Talk Elections

Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2016

1. The Republic of Atlasia, hereby declares the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in conjunction with other countries that already have including Russia and Egypt.

2. The Muslim Brotherhood has called for the destruction of Atlasia and its allies and the call for a so called "global jihad."

3. The Republic of Atlasia hereby freezes all money or supplies given to the Muslim Brotherhood if there are any and indefinitely immediately after the passage of this bill.

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.
...

Freedom to Donate Act of 2016

1. All men and women regardless of sexual orientation, gender orientation, race, color, creed or religion are hereby allowed to donate blood to a local, regional or national blood bank in the Republic of Atlasia as long as they do not carry any diseases that can be transferred through bodily fluids.

2. A National Blood Database Center is to be hereby opened to collect information about the health of the blood and to track the whereabouts of all blood donated in the Republic of Atlasia.

3. Before donating blood all citizens will be required to fill out a form about their sexual past. The forms are to include if the donator has previously had or currently has a sexually transmitted disease or a disease involving blood or bodily fluids ex. Ebola.

4. If someone recieves blood and recieves HIV/AIDS because of the blood donation they are able to sue the donator of the blood as long as that information is held by the National Blood Database Center.

5. This act goes in effect on October 15, 2016 because of the construction of the National Blood Database Center and software development.

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 the federal government of the Republic of Atlasia, including but not limited to passports, shall be redesigned to remove gender markers.
2. 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 accomodate at least one non-binary gender option, and no requirements to change such markers, beyond regular administrative fees, shall be allowed to exist.
3. 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 "he" or constructions such as "s/he", "he or she", etc..

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. Implementation
1. Sections 1, 4, and 6 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.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This legislation may be cited as the ‘Order of the Star of Atlasia Act.’

SECTION 2. PROVISIONS

1. The Order of the Star of Atlasia shall be a recognition of merit awarded by the President of the Republic of Atlasia to recognize the achievements rendered to it by its citizens.

2. The Order shall be granted in one of two degrees, the Silver Star or the Gold Star, which shall be for particularly meritous achievements.

3. Awardees of the Order shall be entitled to use the postnominal OSAS for the Silver Star and OSAG for the Gold Star.

4. The Senate and House, by a two-thirds vote, may strip a recipient of this award.

Federal Legalization of Fireworks Act of 2016

1. All persons over the age of 18, are hereby allowed to buy fireworks, sparklers or fire crackers in the entirety of The Republic of Atlasia.

2. The tax on fireworks shall be 10%.

3. All federal, regional and local laws prohibiting the sale or use of fireworks in The Republic of Atlasia, are to be repealed immediately after the implementation of this law.

4. The law shall go into effect on August 1, 2016.

Section One - Defining Physician Assisted Suicide

i. Physicians Assisted Suicide is the process of allowing a patient who is terminally ill with less than 6 months to live, is an adult (18 or over) resident of the state of Atlasia, mentally competent, and must make voluntary requests, without coercion, about the subject, to take their lives with the assistance of a physician. Two doctors must approve that this patient is under all of these qualifications to do this action

Section Two - Information and Waiting Periods

i. All patients will be informed of all the options including palliative and hospice care. The patient may change their mind at any time and rescind the request. The patient is also strongly encouraged to talk to their families and loved ones, although they cannot impact the decision of the patient.

ii. The written request must be signed by two independent witnesses, at least one of whom is not related to the patient or employed by the health care facility.

iii. There is a 15 day waiting period between the first oral request and a written request and a 48 hour waiting period between the written request and the writing of the prescription.

Section Three - Death Process and Afterwords

i. Pentobarbital will be the drug of use of which will be administered by the patients residing physician.

ii. There must be two physicians present at the process with one being he presiding physician.

iii. The attending physician may sign the patient's death certificate which must list the underlying terminal disease as the cause of death

Defense of Life Act of 2016

1. Abortion of a fetus that has reached the age of viability shall be outlawed in the Republic of Atlasia and all areas under its jurisdiction.
2. The age of viability shall be defined as 20 weeks since conception.
3. Abortions necessary to save the life of the mother shall be exempt from Section 1 of this act.
4. Any doctor found to have performed an abortion on a fetus after it has reached the age of viability shall have their medical license revoked, fined up to $2000, and may be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

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. Any individual under the age of sixteen must notify a parent or guardian in order to have an abortion, except in the cases of threat to the mother's health or a pregnancy caused by rape/incest.
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 days 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.

Drug Law Reform Act

1. The Republic of Atlasia shall delegate to its Regions the power to govern all aspects of drug law, within following boundaries:
 (a) neither possession nor usage of any drug, in and of itself, shall be regarded as a criminal offense;
 (b) marijuana shall be fully legal, subject to standard drug safety regulations;
 (c) the right of persons and organizations both public and private to ban drugs within their own property shall be duly respected.

End Abuse of Civil Forfeiture Act

1. The practice of civil asset forfeiture shall only be permitted in conjunction with a successful criminal conviction of the subject(s) for a relevant crime, and its extent shall be regulated by the presiding judge.
2. If such a conviction is successfully appealed, the subject(s) shall be entitled to fair recompense.
3. The preceding protections shall not apply to the areas of maritime or customs law.

Title: The Term Commencement Amendment

Section 1: The Presidency

The President and Vice President shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, on the first Friday in the month following the ticket's election to the office.

Section 2: The Senate and House

1. The Senators shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday after the completion of all elections by the regions for that class have been completed.

2. The members of the House of Representatives shall take office at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday following the completion of the House elections.

Title: The President AHDuke99 Memorial People's House Resolution

Section 1: The House shall hence forth refer to itself internally and in all communications as The People's House of Representatives in honor of the name formulated by the distinguished President to signify the chamber's purpose and mission.

Section 2: Members shall be encouraged to refer to themselves as "People's Representatives".

Nonpartisan Judiciary Amendment

Article VIII, Section 2 of the Fourth Atlasian Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

Atlasian Energy Independence Act of 2016

1. TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. may construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline and cross-border facilities for the establishment and maintenance of The TransCanada Keystons Pipeline. Eminent Domain, are allowed in certain cases of necessities but if possible, eminent domain must be avoided. If eminent domain is used, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. shall provide 120% compensation of the market value of the property taken.

2. All natural gas, crude oil, coal and other fossil fuel industries are hereby allowed to export their energy products both raw and developed to foreign nations, Nationals or organizations.

3. All moratoriums on offshore drilling in Atlasian waters are hereby lifted immediately.

4. All moratoriums both federal, regional or local on fracking are hereby lifted immediately.

The Freedom to Drink Act
1. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is hereby repealed.
2. The federal minimum drinking age is now 18.
3. The regions shall each be allowed to each modify the minimum drinking age within the following range:
3a. No region shall be allowed to have a minimum drinking age lower than 16.
3b. No region shall be allowed to have a minimum drinking age higher than 21.

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.

Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2016

1. The Federal Government is hereby banned from giving all taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood of Atlasia or their regional, state, or local counterparts.

2. Government employees are allowed to give their own personal funds to Planned Parenthood of Atlasia.

3. This act shall go into law immediately after signature by The President.

Section 1 (Title)
i. The long title of this Act shall be, the "Conservagreen Brigade Terrorist Designation Act." It may be cited as the "Conservagreen Act."

Section 2 (Preamble)
i. WHEREAS, the organization styling itself the "Conservagreen Brigade," or sometimes "Brigades," has taken deliberate measures to target and kill Atlasian citizens abroad;

ii. WHERAS, this organization has abducted two Atlasian citizens to date, without any act of provocation on the part of the Republic of Atlasia or the citizens in question;

iii. WHEREAS, these actions were directed towards unarmed civilians;

iv. WHEREAS, they have threatened the execution of the abducted citizens unless the Republic of Atlasia concedes to certain demands;

v. WHEREAS, they were conceived without the sanction of any legitimate government or constitutional power, and exist solely for the furtherance of chaos, bloodshed, and instability;


Section 3 (Designation)
i. The organization styling itself as the "Conservagreen Brigade," or sometimes "Brigades," is hereby designated a terrorist organization.
ii. The Secretary of State shall have power to designate any persons or groups of persons affiliated with the aforementioned Conservagreen Brigade as terrorists under the laws of the Republic of Atlasia.

Sanctions Against the Ice Kingdom

The Republic of Atlasia shall:

1. Acknowledge that the Ice Kingdom has unjustly nationalized an Atlasian-owned oil field without the compensating the owners.
2. Cease all trade with the Ice Kingdom until said oil field is returned to its rightful owners or an agreement is made between the Ice Kingdom and the rightful owners favorable to the owners.

1. All former members of the House of Representatives are entitled to cast a partial vote in all House legislation.
2. This vote shall be worth 1/3 in value of the vote of an incumbent member of the House.

Ballot Descriptions Act
1. Candidates for elections shall be listed on the ballot paper for elections by their Atlas Forum username.
2. Candidates may request a description with the Department of Federal Elections that will be used for that election.
  a. The description shall be no longer than six words long.
3. Candidates must request a description before the declaration deadline.

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 a runoff for a Presidential election results in a tie, the House of Representatives may choose of the two candidates to be President.
5. 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. 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 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 shall be the administrator of the voting booth. If they are 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 the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all regular federal elections.
5. The administrator of a voting booth shall give registered voters three days advance public notice in the Fantasy Elections Forum of the hours in which voting shall take place for all special House elections.

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 within 24 hours of as soon as reasonably possible after the voting booth shall have  being 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 House of Representatives 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 House of Representatives 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 for federal officeholders shall take office at 1200 Eastern Standard Time on the first Friday in the month after their election.
4. Upon opining of the voting booth for a regularly scheduled House of Representatives Election, the House shall go into recess until the start of the new House session. 

Article of expulsion against evergreen
1. This house introduces articles of expulsion against evergreen after failure to post anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours or posted a valid Leave of Absence.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house members.   

Article of expulsion against Abraham Washington
1. This house introduces articles of expulsion against Abraham Washington after failure to post anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours or posting a valid Leave of Absence.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house members.   

Nuclear Weapon Reduction Act
The Republic of Atlasia shall:
1. Reduce the nuclear stockpile to under 1,000 by 2025.
2. Work with other nuclear weapon states to reduce their nuclear stockpiles.
3. Work with others to completely disarm all nuclear weapons, when there is no threat of nuclear war from a rouge state, or group.
4. Encourage France and the United Kingdom, as NATO members, to completely disarm their nuclear weapons.
5. End the NATO nuclear weapon sharing program.
6. Offer state employees, who would lose their jobs as a result of this act, comparable conventional military jobs.

Appendix:
1. There a currently believed to be nine nuclear weapon states.
    a. Five of which are signatories to the NPT: Atlasia, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom.
    b. Three of which are non-signatories: India, North Korea, Pakistan.
    c. One of which is ambiguous as to whether they have nuclear weapons: Israel.
2. It is believed that the current nuclear stockpiles for each nation worldwide are:
    a. Atlasia: 1,750 active; 6,970 total
    b. China: unknown active; 260 total
    c. France: 290 active; 300 total
    d. India: unknown active; 110-120 total
    e. Israel: unknown active; 60-400 total
    f. North Korea: unknown active; below 10 total
    g. Pakistan: unknown active; 120-130 total
    h. Russia: 1,790 active; 7,300 total
    i. United Kingdom: 150 active; 215 total

Palestinian Recognition Act
The Republic of Atlasia:
1. Recognises the sovereignty of the State of Palestine.
    a. The recognition of the State of Palestine shall have no effect on the recognition of Israel.
2. Recognises the territory of the State of Palestine to be the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
3. Shall encourage Israel to reduce military action against the State of Palestine and to withdraw all troops within the territory of the nation.
4. Shall vote in favour of the State of Palestine in any vote for United Nations membership.

End Selective Service Act
1. Selective service is repealed, and all military service will be completely voluntary.
2. The bill will take effect immediately upon being signed by the president.

Article 1 Section 5 Amendment

Article I Section 5 of the Fourth Constitution Shall be amended as follows:

...
Section 5. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, Security of the Person or property without due process of law.
...

Atlasia official Language Act
1.Establishes English and Spanish as the two official languages of Atlasia.
2. Establish that all Atlasians have the following language rights  
a. Atlasians have the right to receive services from federal departments and agencies in both official languages.
b. That Atlasians will be able to be heard before federal courts in the official language of their choice.
c.The Atlasia Government will adopt laws and publish regulations in both official languages, and that both versions will be of equal legal weight.
d. Atlasians may not be discriminated against based on  first language learned when it comes to employment opportunities and advancement.
e. Atlasia students shall be required to learn both official languages from Grades 1-12 in all Atlasia schools regardless of whether these schools are public or private.
F. English and Spanish  will have equal status of languages of work within the federal public service within geographically defined parts of the country that are designated bilingual (these regions shall be California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico) as well as in certain overseas government offices and in parts of the country where there is sufficient demand for services in both official languages. In remaining geographical areas, the language of work for federal public servants is  English.

