Talk Elections

Section 1: Determination of Election Dates
1. The June 2016 Atlasian federal elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on June 24th and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself5, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.

2. The President and Vice President shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.

Section 2: Determination of Voter Registration and Voting Rules

1. A person may become a registered voter if they have attained eighteen posts and have been registered at the forum for at least 7 days. In registration, the person must state their name and State of fantasy residence; In addition, they may optionally state a political affiliation.
 
2. In order to vote or be a candidate in an election, a person must have been a registered voter seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. If a voter changes their state of registration between that time and the election, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.
   
3.If a person deletes their user account then their registration will no longer be valid.
   
4.Any registered voter who fails to vote in elections for six months for which they are qualified to vote shall have their registration no longer considered valid. The said voter may only be deregistered after missing three federal elections, not including runoffs and special elections. A vote in a special election or runoff will be counted towards activity the same as a vote in a regular federal election. This clause shall not be construed to deny a forum user the right to register anew.
 
5. Persons may only change their State of registration from one region to another region once every 180 days. Changes in State of registration may only occur within a single region every 24 hours.

6. If any voter will be unable to vote in a federal election during the time allotted, they may request to absentee vote at any time seven days preceding the election  The Senate may by appropriate legislation determine the procedure for absentee voting.
   
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained at the place of voting after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void.

8.Any political party of three or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

9. All articles in this act should be retroactive covering the period of time between the ratification of the constitution and implementation of the constitution.

Currency Tactile Feature Act
1. All Atlasian dollar bills, including $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes, must carry the designation in Braille to make it possible for the blind people to determine the denomination.
2. The currency denomination must be recognized easily, thus the banknotes use full Braille blocks (or cells) of 6 dots. The $5 bill has one cell, with the $10, $20, and $50 denominations each having one more cell than previous. The $100 bill has two cells arranged such that there is a space of two empty cells between them.

Capital Punishment Abolition Amendment

Article I of the Fourth Constitution Shall be amended as follows:

...
Section 9. No person accused of crimes under the laws of this Republic, or of the several Regions, shall be compelled to bear witness against himself, nor subjected to excessive bail, nor cruel or unusual punishment. Capital punishment may not be prescribed by a civilian court of law.
...

Senate Rules and Procedures

Article 1: Purpose and Definitions

1. Purpose - The purpose of these rules is to provide the Senate with guidelines and to define the powers of its officers.
2. Definitions
Legislation - any bill, Constitutional amendment, or resolution
President Pro-Tempore - the Senate's presiding officer
President of the Senate- the Senate's presiding officer for confirmation threads
Sponsor - the Senator who introduces a piece of legislation to the Legislation Introduction Thread or the Senator who assumes sponsorship when the original sponsor of a piece of legislation leaves the Senate or withdraws his or her sponsorship
Senate Floor - the threads open for Senate debate and voting on legislation on the Fantasy Government board

Article II: Senate Officers

1. The PPT shall be the presiding officer of the Senate and shall be responsible for upholding the provisions of these rules.
2. The most senior Senator who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the Senator chosen by the most senior Senator, shall convene the Senate to elect a PPT on the first day of each legislative session and when the office of PPT is vacant. The Senate shall elect a PPT from among its members by majority consent. The most senior Senator, who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the senator chosen by the most senior Senator shall retain the powers and prerogatives as PPT until the election of the PPT.
3. The PPT shall retain the powers and prerogatives as the President of the Senate under the following circumstances: a. A publicly announced absence by the President of the Senate from the Atlas Forum. b. If the President of the Senate has been inactive from the Atlas Forum for seven (7) days. c. In any case where the President of the Senate has failed to uphold the provisions of this Procedural Resolution when it is in his power to do so individually. d. During any period of time when no person is presently holding the office of President of the Senate. e. the President of the Senate should be absent by reason of exercising responsibility as Acting President of the Republic of Atlasia under the Constitution. f. A publicly announced conferral of such powers by the President of the Senate.
4. If the PPT fails to post on the Fantasy Government Board for a period exceeding 5 days, i.e. 120 hours, then the most senior Senator shall immediately convene the Senate to elect a new PPT. The PPT may appoint another Senator as Acting PPT during announced periods of absence. If the PPT has done so, it shall not be necessary to elect a new PPT unless the Acting PPT is also for 5 days, i.e. 120 hours.

Article III: Introducing Legislation

1. The PPT shall keep a thread on the Fantasy Government board for Senators to introduce legislation. This thread shall be known as the Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Senators, the President and Vice President of Atlasia may post in this thread. The PPT shall also keep a separate thread listing all sponsored legislation in the Legislation Introduction Thread.
2. Any legislation that would amend amend existing laws, previous Senate resolutions, or the Constitution must contain either A) clear instructions specifying all proposed alterations to the original text or B) a statement that the proposed amendment would override the original text. Any alterations to the original text that are not clearly specified (e.g. with obvious highlighting, bolding, striking-through, or a visible change in the color of the text) shall not be considered by the Senate and shall not take effect upon passage of the legislation.
3. The PPT may keep up to nine threads open for voting and debate simultaneously. Each piece of legislation shall have a separate thread.
4.The first six open threads shall be open to all legislation. The PPT shall move legislation to these threads in the order in which it was introduced in the Legislation Introduction thread, except when the sponsor already has legislation on the Senate floor. If the sponsor already has two or more pieces legislation on the Senate floor, legislation from Senators who do not shall take priority until all such other legislation is completed. The seventh open thread shall be reserved for bills submitted by civilians in the Public Consultation and Legislation Submission thread.
5. The eighth and ninth open thread shall be reserved for legislation related to national emergencies declared by the President of Atlasia. The PPT shall introduce legislation to these threads as directed by the President, but only when the President has declared a state of national emergency.
6. Legislation shall no longer count toward the eight-thread limit when it is no longer on the Senate floor. Senate Legislation is no longer on the Senate floor under any of the following conditions:
(a) For bills - When the bill is forwarded to the President for action or rejected by a majority of voting Senators
(b) For resolutions - When the resolution is approved or rejected by a majority of voting Senators
(c) For Constitutional amendments - When the amendment is (1) approved by at least two-thirds of sitting Senators (in the case that the two-thirds number is a fractional number, it is rounded up) and the PPT has posted a thread notifying the regional executives of that approval or (2) rejected by more than one-third of Senators after a vote is called
(d) For all legislation - When the legislation has been tabled
7. When a new session of the Senate begins, legislation from the previous session shall remain on the floor automatically, but the new Senate may summarily table said legislation by majority consent.

Article IV: Debate

1. After a piece of legislation is introduced to the Senate floor, debate shall begin immediately. Debate on the legislation shall last for no less than 72 hours.
2. The Senate may waive the 72-hour requirement on non-controversial legislation by unanimous consent. To waive the 72-hour requirement, the PPT must request unanimous consent to waive the minimum debate time requirement and provide 24 hours for a Senator to object to this request.
3. When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 36 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours, any Senator may call for a vote on said legislation. The PPT shall open a vote if no other Senator objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote.
4. Debate shall continue past the first 72 hours as long as a Senator is posting in the legislation's discussion thread, provided intervals between posts are no longer than 36 hours.
5. At any time after the first 72 hours of debate, any Senator may motion for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate, the Senate shall end debate and the PPT slot shall open a vote on the legislation.
7. The sponsor of a piece of legislation may at any time withdraw his or her sponsorship. In addition, when a Senator leaves the Senate, his or her sponsorship shall be revoked automatically. If no other Senator moves to assume sponsorship of the legislation within 36 hours, the legislation shall be tabled automatically. If one or more Senators move to assume sponsorship, and there are no objections after 24 hours, they shall assume sponsorship. If there are objections then a vote shall be held, and if a majority of the Senate rejects all motions to assume sponsorship, the legislation shall be tabled.
8. At any time during debate on a piece of legislation, a Senator may propose an amendment to that legislation. Amendments must contain either A) clear instructions specifying all proposed alterations to the original text or B) a statement that the proposed amendment would override the original text. Any alterations to the original text that are not clearly specified (e.g. with obvious highlighting, bolding, striking-through, or a visible change in the color of the text) shall not be considered by the Senate and shall not take effect upon sponsor acceptance or Senate approval of the amendment.
9. The PPT may ignore amendments that he or she deems frivolous, functionally impractical, or unconstitutional at his or her discretion, but the Senate may compel the PPT to consider the amendment by majority consent.
10. The PPT shall allow 36 hours for objections to an amendment following its introduction. If no objections are filed, the amendment shall pass. If any objections are filed, a vote shall be held. This vote shall last until a majority of sitting Senators have voted to either approve of reject the amendment or until 3 days, i.e. 72 hours, have elapsed. No Senator may change his or her vote once the voting period has concluded.
10. If multiple non-conflicting amendments are introduced concurrently, the PPT may open concurrent votes on the amendments.
12. Any Senator may file a motion to table a piece of legislation during debate. The PPT shall open a vote on the motion to table when at least two other Senators have seconded the motion. Voting shall take place in accordance with the same rules that apply to voting on amendments, except that a two thirds majority of sitting Senators shall be required for approval of the motion to table. Tabled legislation shall be removed from the Senate floor immediately.

Article V: Voting

1. Votes on legislation shall last for a maximum of 3 days (i.e. 72 hours).
2. When a piece of legislation has enough votes to pass or fail, the office in control of the legislative slot shall announce that he or she will close the vote in 24 hours and that any Senator who wishes to change his or her vote must do so during that interval.
3. If a piece of legislation is vetoed by the president, the bill's sponsor may request an override of the veto within 3 days, i.e. 72 hours, of the veto taking place. The PPT may extend this period if the bill's sponsor is on a publicly-declared leave of absence.
4. For the purposes of overriding vetoes, any Senator who abstains from voting shall be counted as a vote against overriding the veto.

Article VI: Relationship with House of Representatives

1. When a bill passes the House of Representatives, the PPT may only bring it to the floor if a senator has agreed to sponsor it. Senators may sponsor legislation by messaging the PPT or posting in the session noticeboard.
2. When a bill passes the Senate, the PPT shall notify the House Speaker of its passage.
3. Should similar bills pass through both chambers with conflicting provisions, the Speaker of the House and PPT shall each appoint one member in addition to themselves to serve on a Conference Committee, which shall draft a compromise version of the bill. The bill must then pass both chambers on an up or down vote.
4. A bill shall be sent to the president after it has been approved by both chambers. The leader of the chamber it most recently passed shall notify the president.

Article VII: Presidential Nominees

1. The President of the Senate shall open a confirmation hearing for presidential nominees immediately following the president's announcement of the nomination.
2. Each hearing shall last for at least 3 days (i.e. 72 hours). The hearing may be abbreviated according to the unanimous consent rules outlined in Article IV: Rules on Senate Debate. Voting shall take place in the same fashion as votes on legislation would otherwise, according to the rules outlined in Article V: Rules on Voting.

Article VIII: Senate Committees

1. The Senate may convene standing and special Senate Committees to facilitate discussion. No sitting Senator may be excluded from a Senate Committee.

Article IX: Expulsion of a sitting Senator

Section 1: Introduction of an Article of Expulsion Expulsion proceedings shall be initiated if:
1) The Senator has not posted anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours and hasn't posted a valid Leave of Absence (then the time covered by that LOA shall not count toward those 168 hours, but periods of inactivity before and after the LOA shall count as a continuous period, provided there are no interceding posts. In order to be valid, a Leave of Absence shall not be longer than 368 hours). And an article of expulsion has been introduced in the Legislative Introduction Thread.
2) 5 Senators have sponsored an article of expulsion, introduced in the Legislative Introduction Thread, against one of their Senate colleagues

Section 2: Rules
1) The President of the Senate shall open a thread and commence the debates. The President of the Senate shall not be able to take part into the debates.
2) The Senator concerned by the article of expulsion shall be informed by private message and may hire an attorney for organising his/her defense.
3) Debates shall last at least for 72 hours. After the debates have elapsed, the President of the Senate shall open a vote, which shall last for 3 days. In order to expel the Senator, two-thirds of the current senators shall vote AYE.
4) If the acting President of the Senate is the Senator concerned by the article of expulsion, the most senior Senator, who is not the Senator concerned by the article of expulsion, shall administer the expulsion process.
5) If a Senator administers the expulsion process, he/she shall not be able to take part into the debates and shall not be able to vote, unless his vote matters and only after the 72 hours of voting have elapsed.

Article X: Rule Disputes

1. The Senate may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Senators.
2. The PPT may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Senator objects. If a Senator objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Senators.
3. Neither the Senate nor the PPT may suspend Article VIII (expulsion rules) or Article III, Section IV (rules on moving legislation to the Senate floor).
4. If the Senate cannot resolve a rules dispute, the Supreme Court may issue a binding decision dictating the proper interpretation.
5. The votes of successors shall displace those of their predecessors when votes overlap with a change in the composition of the Senate.

