SC: Respecting and Preserving Native Atlasian Culture Act (Tabled)

[Anna Komnene]

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Sponsor: Siren

The floor is open for debate on this bill.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

No issues from me.

[Santander]

Virtually everything about this bill is inappropriate and/or wrong.

- Regional governments cannot create tax carveouts, because they have no authority to set federal taxes. State taxes (5%) are a small fraction of the taxes paid by individuals and corporations, and state tax deductions actually increase federal taxes due. There is also no compelling state interest in the measures you proposed, nor are there any definitions of the terms used.
- Setting funding levels to specific institutions is not the job of the Legislature, it is the job of the Governor, who is responsible for the budget.
- Native tribes are sovereign, and thus the regulation of activities and commerce between Atlasian regions and Native tribes, including the transfer of cultural objects, is constitutionally a responsibility of the federal government, not state government.
- The South Region does not currently have any regional holidays.
- The Governor already has the implicit executive authority to establish regional monuments or other cultural sites.
- The regional government does not have the authority to mandate tribal education standards.

There are some things we have the authority to do, for example, something like Indian Education for All in Montana, which provides a constitutional mandate to Montana public schools to teach all students about American Indian history and culture. Perhaps too often in our schools, Native Atlasians are only ever brought up as co-belligerents in American or European colonial wars, and there is a compelling case to be made to mandate a deeper understanding of their role in our national history, but it should be done in a constitutional manner. I will consider any constitutional alternatives proposed by a member of this body, but I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and I cannot vote in favor of unconstitutional legislation.

[Anna Komnene]

I'd like to point out that the regional government isn't the same thing as a state government as it has sovereignty over all of the states in the region.  There's no United States analogue for the type of government we're running here.

That said, you might be right about the first section unfortunately, so I'd be willing to strike that from the bill.

However, denying the legislature to fund ANYTHING makes no sense.  In fact, you just passed a bill that funded an institution.  You also just passed another bill where you made the argument that it's important for the legislature to define rights or powers that might be otherwise implied.

The education part of the bill is not a mandate.  It's a grant that is voluntary.

As for holidays, just because the region may or may not already have regional holidays, doesn't mean that we don't have the power to create them.

[Santander]

Tribal sovereignty is explicitly described in the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871.

United States v. Kagama in 1886 affirmed this and declared that the US Government "has the right and authority, instead of controlling them by treaties, to govern them by acts of Congress, they being within the geographical limit of the United States.... The Indians owe no allegiance to a State within which their reservation may be established, and the State gives them no protection."

The federal government, and the federal government alone, has authority over Native tribes.

However, denying the legislature to fund ANYTHING makes no sense.  In fact, you just passed a bill that funded an institution.  You also just passed another bill where you made the argument that it's important for the legislature to define rights or powers that might be otherwise implied.

The HOPE Act provides loans, in an unspecified amount, to the SLC. The executive branch is responsible for the administration and transfer of funds. The Governor has the sole right and responsibility to determine funding levels, subject to approval by this body.

[Anna Komnene]

However, denying the legislature to fund ANYTHING makes no sense.  In fact, you just passed a bill that funded an institution.  You also just passed another bill where you made the argument that it's important for the legislature to define rights or powers that might be otherwise implied.

The HOPE Act provides loans, in an unspecified amount, to the SLC. The executive branch is responsible for the administration and transfer of funds. The Governor has the sole right and responsibility to determine funding levels, subject to approval by this body.

I'm sorry, but this argument is completely absurd.  You do realize that the budget only happens once a year?  What do you expect the legislature to do for the rest of the year if it can't fund anything?

[Santander]

However, denying the legislature to fund ANYTHING makes no sense.  In fact, you just passed a bill that funded an institution.  You also just passed another bill where you made the argument that it's important for the legislature to define rights or powers that might be otherwise implied.

The HOPE Act provides loans, in an unspecified amount, to the SLC. The executive branch is responsible for the administration and transfer of funds. The Governor has the sole right and responsibility to determine funding levels, subject to approval by this body.

I'm sorry, but this argument is completely absurd.  You do realize that the budget only happens once a year?  What do you expect the legislature to do for the rest of the year if it can't fund anything?

The legislative branch exists to create laws, not to create new agencies or expand the size of government.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Not fond of section 5

[Anna Komnene]

Not fond of section 5

If it saves the rest of the bill, I'd be willing to get rid of it, but hear me out first.

Columbus Day is only recently an American tradition (it only became a federal holiday in 1937).

There's also precedent for states to not recognize it in favor of something else.  For example, Hawaii, Alaska, Oregon, and South Dakota have all declared that they don't recognize it as a holiday and celebrate other things in its place.  Iowa and Nevada also don't celebrate Columbus Day either.

Columbus is celebrated for finding the new world right?  Bartolomé de las Casas was also an explorer that sailed to the new world during the same time as Columbus.  Both Columbus and  Bartolomé were responsible for killing and enslaving indigenous people (though Columbus was far worse, going so far as to endorse barbaric torture and dismemberment).  However, unlike Columbus,  Bartolomé came to regret his actions later in life and dedicated his life to attempting to advocate for the human rights of indigenous people.    Bartolomé Day would celebrate the arrival of explorers to the new world and acknowledge the sadness involved in this part of history just like Columbus Day.   Bartolomé Day, however would have the added bonus of celebrating a man that recognized how these actions were unacceptable even way back in 1400s and 1500s and a man that advocated for equal treatment.  IMO, it's a win-win.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

However, denying the legislature to fund ANYTHING makes no sense.  In fact, you just passed a bill that funded an institution.  You also just passed another bill where you made the argument that it's important for the legislature to define rights or powers that might be otherwise implied.

The HOPE Act provides loans, in an unspecified amount, to the SLC. The executive branch is responsible for the administration and transfer of funds. The Governor has the sole right and responsibility to determine funding levels, subject to approval by this body.

I'm sorry, but this argument is completely absurd.  You do realize that the budget only happens once a year?  What do you expect the legislature to do for the rest of the year if it can't fund anything?

The legislative branch exists to create laws, not to create new agencies or expand the size of government.

actually going to have to agree with Santander here

[Anna Komnene]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acts_of_the_114th_United_States_Congress

[Santander]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acts_of_the_114th_United_States_Congress

The Constitutional authority of the US Congress is not the same as we have because a) it is federal, and b) the legislative branch creates the budget in the US federal govt. Our system in the South is a strong governor system where the executive branch holds budgetary powers.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

I motion for a final vote on this bill.

[Santander]

I second the motion.

[Anna Komnene]

I'd rather withdraw it.  It would need amending, but there's no point because it has no chance of passing.