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Region: The Thaecian Senate

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Aye to all except E.

Nay to E.

Voting on the amendments to the bill has now ended. The results are as follows

Amendment A: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment B: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment C: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment D: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment E: 1 aye, 5 nays, 1 abstain.

Amendment F: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment G: 5 ayes, 1 nay, 1 abstain.

Amendment H: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

Amendment I: 6 ayes, 1 abstain.

All amendments except for Amendment E have passed.

We will begin voting on the main bill momentarily.

We have now begun voting on the Assembly of Roleplay Act as amended:

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=snowflame/detail=factbook/id=1736135

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Gifty

Solittus

Marvinville

Saltmore[/spoiler]

I will be voting aye

The vote has ended! The ayes are 7, there are 0 nays and 0 abstains. Thus, the bill has passed the Senate and will now go to the House!

Snalland

no business? insert megamind

Gifty, Marvinville

Senators, we will now be debating the following bill by Marvinville.

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1717950

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Saltmore[/spoiler]

I am in favour of this bill - it makes necessary, long overdue changes.

Snowflame

I agree with the statement given by Senator Solittus. I completely approve of this bill.

I also fully support the bill at hand

Greetings friends,

As this bill is related to the Executive, I will be submitting amendments on behalf of the Executive tomorrow.

Marvinville

Marvinville does this bill make it clear enough that a minister can appoint multiple deputies?

Sevae wrote:Marvinville does this bill make it clear enough that a minister can appoint multiple deputies?

no I dont believe so since it is not plural. Although in the FAM situation, there is no deputy minister due to the senior diplomats.

[spoiler=Amendment A]Amends Article I, renumbers sections as appropriate,

Section I - Each Minister shall have the ability to select a Deputy Minister for their respective Ministry.

[list][*]I. The Prime Minister must approve of all Deputy Minister selections made by their respective Ministers.

[*]II. The A Deputy Prime Minister can be removed by the Prime Minister or their respective Minister for any reason. The Prime Minister may not appoint Deputies on a Minister's behalf; they may only reject and approve Deputy selections.[/list]

Section II - A Minister shall have the ability to name their Deputy Minister as the "Interim Minister" for up to 14 days at a time in the event they will be away from their duties and responsibilities.

[list][*]I. In the event a Deputy Minister becomes an Interim Minister, they shall possess the same powers and abilities as the Minister in charge, excluding Regional Officer permissions, until said Minister returns to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.[/list]

Section III - The Prime Minister shall have the ability to name the Deputy Minister as the Interim Minister of their respective Ministry if the Minister is inactive or neglecting their responsibilities for 7 consecutive days.

Section IV - A Deputy Minister shall not be able to serve as Interim Minister for a period longer than 14 days. After this time period has elapsed, they shall return to their position as Deputy Minister.

[list][*]I. After an Interim Minister returns to being a Deputy, they shall not be named Interim Minister by the Prime Minister or their Minister for 7 days excluding for any other reason detailed throughout the rest of this law.[/list]

Section IV - If a Minister is removed or resigns, the Deputy Minister shall become the Interim Minister for up to 14 days until the Prime Minister's nominee gets is confirmed by the Senate to lead the respective Ministry.

[list][*]I. The Prime Minister must nominate a new Minister within 7 days of when a vacancy occurs unless the Ministry is not mandated by law, in which the Prime Minister may alternatively choose to dissolve the Ministry at their discretion.

[*]II. After the 14 day time period has elapsed, they shall vacate their positions as Deputy Minister and Interim Minister.[/list][/spoiler]

Why is this amendment necessary? This is in order to stop a Minister being confirmed by the Senate but then their Deputy simply takes over, bypassing confirmations entirely. The confirmation procedure is a cornerstone of the Thaecian executive system, and if a Minister is allowed to simply name their Deputy and then walk away, the Senate is completely bypassed. While the Senate can at their discretion remove a Minister, these amendments completely remove this issue. 14 days is not an unreasonable time period.

