Commonwealth of Frémont • 15th Parliament

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Hereby nominating Koopa D. Quick for Speaker.

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FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

Election of the fourteenth speaker

[ 2 ] Australian Swing Voter, MFP from Washington
[ 1 ] Koopa Danielle Quick, MFP from Iowa

[OBD]

This is the draft for a potential infrastructure bill that'll bring the benefits of high-speed rail to more communities while also supporting local clean transportation initiatives.

Fremont Public Transportation Expansions and Connections Act of 2020

AN ACT to better extend the benefits of Fremont’s revolutionary high-speed rail system to all Fremonters and facillitate further expansion of enviromentally-friendly public transportation alternatives

Section I (Title)

i. The long title of this act shall be, the “Fremont Public Transportation and Connections Act of 2020”. It may be cited as the “Public Transportation Expansions/Connections Act” or as ”PTECA”.

Section II (Regional Service for FremontRail)

i. A sum of $YTBD shall be allocated for the construction of additional local stops and lines along major high-speed FremontRail lines across the territory of the Commonwealth.
ii. On the Northern Pacific Line, local stops shall be built at Vacaville, Roseburg, Kelso, and Tacoma. Additionally, the following shall be submitted to local residents for consideration.
a. The potential additions of local stops at Willows, CA and Albany, OR.
b. The potential extension of the Northern Pacific Line north to Everett and Bellingham.
iii. On the Central Line, local stops shall be built at Cheyenne, Fort Collins, and Lincoln. Additionally, the following shall be submitted to local residents for consideration.
a. The potential addition of a local stop at Grand Island, NE in lieu of Lincoln, NE.
b. The potential extension of the Central Line to Minneapolis, MN, with local stops in Des Moines, Mason City, and Rochester.
In conjunction with clause b), the creation of a spur line from Des Moines, IA to Dubuque, IA, with a local stop in Iowa City. Pending legislative action from Lincoln, this spur could continue on to Chicago from Dubuque.
iv. On the Transdakotan Line, the potential addition of a local stop in St. Cloud, MN shall be submitted to local residents for consideration.
v. On the main interior line, local stops shall be built at San Bernardino, Palm Springs-Palm Desert, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs, and a spur line to Tuscon shall be built from Phoenix. Additionally, the following shall be submitted to local residents for consideration.
a. The potential addition of a local stop at an undisclosed Central Valley, CA location, with a mass-transit alternative running from this stop to the cities of Fresno and Bakersfield.
vi. A new line, termed the Northwestern Interior Line, will connect the cities of Seattle and Eugene, with local stops in Ellensburg, Yakima, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Missoula, Butte, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Boise, and Bend. Additionally, the following spur lines shall be constructed to link the Northwest Interior Line to the Transdakotan Line and the Central Line:
a. A spur line from Pocatello to Salt Lake City, with a local stop in Ogden.
b. A spur line from Butte to Rapid City, with local stops in Bozeman and Billings.
vii. On all FremontRail lines, express lines shall be established, which only stop at major population centers. Express lines will make up about TBD% of rail traffic, with the remaining service stopping at all local stops.

Section III (Improved Local Public Transportation Infrastructure)

i. The Commonwealth of Fremont shall allocate 6% of carbon tax revenue each year to fund clean public transportation initiatives in major urban areas.
ii. Funds shall be allocated to individual cities based on an application process to the Fremont Department of Transportation. Funds shall be allocated based on population, logistics, need, cost effectiveness, and predicted reduction in carbon emissions. Currently ongoing construction and planning projects will recieve priority for funding. Additionally, construction that connects existing local public transportation networks to regional connectors (such as FremontRail) will be encouraged.
iii. The Department of Transportation will conduct oversight on the usage of these funds, and funds may be confisticated if the Department of Transportation deems they are not being effectively used.

Section IV (Protection for Endangered Habitats)

i. All transit options constructed within the purview of this act shall seek to avoid inflicting permanent damage to endangered habitats, as defined by the federal Subdepartment of the Interior and the relevant agencies of the several states.

A few notes:
- For the proposed funding of Section II, I'll consult with the GM to determine the cost of the proposed projects.
- For the proposed funding of Section III, I'll work with the rest of Parliament to set an appropriate value.
- Some language has been taken from previous infrastructure acts - notably, the Central and Northern Pacific Railway Act of 2017

Edit 2/27 - Added Section III funding. Section II funding is awaiting GM commentary.