Real Patriot Act

1. The USA PATRIOT Act is hereby repealed.

evergreen-Tmthforu LGBTQ+ Rights Act

Section 1. Inclusion in Existing Civil-Rights Law
1. The protections described in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, especially Titles II, III, VI, and VII, shall apply also to discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ+ status.
2. The protections described in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 shall apply also to discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ+ status.
3. The protections described in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, or the "Fair Housing Act", shall apply also to discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ+ status.

Section 2. The Right to Security in One's Own Body
1. All insurers within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Atlasia shall be required to cover options for hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers.
2. There shall be no requirement that parents or guardians consent to a minor accessing puberty blockers.

Section 3. Grants for LGBTQ+-Friendliness in Schools
1. The government of the Republic of Atlasia shall distribute $1.5b through the Department of Education to provide schools with grants to fund anti-bullying programs and LGBT+-positive sex education.

Section 4. Ban on Conversion Therapy
1. All forms of "conversion therapy", "reparative therapy" or other practices with the intention of affecting a person's sexual orientation or gender identity are hereby banned in all territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Atlasia.
2. Any person who performs such a practice shall be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 per day in violation and/or irreversible revocation of any and all medical licenses.
3. Any person who solicits such a practice shall be subject to a fine of up to $5,000.
4. Attempted or completed subjection of a minor to such a practice shall be considered sufficient grounds for emancipation.

Section 5. Elimination of Official Gender Markers
1. All official documents issued by any body under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Atlasia that contain gender markers, including but not limited to drivers' licenses, shall be required to require an "other" option for non-binary genders and no requirements to change such markers, beyond regular administrative fees, shall be allowed to exist.
2. Congress strongly recommends that all future statutes, resolutions, etc. of the Republic of Atlasia or its subsidiary bodies refer to singular persons of indeterminate gender with the pronoun "they", rather than gender-specific pronouns.

Section 6. An End to the Mass Mutilation of Intersex People
1. All forms of "genital normalisation surgery", or other sex assignment treatments and/or surgical interventions on the sex characteristics of a minor with intersex characteristics, are hereby banned in all territories under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Atlasia, except with the express informed consent of the subject or in the case of medical necessity.
2. Any person who performs such a practice shall be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 and/or irreversible revocation of any and all medical licenses.
3. Any person who solicits such a practice shall be subject to a fine of up to $5,000.
4. Attempted of completed subjection of a minor to such a practice shall be considered sufficient grounds for emancipation.

Section 7. Marriage
1. Marriage, for civil purposes, is the lawful union of two consenting persons to the exclusion of all others.
2. It is recognized that officials of religious groups are free to refuse to perform marriages that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs.
3. For greater certainty, no person or organization shall be deprived of any benefit, or be subject to any obligation or sanction, under any law of the Atlasia Government  solely by reason of their exercise, in respect of marriage between persons of the same sex.

Section 8. Implementation
1. Sections 1, 4, 6 and 7 of this bill shall be considered effective immediately upon entering into law.
2. Sections 2, 3 and 5 of this bill shall be considered effective beginning January 1st, 2017.

The Freedom To Drink Act
1. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is hereby repealed.
2. The regions shall each be allowed to each determine their own minimum drinking age, with the following exceptions:
2a. No region shall be allowed to have a minimum drinking age lower than 16.
2b. No region shall be allowed to have a minimum drinking age higher than 21.

National Right to Life Act
1. It is hereby illegal to intentionally terminate a pregnancy beyond the 20th week of pregnancy, except if a medical doctor believes that the mother's life is in danger, or in the cases of threat to the mother's health or a pregnancy caused by rape/incest.
2. Any individual who induces a prohibited abortion shall have any existing license to practice a medical profession revoked for a minimum of two years and no more than five. They shall also be assessed with a fine up to $50,0000.
3. Any person knowingly facilitating the inducement of a prohibited abortion shall be subject to a criminal fine no larger than $10,000.
4. A parent or guardian must be notified at least 24 hours prior to an abortion for any pregnant individual under the age of majority except when precluded by medical emergency.  In cases where the minor fears harm or abuse resulting from such disclosure of the pregnancy and/or intent to abort, a guardian ad litem may be appointed with approval of the minor to serve in this role instead, and will make every effort to regularly follow up to monitor the minor's psychological and physiological well-being until the age of majority. The relevant court must take adequate measures to insure the minor knows of this option It will be the responsibility of the abortion provider to make sure the minor is aware of the requirements and options under this act. A relevant court will facilitate the implementation where needed.
5. Any person who wishes to undergo an abortion, whose life is not judged to be in danger, will be subject to a waiting period of 7 days36 hours and be presented materials on the adoption process and other options. Should the person request the abortion and it is past 20 weeks after the 7 day waiting period, they may still be permitted terminate the pregnancy.
6. A mother who undergoes an illegal abortion cannot be fined or imprisoned for violating the provisions of this act.
7. The use of public funds may not be permitted to any facility that performs abortions for any reason except if it is a medical necessity.
8. No agency of the federal government shall be permitted to aid, in any way, in the procurement or performance of an abortion except in cases of medical necessity.
10. Any agent of the federal government who is knowingly involved in procuring public funds or public facilities for an abortion which is not determined to be medically necessary shall be subject to dismissal and may face a fine up to $25,000.
11. Any organization which is involved in the provision of an abortion which is not determined to be medically necessary will be subject to the removal of part or all of its public funds.

Pay Workers a fair Wage Act

1.) This act amends Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to $9.00 by January 1st 2017, followed by an increase to $10.00 by January 1st 2018, then to $11.00 by January 2019 and then to $12.50 by May 2020.

2.)After the passage of this act, and the introduction of the $9.00 the tipped minimum wage will be abolished and replaced with the minimum wage.

Section 1: Votes
1. In their vote in the Elections to the House and the Presidency, each voter shall list some, none, or all of the candidates in the voter's order of preference for them.
2. If no numbering of the preferences is stated, then the candidate at the top of the list shall be presumed to be the first preference, the candidate on the second line of the list shall be presumed to be the second preference, and so on.
3. A voter may cast a write-in vote in any election, except a runoff election.
4. In order to write-in a candidate, the voter shall not be required to explicitly specify that their vote is for a write-in candidate.
5. In order for write-in votes for a candidate to qualify as countable votes, the person written-in must formally accept the write-in candidacy before the end of voting in the given election.
6. A voter may vote for "None of the Above" in any election, except a runoff election. Any voter may vote "None of the Above"; any and all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained at the place of voting after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void. Campaigning shall also be prohibited in the voting booth and shall result in the disqualification of their vote.

Section 2: Determination of the Winner
1. If any candidate shall gain a majority of highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.
2. If no candidate has a majority of highest preference votes, the candidate with the fewest highest preferences shall be eliminated, and their votes redistributed according to the next-highest preferences of the voters.
3. If, after the implementation of Clause 2 of this Section, any candidate shall have a majority of the highest preference votes, then that candidate shall be declared the winner of the election. If no such candidate shall exist, then Clause 2 of this Section shall be implemented again until such a candidate does exist, or until all candidates have the same number of highest preference votes.
4. If two or more candidates are tied for the least number of highest preference votes, but none of those candidates are tied for the greatest number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to determine which candidate is eliminated:
     a. The candidate with the least total number of preferences expressed by voters shall be eliminated.
     b. The Senate shall vote on which candidate to eliminate, with the Vice President being able to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary.

Section 3: Runoff Elections
1. If all remaining candidates shall have the same number of highest preference votes, then the following procedure shall be used to break the tie:
2. Runoff elections shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the first Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
3. Those candidates who have tied shall be automatically entered onto the ballot. No other candidacies shall be allowed.
4. Voters shall only be able to cast a vote for one candidate.
5. If any candidate shall gain a majority of the votes cast, then he shall be declared winner.
6. In the event that litigation is pending before the Supreme Court at the time a runoff is due to be held, the Supreme Court may delay the runoff in a specified manner if it thinks the result of such litigation would have a substantive impact on the runoff.

Section 4: Tied Runoff Elections
If the Runoff Election procedure specified in section 4 results in a tie, then:
1. One of the tied candidates may concede their portion of the term. The rules for determining the winner shall proceed based on as if the number tied candidates is reduced by one.
2. The two candidates shall each serve for one half of a term.
     a. The two candidates will be allowed to determine the order in which the term is split.
     b. If no agreement is reached regarding the order of the terms that each candidate serves in, if   
         one of the tied candidates is an incumbent, then that candidate shall serve the first session.
     c. If both of the tied candidates are incumbents, due to redistricting or other circumstances, or if
        neither of the candidates are incumbents, and no agreement has been reached regarding the
        order of the terms that each candidate serves in, then the candidates shall serve in alphabetical
        order, going by their names used on the Registered Voter Roll.
3. In the event of a tie between more than two candidates:
     a. The tied candidates may make any agreement they see fit.
     b. If an agreement cannot be made by (a), the Senate shall either:
                1. Select one candidate to serve the entire term.
                2. Select a schedule that will allow all tied candidates to serve a portion of the term.
4. If one of the term sharing senators resigns or is elected or appointed to another office, than the other will serve out the remainder of the term.

Section 5: None of the Above
If, in an election, the None of the Above option shall have gained more votes than each candidate, then a new election shall be held under the following procedure
1. The new election shall be held between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the initial election and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday thereafter at 1800 Eastern Standard Time on the second Thursday after the election, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after the beginning.
2. None of the candidates defeated by the None of the Above option in the original may be declared candidates in the new election. However, a voter may still write-in any such candidate.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for the new election shall be the same as for special elections.
4. Except as regards Clause 2 of this Section, all other provisions of this Act shall apply to the new election.

Section 6: Absentee Voting
1. As mandated by Article V, Section 2, Clause 8 of the Federal Constitution, all voters shall have the right to cast absentee votes after the candidacy declaration period has expired.
2. Upon the candidacy declaration deadline occurring the Secretary of Federal Elections or Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections shall establish a thread for absentee voting which shall include a full ballot. In the event that a runoff is necessary, absentee voting shall open as soon as is practical after the certification of the original election results.
3. Voters wishing to vote by absentee shall post their votes as they otherwise would.
4. In the event that a person votes by absentee and regularly then both votes will be discounted.
5. In the case of runoff elections, an absentee booth shall be opened as soon as possible after the declaration by the Department of Federal Elections that a runoff election is to be held.

Section 7: Applicability
Any instance of the word "candidate" in Sections 1 through to 6 shall be read as "ticket" in the case of Presidential elections.

Section 8: Candidacy Declarations
1. The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the commencement of the election.
2. A candidate for a regular or special election to the House may withdraw their candidacy up to twenty-four hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election.
3. The candidacy declaration deadline for full tickets of a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate to declare shall be seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. However, should the Vice-Presidential candidate withdraw their candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to seventy-two hours before the commencement of the election.
4. In all cases, the assent of both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate shall be necessary for them to appear together as a ticket on the ballot.
5. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election may only run as part of one ticket, indicating such in the Candidate Declaration Thread, or through his or her vote in the case of a write-in candidacy. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election must have a declared Vice Presidential candidate in order to be a valid candidate.

Section 9: Administration of Voting Booths
1. Whenever possible, the Secretary of Federal Elections, or the Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections, shall be the administrator of the voting booth. If both shall be absent or unable to administer the voting booth, then the President shall designate an executive officer to do so instead.
2. The administrator of a voting booth shall be free to design the ballot as they see fit, as long as the content of the ballot is clear and unambiguous.
3. The administrator of a voting booth shall post links to all relevant statute regarding electoral law on the ballot.
4. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular House elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters seven days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday; and three days advance public notice, in both the Fantasy Elections Forum and the Voting Booth, of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections called on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Section 10: Certification of Election Results
1. When the voting period has expired, the administrator of the voting booth or a moderator of the Forum shall lock the thread containing the voting booth. The thread shall not be unlocked except to enter the official certification of the election result onto the thread.
2. Certification of the election result shall be conducted as soon as reasonably possible after the voting booth shall have closed by the administrator of the voting booth. If the administrator of the voting booth shall not be available to conduct such certification, then he or she shall designate another executive officer of the federal government to carry out such certification in their stead.
3. In certifying the result the administrator shall list all those votes which he or she has discounted, and the reasons for these votes being discounted. The voting booth administrator shall discount all votes that are invalid under the law, and shall only count those remaining votes for which he or she is able to make a reasonable determination as to the intent of the voter subject to such conditions as imposed by Section 11 of this Act.
4. The certifying officer may post provisional certifications of the election results, but these shall be of no legal effect.
5. Once the certifying officer is content that he has a full and complete certification he shall post an official certification which shall be final in all respects, unless a Court order shall instruct otherwise.

Section 11: Reasonable Determination of Intent
1. Where a voter lists only the Presidential candidate of a ticket in a Presidential election and this is the sole occurrence of the Presidential candidate on the ballot, then the vote shall be construed to be for the ticket which the Presidential candidate is a member of.
2. Where a voter lists all candidates or tickets running and places some mark to the right or left of one and only one of the candidates or tickets, then the vote shall be construed to be for that candidate or ticket.
3. The enumeration of certain reasonable determinations of intent in this section shall not be construed to be exclusive.

