FE3: Second Fremont Constitution (Passed)

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Second Constitution of the Commonwealth Fremont

We, the people of the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, united by common fealty to the great and unshakable truth that all people are born free and equal, that the blessings of liberty may be secured for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the COMMONWEALTH OF FREMONT.

BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the Republic of Atlasia, and being residents of one of the states of this commonwealth, are citizens of Fremont, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the same. No citizen shall be denied equal protection under the law.
Section 2. The Commons shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, nor of the press, nor the right to assemble and petition for the redress of grievances.
Section 3. The Commons shall make no law effecting the establishment of religion, not obstructing the freedom of worship.
Section 4. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, shall exist within this commonwealth, or in any territories under its jurisdiction.
Section 5. A well-regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Section 6. In all suits of criminal law, the accused shall have right to a free and fair trial by an impartial jury of their peers.
Section 7. No person accused of any crime under the laws of this commonwealth shall be subjected to warrantless search or seizure of their homes, persons, records, or possessions; nor excessive bail; nor cruel or unusual punishment; nor compelled to bear witness against herself; nor denied right to legal counsel.
Section 8. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, save when in times of war or rebellion the public safety may require it.
Section 9. The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as to deny those natural and inherent rights herein unlisted.

ARTICLE I
Section 1. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in a House of Commons.
Section 2. The prime minister shall be President of the Commons, and accordingly shall enjoy all the rights of membership thereof. The prime minister and the whole body of Members shall together compose the Commons.
Section 3. Members of the Commons shall be chosen every second month by a direct vote of the people, and the number of members to be chosen shall be proportional to the number of candidates for election, such that four members shall be chosen when the number of candidates is five or greater, and two otherwise.
Section 4. No person shall be a member who is not a citizen of this commonwealth, and no person shall remain a member who is found by a vote of three fourths of their peers to be guilty of gross negligence, high crimes, or misdemeanors.
Section 5. The Commons shall have power to determine its own methods and proceedings, to elect its speaker, and to judge the qualifications of its officers; but no rule shall be made denying the right of any citizen to introduce legislation in the Commons.
Section 6. Every bill adopted by the Commons, before it becomes law, shall first be sent to the prime minister. If they approve of it, they should sign it and it will become law; but if they disapprove they may instead refer it to the people. Should a majority of voting citizens then reject the measure, it shall be retired; but if they assent, it shall become law regardless of the opinion of the prime minister. If the prime minister fails either to sign or to veto a bill within 120 hours of its adoption by the Commons, it shall become law.
Section 7. Whenever a vacancy should occur in the composition of the Commons, the prime minister shall nominate a replacement. Should the vacancy have occurred fewer than 336 hours before the next regular election, the member thus nominated shall serve the remainder of the existing term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new member may be elected.

ARTICLE II
Section 1. The powers and duties of the executive shall be vested in the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth.
Section 2. The prime minister shall be chosen every fourth month by the entire body of eligible voters. No person shall be prime minister who is not a citizen of this commonwealth, nor whose account is fewer than 720 hours old.
Section 3. The prime minister shall have power to carry out all acts in association with the enforcement of the laws passed under this Constitution; to fill vacancies in the House of Commons; to serve as President of the Commons, and to partake in their proceedings; to command the militia in times of war; to issue pardons and reprieves for crimes committed under the laws of this commonwealth, which upon their issuance shall be perpetual, though they shall have no power to pardon themselves; to appoint, in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, the Associate Justice for this Commonwealth; and to refer acts of the Commons to the people.
Section 4. Should the prime minister, by reason of death, recall, or resignation, become unable to execute the duties of their office, then the Speaker of the House of Commons shall become interim prime minister. If there is no Speaker at the time of the vacancy, then the most senior member of the Commons being eligible for the prime ministership according to the provisions of this Article shall become interim prime minister. If no member of the Commons is eligible for the prime ministership according to the provisions of this Article, then the President of the Republic of Atlasia shall nominate an interim prime minister. Should the vacancy have occurred fewer than 336 hours before the next regular election, the person designated as interim prime minister shall serve the remainder of the existing term; otherwise, they shall serve only until a new prime minister may be elected.

ARTICLE III
Section 1. The people of the Commonwealth of Fremont may initiate the recall of any officer of this Commonwealth, except the Associate Justice of the Circuit Court, by delivering to the prime minister a petition stating the reason for recall and signed by one tenth of the total population of the commonwealth. The prime minister shall then open the voting booth, according to the rules and regulations for elections set forth in this Constitution; but if the officer to be recalled is the prime minister, then the Speaker of the House of Commons shall open the voting booth. The ballot question shall be, “Shall [A.B.] be recalled from the office of [name of the office held]?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for recall; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against recall. Abstentions will not affect the results. Recalled officers shall forfeit their offices immediately.
Section 2. Whenever the Commons shall be equally divided over a bill, or whenever the prime minister should be disinclined to sign a bill adopted by the Commons, the prime minister may choose to refer the issue to the people. Accordingly, they shall call a referendum on the proposal, with the ballot question “Shall [name of bill, followed by text] be made law?” A vote of “YES” shall be considered a vote for adoption; a vote of “NO” shall be considered a vote against adoption. Abstentions will not affect the results. Referred legislation shall immediately become law upon its adoption by the people.

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[Pragmatic Conservative]

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ARTICLE IV
Section 1. Elections for the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia shall be conducted at regular intervals, in the months prescribed by the Constitution thereof.
Section 2. Senators shall be elected by a direct vote of the people, and no person eligible to vote in elections for governor and House of Commons shall be denied the right to vote for senator.
Section 3. Should a vacancy occur in the representation of this commonwealth in the Senate, the prime minister shall appoint an interim senator to serve until a replacement may be elected. Special elections for the Senate shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy.