Article of impeachment against Spiral
1. This house introduces articles of Impeachment against Spiral after failure to post anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for more then 168 consecutive hours or posting a valid Leave of Absence.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house and Senate members.  

Comprehensive Sex Education Act

1. $150 million in grants will be made available to regions and public schools through the Federal Department of Internal Affairs to support the development and production of sex education programs across Atlasia.

2. Programs using this funding must address the following areas in a comprehensive, technical, and impartial fashion:

a) Contraception use and availability for both men and women.
     1) Programs must provide a summary of all available contraceptives for both men and women, including advantages and disadvantages of each, how to use them, and where they can be obtained.
     2) Recognizing that men and women have different contraceptive needs, public schools must make options available to each gender in school nurse offices and health centers.
     3) Programs must explain the risks associated with being sexually active in an impartial manner, including but not limited to sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy.

b) Sexuality and gender identity
    1) Programs should be LGBT+ inclusive, explain sexuality and gender identity as natural, encourage students to be sensitive to the feelings of one another, and discourage bullying of any kind.
    2) School guidance counselors must receive training in how to assist LGBT+ students in a positive manner with issues they may encounter.
    3) Schools are encouraged to sponsor events such as assemblies in conjunction with LGBT+ groups.

3. Program must be approved by the Federal Department of Internal Affairs prior to commencement and will be reviewed annually to ensure best information is transmitted.

Article of expulsion against Classic Conservative
1. This house introduces articles of expulsion against Classic Conservative after failure to post anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours or posting a valid Leave of Absence.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house members.  

Controlled Substance Reform Act.

Preamble: As Atlasian Society changes it is important that are laws and enforcement of Controlled Substance change as well. While at one time it was considered practice to jail individuals who were convicted of simple use or possession of controlled substances, new evidence suggests that a new practical solution needs to be adopted in order to treat controlled substances.

1.Possession and Use of Controlled Substances:Simple possession and use of any controlled substances shall no longer be considered a Criminal Offense.  However jurisdictions including the Atlasia federal government may prohibit and criminalize the use of controlled substances well operating a mortar vehicle. Individuals however that are deemed by a court of law to be addicted to a control substance, may be required to attend a government sponsored rehab facility. Excising individuals that are currently serving a sentence for possession and use of a controlled substance shall be placed on parole, after they first attend a rehab facility for a minimum of 30 days.  The Atlasia government shall commit $1000,0000 a year to fund drug rehab centers.  

2.Creation of a Controlled Substance Abuse Court -The Atlasia government shall create a court called the Controlled Substance Abuse Court. This court shall have full jurisdiction to hear all cases of individuals being prosecuted for violating the Controlled Substance act as well as individuals that have been caught with possession or use of any substance on the controlled substance act.
  
Section 1 of this act shall go into effect immediately upon this bill being signed. Section 2 of this bill shall go into effect on January 1st 2017.              

Increasing the Vice Presidents Power amendment
Section 3 (The Vice Presidency)
i. Whenever the office of President shall fall vacant, by reason of the death, impeachment, or resignation of the occupant, the Vice President shall become President.
ii. Whenever the President shall submit his written declaration to the presiding officer of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he 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 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 office, such powers and duties will be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President until such time as the President should submit his declaration to the contrary.

Section 4 (Powers)
i. The Vice President shall be considered the President of the Atlasia Senate. As Senate President the VP shall have full power to vote and debate on legislation in the Senate. 
ii. While the Vice President may introduce bills into the Senate introduction thread, they must get one other Senator to agree to Co-Sponsor the legislation before it can be brought to the Senate floor.
iii.The President may also appoint the Vice President to serve in cabinet or to lead a non cabinet level department. The VP will need Senate confirmation if appointed to the cabinet, however will not need Senate confirmation if appointed to a non cabinet level department.


Section 54 (Impeachment)
i. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the Republic of Atlasia, shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

1. The federal gasoline tax is raised to 25 cents

2. 40% of the money from the gas tax is given to the Environmental Protection Agency. The remaining money is used as revenue

ARTICLE III; Section 3 (The House of Representatives)
i. The House of Representatives shall consist of nine seven members chosen at-large by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Federal Legislature. Representatives shall serve a term of two months, and shall be elected in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
ii. All elections for the House of Representatives shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law.
iii. No person shall be a Representative who has not attained 100 or more posts, nor whose account is fewer than 720 hours old, nor who is not a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia.
iv. The House of Representatives shall elect its Speaker and other officers, and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
v. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.
vi. Vacancies in the House of Representatives shall be filled by the executive of the effected 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 a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

1. As an overture to Atlasia's flourishing Jewish community and a recognition of religious equality, Atlasia recognizes Hanukkah as a federal holiday, on the dates each year as recognized by standard Jewish organizations. (25 Kislev to 2 Tevet in the Hebrew calendar)

Atlasia Criminal Justice Reform Act-October 2016

Section 1: Crimes Against Atlasia

A) The following shall be crimes against Atlasia:

1. Impersonation. This offense shall be defined as the impersonation of another Atlas Forum member (be they a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia or not) on the territory of the Republic of Atlasia.

2. Identity Theft. This offense shall be defined as the illicit taking of control by any means of another Atlas Forum member's person account (be they a citizen of the Republic or not) without explicit and provable consent.

3. Voter Fraud. This offense shall be defined as the creation of identities other than a citizen's primary identity in the Republic of Atlasia and subsequently entering this identity into the tally of registered voters.

3a. If a citizen no longer has access to their previous forum account and wishes to register and/or vote with a new forum account in Atlasia, then they shall be allowed to do so legally only if they make it clear in the registration thread who they are and which forum account they previously registered under so that the SoFA may appropriately update the registration without having any duplicate accounts on the voter roll. 3b. This shall exclude those who have had their previous account banned from the Atlas Forum.

4. Electoral Fraud. This offense shall be defined as the manipulation of of the Republic's electoral procedures and practices with the aim of fraudulently altering the results of a specific electoral contest.

5. Electoral Intimidation. This offense shall be defined as the placing of undue pressure on a citizen of the Republic to cast a ballot in a particular way, to not cast a ballot at all, or to invalidate a ballot already cast. In those cases in which undue pressure has been applied in the form of credible threats to disclose personal information, the offense shall be known as Grievous Electoral Intimidation.

6. Ballot Tampering. This offense shall be defined as the deletion of a ballot during a period between vote was closed and elected officeholders sworn-in or soliciting to delete a ballot during the same period.

7. Impersonation of a Public Official. This offense shall be defined as the performance of the duties of a cabinet official or deputy cabinet official without proper promotion or appointment.

8. Misconduct in Public Office. This offense shall be defined as the abuse of office for provable personal gain by cabinet officials or deputy cabinet officials.

9. Perjury. This offense shall be defined as "any person who takes an oath before a competent tribunal or officer that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true."

10. Breach of the Peace. This offense shall be defined as the wilful undertaking of activities that though not treasonous nevertheless undermine the stability and security of the Republic of Atlasia by breaching the Peace as established by the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia.

11. Malicious Editing of the Wiki. This offense shall be defined as the editing of the Atlasia Wiki with malicious intent.

12. Improper Behavior on the Wiki. This offense shall be defined as the knowing violation or flagrant disregard of Senate-imposed Atlasia Wiki guidelines and standards.

13. Contempt of Court. See Section 5, Clause 4 of this Act.

14. Terrorism. This offense shall be defined as the deletion or destruction of threads housing government institutions, voting booths, or the legislation threads of any legislative body in Atlasia.

B) Conspiracies and Attempted Crimes.

1. In those cases in which a Crime Against Atlasia has been attempted unsuccessfully, it shall nevertheless be possible to charge a citizen with the offense that they unsuccessfully attempted to commit. In such cases the official record of the charge shall be prefaced with 'Attempted', but no other alterations to procedure shall be made. This applies to all Crimes Against Atlasia with the exception of Obscenity (including Gross Obscenity), Misconduct in Public Office, Perjury, and Contempt of Court.

2. In those cases in which the perpetrator of a Crime Against Atlasia has been instructed, commissioned, mandated, or otherwise aided by other persons in the planning or execution of the offense in question, then those persons may also be charged with the offense that they conspired to commit. In such cases the record of the charge shall be prefaced with Conspiracy to Commit, but no other alterations to procedure shall be made. It shall not be necessary to charge an individual with a specific Crime Against Atlasia in order to charge other persons in this manner.

 Section 2: Acts of Treason

The following acts are hereby declared to be treasonous:

1. Rebellion. This shall be defined as the use of armed forces to overthrow the government of Republic of Atlasia or the government of any of its constituent Regions.

2. Aiding Rebellion. This shall be defined as the intentional direction of funds, military aid, or strategic advice to any person, persons, group or groups engaged in or seeking to engage in rebellion against the government of the Republic of Atlasia or the government of any of its constituent Regions.

3. Terrorism. This shall be defined as the use or threat of use of force or violence by a person, persons or organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating civilians and/or the government of the Republic of Atlasia or the government of any of its constituent Regions.

4. Destruction of a Voting Booth. This shall be defined as the deleting of the thread in which a voting booth or an absentee voting booth for an active election is contained.

5. Secession. This shall be defined as the declaration or threatened declaration of independence from the Republic of Atlasia by any territorial entity within the bounds of the Republic of Atlasia or by any group of persons within the bounds of the Republic of Atlasia.

6. Refutation of Federal Supremacy in Law. This shall be defined as the denial – whether by word, by deed, or byintentional omission – by any serving officeholder in the Republic of Atlasia or any of its constituent Regions of the supremacy of federal law, or of the decision by any person to serve in a Regional government that denies that it is subject to federal law.This shall not be construed as limiting the right to challenge a federal law through the supreme court.

 Section 3: Criminal Liability

1. In order for a criminal conviction in the Republic of Atlasia to stand it is necessary that the case against a defendant or against multiple defendants be proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

2. The basic standard of liability for cases concerning both Crimes Against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be as in the Common Law: actus reas non facit reum nisi mens sit rea.1 It must therefore be proven not only that a criminal act has taken place but that the citizen charged can be reasonably held to be fully responsible, whether by act or by omission, for that criminal act.

3. In cases in which it is certain that a criminal act has been committed by a member of a group of persons, but that it is not certain which of those persons has committed the criminal act, then it shall be possible to convict all said group of persons of the criminal charge in question, provided it can be demonstrated that there was no attempt by that group of persons to prevent the criminal act from taking place.

 Section 4: Trial Rules

1. Trial of all Crimes against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be performed in full compliance with the provisions of Article III, Section 2 of the Third Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia. Breach of these provisions shall render any conviction unsafe.

2. Defendants shall not be denied access to legal counsel from an active citizen of their choice, and also retain the right to waive their right to legal counsel. If a defendant has attempted without success to secure legal counsel or has, after a period of more than forty eight hours, declined to either seek or affirmatively waive legal representation, then the Department of Justice shall nominate an appropriately qualified citizen to act as Public Defendant for the duration of the trial. Said nominee must meet with the approval of the Presiding Judge in the trial in question and must be a person of upstanding moral character.

3. The Judiciary is hereby mandated to create and to uphold all rules with respect to trial procedure, up to and including the matter of personal conduct, so long as these rules do not contradict any part of this Act. In the event of a gross breach of trial procedure, the Presiding Judge may choose to charge the person or persons responsible with Contempt of Court which shall be treated as a Crime against Atlasia as per Section 2A of this Act.

Section 5: Admissibility of Evidence

A) The Presiding Judge may admit the following as evidence at his own discretion:

1. Any actual statements, whether quoted in full or in part, made on the Atlas Forum that pertain to the trial. If these statements have been deleted from the Atlas Forum but a copy in the form of a screenshot has been made of them, then that copy in the form of a screenshot may be treated as equally admissible to an original quoted statement. If these statements have been deleted from the Atlas Forum, but survive – whether in full or in part – as quotations in the post of another Atlas Forum user, then these quoted fragments may also be treated as equally admissible to an original quoted statement.

2. The sworn testimony of a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia who has witnessed the alleged offence or its planning or preparation at first hand, or who has witnessed credible evidence of conspiracy.

3. An admission of guilt or culpability by the defendant in a thread on the Atlas Forum, or in a place viewed or heard by other persons, with recordings or testimony attributing to the same.

4. Evidence obtained through proper investigation of the IP address from which the offence was perpetrated.

5. Credible evidence presented to the Court by the Forum Moderators or by Dave Leip, the Forum Owner.

6. Other forms of evidence that are credible in nature and which do not contradict this Act or the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia may additionally be considered.

B) The Presiding Judge has an absolute right to reject evidence (whether in whole or in part) that he or she feels to be tainted by procedural flaws, to be of dubious provenance or to wholly lack credibility.