Section 12: Concession of Victory
1. If a candidate shall concede their victory of a House election after the certification of the election result, then the candidate with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victor.
2. If both members of a Presidential ticket shall concede their victory in the Presidential election after the certification of the election result, then the members of the ticket with the next greatest number of highest preference votes in that election shall then be declared victors.
3. If a victor who has conceded shall wish to retract their concession, then they may only do so with the permission of the newly declared victor.
4. If an election shall produce a tie, then any candidate or ticket may decline to go forward to the runoff. If such actions shall leave only one candidate or ticket in the runoff, then that candidate or ticket shall be declared the victor.
5. If a tied candidate or ticket that has withdrawn shall wish to re-enter the runoff, then they may only do so with the permission of the other candidates or tickets in the tie.
6. Concessions made before the certification of election results, or on or after the date on which the newly elected official is due to be sworn in, are of no legal effect whatsoever.

Section 13: Statute of Limitations
1. Lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court within one week of the certification of such results.
2. Lawsuits challenging the validity of election results certified on or before 31 May, 2016 shall not be valid.
3. Clause 1 shall not apply in the case of elections resulting in a runoff, in which cases, lawsuits challenging the validity of certified election results shall only be valid if filed with the Supreme Court before the official opening time of the official voting booth (not including any associated absentee voting booth) for the associated runoff election.

Section 14: Federal Activity and Political Party Requirements
1. A person may become a registered voter if they have attained fifteen posts and have been registered at the forum for at least 7 days. In registration, the person must state their name and State of fantasy residence; In addition, they may optionally state a political affiliation.
2. All those persons who have registered to vote 7 days (168 hours) before the commencement of the election posted at least 10 times in the 8 weeks (56 days) prior to the commencement of an election shall be defined as active for the purposes of that election. If a voter changes their state of registration within the 7 days, the state from which they were originally registered shall be the state from which their vote is cast.
3. Persons may only change their State of registration from one region to another region once every 180 days. Changes in State of registration may only occur within a single region every 72 hours.
4. Any registered voter who fails to vote in elections for six months for which they are qualified to vote shall have their registration no longer considered valid. The said voter may only be deregistered after missing three federal elections, not including runoffs and special elections. A vote in a special election or runoff will be counted towards activity the same as a vote in a regular federal election. This clause shall not be construed to deny a forum user the right to register anew.
5. Anyone who has cast an absentee ballot shall be regarded as an active voter, provided he or she fulfills the definition by the time the election commences for which the ballot was cast, of an "active voter"; However, the post containing the ballot shall not count towards the total number of required posts.
6. Any political party of three or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

Section 15: Determination of Election Dates
1. Presidential elections shall be held in the months of February, June and October. Elections shall begin between 0000 Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the election month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
2. Regular elections to the Senate shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the penultimate Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the penultimate Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning, except in the month of December. Regular elections to the Senate in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the second Friday of the month and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the second Friday itself, and shall conclude exactly 72 hours after beginning.
3. Candidates elected in federal elections shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.

Atlasian Flag Act
The people of Atlasia will have the opportunity to submit designs for a new flag until August 31st, 2016. On September 1st, a poll shall open in the Atlas Fantasy Elections board for which submissions may be voted on by the public for a period of three days. The poll will include a "none of the above" option. If none of the poll options receive a majority of the votes, the flag with the least number of votes will be dropped and a new poll will be created. This process will continue until a new flag is selected, or until a majority of voters decide that none of the flag are suitable.

Orlando Memorial Act

1.) A National Memorial is hereby commissioned by the Federal Government to the 49 lives lost during the Orlando Massarce at Pulse Nightclub.

2.) $500,000 in federal funding is put aside for the pay for the memorial; with matching funds from private donations and sources.

3.) The Pulse Fund is hereby set up to teach, educate and empower LGBT communities across Atlasia

Ukrainian Freedom Act

1.  The Congress of Atlasia expresses it's unconditional support for the Government of Ukraine, and it's territorial Integrity in light of the attacks on it's sovereignty by the Government of Russia and rebel secessionist forces.

2. This Congress declares that the Russian invasion of Crimea defied international Law, and thus has Russia has no legal or political right to the Crimea. This house refuses to recognize Russian Control.

3. Military and Financial Support

A.)$70 million in Surplus Military Equipment is to be supplied to the Ukrainian Government, including Lethal weaponry.

B). $100 million is provided in an interest free loan from the Government of Atlasia.

C.) The Government of Atlasia will support Ukranian efforts to seek financial support from the IMF

D.) US troops will hereby be legally allowed to train, arm and support Ukrainian forces in a specifically non-combat role. Under no circumstances will US Armed Forces be allowed to take part in Combat role, or serve on the front line

Federal Reserve Transparency Act

1. The Federal Reserve System shall be subject to a full audit every five years.

2. A report on the audit shall be made available for every member of Senate and House who requests it.

A Real Living Wage Act

1. The Federal Minimum Wage of Atlasia is hereby increased to $9 an hour on April 16th 2017, followed by an increase to $10 by April 16th 2018.

2. The tipped minimum wage is hereby bought in line with the Federal Minimum Wage

Anti-Terror Coalition Resolution

Recognizing that ISIS and other terror groups are a threat to our country and allies and their actions costing lives to people all across the world, the Congress of Atlasia strongly encourage the Secretary of State to engage meetings and negotiations with foreign states in order to form a strong international coalition for fighting terror.

Moreover, the Congress of Atlasia recommends the following framework for the negotiations of our nation with foreign states:

1. Composition of the anti-terror coalition
1.1 The anti-terror coalitions is composed by all countries except those suspected to have ties with ISIS and/or other terror groups.

2. Distribution of funds and weapons
2.1 Only a group of historic allies of the Republic of Atlasia might receive funds and weapons from the Republic of Atlasia.
2.2 The composition of the sudden group shall be determinated by the Secretary of State.

3. Work of the anti-terror coalition
3.1 The Republic of Atlasia and all the other countries, including those not able to receive funds and weapons from the Republic of Atlasia, will collaborate together on military projects, air strikes and on the intelligence front.

Comprehensive Federal Firearms Licensing Bill

1. The first act of this bill is to create a new Federal Department- the Federal Firearms Licensing Agency, hereby called the FFLA. This agency shall work in conjunction with other Federal Agencies, including but not limited to the FBI, AFT and the Justice Department to enforce the following laws.

2. These laws most be followed by all Gun Manufacturers, Gun Stores, Private sellers or individuals who own/sell or use firearms.

3. Federal Firearms Licence

A.) All Gun Owners in Atlasia must hereby apply for a Federal Firearms license. The processing of these license forms must be carried by the FFLA, and the following criteria must be met-

A1- Individuals must be above the age of 18

A2- Individuals must have a fixed residency or address.

A3- Individuals will not be considered if they have been convicted of any violent or sexual crime in the last 20 years.

A4- Individuals must undergo a mandatory background check by the FFLA, which includes but is not limited to tax records, financial dealings, mental health records and personal references were applicable.

A5- individuals who are rejected have a right to appeal any Decision, but an appeal application can be denied in extraordinary circumstances.

A6- The FFLA also reserves the right to Freeze, and cancel the license of any Licence holder for a period of 6 months.

4. Selling and Purchasing of Firearms

4A. All individuals, companies or stores wishing to sell Firearms to any individual in Atlasia must register with the FFLA. This includes those selling online, by phone or by any other means

4B. Sellers themselves must meet the requirements above in section 3

Employees Rights Act
Section 1: Working Hours and Breaks
1. Employees, over the age of majority, shall work a maximum of forty-five (45) hours per week.
  a. Employees shall be able to opt out of this limit.
  b. Employees that are over the age of sixteen (16), but under the age of majority, shall work a maximum of forty-five (45) hours per week, including education.
  c. This limit shall be calculated as an average over the previous twelve (12) weeks.
2. Employees shall work for more than twelve (12) hours in a single twenty-four (24) hour period.
3. Employees shall be entitled to a half-hour (30 minute) break for every six (6) hours worked.
4. Employees shall be entitled to a twenty-four (24) hour consecutive period break every week, or a forty-eight (48) hour consecutive period break every fortnight.

Section 2: Holiday and Pay
1. Employees working full-time shall be entitled to a minimum of one (1) hour paid holiday for every fourteen (14) hours worked, in addition to public holidays.
2. Employees shall be paid their hourly rate, or hourly rate equivalent, for holiday.
  a. If the employee is paid based on a monthly salary, the hourly rate equivalent shall be the average monthly pay over the previous three (3) months divided by the average number of hours worked over the previous three (3) months.
3. Employees shall not be under any requirement to use their full allocation of holiday.
4. Employers shall are not required to carry holiday over to the next twelve month period or to pay employees an equivalent amount if they do not use all of their allocated holiday.

Section 3: Overtime
1. Overtime shall be defined as any time worked, in addition to contracted hours.
2. Any overtime that is compulsory for the employee to attend shall be listed in their contract.
  a. This overtime, on top of their standard hours, shall be exceed the number of hours listed in Section 1, Clause 1 of this act.
  b. The employee shall be paid their hourly wage, or hourly wage equivalent (as defined in Section 2, Clause 2a), for this overtime.
3. Any overtime that is voluntary for the employee shall not be subject to Section 3, Clause 2a or 2b.

Section 4: Part-Time Workers
1. Part-Time workers shall be defined as a person that works twenty-eight (28) or fewer hours per week.
2. Part-Time workers shall not be treated any less favourably by a company than Full-Time workers.
  a. Part-Time workers shall receive the same hourly wage as a Full-Time equivalent doing the same role.
  b. Part-Time workers shall not be excluded from training tasks or other benefits that are offered to Full-Time workers.
  c. Part-Time workers shall receive holidays in accordance to Section 2 of this act.

Section 5: Disabled Workers
1. Disabled Workers shall be treated equally within the workplace.
2. Employers shall do everything in their power to make a role available for disabled workers.
  a. Employers shall offer all disabled workers an interview for any role that they apply for.
  b. Employers shall make reasonable adjustments for disabled workers to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in the workplace.

Section 6: Monitoring of employees
1. Employers shall be allowed to monitor employees in the workplace.
2. Employers shall tell all employees about the monitoring process that take place in their workplace.
3. Monitoring of employees shall not be excessive and should be justifiable.
4. Information collected through monitoring shall be kept secure by the employer.
5. Ways the employers shall be allowed to monitor employees include, but are not limited to:
  a. Bag searches.
  b. CCTV.
  c. Monitoring of internet usage, email and telephone calls on equipment owned by the employer.
6. Employees shall be made aware of the locations of every CCTV camera in their premise.
7. Convert monitoring shall be allowed
  a. if the employee is under investigation, and
  b. if the employer has a suitable reason for the investigation.

Section 7: Self-employed workers
1. This act shall not apply to self-employed workers.

Section 8: Opt-outs
1. Companies or organisations ("groups") may apply to opt-out of this act.
2. These groups shall be approved by Congress.
3. Federal and Regional Departments, the Security Services and the Military shall not be subject to these regulations.

Section 9: Implimentation
1. This act shall go into law immediately.

1. In their vote in the Elections to the House and the Presidency, each voter shall list some, none, or all of the candidates in the voter's order of preference for them.
2. If no numbering of the preferences is stated, then the candidate at the top of the list shall be presumed to be the first preference, the candidate on the second line of the list shall be presumed to be the second preference, and so on.
3. A voter may cast a write-in vote in any election, except a runoff election.
4. In order to write-in a candidate, the voter shall not be required to explicitly specify that their vote is for a write-in candidate.
5. In order for write-in votes for a candidate to qualify as countable votes, the person written-in must formally accept the write-in candidacy before the end of voting in the given election.
6. A voter may vote for "None of the Above" in any election, except a runoff election. Any voter may vote "None of the Above"; any and all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained at the place of voting after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void. Campaigning shall also be prohibited in the voting booth and shall result in the disqualification of their vote.
8. Only ballots with candidate names listed in English, by their usernames, or by their names as recorded in the Census, shall be valid.

1. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Republic of Atlasia. He shall hold his office for a term of four months, together with a Vice President chosen for the same term.

2. Elections for President shall be held in the months of February, June, and October, in accordance with the measures prescribed by the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia. Each candidate for President shall run jointly with a candidate for Vice President, with whom his name shall appear jointly on the ballot. A vote for a candidate for President shall be considered a vote for the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the presidential candidate, and accordingly the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the successful candidate for President shall be elected.

3. In the event that two candidates for President tie in the popular vote, either at the conclusion of a general presidential election or a special presidential runoff election, the candidates shall be elected Co-Presidents, with each Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate serving two months of a single four-month term.  In this event, the candidate who has been registered longest as a citizen of Atlasia shall serve with their Vice President for the first two months, followed by the newest registered candidate and their respective Vice President for the latter two months.

3. 4. No person shall be President or Vice President who has not attained 500 or more posts, nor whose account is not at least 4,320 hours old, nor is not a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia.

4. 5. Upon the commencement of his term in office, the President shall swear the following oath: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the Republic of Atlasia, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia."

