6th Pacific Legislation Introduction and Discussion Thread

[President Tyrion]

Do note that all votes and legislation introduction after midnight on August 11th are invalid.

[President Tyrion]

Pacific Universal Disc Act

All CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs sold in the Pacific Region may not be region-locked, effective January 1, 2014.

Pacific Region Salary Increase Initiative

1. The salaries of all regional employees shall be increased ten percent (10%) effective January 1, 2014.

2. The salaries of all regional employees shall be increased by no less than two percent (2%) and no more than five percent (5%) on the first of January of every calendar year from 2015 to 2020, inclusive. With no further legislative action before the first of September of the previous calendar year, the increase for that year's regional employee salary is to be 2%.

Pacific Sports Venue Funding Act

Whereas, the Pacific understands the term "professional sports team" to mean a team that is a franchise of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Major League Soccer, or Major League Lacrosse. The leagues are professional sports leagues, and games played between members of the same league are professional sports games. Any other teams, leagues, or games are considered semipro or amateur, with no necessary distinction in this statute.

1. A professional sports team must be listed as a "primary rights holder" to play a home game in that venue. Professional sports teams may apply to the city, county, or other appropriate jurisdiction to receive primary rights.

2. Neither the Pacific Region nor any jurisdiction thereof shall subsidize the construction of a venue whose primary purpose is hosting the professional sports games of a single team without the guarantee of no less than one hundred (100) live sporting events to be scheduled per calendar year.

3. Multiple professional teams from the same league or different professional leagues petitioning to share a venue must satisfy the one hundred (100) game threshold to be eligible for regional funding.

4. The professional sports team(s) that is(are) the primary residents of a venue funded by the Region, or a jurisdiction thereof, may attempt to reach the threshold, if their schedule is insufficient, by inviting semipro and amateur teams. However, the professional sports teams are obligated to meet the scheduling threshold, and a failure to do so will result in seizure of the stadium by the state. The professional, amateur, and semipro sports team(s) may continue to play in the stadium while it is regional property. However, all operating costs plus a 100% fine are billed to the professional sports team which holds the primary rights to play in the stadium at the end of each month, until the schedule for the next calendar year is finalized with the threshold met and any unmet games from the previous calendar year applied to the next season.

[President Tyrion]

The New Protect Our Forests Act

Whereas, we consider the "initial state" to be the current distribution of speciation and forestry at the time of passage of this bill.

Section 1: Deforestation restrictions

1. The logging of indigenous rainforest is illegal. Violators must pay a $10,000 fine, to be put in a special "Forester's Fund" [See Section 3]. The land is rightfully seized by the government of the Pacific Region if more than 10% of the rainforest is logged past the initial state.

2. Logging of endangered species of indigenous trees is illegal. For every endangered indigenous tree logged, a $10,000 fine is assessed toward the Forester's Fund. The land is rightfully seized by the government of the Pacific Region if more than 10% of the population of endangered indigenous species is logged past the initial state.

3. Landowners with other kinds of indigenous forest on their land must preserve 50% of the population at its initial state. For every tree logged past the 50% threshold, a $10,000 fine is assessed toward the Forester's Fund. The land is rightfully seized by the government of the Pacific Region if more than 55% of the population of indigenous forest is logged past the initial state.

4. The logging of invasive and introduced species of trees is permissible. If the introduced or invasive species trees are endangered, one indigenous species tree must be planted for every three invasive or introduced trees logged, up to the point at which the invasive or introduced population on that land is 50% its original initial state. At that point, the endangered invasive or introduced population may be logged without the requirement to plant indigenous trees, resulting in an indigenous tree population of no less than one-sixth the population of the original invasive or introduced population. If the required indigenous trees are not planted within one year, the land may become the property of the Pacific Region. However, if a "good faith" effort is made by the original property owner to meet that one-sixth threshold, the Pacific government may seize the property for only the period of time necessary to plant the trees necessary to meet that threshold, and then surrender the property ownership back to the original owner.


Section 2: Reclaimed Property

1. If less than 100 square acres, the land will be sold to a private individual or unincorporated business for the current appraisal value and will be required to abide by this bill with the terms set relative to the initial state.

2. Corporations may not buy reclaimed rainforest, but may purchase other property with forestry if the corporation has not committed an environmental or logging offense in the past 10 years.

3. If more than 100 square acres, the land will be preserved, and remain property of the regional government. The land will not be developed upon.