 Section 6: Sentencing

In the event of a conviction, sentencing shall be carried out by the Presiding Judge in accordance with the following guidelines:

1. The standard punishment for both Crimes Against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be the removal of certain political rights – the right to hold office and the right to vote in federal or regional elections – of the guilty person or persons. The Presiding Judge may decide at his or her discretion on the exact combination of political rights to remove from the guilty person or persons. Subsequent references to sentence length refer to any and all combination of the above punishments.

2. For all Crimes Against Atlasia and even for Acts of Treason in such exceptional cases as the Presiding Judge sees fit, he or she may opt to issue a Discharge, which shall mean that the guilty person or persons shall suffer no punishment further than the acquisition of a criminal record.

3. The maximum sentence for all Crimes Against Atlasia other than Identity Theft or Electoral Intimidation shall be of one year in length.

4. The maximum sentence for Identity Theft and Electoral Intimidation shall be of two years in length.

5. The maximum sentence for all Acts of Treason and Terrorism shall be of three years in length.

6. The Presiding Judge may decide, if there are adequate grounds, to suspend a sentence – in whole or in part – and instead place the guilty person or persons under a period of probation, the exact length of which shall be no longer and no shorter than the part of the sentence being suspended. Failure by the guilty person or persons to obey in full the terms of their probation shall result in the immediate imposition of their full sentence. Life Sentences may not be suspended.

 Section 7: Appeals

1. In addition to any Rights of Appeal the Supreme Court may find under the Constitution, the defendant retains a right to appeal against their conviction to the full Supreme Court provided that the possible existence of sufficient grounds are demonstrated in summary to the Court, and that the request for an appeal be lodged within one month of the cessation of the original trial.

2. In such cases there shall be three recognised grounds for appeal. The first shall be that the conviction is Wrongful due to errors in law or in fact made during the original trial. The second shall be that the conviction is Unjust due to procedural errors or other irregularities made during the original trial. The third shall be that new evidence has come to light that casts doubt on either the conviction or on the sentence imposed by the Presiding Judge at the original trial. In the matter of Unjust Convictions, the errors or irregularities must be of sufficient severity as to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction; minor errors do not render a conviction unsafe.

3. If the Supreme Court rules that a conviction is either Wrongful or Unjust then that conviction shall be quashed and the defendant shall leave the trial as a free citizen unblemished by the taint of guilt.

4. If the Supreme Court rules that new evidence casts doubt on the safety of the original conviction, then the Court may choose to order a Retrial of the original case with a new jury, it may reduce the sentence given in the original trial, or it may opt to quash the conviction.

1. Should the President be unable to serve as President, the Vice President will take office.
2. Should the Vice President be unable to serve as well, the presidential line of succession shall go as follows. Each of these people ascending to the presidency will do so in an acting position.

• Speaker of the House
• President pro tempore of the Senate
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Internal Affairs
• Secretary of Federal Elections
• Registrar General
• Senators by seniority
• Representatives by seniority

3. The acting President shall serve the remainder of the term, unless
    a. a new President or Vice President is chosen or
    b. the President or Vice President are no longer incapacitated or ineligible.
4. This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming law.

An Act to Safeguard the Integrity of our Institutions

Section 1: Definitions
1. For the purposes of this act, a "conflict of interest" shall be defined as a situation in which personal bias or prejudice concerning a party prevents an elected or appointed official from being able to adequately perform the duties of their office in a certain instance.

Section 2: Administration of Elections
1. The Secretary of Federal Elections shall not administer an election in which a conflict of interest prevents them from being an impartial arbiter in the eyes of the citizenry, such as when they are a candidate in the election.
2. When the Secretary of Federal Elections is a candidate in the election or recuses themselves for other reasons, the President shall appoint an Acting Elections Administrator to carry out the duties of administering the election.
3. The Acting Election Administrator must not be a candidate for office in the election to which they are appointed.

Judicial Disqualification
1. Supreme Court Justices shall recuse themselves from cases in which a conflict of interest prevents them from rendering an impartial judgment of the law.
2. If a Justice refuses to recuse themselves, a party to the case may submit a petition to the court to recuse the Justice, which will be legally binding if the other Justices of the court unanimously agree to support the petition.

Section 1 (Title)
i. The long title of this act shall be, the Federal Symbology Act of 2016. It may be cited as the Symbology Act or as the FSA.

Section 2 (Flag)
i. The national flag of the Republic of Atlasia shall be composed of three horizontal stripes, being in proportion 9 : 9 : 17. The first of these shall be colored white to represent the virtue of the republic; the second of these shall be colored red to represent the lives sacrificed in her defense; the third shall be colored blue to represent the people of the republic, whose wisdom forms the foundation of our democracy. Positioned along the middle seam of the flag shall be three stars representing the three regions of the republic; the middle star shall be twice as large as those on either side, representing also the union that binds them together.

Section 3 (Motto)
i. The national motto of the Republic of Atlasia shall be, "POPULIS POPULI;" in English, "Of the People, for the People."

Section 4 (Animal)
i. The national animal of the Republic of Atlasia shall be the phoenix, who represents the strength and resilience of the Atlasian people.

Section 5 (Anthem)
i. The national anthem of the Republic of Atlasia shall be "My Country 'Tis of Thee," by Samuel Francis Smith.

APPENDIX A (The Flag)
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APPENDIX B (The Anthem)
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From ev'ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

Section 4 (Criminal Liability)
i. In order for a criminal conviction in the Republic of Atlasia to stand it is necessary that the case against a defendant or against multiple defendants be proven beyond all reasonable doubt.
ii. The basic standard of liability for cases concerning both Crimes Against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be as in the Common Law: actus reas non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. It must therefore be proven not only that a criminal act has taken place but that the citizen charged can be reasonably held to be fully responsible, whether by act or by omission, for that criminal act.
iii. In cases in which it is certain that a criminal act has been committed by a member of a group of persons, but that it is not certain which of those persons has committed the criminal act, then it shall be possible to convict all said group of persons of the criminal charge in question, provided it can be demonstrated that there was no attempt by that group of persons to prevent the criminal act from taking place.

Section 5 (Criminal Prosecution)
i. Trial of all Crimes against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be performed in full compliance with the provisions of Article I of the Fourth Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia. Breach of these provisions shall render any conviction unsafe.
ii. Defendants shall not be denied access to legal counsel from an active citizen of their choice, and also retain the right to waive their right to legal counsel. If a defendant has attempted without success to secure legal counsel or has, after a period of more than forty eight hours, declined to either seek or affirmatively waive legal representation, then the Department of Justice shall nominate an appropriately qualified citizen to act as Public Defendant for the duration of the trial. Said nominee must meet with the approval of the Presiding Judge in the trial in question and must be a person of upstanding moral character.
iii. The Judiciary is hereby mandated to create and to uphold all rules with respect to trial procedure, up to and including the matter of personal conduct, so long as these rules do not contradict any part of this Act. In the event of a gross breach of trial procedure, the Presiding Judge may choose to charge the person or persons responsible with Contempt of Court which shall be treated as a Crime against Atlasia as per Section 2, clause i of this Act.

Section 6 (Admissibility of Evidence)
i. The Presiding Judge may admit the following as evidence at his own discretion:
(a) Any actual statements, whether quoted in full or in part, made on the Atlas Forum that pertain to the trial. If these statements have been deleted from the Atlas Forum but a copy in the form of a screenshot has been made of them, then that copy in the form of a screenshot may be treated as equally admissible to an original quoted statement. If these statements have been deleted from the Atlas Forum, but survive – whether in full or in part – as quotations in the post of another Atlas Forum user, then these quoted fragments may also be treated as equally admissible to an original quoted statement.
(b) The sworn testimony of a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia who has witnessed the alleged offence or its planning or preparation at first hand, or who has witnessed credible evidence of conspiracy.
(c) An admission of guilt or culpability by the defendant in a thread on the Atlas Forum, or in a place viewed or heard by other persons, with recordings or testimony attributing to the same.
(d) Evidence obtained through proper investigation of the IP address from which the offence was perpetrated.
(e) Credible evidence presented to the Court by the Forum Moderators or by Dave Leip, the Forum Owner.
(f) Other forms of evidence that are credible in nature and which do not contradict this Act or the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia may additionally be considered.
ii. The Presiding Judge has an absolute right to reject evidence (whether in whole or in part) that he or she feels to be tainted by procedural flaws, to be of dubious provenance or to wholly lack credibility.

Section 7 (Sentencing)
i. In the event of a conviction, sentencing shall be carried out by the Presiding Judge in accordance with the following guidelines:
(a) The standard punishment for both Crimes Against Atlasia and Acts of Treason shall be the removal of certain political rights – the right to hold office and the right to vote in federal or regional elections – of the guilty person or persons. The Presiding Judge may decide at his or her discretion on the exact combination of political rights to remove from the guilty person or persons. Subsequent references to sentence length refer to any and all combination of the above punishments.
(b) For all Crimes Against Atlasia and even for Acts of Treason there shall be no minimum sentence. In such exceptional cases as the Presiding Judge sees fit, he or she may opt to issue a Discharge, which shall mean that the guilty person or persons shall suffer no punishment further than the acquisition of a criminal record.
(c) The maximum sentence for all Crimes Against Atlasia other than Identity Theft or Electoral Intimidation shall be of one year in length.
(d) The maximum sentence for Identity Theft and Electoral Intimidation shall be of two year in length.
(e) The maximum sentence for all Acts of Treason and Terrorism shall be of three years in length.
(f) The Presiding Judge may decide, if there are adequate grounds, to suspend a sentence – in whole or in part – and instead place the guilty person or persons under a period of probation, the exact length of which shall be no longer and no shorter than the part of the sentence being suspended. Failure by the guilty person or persons to obey in full the terms of their probation shall result in the immediate imposition of their full sentence. Life Sentences may not be suspended.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Support Our Steelworkers Act of 2015”.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF STEEL PRODUCTS.

For the 5-year period beginning on the 15th day after the date of the enactment of this Act, an article classified under chapter 72 or 73 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States may not enter the customs territory of the United States.

Come Out of the Shadows Act

Section 1: A Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants
1. A conditional nonimmigrant visa shall be created which is valid for six years. This visa allows for legalized immigrants with work and travel authorization and protection from removal.
2. To qualify for the conditional nonimmigrant visa, an applicant must:
a) Establish they have been in the U.S. illegally before day of introduction of this bill.
b) Attest to having made contributions to the U.S. through employment, education, military service, or other volunteer/community service (with exemptions for minors, persons with disabilities, the elderly, or other unusual circumstances).
c) Pay an application fee of $75 and a $500 fine.
d) Not have any convictions for a felony or for three or more misdemeanors.
3. Qualified conditional nonimmigrants and their spouses and children will be able to apply for lawful permanent resident status (green card) and eventual citizenship.
a) No green cards may be issued under this program earlier than six years after the date of enactment unless existing immigrant backlogs have been cleared before that time.
b) Conditional nonimmigrant visas may be renewed until such time as a green card is obtained.

Section 2: DREAM
1. Undocumented individuals who were brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 will apply for legal status through the same program outlined in Section 1 of this act.
2. These applicants will not have to pay fines.
3. There will be an accelerated path to legal permanent resident status upon graduation from high school, and completion of two years of college, military service, or employment.
4. Persons granted legal permanent resident status under this provision will be eligible for naturalization three years after the date the status is granted.

Section 3: Keeping Families Together
1. Spouses and children of lawful permanent residents shall be reclassified as immediate relatives.
2. Immediate relatives may continue to pursue their immigration petitions even if the U.S. citizen or permanent resident who petitioned for them dies.
3. Immediate relatives shall be exempt from the annual cap on the number of immigrant visas per country per year.
4. Immigration judges may decline to order the removal of the parent of a U.S. citizen child if the judge determines that removal would not be in the child's best interests.

Section 4: Border Security and Enforcement
1. A Southern Border Security Task Force shall be created and composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers to protect Atlasia border cities and communities along the Atlasia-Mexico border.
2. $1,000,000,000 shall be allocated for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to make improvements to existing ports of entry in Atlasia to improve border security and for training, oversight and evaluation for border agents.
3. The Department of Interior shall establish clear standards of professional conduct for all Customs and Border Protection agents within 100 miles of all land and marine borders.
4.  An employment verification system shall be created for employers to verify the work authorization of new hires based on taxpayer identification numbers for citizens, permanent residents, and immigrants on visas.
a) It shall be prohibited to knowingly hire unauthorized workers.

Section 5: Addressing Root Causes of Illegal Immigration
1. Countries that account for at least 5% of unauthorized migration to Atlasia shall be designated as priority recipients for foreign development assistance.
2. An additional 100,000 visas shall be created annually for immigrants from the above countries.
3. Individuals awarded the above visas will be admitted to Atlasia as conditional residents and may petition for permanent resident status after 3 years.