This Act recognizes the work done by the Constitutional Convention to reform, and rebrand the practices of Atlasia. Whilst this was vital work, this Act begins the much needed progress towards a more welcoming, a more active and a more exciting Atlasia.


The Crisis Management System  

1.) In order to reform, and make Atlasia more exciting it's necessary to introduce a real time system that requires activity, and quick action from players across the game. This system will be know as the Crisis Management System, hereby referred to as the CMS.

2.) The CMS will be ran by the Game Moderator.

3.) The CMS will operate as a real time simulation machine affecting both International and National Events. The events shall operate in real time; and can be published on the necessary thread.

4.) The GM shall determine which players are needed for the scenario and shall send private message them details affecting the scenario.

5.) The Scenario requires a response from the players involded; and orders must be send to the GM to be processed.

6.) At the end of the Scenario the GM shall publish the results of simulation.

Office for Economic Affairs

1.) For too long in Atlasia the economy has been ignored, and sidelined as part of the game. For this reason the Office for Economic Affairs is hereby created as to evaluate policy towards economic activity, and ensure that all sectors of the game focus on the Economy.

2.) In conjunction with the GM this office shall publish reports on various sectors of the Atlasian Economy and how legislative and governmental action has impacted the economy.

3.) The President shall appoint an individual to the position to serve as director; which should be a non partisan role.

4.) The director of Economic Affairs can only be removed by a majority vote in the Senate.

National Security Council

1.) The National Security Council is hereby created to coordinate, manage and respond to threats to the Security of Atlasia.

2.) The NSC shall be made up of the President, Vice-President, Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State. The President can appoint up to three additional members of the National Security Council.

3.) All members shall have access to classified briefings as part of the Crisis Management System mentioned above

Game Review

1.) The Great Reform Act mandates into the law the need, and requirement for a comprehensive review into the game play and mechanics of Atlasia. This report shall be published within 40 days of this act passing.

An amendment to the 'A Real Living Wage Act'

1. The Federal Minimum Wage of Atlasia is hereby increased to $9 an hour on April 16th 2017, followed by an increase to $10 by April 16th 2018 and then to $11.10 by April 2020.Regions, states, and localities may at any time adopt a minimum wage higher, but no lower, than the Federal Minimum Wage.

2. Businesses which employ less than 20 people (excluding franchises) may claim for a Federal Relief Tax credit amounting to 20% of wage per employee.  This tax credit shall expire after April 15th, 2020.

3. The tipped rate of the minimum wage is hereby abolished

I. Reduction of Excess Military Bases
  1. A Military Base Inspection Committee (MBIC) of fifteen NPC advisors, appointed by the Department of State, will be created.
  2. Every Atlasian military base will be asked to submit a report to the MBIC to prove it's usefulness.
  3. Every Atlasian military base will be visited by at least one member of the MBIC, who will write their own report.
  4. After every Atlasian military base has been visited by a member of the MBIC, the MBIC will meet for a session.
  5. At this session, the MBIC will determine, by simple majority vote, whether a base should continue to be ran or not.
  6. The budget of the MBIC will be $2,000,000.

II. Military Auditing
  1. A Military Audit Department (MAD) will be created, with the NPC Director of the MAD appointed by the Department of State.
  2. The MAD will be tasked with searching for and recommending eliminations of waste in the Atlasian military.
  3. The annual budget of the MAD will be $2,000,000.

This Act recognizes the need to reform our outdated, costly and inadequate criminal justice system. For too long the federal government has been unwilling to take the necessary steps to challenge the long standing inequalities that exist in the Justice System.

Private Prisons

1.) The use of Federally ran private prisons is hereby ended in Atlasia. No new contracts shall be granted for private prisons, and existing private prisons shall be brought under control of the Justice Department.

2.) Private prisons that are managed by local, state and regional offices that keep continue to contract out prison services to private firms shall be faced with a levy of 10% on their yearly revenue.

Prison Education Expansion

1.) This act acknowledges that expanding educational opportunities, and job training for those incarcerated in prison greatly lowers their chance of re-offending, and puts them on the path for reintegration into society.

2.) This Act grants $500 million to develop educational facilities in Federal Prisons, to provide education, and job training.

3.) 30,000 Pell grants will be authorized in a pilot scheme to provide higher education to prisoners who will be completing their sentences within 5 years of beginning their degree.

Federal Prison Conditions and Standards

1.) No Juvenile prisoners shall be kept in Solidarity Confinement. Prisoners over the age of 18 shall only be kept in Solidarity Confinement for up to 21 days at any one time.

2.) $20 million is hereby set aside for a pilot scheme to create non violent wings of prisons, where prisoners who've been convicted of non-violent offensives shall be housed.

3.) $200 million is hereby allocated for mental health facilitates, training for staff and treatment for prisoners with mental health conditions.

4.) All prison staff should be trained in conflict resolution, and safe, and proper restraining techniques.

Ending the Embargo of Cuba Act (EECA)

1. The Helms-Burton Act (1996) and the Cuban Democracy Act are hereby repealed.

2. The travel ban on Atlasian citizens travelling to Cuba is hereby lifted.

3. The Republic of Atlasia hereby declares its condemnation of the repeated extrajudicial killings, kidnapping and imprisonment of cuban dissidents. The Republic of Atlasia will continue its support for free and fair elections in Cuba, and urges the Cuban Government to begin the transition to democracy.

4. $50 million are hereby allocated to create an embassy in Cuba

Section 1 (Title)
i. The long title of this Act shall be the "Reconstruction of Fremont Act of 2017." It may be cited as the "Reconstruction Act" or "ROFA."

Section 2 (Emergency Powers)
WHEREAS, it has recently become evident that the former Governor of Fremont, having failed to make any post on the Atlas Forum for a period exceeding ten days, has been removed from office according to the provisions of the Fremont Constitution;

WHEREAS, the most senior member of the Legislative Assembly has failed to make any post for an equivalent period;

WHEREAS, all other offices of the Regional Government have fallen vacant;

WHEREAS, it can therefore be concluded that the Fremont Region is without a functioning government, as no person or body has any legal or Constitutional claim to office in that Region;

WHEREAS, it is the moral and Constitutional duty of the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia to secure for each Region a stable and republican government;

i. The Congress of the Republic of Atlasia hereby empowers the President of the Republic to appoint an Emergency Commissioner for Fremont, who shall be empowered to organize the election of a democratic government for that Region under the existing Constitution thereof.
ii. The Emergency Commissioner shall be the acting chief executive of Fremont until such time as the new Governor and Legislative Assembly shall have been fairly and democratically elected, with all the rights and privileges bestowed upon the Governor of Fremont by the Constitution thereof; but the elections described in this Act shall begin no more than seven (7) days following the appointment of the Commissioner by the President.
iii. The new Governor and Assembly having been inaugurated, the Emergency Commissioner will continue to oversee progress in the Region until such time as the President shall see fit to dismiss them.
iv. If, at any point following the elections prescribed in Section 2.i of this Act, one of the officers thus elected shall have made no post on the Regional Government board for a period exceeding ten days (240 hours), said officer shall be relieved of his duties under the Fremont Constitution. The Emergency Commissioner will then have the authority to organize a special election to fill the vacated post.

Section 3 (Recommendation for Constitutional Reform)
i. The present Fremont Constitution being a contradictory, ungrammatical, and byzantine document almost completely unintelligible to the rational mind, it is the recommendation of the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia that the first order of business for the Governor and Assembly elected under Section 2 of this Act be to draft a new Constitution for the Fremont Region, so as to establish the Government of that Region upon a sustainable and democratic foundation.

The Atlasian government hereby recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the rightful owner of the territory it claims.

The Atlasian government also invites the Sahrawi government to set up an embassy in Nyman, and looks to do the same when the SADP acquires the territory it rightfully owns.

Section 14 of the Federal Electoral Act shall be amended as follows:

Family and Education Support Act

Section 1: Employer Information

1. In order for this bill's measures to be activated, the expectant mother or father, who is employed, must inform their employer of the pregnancy and the expected date of delivery.
2. The employer may not disseminate information about an employee's pregnancy to a third party without permission.

Section 2. Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, and Parental Leave

1. The mother has the right to 14 weeks of maternity leave after the child's birth, where the employer shall pay at least the same rate as a 13-week wages average or of the last 3 months before pregnancy.
2. The father has the right to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave after the child's birth.
3. Either parent has the right to 3 years of unpaid parental leave.
4. Employees exercising their right for maternity, paternity, or parental leave are protected from loss of employment due to dismissal.
5. Employers with less than 10 total employees may claim a tax credit of no more than 50% of the value of the wages paid to workers taking paid maternity or paternity leave.

Section 3. Mother and Child Protection at the Workplace

1. Employers must protect a healthy and safe work environment for expecting and for nursing mothers.
2. Employers shall provide an adequate break room that can accommodate a reclining chair for expecting and nursing mothers who require it for their well being.
3. Expecting mothers are not permitted to perform heavy, physical labor or to work with or amongst materials, substances, and gases or in extreme elements, that could be deemed potentially hazardous to their health.
4. Expecting and nursing mothers are not permitted to work more than 8 1/2 hours daily or 90 hours in 2-week period.
5. Expecting and nursing mothers under 18 are not permitted to work more than 8 hours daily or 80 hours in a 2-week period.

Section 4: Protection Period

1. Employees may claim parental leave days at any point after the pregnancy is confirmed to an expectant mother. Those who claim days prior to the birth of the child shall be required to give a valid medical reason as to why, signed off on by a medical doctor, for the purposes of validation.

Section 5: Paid Educational Leave

1. Employees having been with an employer for at least 1,040 days shall have the right of paid educational leave.
2. Paid educational leave is hereby defined as leave that furthers the education of a worker in question. The education must be relevant to their current profession or line of work. Workers shall be able to claim full pay for hours lost as a result of education courses, provided that the worker in question has been with an employer no less than 1,040 days, gives the employer advance notification of the absence of no less than 30 days prior, and provided that the absence in question takes place during the regular working hours of the employee in question.
3. In addition, any educational leave that is sponsored by or required by an employer shall be paid, regardless of how long the employee in question has been with the employer.

Section 1: Universities
1. The Federal Government shall subsidise young and low-income students university tuition fees up to $2,000 per year.
    a. Young students shall be defined as people under the age of 25 who have not been outside of education for three years.
    b. Low-income students shall be defined as people who are living in a household earning less than 65% of the average Atlasian wage.
2. The Federal Government shall make $15 billion available for this.

Section 2: Non-Exam Based Subjects
1. Students shall be allowed to choose subjects at high school that do not include final exams.
2. Students that do not wish to choose a subject that doesn't include a final exam, must choose coursework based subjects or controlled-assessment based subjects.
    a. Coursework based subjects shall be defined as school work that completed over an extended period that is graded as part of the final qualification.
    b. Controlled assessment shall be defined as an exam that takes place in classrooms that are taken over an extended period.
3. Schools shall determine what subjects shall be available for students.
4. Students may choose a mixture of exam, coursework and controlled assessment-based subjects.

Forest Revitalization and Preservation Act

Section 1: High Priority Reforestation Areas

1. The National Forest Service, under the purview of the Department of Interior, shall identify and focus reforestation efforts on high priority areas in areas of national forests with higher rates of decline.
2. These efforts shall attempt to preserve biodiversity to the fullest extent possible.

Section 2. Research and Development

1. $10 Million shall be allocated for the research and development of methods to best preserve our national forests.  This research shall focus on the following areas:
a) Ensuring reforestation efforts take historical biodiversity and habitats into account.
b) Dealing with invasive species such as bark beetles and emerald ash borers.
c) Best practices for seed distribution in different types of habitats.
d) Best practices for reducing the risk of wildfires.

Section 3. Funds for Regional Reforestation Efforts
1. A federal fund shall be created to encourage the development of regional reforestation efforts which shall match the the allocated funds for regional reforestation programs that encourage the replanting of trees or provide subsidies for tree farms that grow their own trees.
2. Regional governments shall apply to the Department of Interior by submitting their reforestation plans to the Department of Interior for approval.

New Senate Rules Resolution:


Definitions:

1.) Legislation is defined as any Bill, Amendment, or Resolution to a current Act, Procedural Resolution, or Constitutional Amendment.

2.) In all past, present and future instances of the terms, a Bill is defined as a piece of legislation that is awaiting or is presently in debate on the Senate floor. An Act is defined as a Bill that has achieved passage into Law.

3.) The Dean of the Senate is defined as the serving Senator, who is not the President pro Tempore, with the longest continuous service in the Representative in his or her present stint of service. For the purposes of this clause, continuous service begins at the moment of swearing-in in the first term of the stint of service. The Senate may, by a two-thirds majority vote on an ordinary resolution, pass the title, powers and responsibilities of the Dean of the Senate, to the next longest serving Senate (not having been removed from the position by the Senate previously), for any reason whatsoever.

4.) A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of the Senate that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid, which is defined as a majority of the sitting Senate.


