FE14:Young Democratic Involvement Act of 2017 (Statute)

[Pragmatic Conservative]

AN ACT
to strengthen to democratic
awareness among adolescents,
to give young people a voice and a
chance to participate in our political process

SECTION 1. TITLE

The title of this act shall be “Young Democratic Involvement Act of 2017.” It may be cited as “Y.D.I.A.”

SECTION 2. VOTING AGE

1. Every citizen who has reached the age of sixteen shall be eligible to vote and to run as a candidate in municipal elections.
2. Every citizen who has reached the age of sixteen shall be eligible to vote in regional elections. Every citizen who has reached the age of eighteen shall be eligible to run as a candidate in regional elections.

SECTION 3. YOUTH COUNCILS

1. Every city that has reached a certain number of residents shall run a youth council. The number of seats shall be the following:

10,000 inhabitants – 11 seats
30,000 inhabitants – 13 seats
50,000 inhabitants – 15 seats
70,000 inhabitants – 17 seats
90,000 inhabitants – 19 seats
100,000 inhabitants – 20 seats
+100,000 inhabitants – 25 seats

2. Every citizen between the age of 12-18 shall be eligible to vote and to run as a candidate in youth council elections.
3. The youth council shall be provided an amount of money of the city budged to invest in events and programs.
4. Every youth council elects three chairs who are allowed to speak and to submit proposals in city council sessions which have been adopted by the youth council.
5. The electoral procedure shall be controlled by the city.

Sponsor: simossad Labor
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48 hours for debate

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

This is a very interesting proposal, simossad - municipal government hardly gets any attention in Atlasia. I'm eager to hear the sponsor's argument for this bill, but after reading through the text of the proposal, a few thoughts come to mind:

(1) I am firmly in favor of the extension of voting rights to citizens age 16 and older. My position on this issue has long been that if 16-year-olds are expected to pay taxes and follow traffic laws, they ought to be eligible to partake in the democratic process. Currently, citizens between the ages of 16 and 18 lack representation at any level of government despite being expected to contribute to the treasury, a fact that runs contrary to the principles upon which this republic was established.

(2) I am concerned that the second sentence of Section 2.2 violates of the recently adopted Second Constitution. Article II of that document states that "No person shall be prime minister... whose account is fewer than 720 hours old;" the proposed bill seems to contradict that provision by allowing citizens age 18 years or older to hold any office in the regional government. I do support allowing 18-year-olds to serve in the House of Commons, though as the constitution already extends that right to all citizens regardless of age, I do not believe further clarification is necessary. Furthermore, I worry that by singling out persons over the age of 18 as being eligible to serve in the regional government, we imply that those under 18 are not eligible to hold regional office, which would bar Atlas' large population of minors from participating in our elections. For these reasons, I suggest that this sentence be struck out before the bill is brought to a final vote.

(3) I am intrigued by the idea of municipal "youth councils." It might be a good idea to reach out to educators and regional youth organizations to ensure that as many as possible are aware of this opportunity and can encourage their charges to participate.

[Representative simossad]

Thank you Mr. Speaker for bringing this bill to the floor, and thank you Governor for your remarks.

First of all, we all know that it's sometimes hard to distinguish between the rules of gameplay we decide by ourself and the rules and laws in the fictional world we create. That really can lead into a mess if we don't know what we are talking about. But I am sure that you know what you are talking about, and thus, I welcome amendments to this bill which will take the worries from you.

I believe the principle "No taxation without representation", the principle our nation founded its independence on, is still valid and important today. Young people have civil duties. I believe that 16-year olds are old enough to evaluate their political stances and to have a say in municipal politics, and thus, I believe that we should grant our youth the most important of all civil rights: the right to vote and the right to run for office.

However, that is not enough. Commitment for local issues, the willingness to change and to improve the place where you live does not start at the age of sixteen. Children also do have opinions on local politics, and the implementation of youth councils (a measure that some countries have supported a long time before we did) would not only make young people represented in our political process, it would also raise the awareness of every child that political involvement and dedication to our democratic process can actually have an impact.  Political education should not just stay in school. It should take place by respecting the opinions of young people and by giving them a chance to participate.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

AN ACT
to strengthen to democratic
awareness among adolescents,
to give young people a voice and a
chance to participate in our political process

SECTION 1. TITLE

The title of this act shall be “Young Democratic Involvement Act of 2017.” It may be cited as “Y.D.I.A.”

SECTION 2. VOTING AGE

1. Every citizen who has reached the age of sixteen shall be eligible to vote and to run as a candidate in municipal elections.
2. Every citizen who has reached the age of sixteen shall be eligible to vote in regional elections. Every citizen who has reached the age of eighteen shall be eligible to run as a candidate in regional elections.

SECTION 3. YOUTH COUNCILS

1. Every city that has reached a certain number of residents shall run a youth council. The number of seats shall be the following:

10,000 inhabitants – 11 seats
30,000 inhabitants – 13 seats
50,000 inhabitants – 15 seats
70,000 inhabitants – 17 seats
90,000 inhabitants – 19 seats
100,000 inhabitants – 20 seats
+100,000 inhabitants – 25 seats

2. Every citizen between the age of 12-18 shall be eligible to vote and to run as a candidate in youth council elections.
3. The youth council shall be provided an amount of money of the city budged to invest in events and programs.
4. Every youth council elects three chairs who are allowed to speak and to submit proposals in city council sessions which have been adopted by the youth council.
5. The electoral procedure shall be controlled by the city.

Sponsor: simossad Labor
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48 hours for debate

To eliminate the confusion from this bill I offer the following amendment.

[Potus]

Yankee is the only eligible voter? He's the only one who's been here 16 years.

[Representative simossad]

Amendment is friendly.

Yankee is the only eligible voter? He's the only one who's been here 16 years.

As I said, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between the fictional world we are creating and the gameplay. If the members of the Assembly have concerns regarding this, we will talk about it.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

State and municipal governments are generally understood to be Non-Playable Characters, so I don't think Section 2.1 should be a problem. Section 2.2 is a different matter, as the regional government is clearly Playable and qualifications for regional electors are already established in the Constitution, so I support the Speaker's amendment striking that clause.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

State and municipal governments are generally understood to be Non-Playable Characters, so I don't think Section 2.1 should be a problem. Section 2.2 is a different matter, as the regional government is clearly Playable and qualifications for regional electors are already established in the Constitution, so I support the Speaker's amendment striking that clause.

Section 2.2 has been amended out.
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The above amendment was adopted.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

I offer the following amendment:

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It's a little clunky, and purposefully vague, but nevertheless addresses the need for the youth population to be made aware of this opportunity if the proposed councils are to be successful.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

I extend debate 24 hours.

[Representative simossad]

Amendment is friendly, thank you, Governor.

[RFayette]

I support civic engagement as a rule, and these proposals seem very reasonable to me.  I wholeheartedly support this legislation, especially with the amendment.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

I bring this bill to a final vote. Please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain on this bill.
_____________
Aye

[Representative simossad]

Aye.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As I'm now the acting prime minister

AYE

[Pragmatic Conservative]

With 3 Ayes and 1 not voting this bill passes. This bill goes to the Governors desk for his signature or veto.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

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