Section 6: Use of Funds Generated by this Act
1. Fees and fines generated by new programs within this bill will be used to assist state based worker training programs, fund the employment verification system, fund border security and enforcement activities, and reduce visa backlogs.

Article of Expulsion Against EarlAW
1. This House introduces Articles of Expulsion against EarlAW after failure to post anything on the Atlas Fantasy Government board for 168 consecutive hours or posting a valid Leave of Absence.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house members.

1. The office of Deputy Game Moderator, appointed by the Game Moderator, shall hereby be created.
2. The Deputy Game Moderator may help in Game Moderator duties and, should the Game Moderator be absent, will serve as acting Game Moderator until the Game Moderator returns or a successor is confirmed.
3. The Deputy Game Moderator may be removed by the Game Moderator.

1. Should the President be unable to serve as President, the Vice President will take office.
2. Should the Vice President be unable to serve as well, the presidential line of succession shall go as follows. Each of these people ascending to the presidency will do so in an acting position.

• Speaker of the House
• President pro tempore of the Senate
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Internal Affairs the Interior
• Secretary of Federal Elections
• Registrar General
• National Archivist
• Senators by seniority
• Representatives by seniority

3. The acting President shall serve the remainder of the term, unless
    a. a new President or Vice President is chosen or
    b. the President or Vice President are no longer incapacitated or ineligible.
4. This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming law.

The Atlasian Full Employment and Growth, Reconstruction, and Other Works Act of 2016 (The G.R.O.W. Act)

Introduction:

In our nation, every man or woman deserves to be able to live up to his or her own god-given potential, we as a nation, work harder than every other nation on earth! But there are still too many of us who lack the employment they desire, nay deserve. Therefore it is the duty of those of us in government to find a solution for this, and help these hardworking Atlasians find a job.

To do this, we must follow the steps of President Franklin Roosevelt in helping spur the economy by creating new public works and infrastructure projects. We must also look at our unemployment benefits system, and seek to make it work for those that use it. And we must work with the private sector to continue a strong public/private relationship.

This bill will ensure that every Atlasian is able to live up to their potential, with affordable childcare, a good job, and a prosperous economy for all.

Section One: Tax Relief for Working Families and Businesses

i. Cut the payroll tax on all businesses to 3.1% (or in half). This bill will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, providing a tax but targeting the benefit to the 99 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold. All businesses will pay 3.1%, instead of the current rate of 6.2, on their first 5 million in payroll, which would boost their ability to grow and expand, therefore expanding our economy.

ii. A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages. This plan will completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker (to ensure that this tax cut is focused on small businesses, the tax relief is capped at $50 million in payroll increases)

iii. Allow 100% business expensing (for businesses with assets under $50M) until 2019. To encourage businesses to grow and prosper we will allow for a full deduction of all businesses expensing, for small businesses, to encourage them to make new investments in our economy. This extension would put an additional $85 billion in the hands of businesses next year.


iv. Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160 million workers next year. Starting in the 2017 Fiscal Year, 160 million workers will see an instant tax cut of 50% for their payroll taxes, with slow growth back to the current rate by 2021. This will give the average Atlasian family a tax cut of $4,000 over the next 4 years.


v. Allowing more Atlasians to refinance their mortgages. Now that our mortgage interest rates are just under 4 percent, we will allow Atlasians, who are stuck at high pre-recession interest rates refinance, which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket. This will also decrease government tax expenditures by allowing mortgages to be lowered.



Section Two: Programs for the Currently Uninsured

i. Extend benefits for 6 million long-term beneficiaries. This bill will extend those that are currently within a year of losing their benefits and allow them to stay on these benefits through 2020. This will allow 6 million people to seek employment, while not worrying about how to feed their families, and be forced to dip into (if they have any) retirement.

ii. Give unemployment insurance for workers whose employers choose work-sharing over layoffs to cover those lost hours for employees. Work sharing allows employers, who are considering downsizing to, instead of laying off workers, to decrease their hours for their employees and then their employees will be covered for lost hours by unemployment insurance.

iii. Improve reemployment services for the long-term unemployed through counseling, and eligibility assessments. For those that are currently uninsured, we must secure their ability to seek a job. To do this, we will expand counseling programs and eligibility assessments to see what job fits each person. This will expand and diversify the workforce, and allow employers to have a stronger relationship with their employees.

iv. Improve reemployment services for the long-term unemployed through counseling, and eligibility assessments. For those that are currently uninsured, we must secure their ability to seek a job. To do this, we will expand counseling programs and eligibility assessments to see what job fits each person. This will expand and diversify the workforce, and allow employers to have a stronger relationship with their employees.

v. A new “Bridge to Work” program. This program builds on and improves innovative regional programs where those displaced take temporary, voluntary work or pursue on-the-job training. This allows the regions to get a larger federal block grant (at about $2 Billion per region) for those that are displaced and to allow them to experiment to take these programs to the next level, and give them assistance to expand job opportunities for low-income youth and adults by investing in promising and proven strategies and programs like summer jobs and sector-based training programs.

vi. Innovative entrepreneurship and wage insurance programs. Regions will now be empowered to implement wage insurance to help reemploy older workers, employ younger workers (especially new college grads), and create programs that make it easier for unemployed workers to start their own businesses. This will ensure that the regions are able to control rising unemployment in their own ways (through the block grant, and this program).

vii. Mandate the EEOC investigate cases of discrimination in hiring against persons who have been or are unemployed. Discrimination must be fought in all forms, especially against those seeking employment. This bill will force and encourage the EEOC to investigate any claims of discrimination against those out of work. This will attempt to end the stigma of employers against the unemployed.

vii. Mandate the EEOC investigate cases of discrimination in hiring against persons who have been or are unemployed. Discrimination must be fought in all forms, especially against those seeking employment. This bill will force and encourage the EEOC to investigate any claims of discrimination against those out of work. This will attempt to end the stigma of employers against the unemployed.

viii. Create a $4,000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers. This tax credit will help incentivize employers to hire those that have been out of work for over 6 months and give them the work experience they deserve. For every long-term (as defined by over 6 months unemployed) unemployed employee hired, the company will receive $4,000 in tax credits.

ix. Offer tax credits to encourage businesses to hire unemployed veterans. Servicemen and women deserve out highest respect, and therefore they should be able to live up to the American dream, just like all of us, and that includes employment. Businesses that hire veterans who have been unemployed six months or longer would receive a tax credit up to $5,600, and that credit rises to $9,600 for veterans who also have service-connected disabilities.
 
x. Enact a high-speed rail system from Boston to Miami. If we are to fully grow our economy and our infrastructure, then we must use new and progressing technology to adequately keep up with the global economy. To do this, we must tap into the system of high-speed rails. This will allow for quick commuter access, growth in tourism and commerce between regions, and help with our unemployment crisis.

PART 1

The right of citizens of the Republic of Atlasia to vote shall not be denied, except in regards to persons whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, or in consequence of failing to meet such requirements for activity as may be established by law. in the event of: a person whose account is fewer than 168 hours old, a violation of fair and reasonable regulations regarding new accounts and how active they have been in Atlasia prior to voting in an official election, a violation of fair and reasonable regulations regarding the language, layout and markings of individual ballots, a violation of fair and reasonable regulations regarding campaigning in the voting booth, or a judicial order, subject to appeal.

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. The Government of Atlasia shall not under any circumstances, in times of peace or war, compel Atlasian citizens to take up arms in military service against their own wishes and conscience.

Clean Coasts and Seas Act (CCSA)
This bill acknowledges the long term, destructive damage done to Atlasia’s water ways, rivers, coastal areas and surrounding seas as a result of pollution. The following actions are hereby taken to alleviate this pollution, and to work towards a new agenda of promoting sustainable growth.

1.)   The Atlasian Import-Export Bank shall begin to disinvest from projects both in Atlasia, and around the world that that are judged to have emitted harmful levels of polluting agents to water supplies.
2.)   A Federal Moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracking is hereby declared, coming into effect on the 1st January 2017.
3.)   A ban is hereby imposed on deep sea trawling, carried out by Atlasian fishing vessels

Plastic Levy
1.)   A 10% levy is hereby placed upon the purchase of plastic water bottles. Exemptions shall apply for medical facilities.
2.)   A 5 cent levy shall be mandatory on the sale of plastic bags all commercial outlets, with employees of more than 100 people. Outlets with less than 100 employees shall be encouraged to phase out plastic bags, and provide paper bags

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. If a voter de-registers by their own will, they will have to wait one month before re-registering.
7. Any political party of three or more members is considered to be an organized political party.

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.

No More Going Hungry in Atlasia Act

Section 1: Establishing an Agency to Manage Food Conservation
1. The Agency of Food Conservation shall be established under the purview of the Interior Department to manage conservation of edible food from markets, to create programs to educate consumers on food conservation practices, and to encourage food conservation in Atlasia.

Section 2: Donation of Food Waste to Eligible Non-Profit Organizations
1. Food markets shall be encouraged to create "zero-waste" sections for food that is approaching the expiration date.
2. Markets with more than 4 locations shall set up agreements with eligible non-profit organizations from a list to be managed by the Agency of Food Conservation to distribute unused food at least one day before the expiration date.
3. Non-profit organizations focused on ending hunger within Atlasia shall be given priority, followed by animal feed, compost for agriculture, and energy use.
4. Food that is no longer edible shall be recycled.
5. Food markets with less than five locations that wish to participate in this program shall be eligible for a $5,000 tax credit for their annual participation.

Section 3: Prohibition of Food Waste
1. It is hereby prohibited for food markets to dispose of unused edible food above a threshold to be set by the Agency of Food Conservation.
2. Unused edible food is defined as products approaching the expiration date that markets no longer intend to keep on shelves to sell.
2. Food markets with less than 5 locations shall be exempt from this prohibition.
3. Deliberately wasting food above the given threshold or spoiling food shall be punished by a fine of $10,000 per violation.
4. This shall not apply to food unfit for consumption.

Section 2 (The Apartment of Representatives)
i. The Apartment of Representatives shall consist of two Tenants from each Region, elected for a term of four months in the manner prescribed by the legislature thereof.
ii. No person shall be a Tenant who has not attained 200 or more posts, nor whose account is fewer than 1440 hours old, nor who is not a citizen of the Region they are chosen to represent.
iii. The Apartment of Representatives shall elect its leader and other officers, and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
iv. Upon the seating of the first Congress, the Tenants shall be divided into two classes of equal size, such that each class shall consist of one Tenant from each of the Regions. Members of the first class shall be elected in the months of February, June, and October; members of the second class shall be elected in the months of April, August, and December.
v. The Apartment of Representatives shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. In all trials of impeachment, the Chief Justice shall preside, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 2/3 of the sitting Tenants.
vi. Vacancies in the Apartment of Representatives shall be filled according to the laws of the effected 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)
i. The House of Representatives shall consist of nine members chosen at-large by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Federal Legislature. Homeowners shall serve a term of two months, and shall be elected in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
ii. All elections for the House of Representatives shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law.
iii. No person shall be a Homeowner who has not attained 100 or more posts, nor whose account is fewer than 720 hours old, nor who is not a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia.
iv. The House of Representatives shall elect its Speaker and other officers, and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
v. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.
vi. Vacancies in the House of Representatives shall be filled by the executive of the effected Party; but should a vacancy occur as the result of the death, expulsion, or resignation of a Homeowner not being a member of a major Party, then a special election shall be held to chose a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

1. The office of Deputy Secretary of Federal Elections, nominated by the SoFE and confirmed by the Senate, shall hereby be created.
2. The DSoFE may "double-check" the SoFE's work - ensure that both their counts are accurate.
3. Should the SoFE be absent, the DSoFE will serve as acting SoFE until the SoFE returns or a successor is confirmed, and appoint an acting DSoFE, should there be a federal election in that time.
4. The SoFE may not nominate somebody from their own party as DSoFE.
5. The DSoFE may be removed by the SoFE with the consent of the President.

Congressional Resolution on Syria

The Congress of Atlasia hereby condemns and condones the barbarous, tyrannical and destructive policies  carried out by the government of Syria, under the leadership of Bashar Al- Assad. This house affirms that the 2011 protests against the Syrian regime, where started by a people who wanted to gain fundamental human and civil rights that we hold in such high regard.

1.) The Atlasia Congress calls attention to the war crimes, and human rights abuses carried out by the Government of Syria, including but not limited to, the use of Chemical Weapons, the use of aerial bombardment against civilians and the use of extra-judicial killings against political opponents.

1B.) This congress also brings special attention to the 2017 report by Amnesty International, outlining the murder of over 16,000 political dissidents in death camps in Syria.

Actions on Syria

1) A travel, financial and economic embargo shall be placed on all members of the Syrian Regime, and Government.

2.) This congress urges the Atlasian Government to support all UN efforts to create a war crimes tribunal, and to bring to justice the members of the Syrian Regime.

