be Senate chairman because I have congressional experience to lead the Senate. I have served in both the Senate and House for a total of 6 months and was an acting speaker of the house for a short period. I have served in leadership positions before in the legislative branch in past regions, like in the LCRUA when I was the head of the council for 4 months. I know how to organize an agenda and to make sure the chamber runs smoothly.

I vote for Fishergate to become Chairman of the Senate.

Marvinville wrote:Isn't Terentiland suppose to do this?

As it has been over 6 hours, I took it upon myself to do it. If this is wrong, I apologize.

Aexodian wrote:Running for Chair: Fishergate

Marvinville

Fishergate

I should be Senate Chairman as I am the most experienced and qualified member of the Senate. I have six months of Congressional experience including four months as Speaker of the House. During that time I oversaw an efficient and productive House of Commons. I have extensive knowledge of and great respect for Congressional protocol. I am very active and committed to Thaecia and have been for over a year, so I will never abandon the position as former Congressional leaders have done. Leading a chamber of Congress is not a difficult job, but it is hard work and requires great organisational skill. Not everyone is made for it, especially over a long four-month term. I've proved during my time in the House that I am.

Marvinville

I should be Senate chairman because I have congressional experience to lead the Senate. I have served in both the Senate and House for a total of 6 months and was an acting speaker of the house for a short period. I have served in leadership positions before in the legislative branch in past regions, like in the LCRUA when I was the head of the council for 4 months. I know how to organize an agenda and to make sure the chamber runs smoothly.

I vote for Fishergate to become Chairman of the Senate.

You can not legally start the chairman election

Zanaana

This is wrong, only Terentiland can do this.

Terentiland, Marvinville, Zanaana

Senators, please ignore Aexodians message regarding the Senate chair election because it has to be done by the EC

Brototh, Terentiland, Zanaana

Your fellow Senator, Aexodian says that his account was taken over/hacked and is sorry for that. Thank you for disregarding those posts.

[spoiler=Senators] Aexodian

Asean Nations

Brototh

Catlin

Fishergate

Marvinville

Snowflame [/Spoiler]

Now it is time to vote on the Chair of the Senate. Please cast your vote for Fishergate, Marvinville, or abstain.

Asean Nations, Marvinville

I vote for Fishergate

Fishergate, Zanaana

Unless a tie emerges, I shall abstain

Zanaana

I vote for Marvinville

Marvinville

I vote for Fishergate

Fishergate, Zanaana

I vote for Fishergate

Fishergate, Zanaana

Fishergate is hereby as chosen the Chair of the Senate, confirmed by this body with the following vote:

Fishergate (4): Fishergate, Snowflame, Aexodian, Asean Nations

Marvinville (2): Marvinville, Catlin

Abstentions (1): Brototh (present)

Congratulations, Chair Fishergate. This session for the Senate may officially begin!

Fishergate, Asean Nations, Zon Island, Marvinville, Zanaana

Good morning Senators and thank you for lending me your confidence to serve as Chairman for this term. I have high hopes for what we can achieve and I expect all of you to work hard, debate bills and vote regularly. I look forward to working with all of you over the next four months as well as with our colleagues over in the House of Commons. I'm confident that together we will work through a lot of bills and achieve unprecedented levels of Congressional productivity. So, let's get started!

Our first bill will be the Media Certification Act.

Asean Nations, Marvinville, Zanaana

OPENING DEBATE - MEDIA CERTIFICATION ACT

Media Certification Act

Author: Rayekka

Sponsor: The Marconian State

This bill was a flagship goal of my tenure as Interior Minister in former Prime Minister Rayekka's administration. It aims to set up a regulatory body to review media outlets and assess their impartiality and reliability. This is to provide the public with a greater idea of whether or not they can trust what they are reading in regional news reports.

There have been some concerns raised by members of Congress about how independent this body will be. In response to this, I encourage Senators to read through the bill carefully to appreciate the measures taken to ensure the body will be as independent as possible.

Please share your thoughts on the bill, positive or negative, and present any amendments you would like to be made to the bill.

The author, Speaker Rayekka, is welcome to join us on the Senate floor to contribute to the debate.