If you really think "the Senate can just dismiss them anyway", here is another scenario- the Domestic Affairs Minister appoints a Deputy, names them as Interim, and walks away. The Senate removes the Minister, and as per Section [I]V, the Deputy becomes the Interim, with full powers. Congratulations; the Senate has been bypassed again. The Prime Minister can appoint whoever they want as Minister, it doesn't matter if they're rejected, because the Interim is now in office. The Deputy Minister taking over when the Minister leaves is good, but by allowing them to serve indefinitely, the Senate is like a wall with a hole in it. It serves as no protection from the Executive having poor Ministers, it serves no purpose in confirmation. It can very be simply walked right over.

Additionally, there are some grammar fixes, and notably, allowing the PM to dissolve the Ministry at their discretion, otherwise it means any created Ministry must serve forever. For instance if I create the position Minister of Nachos, it will exist forever, as once their is a vacancy, there must be a new Minister. Seems very silly.

There is one last grammar fix:

[spoiler=Amendment B]Amends Article III,

Section I - The Ppassage of this bill constitutes the repeal of L.R. 014 Deputy Minister Act.[/spoiler]

Marvinville

I support these amendments proposed by the Prime Minister

As debate has stalled, we will now begin voting on the amendments to the bill!

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Gifty

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Saltmore[/spoiler]

I will be casting the following votes:

Amendment A- Aye

Amendment B- Aye

Snowflame wrote:As debate has stalled, we will now begin voting on the amendments to the bill!

I abstain.

The votes are as follows:

Amendment A: 5 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstains

Amendment B: 5 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstains

Both amendments have been added to the bill and we will now begin voting on the bill as amended:

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=snowflame/detail=factbook/id=1738085

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Gifty

Saltmore[/spoiler]

Snowflame wrote:The votes are as follows:

Amendment A: 5 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstains

Amendment B: 5 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstains

Both amendments have been added to the bill and we will now begin voting on the bill as amended:

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=snowflame/detail=factbook/id=1738085

Aye.

The vote has now ended

The ayes are 7, the nays are 0, the abstains are 0!

The bill as amended has passed the Senate

Snalland.

We will now begin the confirmation hearing for Cerdenia for the position of Minister of Legal Affairs. I encourage all senators to ask the nominee questions and to voice their approval/disapproval of the nominee!

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Gifty

Saltmore[/spoiler]

Cerd is definitely a very qualified candidate.

Status quo

Marvinville, The Ambis, Lukaymmunki

How do you intend to improve the legal process? It tends to be very slow and time-consuming and I think it's necessary to change this.

Solittus wrote:How do you intend to improve the legal process? It tends to be very slow and time-consuming and I think it's necessary to change this.

If you mean the overall speed by which the court operates, that's not really something the Legal Affairs Ministry can do anything about. I can commit myself to operating within a reasonable time frame in regards to cases which require the participation of the Thaecian Government, however other than that it's beyond my reach.

Brototh, Solittus

That is an issue for the High court to speed up their proceedings. The only people who can change this are legislators by imposing time restrictions and the court by doing things faster.

Besides the only reason the Thaecia v. Xernon case has taken so long is because there was a brief 7d interlude because I was on holiday. Not much you can do about that.

Solittus, The Ambis

As there are no further questions, voting on the nominee will now begin.

I will be voting Aye!

I also motion for Unanimous Consent to pass the House amended version of the Assembly of Roleplay Act. Their amendments simply involve getting rid of time requirements, and so I would like to pass this as a UC.

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1738784

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Gifty

Saltmore[/spoiler]

Aye

I acknowledge the motion

Aye

I acknowledge the motion

Aye

I acknowledge the motion

Aye

I acknowledge the motion

The motion has failed as it has been objected to and the vote has ended.