3.) This Congress also affirms that Bashar- Al Assad shall not, under any circumstances be permitted to remain as President of Syria, in any capacity. This Congress calls for an international tribunal to investigate the crimes of the Syrian Regime.

4.) This Congress also condemns the action of the Russian Government, who have aided in these crimes, and carried out deliberate air attacks on the Syrian People. 

House of the Representatives Rules and Procedures for Operation

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 House floor. An Act is defined as a Bill that has achieved passage into Law.
3.) The Dean of the House is defined as the serving Representative, who is not the Speaker, 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 House may, by a two-thirds majority vote on an ordinary resolution, pass the title, powers and responsibilities of the Dean of the House, to the next longest serving Representative (not having been removed from the position by the House previously), for any reason whatsoever.
4.) A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of the House 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 House.

Article 1 : Officers of the House of Representatives
1.) The Vice President shall be known as the President of the Congress
a.) The President of the Congress shall keep a ‘Congressional Noticeboard’, where the Speaker 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 his/her own Congressional threads, along with Rejected and Passed Legislation.
2.) The most senior Representative, known as the Dean of Representatives, (seniority shall be determined by length of continuous service) who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the Representative chosen by the Dean, shall convene the House of Representative to elect a Speaker on the first day of each legislative session and when the office of Speaker is vacant. The House of Representatives shall elect a Speaker from among its members by majority consent with the Vice President being the tiebreaker, if needed. The most senior Representative, who isn't on Leave of Absence, or the Representative chosen by the most senior Representative shall retain the powers and prerogatives as Speaker until the election of the Speaker.
3.) The Speaker, after taking his oath of office, must appoint a successor should he or she fall inactive. This successor shall be named the Deputy Speaker, and will retain all of the powers of the Speaker, if the Speaker falls inactive for over 120 hours or is on an LOA.
4.) If the Speaker falls inactive for a period of over 120 hours, without appointing a successor, the responsibilities of the Speaker will fall to the most senior Representative in the House. In the case of either an inactive Dean of Representatives, or multiple members having the highest seniority, the President of the Congress shall serve as acting Speaker.


Article 2 : Introducing Legislation
1.) The Speaker shall keep a thread on the Fantasy Government board for introducing legislation. This thread shall be known as the House Legislation Introduction Thread. Sitting Representatives may post in this thread. The Speaker shall also keep a separate thread listing all sponsored legislation in the Legislation Introduction Thread.
2.) If the Speaker determines that a piece of legislation is functionally impractical, frivolous, or is directly unconstitutional, they may, in a public post on the Legislation Introduction thread, remove said legislation from the House queue. The sponsoring Representative 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 Representatives in the affirmative (excluding the Speaker), may override the actions of the Speaker.
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 Representatives who do not shall take priority until all such other legislation is completed. The Speaker 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 Speaker 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 Speaker shall introduce legislation to this thread as directed by the President, but only when the President has declared a state of national emergency.
3.) A piece of legislation is no longer on the House of Representative Floor when it has been withdrawn, tabled, rejected, or passed by the members of the House of Representatives.
4.) If at any time the original sponsor vacates their office as Representative, all legislation introduced in the Legislation Introduction Thread shall, within a week of the next session, be declared withdrawn by the Speaker by public post, if no Representative sponsors the legislation. If a piece of legislation has been introduced on the House floor, any office-holding Representative may assume sponsorship.
5.) 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 Representative 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 Representatives, Representatives shall have 24 hours to object to this motion. If any Representative objects, the Speaker 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 Representative may offer amendments to the legislation. The Speaker 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 Representatives. 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 Speaker 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 Representative has objected, a vote shall be started by the Speaker 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 Representatives who have voted shall be prohibited from changing their votes and the vote shall be declared final.
4.) The Speaker shall number and track all amendments offered during the course of each House session.

Article 4 : Debate
1.) After a piece of legislation is introduced to the House of Representatives floor, debate shall begin immediately. Debate on the legislation shall last for no less than 72 hours. The House of Representatives may waive the 72-hour requirement on any legislation by passing cloture 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 representative 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 Representative, his or her sponsorship shall be revoked automatically. If no member of the House of Representatives moves to assume sponsorship of the legislation within 48 hours, the legislation shall be tabled automatically.
3.) At any time during debate on a piece of legislation, a representative may propose an amendment to that legislation. The presiding officer may ignore amendments that he or she deems frivolous, functionally impractical, or unconstitutional at his or her discretion, but the House of Representatives may compel the presiding officer to consider the amendment by majority consent.
4.) The presiding officer shall allow 24 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 Representatives have voted to either approve or reject the amendment or until 3 days, i.e. 72 hours, have elapsed. No Representative may change his or her vote once the voting period has concluded.
5.) Any Representative  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 two other Representatives have seconded the motion. A two thirds majority is required for the approval of the motion to table.
6.) When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 24 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours, any representatives may call for a vote on said legislation. The presiding officer shall open a vote if no other member of the House of Representatives objects within 24 hours of the call for a vote. When debate on legislation has halted for longer than 24 hours and the legislation has been on the floor for more than 72 hours but no more than 336 hours, any Representatives may motion for cloture. Upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the House of the Representatives, the House of Representatives 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.
7.) If a bill has been vetoed, a representative has 24 hours to motion for a veto override. A two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Representatives is needed in order to override a veto.
 
Article 5: Motions to Table

1.) Any Representative can, during a period of debate, with the support of one other Representative, 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 Representatives 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 House floor and slot.

Article 6: 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 Representative 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 Speaker 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 Representative who abstains from voting shall be counted as a vote against overriding the veto.

Article 7: Impeachment
1.) Articles of Impeachment may be proposed against any executive or judicial officer of the federal government. Impeachment proceedings shall be initiated by the Speaker only when at least three Representatives have publicly announced their support of the Articles. Debates about Impeachment shall last for at least 3 days (i.e. 120 hours). In considering these impeachments, the Speaker shall preside.
2.) A simple majority of the members of the House of Representatives is needed in order to impeach any executive or judicial officer of the federal government.

Article 8: Expulsion of a Sitting Representative
1.)   Expulsion proceedings shall be initiated if:
a.)   the Representative 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 360 hours). And an article of expulsion has been introduced in the House Legislative Introduction Thread.
b.)   5 Representatives have sponsored an article of expulsion, introduced in the Legislative Introduction Thread, against one of their House colleagues
2.)   The Speaker shall open a thread and commence the debates. Debates shall last at least for 72 hours. After the debates have elapsed, the Speaker shall open a vote, which shall last for 3 days. In order to expel the Representative, a two-thirds majority of the sitting representatives is needed.

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 House of Representatives may elect to suspend any section of these rules at any time with the consent of two-thirds of sitting Representatives.
2.) The presiding officer may unilaterally suspend any section of these rules at any time, unless another Representative objects. If a Representative objects, suspending the rules shall require the consent of two-thirds of sitting Representatives.
3.) If the House of Representatives 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 House, the Speaker shall notify the President Pro Tempore 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.

Return Education To the Regions Act
Overview
1.Regional Government will be tasked with creating a regional framework for educational funding and  curriculum.
2.Regional Governments must create access to free public schooling for grades K-12 for all school aged Atlasian citizens and permanent residents residing in their region.
Curriculum
1.While Regions will be able to create their own education curriculum, they must include the following courses or sections in their curriculum. 
English:Grades 1-12
Math:Grades 1-12
Science: Grades 1-12
Social Sciences or History: Grades 1-12
one Foreign Language: Grades 1-10

Takes Effect
1.This bill takes effect January 1st 2018.

Criminal Justice Reform Act 2017
1Basic Rights of Atlasian Inmates and criminally charged Atlasians
1.All individuals have the right to not face torture or other forms of physical and mental abuse by any Atlasian law enforcement officer or military officer no matter their nationality, or crime they are convicted of.
2.All Atlasian prisoners have the right to be outside of solitary confinement for at least 12 hours a day.
3. All Atlasian prisoners have the to access heating  when temperatures inside the prison go below 50 F and to access air conditioning when above 80 F.
4.All Prisoners have the right to go by the gender they identify with and be housed in a facility that coincides with their gender identity.
2Reform of criminal laws
1. Possession of any controlled substances Controlled Substances Act shall no longer be punished by fine or jail time, but instead convicts shall be required to serve in a rehab center.
2. The maximum criminal sentence in Atlasia shall be  changed too life in prison with no access to  parole for 25 years. All prisoners serving a life sentence with no chance for parole shall have their seance commuted no access to  parole for 25 years.
3Other
1. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 2007 shall be fully repealed
2. Guantanamo Bay detention camp shall be permanently closed with all prisoners transferred to a high security prison in the USA.   
3.Section 3.3 shall take effect January 1 2018 with the remainder of the bill taking effect upon the Presidents signature.

Make the Atlasia Federal Goverment more efficient Amendment

Section 1 (The Legislature)

    All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Congress of the Republic of Atlasia, which shall consist of a Senate. and a House of Representatives.
    The Vice President shall be the President of the Congress, but shall have no vote in the House of Representatives, nor in the  Senate save when they be equally divided.

Section 2 (The Senate)

    The Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall consist of two classes of Senators, Class I and II. Class I shall consist of two Senators from each Region, elected for a term of four months in the months of February, June, and October. Regions will set their own rules for administering Class I senate elections but must ensure the rules they come up with are consistent with the Fourth Atlasian Constitution. Any vacancy occurring in a Class I Senate seat shall be filled according to the laws of the respective region. If a region does not have any law for filling the vacancy, then the Governor of that Region shall appoint a person to fill the remainder of that term.  
Class II Senate seats will consist of  7 seats elected at-large too a four month term  in the Months of April, August and December, by  single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law. Rules and dates for Class II Senate elections shall be determined by the Senate, rules must be consistent with the Fourth Atlasian Constitution.If a vacancy shall occur in a Class II Senate seat more than twenty-one days before the regularly scheduled election for that seat, then a special election shall be called to fill the remainder of the vacated term within one week of the vacancy occurring; Special elections to the Senate shall begin within ten days of the vacancy occurring. If a vacancy  shall occur in a Class II Senate seat less than twenty-one days before the regularly scheduled election for that seat then the vacancy shall be filled by the executive of the effected Party; but should a vacancy occur as the result of the death, expulsion, or resignation of a Senator not being a member of a major Party, then the seat shall remain vacant.

 No person shall be a Senator who has not attained 200 or more posts, nor whose account is fewer than 1440 hours old, nor who is not a citizen of the Region they are chosen to represent.
    The Senate shall elect its leader and other officers, and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
    Upon the seating of the first Congress, the Senators shall be divided into two classes of equal size, such that each class shall consist of one Senator from each of the Regions. Members of the first class shall be elected in the months of February, June, and October; members of the second class shall be elected in the months of April, August, and December.
    The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. In all trials of impeachment, the Chief Justice shall preside, and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of 2/3 of the sitting Senators.
    Vacancies in the Senate shall be filled according to the laws of the 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)

    The House of Representatives shall consist of nine members chosen at-large by the eligible voters of the Republic according to a method of proportional representation prescribed by the Federal Legislature. Representatives shall serve a term of two months, and shall be elected in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
    All elections for the House of Representatives shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law.
    No person shall be a Representative who has not attained 100 or more posts, nor whose account is fewer than 720 hours old, nor who is not a citizen of the Republic of Atlasia.
    The House of Representatives shall elect its Speaker and other officers, and shall have sole authority to determine its own methods of proceedings.
    The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.
    Vacancies in the House of Representatives shall be filled by the executive of the effected 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 a replacement to serve the remainder of the existing term.

 Section 4 (Rules of Order)

    Each Houses The Senate 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 House.
    Each Houses The Senateshall be the judge of its own elections and of the qualifications of its members.

Section 5 (Legislation)

    Legislation may originate in either house, and both houses shall reserve the right to propose and concur with amendments; but all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.
    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.
    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 approve of it he should sign it; but if he disapproves he should return the bill to the house in which it originated with his 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.

 Section 6 (Powers)

    The Congress shall have the power, except where limited elsewhere by this Constitution, to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, and to distribute the revenue thus collected;
        to regulate foreign trade and inter-regional commerce;
        to establish uniform laws of naturalization;
        to regulate the value and coinage of the national currency;
        to establish a uniform system of weights and measures;
        to establish post offices and post roads;
        to define and punish crimes committed on the high seas;
        to declare war, issue letters of marque and reprisal, and make laws governing the capture of land and water;
        to raise, support, and regulate the national armed forces;
        to admit new states and territories to the Union;
        to make laws governing borrowing, lending, and the selling of stocks and bonds;
        to confirm or reject nominations for the Supreme Court and the officers of executive departments;
        to establish a central national bank;
        to make laws necessary for the enforcement of the Constitution and federal law; and
        to regulate voter registration and federal elections.