Section 3: The Forester's Fund

1. The Forester's Fund will be maintained by the government of the Pacific region in order to maintain a record of the initial state of the land, to be publicized at the time of its resale and to be available as a matter of public record, as detailed in Section 2, part 1.

2. The secondary function of the Forester's Fund is for the administration of "Rainforest Rangers" to verify that property owners are not in violation of Section 1.

[President Tyrion]

Wiki Restoration Act

1. The Pacific Governor is allowed to appoint a Regional Secretary of the Wiki

2. The Secretary of the Wiki is required to update, preserve, and create information on the Pacific Wiki.

3. Any Pacifican can be appointed to the position by the Governor, regardless of whether they hold office or not.

[President Tyrion]

We need new threads open on the Sports Venue Funding Act and the Salary Increase Initiative.

Yes, yes we do. Also, the HSR initiative I'm about to bring up...

[President Tyrion]

High Speed Rail Initiative

Whereas, the Government of the Pacific Region is committed to finding new and more efficient ways of transportation in the region.

Whereas, the Region is to receive up to $40 billion as a part of a federal stimulus to improve infrastructure.

1. The $40 billion in stimulus fund will be managed by a government-run High Speed Rail (HSR) Fund. The fund will pay for the construction and upkeep of the system, as well as administrative expenses, until the original stimulus is exhausted.

2. The Pacific Regional government will contract a company to construct high speed railroad tracks designed for trains running up to 120 mph (192 kmph) between the following cities:

San Jose, CA (diverging from the existing Los Angeles to San Francisco line at Diridon Station) > Oakland, CA > Redding, CA > Eugene, OR > Portland, OR > Tacoma, WA > Seattle, WA, for a total of approximately 850 miles of track.

3. The company contracted to construct the HSR line must be cleared by the Pacific Council to begin work. The Pacific Council may clear the company without opening a public thread or public discussion.

4. The Government of the Pacific Region shall allocate $32.504 billion dollars from the HSR Fund for the 2013-2014 fiscal year to the construction of the lines. Any money not spent during the fiscal year may be spent in subsequent fiscal periods, and can be expensed to the HSR Fund.

5. $100 million is allocated to the upkeep, maintenance, train retrofitting, and seismic retrofitting of each of the San Jose, Tacoma, and Seattle rail terminals. $200 million is allocated to each of the Portland, Eugene, Oakland, and Redding train terminals for the same purposes.

6. Construction on these lines shall commence on January 1, 2014 if the construction company is approved on or before that date. The construction may commence on or after January 2, 2014 and any day before June 30, 2014 if the construction company has been approved on or before that date. If construction does not begin before July 1, 2014, Pacific Council approval is required to begin work. Said Pacific Council approval does not need to be in a public thread.

7. Once the aforementioned railroad tracks have been constructed, private companies shall be able to purchase rights to operate trains on these routes at any price within a range provided by the Pacific Department of Transportation.

8. A rigorous safety inspection shall be mandated annually for all trains and parent corporations making use of the lines. If standards fail to be met by the operating company, the region may mandate a fine of up to $100,000,000 upon the parent company and revoke its rights to utilize the routes for up to five years.

9. The Mideast Government shall obtain 10% of the profits made on these routes in order to maintain tracks. All leftover revenue shall be annexed by the HSR Fund for future use. 

[President Tyrion]

Random Acronym Relating to Council Order

Any Councillor who casts their vote in a language other than English or Spanish must highlight the text. The code will be green for aye, red for nay, and any other color for abstain. If the said councillor does not follow this method, their vote will be considered invalid.

Is this an amendment to the existing "Random...", or is it meant to replace it?

[President Tyrion]

Speaker Xahar, these threads need to be opened:

1. Pacific Region Salary Increase Initiative
2. Pacific Sports Venue Funding Act
3. High Speed Rail Initiative
4. PJ's amendment to the Random Acronym Relating to Council Order

[President Tyrion]

So who's Speaker now?

The problem is that in Pacific Council bylaws, there's nothing stopping Xahar from remaining Speaker. He has the opportunity to name a new one, but I don't know if he'll exercise that right.

[President Tyrion]

Pacific Can and Bottle Return Act

1. All containers of canned or bottled beverages in the Pacific region may be returned to a participating recycling center for a refund of ten cents ($0.10) per container.
2. Any individual who purchases a beverage in the Pacific region shall pay a deposit of ten cents ($0.10) per beverage upon said purchase, and this deposit shall be refunded upon the return of the container to a participating recycling center.
3. Regionally-run recycling centers are required to opt in to this program. Private recycling centers can choose to opt in, with all program costs paid by the state, along with a $.005 tax credit for the private recycling center per container returned at that location.