ARTICLE V
Section 1. The right to vote in all elections and referendums called according to the provisions of this Constitution shall be exclusive to those persons being eligible to vote in elections for President of the Republic of Atlasia who have been registered to vote in one of the states of this Region for a period of at least 336 hours prior to the commencement of the election.
Section 2. Voters shall be permitted to edit their ballots until 20 minutes after posting them in the voting booth. No voter shall edit their ballot after the official end of the voting period.
Section 3. All elections and referendums of this commonwealth shall be administered by the prime minister. Whenever the prime minister should be unable to perform this duty, the office of election administrator shall pass to the Speaker of the House of Commons, or in their absence the most senior member of the Commons. Should neither the prime minister nor any member of the Commons be able to administer the election, the duties and responsibilities of the election administrator shall devolve upon an Emergency Commissioner nominated by the President of the Republic of Atlasia.
Section 4. Elections for prime minister shall be held in the months of February, June, and October. Elections for the House of Commons shall be held in the months of February, April, June, August, October, and December.
Section 5. Candidates for prime minister, Commons, and federal Senate must declare their candidacy in the appropriate thread by 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Wednesday preceding the election in order to appear on the ballot.
Section 6. Except in December, all elections for prime minister, Commons, and federal Senate shall begin on the penultimate Friday of the given month. In December, all elections shall begin on the second Friday of the month. All special elections for prime minister and the Commons shall begin on the Friday following the creation of the vacancy to be filled; but if the vacancy shall occur on a Thursday, the special election shall begin on the second Friday following the creation of the vacancy. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid. The election administrator must accept any absentee ballots cast no more than 168 hours prior to the commencement of the election.
Section 7. Following the expiration of the voting period, the election administrator shall have 24 hours to produce a tally of the votes cast and to announce the persons elected.
Section 8. All elections shall be by single transferable vote, unless otherwise specified by law.
Section 9. The terms of the elected prime minister and members shall begin at 12:00:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, on the Friday following their election. Prior to assuming office, all officers shall swear the following oath: “I, [A.B.], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [state office name] and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the Commonwealth of Fremont and the Republic of Atlasia.”
Section 10. All referendums on referred legislation, proposed amendments to this Constitution, and proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia shall begin on the first Friday following their passage by the appropriate body; but if the passage shall occur on a Thursday, the referendum shall begin on the second Friday following passage. All recall elections shall begin on the first Friday following the receipt of the valid petition for recall; but if the petition is received on a Thursday, the recall election shall begin on the second Friday following receipt. The appropriate election administrator shall open the voting booth at 12:00:00 AM, Eastern Standard Time. Voting shall continue for 72 hours, and no vote cast more than 72 hours after the voting booth was opened shall be considered valid.
Section 11. In all referendums, a “YES” vote shall be considered a vote in favor of passing the referendum and a “NO” vote shall be considered a vote against passing the referendum. Abstentions shall not affect the results of the referendum. In all cases, a simple majority of those voting “YES” or “NO” shall be required to pass the referendum.

ARTICLE VI
Section 1. The House of Commons shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution by a four fifths vote.
Section 2. The commonwealth shall ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia by public referendum.

ARTICLE VIII
Section 1. The assent of a majority of the voting citizens of this commonwealth shall be sufficient to ratify this Constitution.
Section 2. Upon the ratification of this Constitution, the incumbent legislature and executive officer of the commonwealth shall assume the powers and responsibilities of, respectively, the House of Commons and the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, as outlined by this Constitution.

Sponsor Harry S Truman Labor
48 hours for debate

[Pragmatic Conservative]

This looks great, well done Truman. I especially love turning the legislature into a more parliamentary chamber. I would love to hear from my other assembly people on this though.it is essential that this body create a new constitution to replace the old broken one. 

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Those amendments seem fair Truman, I would like to propose the following amendment.

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Edit as their are amendments on the table I extend debate 24 hours.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

I like the new ideas here.  I've always thought uniqueness is key to attracting people to different regions and Spanish was one of the things that made the former Pacific kinda cool.

One thing you might want to add is a section on the judiciary because there doesn't seem to be one.  I know the federal constitution pretty much says who the judge will be but I think it would still be good to put it in there and also define how it will work and all.

Also, I'm pretty sure I mentioned the election date problem like way back in August or September or something.

It is illegal for the Regional goverment to have their own justices. However thanks for the input🙂

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Those amendments seem fair Truman, I would like to propose the following amendment.

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Edit as their are amendments on the table I extend debate 24 hours.

Seeing an objection from the sponsor, I will bring the proposed amendment to a 24 hour vote.
Please vote Aye,Nay,or Abstain on the proposed amendment.
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Aye

[Pragmatic Conservative]

As the amendment has failed to get a majority of support, it fails. I will extend debate for 24 more hours before a final vote.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

As the amendment has failed to get a majority of support, it fails. I will extend debate for 24 more hours before a final vote.

My amendment was adopted, correct?

Yes

[Pragmatic Conservative]

Seeing no debate on the legislation for 24 hours, I bring this bill to a 24 hour final vote. Please vote aye, nay or abstain on this piece of legislation.
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Aye

[Pragmatic Conservative]

I request that the voting period be extended another 24 hours to allow Legislators Simossad and RFayette to cast their votes.

If one of them fails to vote by the expiry of the voting period, then I will extend it. 

[Pragmatic Conservative]

This legislation passes with 2 voting in favor and 1 not voting.

As stated in the first Fremont Constitution:

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a ratification vote shall be scheduled from February 9-12.