 Section 7 (Restrictions)

    The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, except when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
    No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
    No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any Region.
    No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in accordance with the apportionments made by law.
    No title of nobility shall be granted by the Republic of Atlasia, and accordingly no person holding office under this Constitution shall accept any title, rank, or office from any foreign state except in accordance with federal law.

Section 8 (Implantation)
Upon successful implantation of this amendment; all current House and Senate members shall become acting Senators, with current Senate members being Acting Class I senate members, and House members becoming Acting Class II senate members. Regions and the federal government shall have a maximum of two weeks to organize special Class I and Class II Senate elections. Upon certification of results for Special Senate elections. elected Senators may swear in immediately.  


 

Support Victims of Mental Disorders Act
 
SECTION 1. PROTECTION

1. No business in Atlasia shall deny service to a legally competent person on the basis of their mental disorder.
2. Employees suffering from a mental disorder are protected from loss of employment due to their mental disorder as long as a certified psychologist or psychiatrist has not detected a general incapacity for work due to the mental disorder.
3. Students and pupils suffering from a mental disorder are protected from sanctions which penalizes misbehavior caused by their mental disorder.
3.1. An exception of this rule is an expulsion from school or college if a certified psychologist or has detected a general incapacity to visit the specific institution due to the student's or the pupil's mental disorder.
3.2. The evaluation whether the misbehavior is caused by a mental disorder or not has to be done by a certified psychologist or psychiatrist.

SECTION 2. ASSISTANCE

1. 9-1-1 emergency dispatch offices shall accept emergency calls concerning threats for suicide and suicidal thoughts. The calls shall be forwarded to an external emergency hotline.
2. The price for prescribed drugs against mental disorders shall never be higher than 2% of the patient's or, if underage, the patient's parents' monthly income.
3. The costs for evaluations specified in Section 2, 2. and Section 2. 3. shall be borne by the regional governments.

SECTION 3. INFORMATION

1. All high school students shall be informed at least once in their their school career about the most common mental disorders.
2. Non-profit-making associations that inform about mental illnesses shall have the right to request funding by the regional government.
3. During their education, teachers shall be prepared for the interaction with students suffering from a mental disorder.
4. The 21^st of January shall hereby be declared as the “Mental Disorder Awareness Day.”

Title: "The Four is not Enough" Amendment

Upon ratification by two-thirds of the regions, Article III.2.5 of the Fourth Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Judiciary Term Limit Amendment
Section 1 (The Judiciary)

   1. The judicial power of the Republic of Atlasia shall be vested in the Supreme Court, the membership of which shall consist of two Justices and three Associate Justices chosen in the following manner:
   2. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be nominated by the President of the Republic of Atlasia and confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate.
   3. The chief executive officer of each of the several Regions shall nominate from among his 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 approve of the nomination he should grant his Assent and the nominee shall assume the office of Associate Justice; but if he disapprove he 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.
    4.The Justices and Associate Justices thus chosen shall hold their offices for a maximum period of two years starting at the time they take the oath of office to the Supreme Court. Members of the Supreme Court after serving a two year term as either a Justice or  Associate Justice may be reappointed to another two year term after waiting a minimum of year after their term expires or they leave the court. Individuals may not serve more then two full terms on the Supreme Court. life in good behavior.
   5. The President shall designate a Chief Justice from among the appointed Justices, who shall continue in that capacity until such time as he shall resign the designation, or else cease to be a member of the Supreme Court.
6. Within 3 months of a individuals term expiring on the Supreme Court the President or Governor of the region effected by the vacancy on the Supreme Court may appoint and have an individual confirmed to the Supreme Court, however they may not be seated until the seat they take becomes vacant.
7.Term limits shall not be retroactive and only apply to new Supreme Court nominees.

Title: Voting Rights Amendment

Upon ratification by two-thirds of the regions, Article I.4 of the Fourth Constitution shall be amended as follows:

Title: Presidential Succession Act of 2017

Section 1 (Line of Succession)
i. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall become President upon their resignation as Speaker and as Representative.
ii. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President, nor Vice President, nor Speaker of the House of Representatives to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate (PPT) shall become President upon their resignation as PPT and as Senator.
iii. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President, nor Vice President, nor Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor President Pro-Tempore of the Senate to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then the officer Cabinet who is highest on the following list, and who is not ineligible to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President shall become President:
(1) the Secretary of State
(2) the Secretary of Internal Affairs
(3) the Attorney General
(4) the Secretary of Federal Elections
(5) the Registrar General
(6) the National Archivist
iv. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President, nor Vice President, nor Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, nor officer of the Cabinet to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then most senior member of the House of Representatives shall become President.
v. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President, nor Vice President, nor Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, nor officer of the Cabinet, nor member of the House of Representatives to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then most senior member of the Senate shall become President.
vi. If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President, nor Vice President, nor Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, nor officer of the Cabinet, nor member of Congress to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall become President.

Section 2 (Interim Presidency)
i. If, at the appointed hour for the inauguration of the President and Vice President, there is neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect yet able to assume the Presidency of the Republic of Atlasia, then the powers and duties of that office shall temporarily devolve upon an Interim President until such time as there shall be either a President-elect or a Vice President-elect.
ii. The officers of the government shall succeed to the Interim Presidency in the order established by Section 1 of this Act.

SECTION 1. TITLE

1. The title of this resolution shall be “Resolution for freedom and democracy in Turkey.”

SECTION 1. THE CURRENT STATE

1. The Republic of Atlasia …

I. … condemns the constitutional reform that aims to abolish the separation of powers and to grant the president disproportionate power.
II. … condemns the current restriction of freedom of speech and press and condemns the imprisonment of numerous journalists.
III. … views the government's behavior in international affairs with great concerns and worries about the diplomatic relationships between the Republic of Turkey and the international community.
IV. … condemns the method of campaigning in foreign countries before an election or before a referendum.

SECTION 2. PROPOSALS AND FUTURE ACTION

1. The Republic of Atlasia calls for a reintroduction of the constitution approved on the 12th of September 2010.
2. The Republic of Atlasia demands an apology of the Turkish government for their unacceptable comments accusing the European countries of fascist and Nazi methods.
3. The Republic of Atlasia will work with the international community to push for the haphazard imprisonments of Turkish journalists critical of the government.
4. The Republic of Atlasia demands the end of the oppression of the HDP and their elected representatives.
5. The Republic of Atlasia will immediately stop all arms exports to the Republic of Turkey and recommends all members of the international community to do so.
6. The Republic of Atlasia recommends the European Union to cancel the accession negotiations with the Republic of Turkey immediately.

1. Should there be a mutual agreement, any two Atlasians may engage in a duel.

2. Duels shall take place in a single match of any online game agreed upon by the participants, so long as the game can be fully recorded for independent verification.

3. A replay of the game must be saved and shared with others to confirm the duel happened and who won and who lost.

4. Whoever loses the duel shall be removed as a registered voter and prohibited from re-registering for a period of one week or two months, whichever the duelers mutually decide.

Montenegro NATO Membership Ratification Act
1. The Congress of the Republic of Atlasia ratifies the membership of the Republic of Montenegro of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Section I (The Purpose). The purpose is to ensure that guns across the Republic of Atlasia don't get sold to the wrong hands.
Section II (Permission to sell).
The only individuals that are allowed to sell or purchase any form of firearm have to meet all of the following criteria:
-Must be 18 years or older
-Must obtain & own a license to sell firearm
-Must not have a criminal history
Section III (Permission to purchase).
The criteria to purchase a gun is outlined in Section II.
Section IV (License).
The criteria to follow in order to obtain a license to sell firearm is listed in section II (besides obtaining a license of course).
Section V (Punishment).
Punishments shall be left up to the regions to handle.

SECTION 1. TITLE

1. The title of this Act shall be “The Rent Is Too Damn High Act of 2017”

SECTION 2. AFFORDABLE RENTS

1. The rent for existing apartments in areas with an overstretched housing market shall never be higher than 10% than the customary comparative rent. The states determine the place of these areas.
2. Broker commissions have to be borne by the lessor.

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVENESS
1. This bill go into effect July 1, 2017.

1. Background
a. A commission shall be created to look into the creation of exclusive powers for the regional legislatures, ending Congress’ ability to legislate in the specified policy areas.
b. The commission shall look into the creation of a funding mechanism to allow for the Federal Government to assist with funding for regional programmes.

2. Membership of the Commission
a. The commission shall include:
    i. A member of the executive nominated by the President.
        1. The member of the executive shall temporarily chair the commission, until a chair has been elected by the commissioners.
    ii. The leaders of each of the regions.
    iii. Up to three members nominated by Congress.
        1. Up to one member shall be nominated by the Senate.
        2. Up to two members shall be nominated by the House.
        3. Any Atlasian citizen may be nominated.
b. No member of this commission shall be allowed to be on any other public Congressional commission until the completion of the commission’s report.
c. Members of the commission shall be replaced in the event of a vacant seat under the terms of Section 2a.

3. Timeline
a. The commission shall produce a report for Congress on regional powers.
    i. This report shall be completed at least 90 days after the passage of this act.
    ii. The President shall be allowed to extend the deadline by 30 days via executive order.

Section I. Purpose
1. The purpose of "The Currency of Atlasia Act" is to establish an official currency for the Republic of Atlasia.

Section II. Coins of Atlasia
1. The Republic of Atlasia's coins shall include and be worth the following with respect to the Atlasian Dollar:
         a. Penny - shall be worth 1¢ (or equivalent 1% of the $1 dollar bill).
         b. Nickel - shall be worth 5¢ (or equivalent 5% of the $1 dollar bill).
         c. Dime - shall be worth 10¢ (or equivalent 10% of the $1 dollar bill).
         d. Quarter - shall be worth 25¢ (or equivalent 25% of the $1 dollar bill).

Section III. Dollars of Atlasia
1. The Republic of Atlasia's dollar bills shall include the following:
         a. $1 bill
         b. $5 bill
         c. $10 bill
         d. $20 bill
         e. $50 bill
         f. $100 bill

Section IV. The Beginning
1. "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall officially go into effect on August 1, 2017.

SECTION 1. TITLE

1. The title of this house bill shall be “Antineutrino-Simossad Affordable Housing Act of 2017.”

SECTION 2. RENT CONTROLS MEASUREMENTS

1.  The regional governments may select areas in which the Federal Rent Control comes into effect.

2.  The Federal Rent Control provides the rents for existing apartments in overstretched housing
markets not to increase more than a set percentage than the customary comparative rent.

3.  The Federal Rent Control may have five classes:
3.a Class 1  -  5% of the customary comparative rent.
3.b Class 2  -  10% of the customary comparative rent.
3.c Class 3  -  15% of the customary comparative rent.
3.d Class 4  -  20% of the customary comparative rent.
3.e Class 5  -  25% of the customary comparative rent.

4.  The regional governments may determine the class of the Federal Rent Control.

SECTION 3. BOOKER COMMISSIONS

1.  Booker commissions have to be borne by the lessor.

SECTION 4. FILLING EMPTY AND ABANDONED HOMES

1.  The “Real Estate Revivification Program” (RERP) is hereby established.

2.  The RERP provides the a reduction of the property tax on the respective real estate for natural persons who buy abandoned houses and apartments and offer these respective properties for letting.
2.a Legal persons who buy apartments which have been empty for more than 12 months and let them for a rent which is not higher than the customary comparative rent shall receive a reduction of the property tax by 50 percent on the respective apartment.
2.b Legal persons who buy houses which have been empty for more than 12 months and let them for a rent which is not higher than the customary comparative rent shall receive a reduction of the property tax by 75 percent on the respective apartment.
2.c Legal persons who buy apartments which have been empty for more than 12 months and resell them for an amount which is not higher than 20 percent of the cost price after a fundamental renovation shall receive 50 percent of the renovation costs.
2.d Legal persons who buy houses which have been empty for more than 12 months and resell them for an amount which is not higher than 20 percent of the cost price after a fundamental renovation shall receive 75 percent of the renovation costs.

3. The RERP provides a nationwide distribution programme for housing.
3.a Apartments and houses that have been empty for the duration of 24 months shall be included into a housing pool.
3.b Natural citizens shall have the right to sign in the distribution programme.
3.c Citizens who signed in the distribution programme shall be allotted to a real estate included in the housing pool within a radius of 30 miles. The respective citizen has to pay 50 percent of the average rent of comparable houses and apartments. Another 25 percent shall be borne by the RERP. The reduction of rent shall last 24 months. After these 24 months, the lessor shall not raise the rent more than 10 percent within the duration of 12 months.
3.d Families and citizens who are registered in the distribution programme longer than other individuals shall receive houses and apartments of higher value.
3.e Condominium owners are allowed to prohibit the distribution programme to include their respective properties.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This shall be cited as the "Taxpayer Receipt Act of 2017"

SEC. 2. ITEMIZED FEDERAL TAX RECEIPT.