Article 1 : Officers of the Senate

1) The Vice President shall be the President of the Congress

a.) The President of the Congress shall keep a ‘Congressional Noticeboard’, where the  PPT shall update this board with recent events on their respective chamber’s legislation.

b.) The President of the Congress shall also track the activity of legislation of both chambers, by posting an ‘Activity Tracker’ detailing the Congressional slots, Rejected and Passed Legislation, along with the current Congressional queue.

2. The most senior Senator (seniority shall be determined by length of continuous service) who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the Senator chosen by the most senior Senator, shall convene Senate to elect a President pro tempore on the first day of each legislative session and when the office of President pro Tempore is vacant. The Senate shall elect a President Pro Tempore from among its members by majority consent with the Vice President being the tiebreaker. The most senior Senator, who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the Senator chosen by the most senior Senator shall retain the powers and prerogatives as President pro Tempore until the election of the President pro Tempore.

3.) The PPT, after taking his oath of office, must appoint a successor should he or she fall inactive. This successor shall be named the Deputy PPT, and will retain all of the powers of the PPT, if the PPT falls inactive for over 120 hours or is on an LOA.

4.) The President Pro Tempore shall retain the powers and prerogatives as the President of the Congress under the following circumstances:

-A publicly announced absence by the President of the Congress from the Atlas Forum.

- If the President of the Congress has been inactive from the Atlas Forum for seven consecutive days.

- During any period of time when no person is presently holding the office of President of the Congress

-The President of the Congress should be absent by reason of exercising responsibility as Acting President under the Constitution.

-A publicly announced conferral of such powers by the President of the Congress.



Article 2 : Introducing Legislation

1. The President Pro Tempore shall keep a thread on the Fantasy Government board for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the Senate Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Senators may post in this thread. The President pro Tempore shall also keep a separate thread listing all sponsored legislation in the Legislation Introduction Thread.

2.) If the PPT determines that a piece of legislation is functionally impractical, frivolous, or is directly unconstitutional, he may, in a public post on the Legislation Introduction thread, remove said legislation from the Senate floor. The sponsoring Senator of the legislation shall have seventy-two (72) hours to challenge this action in a public post, and with the concurrence of one-third (1/3) of office-holding Senators in the affirmative (excluding the PPT), may override the actions of the PPT. (Nasolation clause)


3.) 15 threads about legislation may be open for voting and debate simultaneously.

a) The first 10 open threads shall be open to all legislations initially regarding bills, resolutions or constitutional amendments. If the sponsor already has two or more pieces legislation on the House floor, legislation from Senators who do not shall take priority until all such other legislation is completed. The PPT shall be the president officer for these open threads.

b) The eleventh open thread shall be reserved for bills submitted by civilians in the Public Consultation and Legislation Submission thread. The PPT shall be the president officer for this open thread.

c) The twelfth, the thirteenth, and the fourteenth open threads shall be reserved for legislation that previously passed the Senate. The President of Congress shall be the presiding officer for these open threads.

d) The fifteenth open thread shall be reserved for legislation related to national emergencies declared by the President of Atlasia. The PPT shall introduce legislation to this thread as directed by the President, but only when the President has declared a state of national emergency.


4.) A legislation is no longer on the Senate Floor when it has been tabled, rejected, or passed by the members of the Senate.

5.) If at any time the original sponsor vacates his office as Senator, all legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread shall, within a week of the next session, be declared withdrawn by the PPT by public post, if no Senator sponsors the legislation. If a piece of legislation has been introduced on the Senate floor, any office-holding Senator may assume sponsorship.

6.) Co-sponsors of legislation under consideration shall have no power to withdraw legislation nor contest withdrawal of legislation by the original sponsor. Any office-holding Senator may assume sponsorship of the legislation within 72 hours after the original sponsor has motioned to withdraw. Once a motion to assume sponsorship has been filed by a Senator, Senators shall have 24 hours to object to this motion. If any Senator objects, the PPT shall open a vote on the motion lasting until a majority has voted for or against the motion, but not more than 72 hours. If the motion is rejected, the bill shall be removed from the floor.

Article 3: Amendments
1.) During the course of debate on legislation, any sitting Senator may offer amendments to the legislation. The President Pro Tempore may remove amendments from consideration that are functionally impractical, frivolous, directly unconstitutional, or lack clear intent regarding the changes to be made. The amendment sponsor shall have 24 hours to object to the decision and may overturn the action with the concurrence of 1/3rd of his fellow Senators. Unless stated otherwise in the amendment, components of the underlying legislation not referenced in an amendment will remain unchanged.

2.) The legislation's primary sponsor shall judge the amendment(s) in relation to their intent with the legislation. If judged friendly by the sponsor, the PPT shall give twenty four hours for objections to the amendment, after which, with no objections having been entered the amendment shall be considered as passed.

3.) If judged hostile by the sponsor, or if a Senator has objected, a vote shall be started by the PPT once the amendment has been on the floor twenty four hours. The vote shall last for three days or until a majority has voted in favor or against the amendment, at which point Senators who have voted shall be prohibited from changing their votes and the vote shall be declared final.

4.) The PPT shall number and track all amendments offered during the course of each Senate session.



Article 4: Debate

1. After a piece of legislation is introduced to the Senate floor, debate shall begin immediately. Debate on the legislation shall last for no less than 72 hours. The Senate may waive the 72-hour requirement on non-controversial legislation by unanimous consent. To waive the 72-hour requirement, the presiding officer must request unanimous consent to waive the minimum debate time requirement and provide 24 hours for a Senator to object to this request. If the 72-hour requirement is waived, the presiding officer shall immediately open a final vote.

2. The sponsor of a piece of legislation may at any time withdraw his or her sponsorship. In addition, when the sponsor is no longer a Senator, his or her sponsorship shall be revoked automatically. If no member of the Senate moves to assume sponsorship of the legislation within 36 hours, the legislation shall be tabled automatically.

3. Any Senators may file a motion to table a piece of legislation during debate. The presiding officer shall open a vote on the motion to table when at least an another Senator has seconded the motion. A two thirds majority is required for the approval of the motion to table.

4. When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 36 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours, any Senators may call for a vote on said legislation. The presiding officer shall open a vote if no other member of the Senate objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote. When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 36 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours but no more than 336 hours, any Senators may motion for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate, the Senate shall end debate. If the legislation has been on the floor for more than 336 hours, a simple majority is needed in order to end the debates. The presiding officer shall then open a final vote.

5) If a bill has been vetoed, a Senator has 24 hours to motion for a veto override. A two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate is needed in order to override a veto.

6) Final Votes and veto overrides votes shall last for a maximum of 3 days (i.e. 72 hours).


Article 5: Confirmation Hearing

1.) Once a nomination is made by the President, it shall be brought to the floor immediately by the President of the Congress. The President of the Congress shall then open a confirmation hearing for presidential nominees immediately following the president's announcement of the nomination.

2.) Each hearing shall last for at least 3 days (i.e. 72 hours). The hearing may be abbreviated according to the unanimous consent rules outlined in Article III: Debate.

3.) The vote shall last for a maximum of three days (72 hours). No Senator shall be prohibited from voting until after the nominee has received enough votes to pass or fail confirmation, at which point vote changes shall be prohibited.


Article 6: Motions to Table

1.) Any Senator can, during a period of debate, with the support of one other Senator, introduce a motion to table the legislation.

2.) The PPT shall open a vote on the motion to table. This vote shall last for a maximum of two (2) days during which time the Senators must vote. Voting may be declared final at any time if the motion to table has been approved or rejected.

3.) For the motion to table to pass, two thirds of those voting (excluding abstentions) must support the motion.

4.) Tabled legislation shall be taken off the Senate floor by the President pro Tempore.


Article 7: Expulsion of a sitting Senator

1)   Expulsion proceedings shall be initiated if:

a)   the Senator has not posted anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours and hasn't posted a valid Leave of Absence (then the time covered by that LOA shall not count toward those 168 hours, but periods of inactivity before and after the LOA shall count as a continuous period, provided there are no interceding posts. In order to be valid, a Leave of Absence shall not be longer than 368 hours). And an article of expulsion has been introduced in the Senate Legislative Introduction Thread.

b)    3 Senators have sponsored an article of expulsion, introduced in the Legislative Introduction Thread, against one of their Senate colleagues

2)   The President Pro Tempore shall open a thread and commence the debates. Debates shall last at least for 72 hours. After the debates have elapsed, the President Pro Tempore shall open a vote, which shall last for 3 days. In order to expel the Senator, a two-third majority of the sitting Senators is needed.

Article 8: Impeachment Trials

1.) After the House has passed an article of impeachment, the Chief Justice shall convene the Senate to try the impeached official.

2.) A two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate is needed in order to  convict any impeached executive or judicial officer of the federal government.

3.) If a Senator objects to the proceedings to a final vote, they may object and require a 3/4ths majority before moving to a Final Vote


Article 9: Congressional Committees and Sessions

1.) A Joint Congressional Session shall be held where the House Speaker, Senate PPT, and President of Congress shall hold meetings on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each Month. If, one of these three leaders cannot attend, the meeting will be postponed until the next scheduled meeting, unless the leaders can negotiate a gathering time before the next meeting. Deputy Leaders may and are encouraged to attend to represent their chamber, but cannot start votes on bills, if their Leader is absent. All members of both Houses are encouraged to attend. If a quorum can be reached, both the PPT and the Speaker may suspend the rules to vote on stalled bills.

2.) If a bill is amended in either Chamber, after being passed by the other chamber, a Conference Committee, made up by the sponsors of the proposed act and the amendments, along with the leaders of both houses and the President of the Congress, shall meet within a week of the proposed act’s passing, to find a compromise bill. This compromise bill, once supported unanimously by the sponsors of both the legislation and the amendments, shall move directly to the President’s desk for a signature or veto.


   Article 10: Rules Disputes

1. The Senate may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Senators.

2. The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Senator objects. If a Senator objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Senators.

3. If the Senate cannot resolve a rules dispute, the Supreme Court of Atlasia may issue a binding decision dictating the proper interpretation.


Article 11: Relationship within the Congress

1.) The President of the Congress shall be in charge of overseeing both chambers and resolving complications between the chambers, and shall be the sole negotiator between either side of the legislative branch.

2.) When a bill passes the Senate, the PPT shall notify the Speaker and the President of the Congress of its passage.

3.) Should similar bills pass through both chambers with conflicting provisions, the Speaker of the House and PPT shall each appoint one member in addition to themselves to serve on a Conference Committee, which shall draft a compromise version of the bill. The bill must then pass both chambers on an up or down vote.

4.) A bill shall be sent to the president after it has been approved by both chambers. The leader of the chamber it most recently passed shall notify the president.

5.) Whenever either house shall vote to pass a bill, order, or resolution that shall have originated in the other, having previously made amendment to the same, the President of the Congress shall immediately call the amended bill to a vote in the house in which it originated. If the original house should then vote to pass the amended bill, it shall proceed to the President; otherwise, the President of the Congress shall instruct the other house either to pass the bill as it stood prior to its amendment by that house, or else reject it entirely.

Atlasian Aid Protection Act

This act hereby safeguards and promotes international, bilateral and multilateral efforts to fund women's healthcare around the World. This act hereby ensures that the freedom of speech for NGOs, and other groups that provide health services shall not be hindered.

(1) This act legislates that recipients of Atlasian aid money shall not be ineligible for such assistance solely on the basis of the health or medical services that said group offers.

(2) This Act also rules that no restrictions shall be placed on the use of aid money that does not come from Atlasian aid, or other Atlasian governmental organizations.

(3) This Act keeps in place the Helms Amendment of 1973, which ensures that Atlasian Aid money shall not directly be used to provide abortion services.

(4.) This Act does recognize the importance of promoting family planning, reproductive health and services, and counseling to women around the world, in order to protect their fundamental human rights.

Baby Box Act
1. The Atlasian Government shall provide baby boxes to the parents of new born children in Atlasia.
2. These boxes shall contain a play mat, a changing mat, a digital thermometer, a fleece jacket, three babygrows, a hooded bath towel, a reusable nappy and liners, a baby book, a feeding bib, a sponge, cot sheets, a mattress and a blanket.
3. The box shall be 70 x 43 x 27 cm in size.
4. The Atlasian Government shall make £360 million available to fund this act.

Common Sense Gun Control Act

1. In order to ensure only mentally sound people are able to own guns:

a) This bill will require all potential gun owners to undergo an effective background check to ensure the person is mentally sound and in no danger of using the weapon to harm others.

b) Private citizens will no longer be allowed to own and purchase military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

c) The ban on assault weapons will be reinstated

d) This bill limits all ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. Armor-piercing ammunition will also be unavailable to private citizens (excepting law enforcement)

2. We will dedicate $150 million [placeholder amount] to gun violence research and research into gun safety technology. Additional money will be set aside for a nationwide gun safety advertising campaign.