[spoiler=Senators]Aexodian

Asean Nations

Brototh

Catlin

Fishergate

Marvinville

Snowflame[/spoiler]

Asean Nations, Zanaana

I have read through the bill and quite agree with it. The fact that the body is randomly selected from the citizens of Thaecia is an idea I quite agree with. The limit of the citizens needing to have been in the region for 3 months also helps as it would show that the citizens in the body would be long-standing citizens of Thaecia. The Party limitation also helps in making it unbiased as well as the 2-month cooldown. The law also allows for the Senate to dissolve it if it becomes corrupt, unbiased and so on which shows how we would have the power to dissolve them if necessary instead of them always being a permanent feature that even if corrupt, can't be taken down. Sections like complaints and appeals help as well as it could give the NORB a fresh view on something they may have misjudged. The roles look fine to me and that they only can recommend legal action on Media Outlets instead of having the power to do it themselves also makes it that they do not have too much of power. I would recommend that no one in the Legislative Branch may be permitted to be part of NORB as well or at least, the Senators.

Fishergate

I agree and commend this Bill as it's well written and provides the Region a Board or Oversight body that is indepent as possible, as the bill put measures that it will remain unbiased and independent regarding their power. It will ensure that our media and the body will be keep in check. This bill will also insure, assure and provide the public with information regarding news outlets based on their impartiality and whether they are leaning on what may direction on providing news to the region.

Fishergate

And Regarding the Public's concern that it can be used as a Censorship tool by the Government by issuing "Grades or Rating" to one's News Outlet.

In my oppinion,

1st - The Government has no power over the NORB as it's decision is created by the 5 people Randomly Selected and by the 2 people limit by party.

2nd - Article I, Section 4.1 - The President, Prime Minister, Electoral Commissioner and all other Government Ministers cannot stand for NORB membership.

3rd - If any Media Outlet or Journalist or Citizen is unhappy on the Rating the NORB has given them they can easily Challenge it on the High Court provided that their concern is founded and has probable cause or they can appeal it to the Appeal Committee.

4th - The Board can be impeached or dissolved by the Senate via 2/3rds Majority. If the Senate sees that the Board is biased, corrupt or there actions are unnecessary and unacceptable.

Fishergate

I disagree with this bill. I don't think that it should be up to a committee within the government to tell people what is trustworthy for them. The citizens can figure that out themselves. We must keep Media outlets independent from the government and make sure that there is absolutely no involvement from forces like a committee to regulate the media. I will plan to vote against this bill.

Marvinville wrote:I disagree with this bill. I don't think that it should be up to a committee within the government to tell people what is trustworthy for them. The citizens can figure that out themselves. We must keep Media outlets independent from the government and make sure that there is absolutely no involvement from forces like a committee to regulate the media. I will plan to vote against this bill.

Technically, the government can't influence it in any way. Government officials can't be a part of it.

Aexodian wrote:Technically, the government can't influence it in any way. Government officials can't be a part of it.

Section 1.2 - NORB will be established as a branch of the Ministry responsible for Internal Affairs and is the Government Department responsible for ensuring the public is informed on the credibility and bias of media outlets.

Marvinville wrote:I disagree with this bill. I don't think that it should be up to a committee within the government to tell people what is trustworthy for them. The citizens can figure that out themselves. We must keep Media outlets independent from the government and make sure that there is absolutely no involvement from forces like a committee to regulate the media. I will plan to vote against this bill.

The NORB will not be a "committee within the government". It will be completely independent from the government, is designed to be as apolitical as possible, and can be suspended by the Senate at any point. Furthermore, it will hold no power of jurisdiction. It will simply be a public service provider, offering expert guidance on media trustworthiness.

While citizens often can spot unreliable news stories, that is not to say they can't be misled. NORB will help them. Whether or not citizens choose to heed the NORB's ratings is completely up to them because, as the bill clearly states, the NORB has no power to suppress or censor media outlets.

In reality, most citizens don't have the time or effort to scrutinise and fact-check everything they read in the news. The NORB will just serve to point out unreliable or misleading statements, which citizens can then go away and check up on for themselves. There is nothing malicious about the body, it is something that will improve the quality of Thaecian democracy, it will not lead to state interference in the media or censorship, so we should all be supporting it.

Fishergate wrote:The NORB will not be a "committee within the government". It will be completely independent from the government, is designed to be as apolitical as possible, and can be suspended by the Senate at any point. Furthermore, it will hold no power of jurisdiction. It will simply be a public service provider, offering expert guidance on media trustworthiness.