For the question of Cerdenia being confirmed as the Minister of Legal Affairs:

The ayes are 6, the nays are 0, the abstains are 1. Cerdenia has been confirmed.

I will be putting the Assembly of Roleplay Act up for debate as it has failed the UC. I encourage all Senators to reread the bill and voice their opinions on the RMB.

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1738784

[Spoiler=Senators]

Angypt

Snowflame

Sevae

Solittus

Marvinville

Gifty

Saltmore[/spoiler]

I know some may not like the removal of times, but I would urge us to just forget about it and allow it to be amended out so we don't go back and forth with the direct democrats in the house. Let's just pass this bill as is, after all, it is just for fun, no need to deny it to the people any longer.

Solittus, The Ambis

I would like to propose an amendment.

[spoiler=Amendment A]

To amend Article III, Sections II, III, and IV:

Section II - The purpose of the debate stage is for citizens to share and discuss their opinions of the bill in question. Bills are entitled to a debate lasting between 24 hours and 5 days. a minimum of 12 hours. All bills are entitled to a debate, as long as it complies with Article II Section II.

Section III - Amendments may be put forward by any citizen at any time during the debate process. Amendments can change either part or all of the bill on the floor. Amendments shall be debated during the debate stage of the main bill. If the amendment contains profanity, inappropriate, or offensive language, removes the entire text of the bill, or would result in the bill violating Article II of this law, it shall not be debated or voted on. If any amendments have been submitted, the ASL shall put them to vote. Voting time on amendments must last between 24 hours and 2 days. be a minimum of 24 hours.

Section IV - The voting stage shall occur after debate has been closed by the ASL or amendments have been voted on by the Assembly. The voting stage shall last between 24 hours and 3 days. a minimum of 24 hours. Citizens can cast either an “Aye”, “Nay”, or “Abstain” vote. "Aye" votes represent a vote in support on the bill or amendment, "Nay" votes represent a vote in opposition to the bill or amendment, "Abstain" votes represent an abstention from voting and are discounted from the overall total of votes cast. A poll on the Assembly of Roleplay region may be used during any vote period.

[/spoiler]

UC Motion Announcement:

I seek Unanimous Consent to pass the Leave of Absence Act

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1715984

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Angypt

Solittus

Saltmore

Sevae

[/spoiler]

I acknowledge the motion

I object. If the RP act deserves a debate, so does this

As debate has come to a halt, we will now begin voting on the amendment to the bill.

Amendment A- Nay

As much as I do agree with a time control, I do not want to have a back and forth with the House to pass a bill that, at the end of the day, is meant to be for fun. The Assembly of Roleplay is just that....for roleplay, and so I will be voting against the amendment.

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Angypt

Solittus

Saltmore

Sevae

[/spoiler]

I will be voting against the amendment - Nay

Post self-deleted by Solittus.

UC Motion Announcement

I motion for Unanimous Consent to pass this bill

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1710176

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

I acknowledge the motion

I acknowledge the motion

I object. I disagree that the WAD shouldn't be allowed to be Deputy Justice, no point in restricting DJ even further. I would also maybe argue the WAD should be allowed to be minister, especially if for example a president decides to appoint a WA minister. Not sure about chamber leader either. In any case this deserves debate as well

Both Unanimous Consent motions that have been posted have failed.

The vote for the amendment has now ended:

The ayes are 1, the nays are 5, the abstains are 6.

The amendment has failed. We will now begin voted on the bill:

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1738784

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

I will be voting aye!

As all Senators have voted, voting has come to an end.

For the question of how to vote for the Assembly of Roleplay Act: the ayes are 7, the nays are 0.

The Assembly of Roleplay Act has passed the Senate and is officially waiting to be signed into law by Brototh.

We will now begun our next Order of Business:

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=snowflame/detail=factbook/id=1570365

I encourage all Senators to read through the bill and voice their opinions on the RMB.