3. In order to assure Atlasia's students remain safe:

a) We will provide grants to police departments that hire school resource officers

b) We will dedicated $150 million to school districts to hire school resource officers and mental health professionals

c) Provide $30 million in one-time grants to schools to develop emergency management plans

4. In order to assure Atlasians with mental illnesses receive the best from our government and services:

a) Provide $55 million for new initiative to make sure students get treatment for mental health issues.
 
b) Provide $25 million for strategies supporting individuals ages 16-25 with mental health or substance abuse issues.
 
c) Provide $25 million to offer students mental health services for trauma or anxiety.
 
d) Provide $50 million to train 5,000 additional mental health professionals serving children and young adults.
 
e) Clarify that the health-care law does not prohibit doctors from asking their patients about guns in their homes.
 
f) Launch a national dialogue about mental illness.
 
g) Finalize requirements for private health insurance plans to cover mental health services.

Article I (Bill of Rights)
...
Section 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of their peers in the Region wherein the crime shall have been committed, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses against him them, to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his their favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in his their defense.
...

Article III (The Legislature)
...
Section 2 (The Senate)
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vi. Vacancies in the Senate shall be filled according to the laws of the effected affected Region; but in the absence of such a law, the executive power thereof shall have the authority to appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

Section 3 (The House of Representatives)
...
vi. Vacancies in the House of Representatives shall be filled by the executive of the effected affected Party; but should a vacancy occur as the result of the death, expulsion, or resignation of a Representative not being a member of a major Party, then a special election shall be held to chose choose a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

Section 4 (Rules of Order)
i. Each Houses may adopt rules concerning the discipline and expulsion of its members; but no Senator or Representative shall be expelled but with the concurrence of 2/3 of the members of the effected affected House
...

Section 5 (Legislation)
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iii. Every bill, order, or resolution which shall have passed the Senate and the House of Representatives shall, before it becomes law, be submitted to the judgment of the President. If he they approve of it he they should sign it; but if he they disapproves he they should return the bill to the house in which it originated with his their objections. If, after considering the objections of the President, both houses should by a 2/3 vote agree to pass the same bill, it shall become law regardless of the President's objections.

Article IV (The Executive)
Section 1 (The Executive)
i. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Republic of Atlasia. He They shall hold his their office for a term of four months, together with a Vice President chosen for the same term.
ii. Elections for President shall be held in the months of February, June, and October, in accordance with the measures prescribed by the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia. Each candidate for President shall run jointly with a candidate for Vice President, with whom his their name shall appear jointly on the ballot. A vote for a candidate for President shall be considered a vote for the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the presidential candidate, and accordingly the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the successful candidate for President shall be elected.
...
iv. Upon the commencement of his their term in office, the President shall swear the following oath: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the Republic of Atlasia, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia."

Section 2 (Powers)
i. The President shall have the power, except where limited elsewhere by this Constitution, to grant reprieves and pardons for crimes committed under the laws of the Republic of Atlasia, but Congress may rescind such pardons by a 2/3 vote of the Senate and the House of Representatives;
to introduce legislation into the queue of the Congress;
to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Justices of the Supreme Court;
to establish such executive departments as may be necessary for the execution of the laws, and to appoint their principle principal officers with the advice and consent of the Senate;
to veto acts of Congressional legislation, and to exercise a line-item veto over the budget;
to appoint the vice president in the event of a vacancy in that office;
to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Atlasia; and
to make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Section 3 (The Vice Presidency)
...
ii. Whenever the President shall submit his their written declaration to the presiding officer of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he is they are unable to discharge the powers and duties of his their office, and until he they shall submit a declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties will be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
iii. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of the principle principal officers of the executive departments shall submit their written declaration to the presiding officer of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his their office, such powers and duties will be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President until such time as the President should submit his their declaration to the contrary.

Article V (The Judiciary)
Section 1 (The Judiciary)
...
iii. The chief executive officer of each of the several Regions shall nominate from among his their constituents a candidate for Associate Justice. Upon the assent of a majority of the legislative power thereof, the nomination shall proceed to the President: if he they approve of the nomination he they should grant his their Assent and the nominee shall assume the office of Associate Justice; but if he they disapprove he they should veto it and the nomination will be annulled. If then two thirds of the Senate should vote to override the President's veto, the nominee shall take office regardless of the opinion of the President.
...
v. The President shall designate a Chief Justice from among the appointed Justices, who shall continue in that capacity until such time as he they shall resign the designation, or else cease to be a member of the Supreme Court.

Article VII (The Union)
Section 1 (Reciprocity)
...
iii. A person charged in any Region with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another Region, shall on demand of the executive authority of the Region from which he they fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the Region having jurisdiction of the crime.

Article VIII (Supremacy & Qualifications)
...
Section 2 (Qualifications for Officeholders)
...
ii. No person shall be elected to multiple offices under this Constitution, nor occupy the office of Justice or Associate Justice simultaneously with any other public office; but members of Congress shall be eligible to serve as the principle principal officers of such executive departments as may be established by law.

Student Loan Reform Act
1. Total federal student loan disbursements shall be capped at $10,000 per year per individual in absence of the presence of a co-maker or endorser on the note.

2. Debt owed on student loans shall be dischargeable in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy without the need to prove undue hardship.
     a. This shall apply to student loans that have already been disbursed.

3. The provisions of this bill will go into effect on July 1, 2018.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the Flint Reinvestment Act.

SECTION 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WRAP-AROUND SERVICES, AND HEALTH MONITORING

The following shall be appropriated to the state of Michigan for the repair and development of the city of Flint, under the condition that matching funds are provided by the government of the state of Michigan:

Infrastructure Repairs - $385 million ($770 million total with state match):

Replacing Lead Service Lines - Direct grants shall be awarded to the city of Flint for any activities deemed necessary by the Atlasian Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the city of Flint’s drinking water does not contain high lead levels. This includes repair and/or replacement of public and private water service lines, inspection of public and/or private water service lines, and corrosion control programs to optimization public and/or private water service lines.

Loan Forgiveness - Eliminates the current cap of 20% of state Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF) that can be used on loan forgiveness and allows the state of Michigan to forgive existing DWSRF loans made to the city of Flint

Wrap-Around Services for Flint Families and Children Exposed to Lead - $235 million ($470 million total with state match)

Atlasian Department of Health and Human Services - $135 million ($270 million total with state match):

- $125 million for Head Start and Early Start for Flint children exposed to lead
- $5 million for school based health centers in all Flint schools
- $5 million for mental health services for Flint families and children dealing with lead exposure

Atlasian Department of Education - $90 million ($180 million total with state match):

- $25 million for reduced class sizes, hire additional school personnel, and fund improvements to Flint school buildings;
- $25 million for city-wide after-school programs for Flint children exposed to lead
- $25 million for expanded PELL Grants to support additional college access for Flint youth
- $5 million for special education services
- $5 million for career and technical education
- $5 million to create a ‘Promise Neighborhood’ program in Flint (provides funding to support eligible entities, including (1) nonprofit organizations, which may include faith-based nonprofit organizations, (2) institutions of higher education, and (3) Indian tribes)

Atlasian Department of Agriculture - The Secretary of the Interior shall allow the Agriculture Department to expand Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to areas where a federal state of emergency has been declared.

Atlasian Department of Housing and Urban Development - $5 million ($10 million total with state match):

- $5 million for lead prevention programs

Atlasian Department of Justice - $5 million ($10 million total with state match):

- $5 million for juvenile delinquency prevention programs

Economic Development - $45 million ($90 million total with state match):

Atlasian Department of Labor - $20 million ($40 million total with state match):

- $10 million for expanded youth employment opportunities for Flint youth
- $10 million for workforce training, literacy and apprenticeship grants

Atlasian Department of Commerce - $25 million ($50 million total with state match):

- $12.5 million for economic development assistance programs for the city of Flint
- $12.5 million for minority business development programs

Health Monitoring - $100 million ($200 million total with state match):

The Atlasian Department of Health and Human Services shall establish a Center of Excellence on Lead Exposure in Flint, and appropriate funding over 10 years for the center’s operation.  The Center of Excellence on Lead Exposure in Flint may:

- Create a health registry to monitor and track Flint families and children exposed to lead
- Establish an advisory committee to provide scientific testing and technical support
- Research behavioral and health impacts, including mitigation efforts from lead exposure
- Require twice-annual reporting to Flint community on research conducted

Whereas, Atlasia has a long history of confirmed participation in regime change in foreign sovereign nations.

Whereas, Atlasia funded and participated in actions to remove Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh from power for wishing to nationalize the oil industry, forcing him to spend the rest of his life in house arrest.

Whereas, Atlasia equipped rebels to overthrow Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz when his policies contradicted the interests of the United Fruit Company.

Whereas, Atlasia deeply involved itself in plans to capture and execute Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

Whereas, Atlasia provided military equipment and weapons for the ouster of Brazilian President João Goulart, which led to a series of juntas for several decades.

Whereas, Atlasia supported Augusto Pinochet in his overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende, despite full knowledge of Pinochet's severe human rights abuses.

Whereas, government involvement in the overthrow of legitimate and democratically elected foreign governments is an affront to the sovereignty of nations and to human dignity.

Whereas, all of these incidents led to the installment of dictators who would go on to deprive millions of people of basic human rights.

Whereas, all of these incidents severely set back the development of democratic, social, and economic institutions in these countries.

RESOLVED by the Congress of Atlasia assembled.

1. Acknowledges the historical significance of this event which resulted in the suppression of the inherent sovereignty of the peoples of Iran, Guatemala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, and Chile;

2. Apologizes to Iranians, Guatemalans, Congolese, Brazilians, and Chileans on behalf of the people of the Atlasia for the overthrow of their respective governments with the participation of agents and citizens of Atlasia, and the deprivation of the rights of their citizens to self-determination;

3. Expresses its commitment to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of these governments, in order to provide a proper foundation for reconciliation between Atlasia and the peoples of Iran, Guatemala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, and Chile;

4. Condemns the decisions and actions taken by former Atlasian presidents which led to the overthrow of these governments; and

5. Urges the President of Atlasia to also acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the governments of Iran, Guatemala, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, and Chile and to support reconciliation efforts between the Atlasia and the peoples of their nations.

DISCLAIMER.

Nothing in this Joint Resolution is intended to serve as a settlement of any claims against Atlasia.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the College For All Act.

SECTION 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL TUITION GRANT PROGRAM

a. The federal government shall hereby authorize such sums as may be necessary to provide, in each region, for the elimination of tuition and required fees for all students currently enrolled or planning to enroll in a 2-year community college in the region in which the individual is currently a resident, as well as all working and middle-class students attending 4-year public institutions of higher education in the region in which the individual is currently a resident.
   i. “Working and middle-class students” is defined as those dependent students whose parents’ adjusted gross income for the most recent taxable year is equal to or less than $125,000, as well as those independent students whose adjusted gross income is equal to or less than $125,000 for the most recent taxable year.
   ii. These figures shall be adjusted annually in accordance with growth in the National Average Wage Index.
b. In pursuance of this goal, each region shall be eligible to receive a monetary grant equivalent to 67 percent of the amount required to eliminate tuition and fees, conditional upon the provision of regional funds to eliminate 33 percent of tuition and fees.
   i. “The amount required to eliminate tuition and fees” shall be equivalent to the number of full-time equivalent eligible students enrolled in all community colleges and public 4-year institutions, multiplied by the amount of expenditures per full-time equivalent eligible student necessary to eliminate tuition and required fees.
   ii. In addition, public institutions of higher education may not charge non-eligible in-region students or out of region students an amount exceeding the marginal cost of attendance.

SECTION 3. PROGRAM CONDITIONS

a. In order to be eligible to receive grants under this legislation, regions must ensure that public institutions of higher education maintain expenditures on education per full-time equivalent student at levels that are equal to or exceed the expenditures on education for the 2016-17 school year.
   i. “Expenditures on education” shall include expenditures on instruction, operating expenditures, and both regional and institutional expenditures on need-based financial aid programs.
b. In order to be eligible to receive grants under this legislation, regions must further ensure that, within 5 years, not less than 75 percent of instruction at public institutions of higher education is provided by tenured or tenure-track faculty.
c. Excess funding under this legislation may be used on any programs that improve instructional quality and academic outcomes, including additional need-based student financial aid, additional course offering, increased hiring of full-time and tenure-track faculty, and academic support services. No funding under this legislation may be used for capital outlays, administrative salaries, or expenditures on athletics.
d. Adoption of regional policies designed to deliberately reduce enrollment in public institutions of higher education shall result in the forfeiture of all grants under this legislation.

A Constitutional Amendment

Article IV Section 1 (The Executive)

1. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Republic of Atlasia. He shall hold his office for a term of four months, together with a Vice President chosen for the same term.

2. Elections for President shall be held in the months of February, June, and October, in accordance with the measures prescribed by the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia. Each candidate for President shall run jointly with a candidate for Vice President, with whom his name shall appear jointly on the ballot. A vote for a candidate for President shall be considered a vote for the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the presidential candidate, and accordingly the candidate for Vice President whose name appears on the ballot with the successful candidate for President shall be elected.

3. No person shall be President or Vice President who has not attained 500 or more posts, nor whose account is not at least 4,320 hours old, nor is not a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia.

4. Upon the commencement of his term in office, the President shall swear the following oath: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the Republic of Atlasia, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia."