[President Tyrion]

Pacific Council, this amendment is ready for your ratification.

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[President Tyrion]

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Are we sure this exists? I can't find it on the wiki.

[President Tyrion]

Pacific Council, this amendment is ready for your ratification.

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Xahar, I thought you liked the Federal government. Why haven't you opened this thread?

Also, the Pacific Lottery Act and the Regional Parks Act.
[/quote]

Plus the Speaker Term Act and the Cans and Bottles Act

[President Tyrion]

GAworth Act

1. Any family with at least one child five years old or under shall be granted the option of taking one month per year off of work to spend time with their family.

2. If said person takes a full month off of work, their employer is required to pay them the same amount they received before they left work.

3. The said person's employer may not fire the person taking leave while they are on leave, or for any reason caused by said person being on leave.

Is this unpaid leave? A much more generous bill is currently being debated in the Senate.

[President Tyrion]

3. A final vote will not be held until called for by the sponsor of the bill. If the bill is a constitutional amendment, or otherwise lacks a sponsor, a majority of the council must call for a vote.

I'm not sure this would work. If the sponsor isn't advocating the bill, or desires to string out the process, it could just sit on the floor forever.

[President Tyrion]

Repeal of the Alcohol Freedom Act

The Alcohol Freedom Act is hereby repealed.

[President Tyrion]

The federal minimum age of 18 is fine. Having no drinking age is not a good idea.

[President Tyrion]

3. A final vote will not be held until called for by the sponsor of the bill. If the bill is a constitutional amendment, or otherwise lacks a sponsor, a majority of the council must call for a vote.

I'm not sure this would work. If the sponsor isn't advocating the bill, or desires to string out the process, it could just sit on the floor forever.

Why would they want to delay their own bill?

Perhaps inadvertently, if the sponsor is inactive

And the sponsor retains sponsorship even after losing a hostile amendment, so, in such a case, the sponsor could nuke the bill.

[President Tyrion]

Federal Region Proper Notification Resolution

The Pacific Government asks the Federal Government, in particular the Senate, to notify the Governor of the Pacific and the Speaker of the Pacific Council via private message when:

(1) money becomes available for the Pacific Region to use and/or legislate as a result of Federal legislation;

(2) new regulations directly affecting the Pacific Region in such a manner that a public announcement by a regional official would be necessitated; or

(3) a federal amendment is passed that requires a regional vote.

[President Tyrion]

Amendment to Another Fracking Ban

Another Fracking Ban is amended to read:

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[President Tyrion]

Currently Open Threads:

1. Pacific Regional Parks Act
2. Pacific Trans Protection Act
3. GAWorth Paid Leave Act
4. Pacific Lottery Act
5. High Speed Rail Initiative
6. Repeal of the Alcohol Freedom Act
7. Ratification of Ratification Amendment
8. Pacific Speaker Term Act
9. Discussion Time Act

Queued Legislation:

1. Federal Region Proper Notification Resolution
2. We Should Know You're Carrying a Gun Act
3. Amendment to Another Fracking Ban

[President Tyrion]

In the future, we should set an informal cap of 5 open threads at a time. 9 is too many.

[President Tyrion]

Pacific Hiring Incentives Act: Take Three Corollary
1. Any business with between 51 and 200 employees in total, inclusive, shall be eligible for a $4,000 regional tax credit for each new individual they hire, provided the term of employment exceeds one year.
2. The distribution of these tax credits shall be the responsibility of the Tax Authority of the Pacific Region, who shall also have the discretion to deny any application for the tax credits that the authority deems to be an abuse of this bill's intentions.
3. The effects of this legislation shall expire one year after passage.

[President Tyrion]

Tyrion's TNF Wage and Employment Reform Act

Section 1: Definitions and Clarifications

1. Overtime is split into 4 designations:
    a. First Level Overtime refers to the hours worked beyond the maximum allotted normal work hours in a week up to and including the 40th hour. The First Level Overtime designation does not apply to businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
    b. Second Level Overtime refers to the hours worked beyond 40 hours in a week up to and including the 48th hour.
    c. Third Level Overtime refers to the hours worked beyond 48 hours in a week up to and including the 56th hour.
    d. Fourth Level Overtime refers to the hours worked beyond 56 hours in a week.
2. Every worked hour erroneously underpaid by an employee is a non-compliant hour (NCH).
3. The term "between" shall not be construed to neglect the endpoints of the relative frame.