I. - Itemized Federal Tax Receipt:  The Internal Revenue Service is hereby authorized and mandated to send to every taxpayer who files an individual income tax return for any taxable year an itemized Federal tax receipt showing a proportionate allocation (in money terms) of the taxpayer's total tax payment for such taxable year among major expenditure categories for the fiscal year ending in such taxable year. The Federal tax receipt shall also include 2 separate line items showing the amount of Federal debt per legal Atlasian resident at the end of such fiscal year, and the amount of additional borrowing per legal Atlasian resident by the Federal Government in such fiscal year.

II. -  Timing Of Federal Tax Receipt: A Federal tax receipt shall be made available to each taxpayer as soon as practicable upon the processing of that taxpayer’s income tax return by the Internal Revenue Service.

III. - Use Of Technologies: The Internal Revenue Service is encouraged to utilize modern technologies such as electronic mail and the Internet to minimize the cost of sending Federal tax receipts to taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Service shall establish an interactive program on its Internet Web site to allow taxpayers to generate Federal tax receipts on their own.


SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This act shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Bioengineered Food Disclosure Act
To require food companies to disclose whether their products have been genetically modified.

Section 1: Definitions
(a)   Bioengineering – food that contains genetic material that has been modified through in vitro recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) techniques; and for which the modification could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature.

Section 2: Regulations
(a)   Require that a form of disclosure be included on food in the form of text.
(b)   Disclosure text shall read: “This product has been genetically modified”.

Section 1: Absentee Voting

1. 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 shall publicly post that absentee voting application has opened. In the event of runoff elections, once the need for a runoff election is known, the Secretary of Federal Elections shall publicly post that absentee voting application has opened.
3. Voters wishing to apply for an absentee vote shall notify this publicly in a manner specified by the Secretary of Federal Elections.
4. The Secretary of Federal Elections shall then grant the request to absentee vote publicly, at which point the voter may proceed to vote in the Absentee Voting Booth.
5. Absentee Voters shall post their votes in the same format as if it were a regular ballot, and they shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as regular ballots.

Section 2: Disqualification from Absentee Voting

1. Should an Absentee Voter post more than 5 times anywhere on the Atlas Forum in the regular election period, their absentee vote shall be nullified and treated as non extant.
2. Any person who has their absentee vote nullified may vote again by regular ballot.
3. Any person who votes by regular ballot after voting by absentee ballot, shall have their absentee ballot treated as non-extant.
4. Persons who attempt to vote in the Absentee thread without prior notification of the Secretary of Federal Elections shall have that vote treated as non-extant.

1. Rebates
a. A rebate shall be provided per every kilowatt hour of energy produced through renewable sources at a rate of $0.025.
b. An additional rebate shall be provide per every excess kilowatt hour of energy produced through renewable energy sources at a rate of $0.05.

2. Subsidies
a. The Federal Government shall provide a subsidy at a rate of up to 10% of the cost of installation to assist with the costs of installing renewable energy sources.

3. Costs
a. The Federal Government shall make $15 billion available in the first year of the scheme to cover the costs of this bill.
b. The Federal Government shall make $10 billion available in the following years of the scheme to cover the costs of this bill.

Section 1 (Title)
i. The long title of this Act shall be, the "Northern Separatist Terrorist Designation Act." It may be cited as the "Northern Separatist Act."

Section 2 (Preamble)
i. WHEREAS, the organization styling itself the "National Lincoln Liberty Coalition" has taken deliberate action to target and kill Atlasian citizens on our soil;

ii. WHEREAS, they have as their stated aim the illegal separation of the Lincoln Region from Atlasia;

iii. WHEREAS, they have perpetrated acts of mass violence against the citizens of the Lincoln Region in pursuance of their despicable agenda;

iv. WHEREAS, they have lately abducted the Secretary of Federal Elections, and threatened unspecified harm against her and the Atlasian people should this Republic not cede to their demands;


Section 3 (Designation)
i. The organization styling itself as the "National Lincoln Liberty Coalition (NLLC)" is hereby designated a terrorist organization.
ii. The Attorney General shall have power to designate any persons or groups of persons affiliated with the aforementioned NLLC as terrorists under the laws of the Republic of Atlasia.

Reintroduction of Top Secret Classification Act
1. The Game Moderator shall have the power to label select documents as "Top Secret" for the purpose of dissemination of matters vital to national security or economic imperative.

2. Matters deemed as "Top Secret" must labeled clearly at the top of the message.

3. Matters deemed as "Top Secret" may only be revealed, whether in full form or in summary, to the President, Vice President, Cabinet, Deputy GM and to any person the GM feels it is essential have the information. Any person the GM consents to receive the information must be listed as the original PM sent by the GM.  Such matters may also be revealed to the Justices of the Supreme Court and to trial juries only where necessary for the prosecution of cases outlined by this Act.

4. It shall be punishable under Atlasian Law for any person entrusted with material labeled "Top Secret" to reveal that information to an individual not mentioned in section 3.

    a. This crime shall be tried as though it were a crime under the Consolidated Criminal Justice Act.
    b. Use of "Top Secret" material as evidence in such cases shall be revealed and discussed in private among the presiding Justice, Counsel and the jury, where applicable.
    c. Sentencing of the crime shall be by the presiding Justice; He may sentence the guilty party for up to, but not exceeding, a 2 month ban from voting and a 4 month ban from holding any office under the Republic of Atlasia.

Atlasia CBO Act
1. Upon passage of this act a new Cabinet level position shall be established called the Chief Budget Officer or CBO.
2.The CBO shall be responsible for writing a strategic financial plan for the country and will be responsible for: writing a draft of the budget once a year with the assistance of the President, giving monthly financial updates to the country, and work with congress to ensure bills passed meet the financial goals set by the CBO for the country.
3.Individual regions may choose to ask the CBO for their advice and assistance on financial issues within their region. 
4.The CBO shall twice a week be required to respond to financial figures by deciding how to set interest rates for the country.
5.The CBO shall be appointed by the President and must be confirmed by a joint session of both the  House and Senate with 70% support of non abstaining voting members.

Continuing Resolution to Avoid Shutdown
Funding for Atlasia's government will be maintained at current levels through December 31st

To Be Continued

FRR Continued
To Be Concluded

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Atlasian People's House of Representatives
Pending

Section One: Healthy Habits

1. Encourages workplace fitness programs for businesses to provide fitness breaks for workers and promote healthy habits

2. Begins a promotional campaign about prevention and early detection of melanoma, glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease

3. Allocates $10,000,000 in funding to subsidize regional vaccination program costs for influenza, pneumonia, and whooping cough

Section Two: Saving Lives, Saving Money

1. Calls the "Consortium for Health Savings" to meet yearly in Nyman and present its findings to Congress

2. This consortium shall be tasked with auditing AtlasCare each year and recommending cost-savings measures and improvements to Atlasia's healthcare system

3. The consortium will be selected in composition by the Department of Health and shall consist of leading medical researchers, AtlasCare administrators, hospital CEOs, government accountants, patient advocacy groups, and groups representing those suffering from various common diseases

4. Recommendations shall be reviewed and implemented if deemed adequate each year by Congress and AtlasCare administrators working in collaboration

Section Three: Lowering Drug Prices

1. Raises research and development subsidies for approved medical/drug research by 2%

2. Lowers the number of years before generic drugs can be developed from 25 to 15

3. If a drug company is charging more than 4 times the global average price charged for a drug, they will lose their non-generic patent protections within 2 years unless they lower the cost

Section Four: Funding

1. Funding for Section 1 measures of this act will come from savings from AtlasCare's audit and recommendation implementation

2. Funding for Section 3 measures will come from an increase in the cigarette and alcohol taxes proportional to the amount needed for implementation of Section 3, and then also from savings each year in AtlasCare costs as per recommended measures

 

Section One: Procedures for Subpoena and Discovery

1. Adds Sections 7 (Subpoenas and Discovery) to the Criminal Justice Act of 2016 (SB-2017), (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=261009.0) reading:


2. Renumbers all appropriate Sections of SB-2017 to account for this change.

Abolish Daylight Savings Act
1. Upon passage of this bill Atlasia will no longer recognize or use daylight savings time.
2. All references in current statutes that say "Eastern Daylight savings time" shall be amendment to say "Eastern Standard time"

Income tax reform act
1.Individual Income tax rates             
     a.Single Taxable Income   
         b. Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Taxable Income       
         c.  Married Filing Separately Taxable Income   
         d.   Head of Household Taxable Income


rate         a.                     b.                                     c.                             d.
10%   $0 – $9,325           $0 – $18,650               $0 – $9,325             $0 – $13,350
15%   $9,326 – $37,950   $18,651 – $75,900   $9,326 – $37,950   $13,351 – $50,800
25%   $37,951 – $91,900   $75,901 – $153,100   $37,951 – $76,550   $50,801 – $131,200
28%   $91,901 – $150,650   $153,101 – $177,350   $76,551 – $92,675   $131,201 – $161,050
33%   $150,651-$191,650   $177,351-$233,350   $92,676-$116,675   $161,051-$212,500
39%   $191,651 – $416,700    $233,351 – $416,700$116,676 – $208,350    $212,501 – $416,700
44.00%$416,701-$999,99  $416701 - $999,999   $208351 + $749,999      416701-$999,999
49.00%   $1000,000+   $1000,000+               $750,000+                        $1000,000+
            
2.The Estate Tax is eliminated but income from inheritance is classified as capital gains for tax purposes             
            
3. Corporate Tax rate and deductions
Taxable income ($)   Tax rate         
0 to 50,000             10%         
50,000 to 75,000   $7,500 + 15% of the amount over 50,000         
75,000 to 100,000   $13,750 + 20% of the amount over 75,000         
100,000 to 335,000   $22,250 + 30% of the amount over 100,000         
335,000 to 10,000,000   $117,900 + 38% of the amount over 335,000         
10,000,000 to 15,000,000   $3,450,000 + 40% of the amount over 10,000,000         
15,000,000 to 18,333,333   $5,175,000 + 42% of the amount over 15,000,000         
18,333,333 and up          44%         
            
   Companies that have 51-74% of employees being Atlasian get a 15% tax deduction         
   Companies that have 75% + of employees being Atlasian get a 30% tax deduction         

4. This bill shall take effect for the tax year of 2019

This bill is to be titled: Make Atlasia Debate Again Act, 2018, alternatively known as the MADA Act.

Section 1. Organizational structure
1. A new non-partisan organization, the Independent Debate Consortium (IDC), shall be formed with the Game Moderator to lead the organization.
2. The IDC shall be tasked with creating multiple types of debates on a regular basis (at minimum once a month) which will be posted in the "Atlas Fantasy Elections" board.
3. The Game Moderator may choose to appoint the Deputy Game Moderator to lead the IDC.
4. In the absense of a Game Moderator, the Deputy Game Moderator will become the leader of the IDC.
5. With neither the Game Moderator or the Deputy Game Moderator present, the Senate will confirm a nominee appointed by the President to serve as Acting Chairman of the IDC, until the return of either the Deputy Game Moderator or the Game Moderator.

Section 2. Structure of debates
1. Multiple types of debates shall be held, with some types including but are not limited to:
    a. Presidential candidates
    b. Candidates for legislatures
    c. Candidates for regional executives
    d. Forums to discuss platforms of major political parties, headed by party leaders
2. The type, length, and other details of each debate shall be at the discretion of the Game Moderator and the IDC.
    a. Includes the choice for moderator of each debate, which will be agreed upon by all participants and is at the complete discretion of the IDC.
3. The format of each debate (number of questions, debate length) shall be at the complete discretion of the IDC, however, it must also be agreed upon by the participants of each debate.
4. The questions or specific content of each debate may not be given ahead of time to any of the participants of the debate.
5. Other details of the debates shall be at the complete discretion of the IDC.

3. Other
1. This bill shall take effect immediately.

Article of impeachment against Tim Turner
1. This Congress introduces articles of Impeachment against TimTurner as National Archivist  for gross inactivity.
2.This article shall take effect immediately after a vote in favor of this article by 2/3 of the house and Senate members.   

Federal Electoral Act of 2018
I.   The Federal Electoral Act of 2016, as it should be referred to in retrospect, is hereby repealed.

Section 1: Votes
1. In their vote in the Elections to the People’s House and the Presidency, each voter shall list any of the candidates in the voter's order of preference.
2. In the case of People’s House elections, if preferences are not numbered, then the candidate on the list first marked shall be presumed to be the first preference, the second marked candidate shall be presumed to be the second preference, and so on.
3. A voter may cast a write-in vote in any election, except for runoff elections.
4. When writing in a candidate, the voter shall not be required to explicitly specify that their vote is for a write-in candidate.
5. For a write-in votes to qualify as a countable vote, the person written-in must formally accept the write-in candidacy before the given election ends.
6. A voter may vote for "None of the Above" in any election, except for runoff elections. Should a voter vote for "None of the Above"; all lower preferences of the voter shall be ignored.
7. Persons who edit their post in which their vote(s) are contained after twenty minutes shall have their vote counted as void.