While citizens often can spot unreliable news stories, that is not to say they can't be misled. NORB will help them. Whether or not citizens choose to heed the NORB's ratings is completely up to them because, as the bill clearly states, the NORB has no power to suppress or censor media outlets.

In reality, most citizens don't have the time or effort to scrutinise and fact-check everything they read in the news. The NORB will just serve to point out unreliable or misleading statements, which citizens can then go away and check up on for themselves. There is nothing malicious about the body, it is something that will improve the quality of Thaecian democracy, it will not lead to state interference in the media or censorship, so we should all be supporting it.

It is clearly not going to be independent from the government as section 1.2 states: Section 1.2 - NORB will be established as a branch of the Ministry responsible for Internal Affairs and is the Government Department responsible for ensuring the public is informed on the credibility and bias of media outlets.

Marvinville wrote:It is clearly not going to be independent from the government as section 1.2 states: Section 1.2 - NORB will be established as a branch of the Ministry responsible for Internal Affairs and is the Government Department responsible for ensuring the public is informed on the credibility and bias of media outlets.

If you read the rest of the bill you'll see that the government will have no say in who sits on the board of the organisation, ministers themselves will not be able to sit on the board and the government will have no say in or influence over the decision made by the organisation.

Labels are one thing, but it's important to also understand the detail of how things will actually work in practice. This is why I asked Senators to read through the whole bill carefully before sharing their opinions. The fact that NORB will officially be a branch of the Interior Ministry becomes completely irrelevant when you work out that the government will have absolutely no influence over how it does its job.

I agree with the bill and what it intends to accomplish. I feel as if once activity increases and there are more news networks, NORB will be 100% needed. I also agree with the bill due to its independent nature. I'm looking forward to voting for the bill.

Fishergate, Zon Island

I have no quarrel with this bill. Not much more to say.

Fishergate, Zon Island

Fishergate wrote:If you read the rest of the bill you'll see that the government will have no say in who sits on the board of the organisation, ministers themselves will not be able to sit on the board and the government will have no say in or influence over the decision made by the organisation.

Labels are one thing, but it's important to also understand the detail of how things will actually work in practice. This is why I asked Senators to read through the whole bill carefully before sharing their opinions. The fact that NORB will officially be a branch of the Interior Ministry becomes completely irrelevant when you work out that the government will have absolutely no influence over how it does its job.

I agree with this. I plan to vote Aye. I do want to bring up the fact that legislative members seem to be able to be part of the Board.

Zon Island

Aexodian wrote:I agree with this. I plan to vote Aye. I do want to bring up the fact that legislative members seem to be able to be part of the Board.

Legislative members can but no more than two members of the same party can. The limitations on who can sit on the board are designed to prevent a majority forming with a shared ulterior motive to distort NORB ratings in favour of a particular institution. For example, a majority of government ministers could unjustly punish news outlets critical of the government. A majority from one party could do the same for outlets criticising their party. Individual members of Congress will not be able to form a majority on the board, as there will always be four members to vote against them. So they may try to punish outlets criticising them personally, but will hopefully always be outvoted if their justification is unfair.

Zanaana

I don't think we should have a government body regulating news outlets.

Marvinville

Fishergate wrote:Legislative members can but no more than two members of the same party can. The limitations on who can sit on the board are designed to prevent a majority forming with a shared ulterior motive to distort NORB ratings in favour of a particular institution. For example, a majority of government ministers could unjustly punish news outlets critical of the government. A majority from one party could do the same for outlets criticising their party. Individual members of Congress will not be able to form a majority on the board, as there will always be four members to vote against them. So they may try to punish outlets criticising them personally, but will hopefully always be outvoted if their justification is unfair.

Understanding where you come from. Alright.

Fishergate

Post by Aexodian suppressed by Speaker Fishergate.

Aexodian

Fishergate wrote:Legislative members can but no more than two members of the same party can. The limitations on who can sit on the board are designed to prevent a majority forming with a shared ulterior motive to distort NORB ratings in favour of a particular institution. For example, a majority of government ministers could unjustly punish news outlets critical of the government. A majority from one party could do the same for outlets criticising their party. Individual members of Congress will not be able to form a majority on the board, as there will always be four members to vote against them. So they may try to punish outlets criticising them personally, but will hopefully always be outvoted if their justification is unfair.

Understanding where you come from. Alright.

Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.