5. No president shall serve more than two consecutive terms.  Presidents who have served two consecutive terms shall again be eligible for election to the presidency after a period of eight months upon completion of his or her second term.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ACT.

SECTION 2. PRISONERS' RIGHTS

a. All individuals have the right to not face torture or other forms of physical and mental abuse by any Atlasian law enforcement or military officer, no matter their nationality or criminal history.
b. No inmate may be restricted to solitary confinement for more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period.
c. All inmates have the right to access heated spaces when temperatures inside the prison go below 50°F and to access air conditioning when above 80°F.
d. All prisons and jails must consider an inmate’s gender identity and views on where they would feel safest when choosing whether to assign an inmate to a men’s or women’s unit. No jail or prison may assign prisoners to men’s or women’s units solely based on their anatomy at birth.

SECTION 3. DRUG LAW REFORM

a. All individuals federally charged with drug possession or other nonviolent drug-related offenses shall be permitted to have their case reviewed through a drug court, provided they have an established substance abuse problem.
b. The drug court shall design a program of at least six months to attempt to render the individual substance-free.
c. Upon successful completion of a suitable program as determined by the drug court, the individual will be immune to prosecution for that specific offense.
d. Should the individual fail to complete the program, they will be subject to prosecution on the original criminal charges.
e. The drug court shall have discretion to determine “failure,” and may consider other sanctions for violations of the program’s protocols as determined by the judge.

Whereas approximately twelve million enslaved people were brought from Africa to the Americas;

Whereas those that survived the journey were subjected to torture, rape, separation from their families, and the degradation inherent to the institution of slavery;

Whereas slavery was abolished in those lands under the control of the federal government by the Emancipation Proclamation and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment;

Whereas on June 19th, 1865, General Gordon Granger announced the emancipation of the last remaining slaves in the nation;

Whereas those African-Americans who had been slaves in Texas celebrated June 19th as the anniversary of their emancipation;

Whereas this tradition has been handed down by their descendants from generation to generation;

Whereas June 19th has been celebrated for over 150 years to honor all those who endured the barbarity of slavery and to celebrate the abolition of that institution; and

Whereas the strength and determination of African-American slaves stands as an example to Atlasians of all colors, creeds, cultures, and religions: Now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Congress of Atlasia assembled,

That June 19 be commemorated as a day of remembrance and reflection on African-American history and heritage and a celebration of freedom, and be designated "Juneteenth," a national holiday.

A Resolution to Ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Resolved, (a majority of the Senators present concurring therein),

SECTION 1. SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT SUBJECT TO A DECLARATION.

The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13, 2006, and signed by the United States of America on June 30, 2009.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the Veterans’ Dental Health Act.

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE ACTION
a. The exclusions of dental care established in 38 U.S. Code § 1710(c), 38 U.S. Code § 1712(a) and (b), and 38 U.S. Code § 2062 are hereby struck.
b. Dental care, including dental appliances and dentures, shall be furnished by the Department of Internal Affairs in the same manner as any other service.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the Prescription Drug Transparency Act.

SECTION 2. PHARMACEUTICAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
a. All manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs and biological products approved by the Food and Drug Administration shall submit to the Secretary of Internal Affairs an annual report outlining, with respect to each drug:
   i. The total expenditures of the manufacturer, including an itemized description of domestic and foreign drug research and development, a description of the cost of goods sold broken out by source and cost of each component, acquisition costs in total and per unit sold (including costs for the purchase of patents and licensing), and a breakdown of the cost of marketing and advertising.
   ii. The gross and net revenue and the gross and net profit of the manufacturer.
   iii. The total number of units sold in the previous calendar year.
   iv. Pricing information, including the cost of wholesale acquisition, the net average price realized by pharmacy benefit managers, and the net price of the drug charged to purchasers in each OECD nation where the drug is sold.
   v. Any federal benefits received by the manufacturer, including the amounts and periods of impact for each such benefit.
   vi. A description of patient assistance programs offered, sponsored by, or associated with the manufacturer, including a discussion of the specific forms of such patient assistance available, the dollar value of each program per patient and in total, the average duration of such programs, the number of individuals participating in such programs, and complete documentation of the terms and conditions of participation in such programs.
   vii. The percentage of research and development expenditures conducted by the manufacturer, as well as the percentage of such expenditures conducted by federal entities, and the percentage conducted by other entities (such as academic institutions or other manufacturers)
b. All manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs and biological products approved by the Food and Drug Administration shall include in this report executive compensation for the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and the three other most highly compensated officers, including bonuses and stock options.
c. These reports shall be submitted by the Secretary to the Congress, and made publicly available in a searchable online format.
d. Any manufacturer that fails to submit a complete report required under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $200,000 for each day on which the violation continues.

Draft Restriction Amendment

Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution is amended:

Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes of which the accused has been duly convicted, shall exist within the Republic of Atlasia, nor in any place under its jurisdiction, nor may any draft or other form of compulsory service be instituted, except with the consent of two-thirds of sitting members of Congress in a joint session thereof.

2. Whenever either house shall vote to pass a bill, order, or resolution that shall have originated in the other, having previously made amendment to the same, the President of the Congress shall immediately call the amended bill to a vote in the house in which it originated. If the original house should then vote to pass the amended bill, it shall proceed to the President; otherwise, the President of the Congress shall instruct the other house either to pass the bill as it stood prior to its amendment by that house, or else reject it entirely the bill shall be rejected.

The AtlasiaPlays Initiative of 2017

I. Due to rising child obesity rates and an overall decline the youth activity in organized sports, the Federal Government of Atlasia hereby allocates $350 million to each region for the purpose of creating programs to involve youth in organized sports.

II. The regions may choose to match or allocate a smaller amount of funds towards this project.

III. "Organized sports" shall be defined as local leagues for basketball, baseball, soccer, football, hockey, tennis, swimming, track and field, or any other team sport.

IV. The regions shall allocate the funds towards purchasing equipment and maintaining fields of play for these sports.

V. If a family cannot afford equipment for a particular sport, but still wishes for their child to become involved, the region will use the allocated funds to purchase the equipment for the child.

VI. At least 5% of the allocated funds must be used to implement healthy living initiatives within the region, such as television or radio advertisements, posters, or school programs.

VII. This legislation shall take effect immediately upon passage.

1. The candidacy declaration deadline for regular elections to the House shall be twenty-four seventy-two hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the House shall be twenty-four hours before the commencement of the election.

2. A candidate for a regular or special election to the House may withdraw their candidacy up to twenty-four seventy-two hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election.

3. The candidacy declaration deadline for full tickets of a Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate to declare shall be seven days before the earliest possible commencement of the election. However, should the Vice-Presidential candidate withdraw their candidacy, then the Presidential candidate may nominate a new Vice-Presidential candidate up to seventy-two hours before the commencement of the election.

4. In all cases, the assent of both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate shall be necessary for them to appear together as a ticket on the ballot.

5. A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election may only run as part of one ticket, indicating such in the Candidate Declaration Thread, or through his or her vote in the case of a write-in candidacy.  A declared or write-in candidate in a presidential election must have a declared Vice Presidential candidate in order to be a valid candidate.

Section 2 (Qualifications for Officeholders)
i. The officers of the Republic of Atlasia, and of the several Regions, shall be bound by Oath of Affirmation to support this Constitution, but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Republic of Atlasia.
ii. No person shall be elected to multiple offices under this Constitution, nor occupy the office of Justice or Associate Justice simultaneously with any other public office, including offices of political parties; but members of Congress shall be eligible to serve as the principle officers of such executive departments as may be established by law.

1. Any member of the game may deregister from the game by posting their deregistration in the new register thread. Deregistrations not put in the new register thread shall not be counted as valid by the register general office.  
2. Members may not deregister 24 hours before or after and during any election they are eligible to vote in; including regional and special elections.
3. Members shall have 48 hours to revoke their deregistration without penalty. Revoking of deregistration must be done by the person deregistering and be posted in the new register thread.
4. After 48 hours have passed for a valid deregistration which the individual posting has not revoked; the individual shall be removed from the voting role by the RG and any office held shall be declared vacant.
5. Members that have been removed from the voter rolls may reregister in 60 days after their deregistration came into effect. Any move restrictions between regions still count towards the person deregistered.

6. This act is to come into effect upon signature of the President and will only effect future deregistrations from the point this bill act becomes law.

Section 1: Preserving Native Atlasian History
1. $10 million shall be allocated annually to the Native Atlasian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
2. This funding shall be used by the museum in order to complete construction, maintain the facility, acquire artifacts or items for exhibits, provide educational opportunities at the museum, and/or to facilitate trips to the museum from members of federally recognized Native Atlasian, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native tribes.

Section 2: Rehabilitating Native Atlasian Languages
1. Recognizing the importance of languages for the preservation of Native Atlasian culture and history, and the importance of language to the identity and self worth of Native Atlasian, the Atlasian government shall make three-year educational grants available to eligible Native Atlasian language nests and Native Atlasian language schools, from an annual allocation of $5 million to be administered by the office of SoIA. Languages from all federally recognized Native Atlasian, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native tribes are eligible for these grants.
2. An eligible language nest shall meet the following criteria:
    a. Provide instruction and child care through the use of a Native Atlasian language for at least 10 children under the age of seven for an average of at least 500 hours per year per student.
    b. Provide classes in the language for the parents of such students.
    c. Use the language as the dominant medium of instruction in the nest.
3. An eligible Native Atlasian language school shall meet the following criteria:
    a. Provide an average of at least 500 hours of instruction per year per student through the use of at least one Native Atlasian language for at least 15 students for whom the school is their principal school.
    b. Develop instructional courses and materials that service the goal of making all students fluent in such language(s) and proficient in mathematics, reading, science and history.
    c. Fund training opportunities for teachers of the language(s).
    d. Offer activities that promote Native Atlasian language education and development.
    e. Integrate Native Atlasian language instruction through technology such as social media.
    f. Schools may be public, private, tribal, or nonprofit organization, so long as they demonstrate a plan to develop and maintain, or to improve and expand, programs that support teaching Native Atlasian languages.
    g. Be located in areas having high concentrations of Native Atlasian students.
4. Grant applications shall include the name of the Native Atlasian language, demonstrated capacity of the nest or school to teach the language or languages in question, and a certification from a Federally recognized tribe, or a letter from any Native Atlasian entity, on whose land the nest or school is located, or which is served by such nest or school, indicating that the nest or school has the capacity to provide education primarily through a Native Atlasian language and that there are sufficient speakers of such Native Atlasian language(s) at the nest or school or available to be hired by the nest or school.
5. Professional linguists may also apply for grants for research and teaching projects with the purpose of preserving or studying Native Atlasian languages, so long as they demonstrate the efficacy of their research toward the pursuit of Native Atlasian language preservation.

Section 3: Facilitating the Restoration of Sacred Objects to Native Atlasian Tribes
1. Individuals are eligible to receive a tax deduction for 100 percent of the fair market value of a Sacred Object furnished to an Native Atlasian tribe.
2. Individuals may receive compensation from the tribe in an amount equal to the fair market value of the Sacred Object minus the value of the federal tax deduction.
3. Compensation received by individuals from the tribe shall not qualify as “income” for tax purposes.

Section 4: Respecting Native Atlasian Religious and Spiritual Traditions
1. Native Atlasian religions shall be federally recognized for the purpose of any federal laws concerning the protection or accommodation of Atlasian religious or spiritual traditions.

In response to the attacks and threats by North Korea, be it resolved that Atlasia will work with the Chinese government to:

1. Supply 30,000 ground troops to fight alongside the Chinese and South Korean military against North Korea.
2. Engage in unilateral free trade between China and Atlasia.
3. Disarm 35% of Atlasian nuclear weapons.
4. No longer engage in Asian conflicts so long as freedom of the seas is maintained.
5. Contribute $300,000,000,000 to help in rebuilding North Korea following the end of the conflict.
6. Support China's efforts to remove the current North Korean leadership and aid in the transition of power for new leadership.

Section 1: Definitions and Conditions
1. Sex work is hereby defined as any sexual activity between two or more persons in which monetary payment is expected in return for any kind of sexual favor or activity. Not included in the definition are already legal forms of paid sexual activity, such as stripping or pornography.
2. All legislation currently existing which prohibits sex work or interferes with the free exercise of paid sexual activity are hereby repealed.
3. All sexual acts with sex workers must be consensual. Sex workers may refuse to partake in any sexual act or discontinue any service to a client at any time, provided that the client is refunded for any breach of contract. Clients may also discontinue any service at anytime, with any refunds determined by brothel or sex worker policies.
4. Sex workers shall be considered an occupation, including any protections related to any Atlasian laws concerning employees' rights, labor protections, welfare programs, or non-discrimination.
5. People found to be working as free lance sex workers shall be provided information about local brothels they could join but may not be required or compelled to do so.