Section 2: Determination of the Winner
1. In the case of a Presidential election, any candidate that gains a majority of first preference votes shall be declared the winner of the election.
2. If no candidate has a majority of first preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first 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, 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 candidate with the least total number of preferences expressed by voters shall be eliminated.

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. Only the candidates who have tied shall be allowed onto the ballot, where they will automatically be listed.
4. Voters shall only be allowed to cast a vote for one candidate.
5. If any candidate shall gain a majority of the votes cast, then they 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 the result of such litigation is believed to 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, allowing the other to serve the whole 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 spli
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 or 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, thean the other will serve out the remainder of the term.

Section 5: None of the Above
If the None of the Above option has won more votes than any 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 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.
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. Should a runoff be 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 People’s House shall be  seventy-two hours before the earliest possible commencement of the election and for special elections to the People’s House shall be seventy-two  hours before the commencement of the election.
2. A candidate for a regular or special election to the People’s 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 otherwise 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.

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 People’s 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 Dec, 2017 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 120 days. Changes in State of registration may only occur within a single region every 72 hours.  Individuals that Deregister will still have any no move clauses credited towards them.
4. Any registered voter who fails to vote in elections for four 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 two  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 they 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 five or more members is a major political party.
7. Major political parties may pass bylaws determining who may be the party’s candidates or on the party’s membership roll. A candidate that does not gain their parties nomination for an office but runs for that office shall be listed as an independent. A person that has been expelled by a party shall be listed by the RG as an Independent and may not re-register with that party until that parties chair reports to the RG that person is eligible to return to the 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 People’s House 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 People’s House in the month of December shall begin between midnight Eastern Standard Time on the Thursday preceding the first Friday after or on December 10th and 0001 Eastern Standard Time on the 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 after their election. The Supreme Court may delay the swearing in of an elected official in a specified manner if it thinks the result of such litigation would have a substantive impact on whether that person in question was elected.

This bill is to be titled: the Korean Crisis Investigation Act.

Whereas the Korean Crisis has caused significant harm to the reputation of Atlasia internationally and demonstrated the need for a full reckoning of the scale of the catastrophe and its implications for the functioning of the federal government:

Section 1: Objective and composition.

1. The President will appoint an Investigatory Committee On The Korean Crisis tasked with producing a comprehensive report detailing the causes, facts and aftermath of the recent first strike in Korea and ensuing conflict, and recommending a course of action to prevent such a situation occurring in the future.

The Investigatory Committee on the Korean Crisis (hereafter: ‘the Committee’) will consist of -

a. One member of the House of Representatives.
b. One member of the Senate.
c. A chair, tasked with leading the investigation and presenting the final report, who will be an Atlasian citizen in good standing who does not currently hold elected office.

The President should strive for a reasonable partisan balance in the composition of the Committee.

Section 2: Powers of the Committee.

1. The Committee will have the ability, supported by the power of subpoena, to -

a. Call witnesses to testify before the Committee, either in closed or open session as deemed appropriate by the Chair.
b. Compel the presentation of evidence as deemed necessary for the successful completion of the Committee’s work.
c. Recommend, if any, criminal charges to the Attorney General as a result of the Committee’s findings.

Section 3: Work of the Committee and Publication

1. Upon the completion of its investigation, Committee will present to the President a full and comprehensive report on the Korean Crisis, outlining in detail -

a. The circumstances preceding and leading to the Crisis.
b. A full and exhaustive timeline of the events in question as garnered from public record, testimony and evidence.
c. A determination of which citizens, with a particular focus on those who were members of the administration or the Congress, if any, were aware of President Goldwater’s decision to launch an attack on North Korea in advance, and, if they were informed after the fact, in what order, when and with level of detail.
d. Recommendations as to reforms, administrative, statutory and otherwise, that should be undertaken to prevent a repeat of the crisis.
e. Recommendations, if any, of grounds for prosecution of any involved parties.

2. The Committee will hold public meetings on an ongoing basis in an appropriate venue. Where circumstances require, as deemed fit by the Chair, closed sessions, the Committee will inform the public in the open chamber that such sessions are to take place, with whom, and when.

3. The Report should be completed and presented to the President in its unreacted form within 2 months (8 weeks) of the first public meeting of the Committee.

a. The first public meeting of the Committee shall be defined as the date as of which all three comprising members have publicly posted in the appropriate Committee thread.
b. The Committee shall furthermore present the full, unredacted Report to the Attorney General for clearance for the release of a public Report.

4. If security concerns surround the disclosure of pertinent details in the report the full Report as issued for public release may be redacted and condensed accordingly.

a. As in §3. c4 (b), redactions for reasons of national security or other significant concerns before the issuance of the public Report will be carried out at the behest of the Attorney General.
b. Including the time for necessary adjustments, the public Report should be posted in both the official Committee thread and, in addition, in a new, dedicated thread on the Fantasy Elections board.

Section 4: Replacement of Committee Members.

7. Should a member of the Committee be inactive in their duties, present an unforeseen conflict of interest, or otherwise fail to meet the standard of character and competence necessary, the President may dismiss the member and appoint a replacement. The Senate may in addition, by majority vote, remove the member in question.

This bill is to be titled: the Party Organisation Act.


Section 1: Party defintions.

1. A political party, as defined by declared affiliations with the Census Bureau, will be legally classified as follows -

a. A party of under three (3) members shall be a 'minor party', and will not be listed in tabulations of party composition or for purposes of ballot construction. Citizens who appear on a ballot while a member of a minor party shall be listed as Independent.

b. A party of at least three (3) members shall be a 'recognised party'. Recognised parties will be listed in tabulations of party composition and appear on the ballot when a member is seeking elected office.

c. In addition, a recognised party of thirty (30) or more members shall be a 'major party'.

Section 2: Constitutional clarification.

1. For Constitutional purposes, both 'recognised parties' and 'major parties' shall be considered 'major parties' as outlined in the Constitution and pre-existing statute.

Section 3: Regulations for major parties.

To increase the importance of regions in federal elections:

1. When there is at least one candidate affiliated with the party, or seeking its nomination, a major party is required to hold a Presidential primary.

2. A primary will be held on a regional basis, with at least two (2) days between each primary.

a. All major parties will hold their primary elections on the same dates. The exact primary calendar must be agreed by all major parties and published publicly within one month (4 weeks) of the most recent Presidential election. Should the parties be unable to agree, the Department of Federal Elections will issue a mandatory calendar.

3. A candidate must declare their intention to run in a primary election in order to appear on the ballot. Write-in candidates will be permitted provided the candidate in question indicates their acceptance of such votes.

4. The primaries will be named as follows -

a. The first primary shall consist of the region of Lincoln. The Lincoln primary will be referred to as the "New Hampshire primary". Eligible citizens of Lincoln shall vote.
b. The first primary shall consist of the region of the South. The South primary will be referred as the "South Carolina primary". Eligible citizens of the South shall vote.
c.The third and final primary shall consist of the region of Fremont. The Fremont primary will be referred to as the "California primary".

5. Each primary will elect a slate of party delegates to the major party's convention. The number of, composition of, and allocation of delegates to candidates in each regional primary shall be a matter for the major party to determine.

a. Primary voters will have the option of voting simply for 'Uncommitted', whereby delegates allocated by the regulations of the major party will not be specifically awarded to any candidate but will still attend the convention.

5. A Presidential candidate will require a majority of delegates voting to be nominated for President at the major party's convention.

6. Should no candidate have achieved a majority of delegates after two (2) ballots at the convention, candidates who did not participate in the primary process may declare their candidacy and seek the nomination of the major party and the support of the delegates.

7. The eligibility requirements for voters in a primary, i.e. requiring party affiliation etc., shall be a matter for the regions to determine.

a. The eligibility requirements for primary candidates will be the same as that of President as outlined in the Constitution.

8. This Act shall take effect at the first presidential election following its passage.

Nonpartisan Judiciary Amendment

Article VIII, Section 2 of the Fourth Atlasian Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

Voting Clarification Amendment

Article I, Section 4 of the Fourth Atlasian Constitution shall be amended to read as follows:

This bill is to be titled: Right to Lottery Privacy Act, 2018, alternatively known as the RLPA Act.

Section 1. Procedure
1. After the winner of a regional or national lottery has been notified of their win, they shall have the option of either disclosing their name publicly or to keep their name and identity private.
2. The only circumstance in which a lottery winner shall be compelled to release their name shall be if authorities deem an identity check necessary to ensure the winnings are not fraudulent.
    2a. If the winner releases their name to said authorities, their name will not be released to media or other external sources.
3. If the winner requests to keep their name anonymous, then the regional or national lottery or authorities shall not release the winner's name or identity without the winner's consent to any external media source.

AN ACT
to allow broader access to transportation for all Atlasians


Section 1: Title and Definitions
1. The long title of this act shall be the ”Atlasian Transportation Access Act" It may be cited as the “Atlasian Transportation Act”
2. For the purposes of this act, “Transportation" shall refer to buses primarily

Section 2: Funding And Discounts
1. The price of bus passes for all Atlasians will be cut 50%, except in the case that you make less than 50,000, then a bus pass is free.
2. This bill will be funded by the Department of Transportation.
3. All students of public universities in Atlasia get free bus passes.

Section 3: Registration
1.Your bus pass must be re-registered every year.

Section 4: Bus Standards
1. All buses must meet certain environmental criteria, set by individual regions


Section 5: Time of Enactment: This bill will take effect immediately after it passes

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

This bill is to be titled: the Game Moderation Abolition Act.

Whereas the position of Game Moderator and its associated offices have outlived any purpose, and whereas the nation functioned at perhaps its most energetic and vibrant during the years-long period where the office did not exist:

Section 1: Abolition of the Game Moderation System

1. The position of Game Moderator is hereby abolished.

2. Any associated offices, deputies, departments, newspapers and other instruments of the 'game moderation' system are hereby abolished.

3. Should the President appoint an individual as 'Game Moderator', or any Cabinet position equivalent in powers or purpose, that office shall have no legal recognition and exert no official power.

Section 2: Grandfather Clause

1. All acts of the Game Moderation system issued prior to the implementation of this Act, including but not limited to budget projections, world events and economic figures, will retain their legal stature and significance for as long as they are deemed relevant.

Section 3: Implementation

1. This Act shall take effect immediately upon its signature into law.

Section 1: Title & Definitions
1. The long title of this act shall be the ”Atlasian School Defense Expansion and Youth Mental Health Reform Bill of 2018 " It may be cited as the “School Defense and Mental Health Reform Act”
2. "Security Equipment" shall be defined as security cameras, shatterproof glass, and other equipment either specified in this bill or additional equipment requested by a school's district.
3. "Emergency Equipment" shall be defined as such equipment as fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, Emergency AED machines, and additional equipment requested by a school's district.

Section 2: School Security Expansion Overview and Funding
1. All Schools in the regions of Fremont, Lincoln, and The South are required to upgrade their security equipment by the date of January 1st, 2019.
2. All equipment must be tested yearly.
3. If equipment is damaged or malfunctioning, it must be reported immediately to the state or regional department of education, whereupon receiving the report, a replacement unit must be sent and installed in the school as soon as possible.
4. All equipment must be replaced every five years.
5. All schools must be installed with checkpoints in order to ensure that no weapons are brought onto a school premises
6. All schools must have an adequate amount of security personnel, determined by the state or regional Department of Education.
7. This section of the bill will be funded by Atlasia's Department of Education

Section 3: School Emergency Care Overview and Funding
1. All Schools in the regions of Fremont, Lincoln, and The South are required to upgrade their emergency equipment by the date of January 1st, 2019.
2. All equipment must be tested yearly.
3. If equipment is damaged or malfunctioning, it must be reported immediately to the state or regional department of education, whereupon receiving the report, a replacement unit must be sent and installed in the school as soon as possible.
4. All equipment must be replaced every five years.
5. All campus personnel, including teachers and security guards, must be trained in First Aid.
6. This section of the bill will be funded by Atlasia's Department of Education

Section 4: Youth Mental Health Reform
1. All Schools shall be required to hire school counselors, as well as teach about mental health starting in the earliest year of health class.
2. All doctors, with emphasis on pediatrics, will now be required to do mental health tests on patients if not done already.
3. These mental health checkups will take place on a yearly basis unless mental health problems are found in the patient, then the doctor and patient will schedule additional visits.
4. The Department of Health and Human Services will start regulating prices on anti-depressants and other drugs that are prescribed to mental health patients.
5. This section of the bill will be funded by Atlasia's Department of Health and Human Services

Section 5: Time of Enactment: This bill will take effect immediately after it passes.asses.