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

My opinion on the bill:

We are at a time in Thaecia when we need more opportunities for newcomers. A Congressional internship program allows newcomers, or anyone interested in Congress, to become acclimated with its processes and the topics that are debated. I believe that this bill will encourage newcomers to get much more involved in regional politics.

Marvinville

I will propose amendments today

I propose Amendment A:

[spoiler=Amendment A]

Amends Article I

Section III - An intern may not be a Member of Congress, the World Assembly Delegate or the Prime Minister.

[/Spoiler]

The WA Delegate position is completely separate from congress, and performs a completely different function. There is no reason that it should be restricted.

I don't remember writing this legislation but I'm not complaining

Marvinville, The Ambis

I do think it's a great idea, and will undoubtedly increase retention and activity.

Snowflame

Solittus wrote:I propose Amendment A:

[spoiler=Amendment A]

Amends Article I

Section III - An intern may not be a Member of Congress, the World Assembly Delegate or the Prime Minister.

[/Spoiler]

The WA Delegate position is completely separate from congress, and performs a completely different function. There is no reason that it should be restricted.

Was gonna propose this as an amendment, I support

Mardis, Solittus

[spoiler=Amendment B]

To amend Article IV, Section I:

Section I - Interns can be fired by the Speaker of the House or the Chair of the Senate, depending on which chamber of Congress the intern belongs to, for breaking Thaecia law, breaking Congressional rules, or for and inactivity.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Amendment C]

To amend Article II, Section III:

Section III - The applications will ask the following:

1. What is your Thaecian nation name?

2. Why do you want to be an intern?

3. Do you plan on running for Congress?

3.4. Are there any policy ideas that you feel enthusiastic about?

4.5. Are there any goals you hope to accomplish while in Thaecia?

[/spoiler]

We have now begun voting on the amendments to the Congressional Internship Act

I will be voting Aye to all amendments.

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

Aye to all amendments

The vote has ended. In the question of should we accept the amendments, the results were as follows:

Amendment A: 5 ayes, 2 abstains

Amendment B: 5 ayes, 2 abstains

Amendment C: 5 ayes, 2 abstains

All amendments have passed.

We will now begin voting on the Congressional Internship Act as amended:

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=snowflame/detail=factbook/id=1744273

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

I am voting aye.

Voting has now ended. On the question of whether to pass the Congressional Internship Act as amended:

The ayes are 5, the abstains are 2. The bill has passed the Senate and will now go to the House.

Snalland

We will now begin debating a bill written by Solittus:

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1664803

I encourage all senators to read the bill and post their thoughts on it!

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

These are, in my opinion, common sense amendments to stop a backlog of legislation in each chamber, and ensure everyone can get their bills proposed and debated.

I strongly oppose these amendments, particularly in Article III of this Act. Any chamber can force the other chamber to debate its bills, it all depends on which chamber is fast enough to pass its bills over the other. If one chamber sets the agenda, the other chamber simply needs to pass the other chambers bills within the 15 day period. This can be challenging especially if there is opposition to bills in one chamber that were universally supported in the other chamber (passed by UC for example). Even if one chamber is slow at passing bills and the other is not, that chamber may have serious issues catching up with the legislative speed of the other chamber in the 15 days. Also dont forget that we have general election and midterm election periods, where one or both chambers may be in recess for a period of a week. In addition to a speaker election, a chamber may not even get to debate the bills passed in the last chamber within the 15 days, especially if that chamber is the Senate and is busy with minister confirmations. For these reasons, I dont believe there should be time restrictions on when chambers must debate bills passed by the other chamber

Snowflame, Mardis, The Ambis

We will now begin voting on the bill.

I will be voting nay.

[spoiler=Senators]

Marvinville

Snowflame

Gifty

Sevae

Solittus

Angypt

Saltmore

[/spoiler]

I see this as a negative based on the time constraints and other issues this would cause to arise

So I will be voting Nay

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