Section 2: Sex Worker Regulations
1. Persons will be required to apply for a license through their county courthouse to engage in sex work. To apply for a license, the person in question must have been free of all sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for at least ninety days and be over the age of eighteen. The application and licensing process will require an STI test and a valid birth certificate, as well as a criminal background check. Once the applicant has finished this process, he or she will be issued a license by his or her local county clerk and will be allowed to engage in the sale of sexual services for a period of ninety-days. Once the ninety day period is up, sex workers will be required to have an additional STI test before being eligible to continue work. If they are unable to pass the test, they will have their license revoked for a period of ninety-days. After the ninety-day period is up, they will be allowed to take another STI test, unless the infection in question is incurable, in which case they will be unable to reapply for a sex worker license.
2. Sex workers will be required by law to carry their licenses on them at all times, or will be prohibited from working. Sex workers will be required by law to surrender their licenses to law enforcement officers on demand. Sex workers found in violation of this provision will be unable to work for a period of ninety-days.
3. Sex workers will be required to be in possession of at least one form of contraception while working. Any person who requests the use of contraception or requests a sex worker to use contraception may request a refund if not available. Sex workers found in violation of this provision will be unable to work for a period of ninety-days and will have to undergo additional STI testing.
4. Sex workers will be required to report their income upon renewal of their license, that is, every ninety-days. Sex workers' income will be taxed as any other income, with an applicable sales tax levied on all transactions performed.
5. No Sex worker may engage in the sale of sexual services with any person under the age of eighteen.

Section 3: Brothel Regulations
1. Sex worker co-operatives shall be permitted by law, as shall privately owned brothels and publicly owned brothels.
2. A brothel is hereby defined as any establishment in which the sale of sexual services is conducted or permitted by law.
3. Brothels shall be subject to regulation and inspection in the interest of sex workers, public health, and the community as a whole. Sex workers employed by brothels shall be allowed to organize unions and collectively bargain with their employers, be they public or private. Regulations mentioned in Section 2 shall apply to sex workers employed by brothels as well. Brothels shall be required to keep licensing information, STI testing information, and all other documentation on their premises, and will be responsible for reporting income in a timely manner, as would any other business.
4. All brothels and sex workers must sign an individual contract detailing the terms of their employment, and no sex worker may be terminated for refusing to engage in services not detailed in their contract.

Section 4: Zoning Restrictions
1. Brothels shall be prohibited from being built within one-mile of churches, schools and other academic institutions. However, brothels shall not be required to move if such places are built near an already existing brothel establishment.
2. Localities may restrict public advertisement for sex workers or brothels but sex workers shall not be prohibited from advertising their services through speech or personal conversations.

Section 1: Title and Definition
1. This Act may be cited as the "Gun Control Expansion Act of 2017".
2. For the purposes of this act, "citizens" shall refer to citizens of the Republic of Atlasia.
3. For the purposes of this act, assault weapons shall be defined as semi-automatic firearms with a high-capacity magazine.
4. For the purposes of this act, high-capacity magazines shall be defined as magazines that are capable of holding at least 10 rounds of ammunition.

Section 2: Gun Restrictions
1. All citizens must acquire a permit issued by the Republic of Atlasia to purchase a firearm.
2. After the purchase of a firearm, all citizens must register said firearm with the Republic of Atlasia.
3. No citizen shall possess or sell any form of assault weapon.
   a. A buyback program shall be established in which citizens shall be refunded the full cost of each assault weapon turned over to the Republic of Atlasia.
4. No citizen shall possess or sell any high-capacity magazine that is capable of holding at least 10 rounds of ammunition.
   a. A buyback program shall be established in which citizens shall be refunded the full cost of each high-capacity magazine turned over to the Republic of Atlasia.
5. All citizens shall be subject to a 10 day waiting period after the purchase of a firearm.
6. All citizens must acquire a permit issued by the Republic of Atlasia to carry a firearm in public.
   a. This applies for both open carry and concealed carry
7. All individuals on the No Fly List of the Republic of Atlasia shall be banned from purchasing firearms.

Section 3: Background Checks
1. All citizens must undergo background checks before being issued a permit by the Republic of Atlasia to purchase a firearm.
2. All citizens must undergo background checks before being issued a permit by the Republic of Atlasia to carry a firearm in public.

Section 4: Punishment
1. It shall be illegal and prohibited to violate any of the restrictions laid out in Section 2 of this Act. All citizens who violate any of the said restrictions shall be subject to prosecution by the Republic of Atlasia or by the various regional governments.

Section 5: Implementation
1. This act shall go into effect 1 year after passage so that all businesses and individuals affected by the act shall have ample time to meet all the restrictions.

Resolved, (a majority of the Senators present concurring therein),

SECTION 1. SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT SUBJECT TO A DECLARATION.

The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 3, 1981, and signed by Atlasia on July 7, 1980.

People's Regional Senate
Pending

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the Act to establish a 72-hour Window between House Candidacy Declarations and Federal Elections

SECTION 2. AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL ELECTORAL ACT

1. Section 8 of the Federal Electoral Act (https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Federal_Electoral_Act) is hereby amended:

People's Regional Senate
Pending

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Atlasian People's House of Representatives
Pending

Thibodaux 1887 Memorial Act

1.) A National Memorial is hereby commissioned by the Federal Government to the approximately 60 lives lost during the 1887 Massacre in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

2.) $250,000 in federal funding is put aside for the pay for the memorial, with matching funds from private donations and sources.

3.) $25,000 in federal funding is allocated to the 1887 Memorial Committee for an archaeological survey to learn more about the victims of the 1887 Massacre.

4.) The Reconstruction Remembrance Fund is hereby set up to remember and honor the history of Post-Civil War civil rights leaders during the Reconstruction era.

Care for Veterans Act

1) Definitions

a) The term ‘covered mental and behavioral health care’ means the same types of medical services given to individuals with service-connected mental or behavioral health conditions.

b) The term ‘covered offense’ means an offense for which an individual is discharged or separated from the active military, naval, or air service under conditions other than honorable but not a dishonorable discharge.

c) The term ‘qualified mental health care provider’ means a licensed or certified health care provider whose scope of practice includes diagnosing mental or behavioral health conditions and includes physicians, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors.

2) Honoring the service of all those people who have the courage to serve their country and recognizing the seriousness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injuries, and Military Sexual Trauma on decision making processes, Congress hereby directs the department of veterans' affairs under the umbrella of the Secretary of Internal Affairs to grant mental and behavioral health care for certain individuals discharged or released from the active military, naval, or air service under conditions other than honorable.

3) For the purposes of this act, an eligible individual is either of the following:

a)  An individual who served in the active military, naval, or air service for a period of more than 180 days and was deployed in a theater of combat operations or hostile environment for a period of more than 30 days; was discharged or released from service by reason of committing a covered offense; and was diagnosed by a qualified mental health care provider with a mental or behavioral health condition before committing the covered offense.

b) An individual who served in the active military, naval, or air service for a period of more than 180 days and was deployed in a theater of combat operations or hostile environment for a period of more than 30 days; was discharged or released from service by reason of committing a covered offense; is diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition after committing such covered offense but before the expiration of the five-year period beginning on the later of—the date of the enactment of the Care for Veterans Act; or the date on which the individual is discharged or released from service; submits to the Secretary a certification from a qualified mental health care provider that the provider believes the condition may have led the individual to commit the offense; and is determined by the Secretary to have had a mental or behavioral health condition at the time the individual committed the covered offense that contributed to the commission of the offense.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the Free Higher Education for Atlasia Act.

SECTION 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL TUITION GRANT PROGRAM

a. The federal government shall hereby authorize such sums as may be necessary to provide, in each region, for the elimination of tuition and required fees for all students currently enrolled or planning to enroll in a 2-year community college in the region in which the individual is currently a resident, as well as all working and middle-class students attending 4-year public institutions of higher education in the region in which the individual is currently a resident.
   i. “Working and middle-class students” is defined as those dependent students whose parents’ adjusted gross income for the most recent taxable year is equal to or less than $130,000, as well as those independent students whose adjusted gross income is equal to or less than $130,000 for the most recent taxable year.
b. In pursuance of this goal, each region shall be eligible to receive a monetary grant equivalent to 65 percent of the amount required to eliminate tuition and fees, conditional upon the provision of regional funds to eliminate 35 percent of tuition and fees.
   i. “The amount required to eliminate tuition and fees” shall be equivalent to the number of full-time equivalent eligible students enrolled in all community colleges and public 4-year institutions, multiplied by the amount of expenditures per full-time equivalent eligible student necessary to eliminate tuition and required fees.
   ii. These figures shall be adjusted annually in accordance with growth in the National Average Wage Index.
        iii. Should growth in tuition and fees exceed growth in the National Average Wage Index, regional governments shall be responsible for providing for the excess. Federal grants are contingent on the maintenance of the tuition-free status of the college.
        iv. In addition, public institutions of higher education may not charge non-eligible in-region students or out of region students an amount exceeding the marginal cost of attendance.
b. The federal tuition grant program with the expenditure required to make higher education free for all Atlasians as appropriated and defined in the above clause and sub-clauses shall come into effect on September 1, 2018.

SECTION 3. PROGRAM CONDITIONS

a. In order to be eligible to receive grants under this legislation, regions must ensure that public institutions of higher education maintain expenditures on education per full-time equivalent student at levels that are equal to or exceed the expenditures on education for the 2016-17 school year.
   i. “Expenditures on education” shall include expenditures on instruction, operating expenditures, and both regional and institutional expenditures on need-based financial aid programs.
b. In order to be eligible to receive grants under this legislation, regions must further ensure that, within 5 years, not less than 75 percent of instruction at public institutions of higher education is provided by tenured or tenure-track faculty.
c. Excess funding under this legislation may be used on any programs that improve instructional quality and academic outcomes, including additional need-based student financial aid, additional course offering, increased hiring of full-time and tenure-track faculty, and academic support services. No funding under this legislation may be used for capital outlays, administrative salaries, or expenditures on athletics.
d. Adoption of regional policies designed to deliberately reduce enrollment in public institutions of higher education shall result in the forfeiture of all grants under this legislation.
SECTION 4: FUNDING FOR THE TUITION GRANT PROGRAM
a. A surcharge of 4% shall be instituted on taxpayers whose adjusted gross income in the most recent taxable year is equal to or greater than $5,000,000.
b. A 'risk fee' shall be imposed on financial institutes with assets equal to or greater than $50,000,000,000.
i.The level of the fee shall be determined by Securities and Exchanges Commission(SEC), with a minimum fee of 1% of the bank's assets.
ii. The fee shall be adjusted based on the level of debt held by a financial institution relative to its assets, with SEC regulators establishing a higher fee for those institutions with higher debt to assets, or depending on the amount of short-term funding used by institutions, with a greater proportion of funding being short-term being penalized under this legislation.
iii. The maximum risk fee imposed shall be 8% of the assets of a financial institution.
iv. While the SEC shall enjoy discretion within the parameters of this legislation in deciding the specific risk fee leveled against a financial institution, Congress shall have the right to review the risk fee process annually and file a report to the President giving feedback on the risk fee process.
c. The funding measures imposed in this bill shall come into effect immediately upon the passage of this legislation through Congress and its authorization into law.

War Powers Amendment:

Article III of the Constitution shall be amended to read the following:


Article IV, Section 2.1 of the Constitution shall be amended to read the following:

Reforming Presidential Pardons Amendment:

Article IV, Section 2.1 of the Constitution is amended as follows:

Office Reduction Amendment:

Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution is amended as follows:


Special Provision: This Amendment to the Constitution will take effect at the next scheduled election for the House of Representatives after ratification.

Farewell to the Vice-Presidency Amendment:

Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution is amended as follows:


Article III, Section 6 of the Constitution is amended as follows:


Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution is amended as follows:


Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution is amended as follows:

An End to Privateering Amendment:

Article III, Section 6.7 of the Constitution is amended as follows:


Article III, Section 8 of the Constitution is amended as follows:

                                                           SENATE BILL
                                               To reform the federal prison system.

                             Be it enacted by the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia assembled.

The Atlasian Federal Election  A E S T H E T I C  Act, 2018

Section 1:  Make Elections A E S T H E T I C

I:  To make the following the Official Theme for all Atlasian Federal Elections:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szBdDC5PlI4

Cheaper Flights ACT
1. Foreign airlines shall be allowed to operate domestically within Atlasia as long as they are approved to fly in Atlasia by the NTSB. Foreign airlines that fly domestically in Atlasia must follow all rules and regulations that Domestic airlines do.
2. This bill shall take effect immediately upon passage.

 

1. This bill shall have something similar to what the South had a couple years ago, a “jobs.gov” bill.
2. Each “jobs.gov” shall be regional, for example the South’s website was “jobs.gov.s” so Fremont and Lincoln’s websites would be “jobs.gov.f”, and “jobs.gov.l”, respectively.
3. Both federal, and private employers would be able to post job listings, but with more specific pay, location, and requirement listings.
4. Each job category would be categorized for example, such as “Plumbing” or “Landscaping” or “Construction”.
5. We shall allocate one million dollars to each region to create a jobs.gov website.
6. This bill has the intention of building up the whole Atlasian economy and lowering unemployment, by doing it in sections specific to each region.