Section 2: Companies with more than 500 employees

1. Third Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 2.5x the regular hourly wage.
2. Fourth Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 3.0x the regular hourly wage.

Section 3: Companies with between 50 and 499 employees

1. The normal hours of work within a week of full-time employment, before accruing overtime pay, may not exceed 32 hours.
2. Fourth Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 2.5x the regular hourly wage.

Section 4: Companies with less than 50 employees

1. The normal hours of work within a week of full-time employment, before accruing overtime pay, may not exceed 37.5 hours.
2. The normal hours of work within a week of full-time employment, before accruing overtime pay, may not exceed 36 hours, effective July 1, 2014.
3. First Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 1.25x the regular hourly wage.
4. Second Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 1.5x the regular hourly wage.
5. Third Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 1.75x the regular hourly wage.
6. Fourth Level Overtime pay is mandated to be 2.0x the regular hourly wage.

Section 5: Compliance with Section 2

1. Organizations with over 500 employees who fail to meet the stipulations in Section 2 must reimburse every affected employee with back pay within one month of the error being brought to the attention of the employer. After one month, the employer is legally indebted to the employee for that missed pay with an additional 10% per year interest rate.
2. Employers that exceed 2 NCH per employee in any calendar year must pay a fine of $30 per additional NCH above 2 NCH per employee to the Tax Authority of the Pacific Region, in addition to the back pay already owed to the employees.
3. Any employee found to be falsifying data or in any way infringing upon the right of another employee to receive proper overtime compensation may face a fine of up to 500% of the amount in question and/or up to 5 years in prison.

Section 6: Compliance with Section 3

1. Organizations with between 50 and 499 employees who fail to meet the stipulations in Section 3 must reimburse every affected employee with back pay within one month of the error being brought to the attention of the employer. After one month, the employer is legally indebted to the employee for that missed pay with an additional 7.5% per year interest rate.
2. Employers that exceed 3 NCH per employee in any calendar year must pay a fine of $25 per additional NCH above 3 NCH per employee to the Tax Authority of the Pacific Region, in addition to the back pay already owed to the employees.
3. Any employee found to be falsifying data or in any way infringing upon the right of another employee to receive proper overtime compensation may face a fine of up to 500% of the amount in question and/or up to 5 years in prison.

Section 7: Compliance with Section 4

1. Organizations with under 50 employees who fail to meet the stipulations in Section 4 must reimburse every affected employee with back pay within one month of the error being brought to the attention of the employer. After one month, the employer is legally indebted to the employee for that missed pay with an additional 5% per year interest rate.
2. Employers that exceed 5 NCH per employee in any calendar year must pay a fine of $15 per additional NCH above 5 NCH per employee to the Tax Authority of the Pacific Region, in addition to the back pay already owed to the employees.
3. Any employee found to be falsifying data or in any way infringing upon the right of another employee to receive proper overtime compensation may face a fine of up to 500% of the amount in question and/or up to 5 years in prison.

Section 8: The Minimum Wage

1. The Pacific regional minimum wage for persons under the age of 18 shall be become equivalent to the regional minimum wage paid to persons over the age of 18.
2. The Pacific regional minimum wage shall be raised to 102% of the federal minimum wage for the period from January 1, 2014 to July 1, 2014.
3. The Pacific regional minimum wage shall be raised to 104% of the federal minimum wage effective July 1, 2014, and shall remain 4% greater than the federal minimum wage until further legislative action, unless the federal minimum wage drops below the thresholds outlined in Section 8, Clause 4.
4. If the federal minimum wage is below the following thresholds on the given date:
   on July 1, 2014                                   $14.00
   on July 1, 2015                                   $15.00
   on July 1, 2016                                   $16.00
   on July 1, 2017                                   $17.00
   on July 1, 2018                                   $18.00
then the Pacific regional minimum wage shall follow this schedule:
   from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015    $14.56
   from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016    $15.60
   from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017    $16.64
   from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018    $17.68
   from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019    $18.72

Section 9: Implementation

This statute and clauses within shall become effective January 1st, 2014 unless stated otherwise.

[President Tyrion]

Fixing the Third Pacific Constitution Amendment

The Third Pacific Constitution is amended as such. No changes have been made to amend the spirit of the words in question. Some grammar has been altered, some clauses have been clarified, and some duplicate statements have been deleted.

Article 1, Section 1, Clause 5 is removed and the subsequent clauses in the section are re-numbered to reflect said change. Various other changes are made in the Section to benefit clarity.

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Article 5, Section 1, Clause 2 is amended to read:

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