[OBD]

Fremont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020

AN ACT to ‘level the playing field’ in the admissions process for Fremont colleges by protecting applicants from being discriminated against on the sole basis of being a member of a ‘protected class’.

Section I (Title)
i. The long title of this act shall be, the “Fremont Fair College Admissions Act of 2020”. It may be cited as the “Affirmative Action Repeal Act”, or as “FFCAA”.

Section II (Definitions)
i. A protected class is defined as a group of people qualified for special protection from discrimination.
ii. In the context of this act, the following groups are classified as protected classes.
  a. Race
  b. Self-Identified Gender
  c. Sexual Orientation
  d. Income of Parents/Guardians
  e. Religion
iii. In the context of this act, ‘next-of-kin’ refers to all siblings, parents/guardians, grandparents, siblings of parents, and their children, as recognized by the Census Bureau.

Section III (Protections)
i. Any publicly funded college or university in the Commonwealth of Fremont is hereby banned from using status as a member of a protected class as a factor in admissions in any form whatsoever.
ii. Additionally, any publicly funded college or university in the Commonwealth of Fremont is hereby banned from:
  a. considering charitable donations from the applicant’s next-of-kin,
  b. considering the social status (fame) of the applicant, or
  c. considering the social status (fame) of the applicant’s next-of-kin in the admissions process.
ii. Failure to abide by this law shall result a fine not exceeding $25000 for any individuals involved in any form of discrimination in college admissions outlined in Section III.i and Section III.ii. If the university as a whole is involved the judgement and fine will be determined by the courts. The money in this fine from the university will be deducted from the next year's budget.
iii. A publicly funded university shall be defined as one where at least 20% of funding for the university comes from the government.
iv. Private universities shall not be affected by this law.
v. The process of granting academic and need-based scholarships shall not be affected or regulated by this act.

It's past time Frémont Parliament considered this reform, and I look forward to hearty debate from MPs and our FM on this issue.

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Basic Income Guarantee Pilot Program

Section I (Title)
i.The title of this act shall be the "Basic Income Guarantee Pilot Program". Using the acronym to refer to this act shall be frowned upon.

Section II (Definitions)
i. Tier I Frémonters are described as those who are not actively seeking employment.
ii. Tier II Frémonters are described as those who are actively seeking employment, or those who are prevented from actively seeking employment by a serious medical condition.
iii. Tier III Frémonters are described as those who are employed, but receive less than $35,000 dollars a year in income.
iv. Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III Frémonters must all be considered under the poverty line to receive benefits from this act.

Section III (Provisions)
i. All Tier I Frémonters shall receive a subsidy of $350 a month from the federal government.
ii. All Tier II Frémonters shall receive a subsidy of $600 a month from the federal government.
iii. All Tier III Frémonters shall receive a yearly subsidy equivalent to the numerical difference between their yearly income and $35,000.

Section IV (Pilot Program)
i. This act will only apply to all residents of Santa Cruz County, Arizona.
ii. The effects of this act on the wellbeing of the residents of Santa Cruz County, Arizona will be assessed yearly until 2024. Factors may include reported happiness, economic development, local test scores, among others. In 2024, after final evaluation of the effects of this act, regionwide implementation shall be considered.

This act is definitely open to a lot of change. I just think we could use our surplus to see if UBI could work on a county-wide scale.

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Frémont Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020

AN ACT to end unfair discrimination in the criminal justice system .

Section I (Title)
i. The long title of this act shall be, the “Frémont Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2020”. It may be cited as the “FCJRA”.

Section II (Definitions)
i. A protected class is defined as a group of people qualified for special protection from discrimination.
ii. In the context of this act, the following groups are classified as protected classes.
  a. Race
  b. Self-Identified Gender
  c. Sexual Orientation
  d. Income
  e. Religion
  f. National Origin
iii. In the context of this act, an 'institution of justice' is defined as any institution involved in the process of apprehending alleged criminals and administering fines or jail time to them. 'Institutions of justice' include, but are not limited to:
  a. the police system
  b. the criminal court system
  c. the public prison system
iv. In the context of this act, 'administering justice' is defined as any process used by the State to hold citizens responsible for alleged crimes. This includes, but is not limited to:
  a. making arrests and issuing warrants
  b. jury selection
  c. the trial process (including the selection of a public defender, if necessary)
  d. the rendering of a verdict and sentencing
  e. treatment in prisons

Section III (Protections)
i. Any institution of justice in the Commonwealth of Frémont is hereby banned from using status as a member of a protected class as a factor in administering justice.
ii. Failure to abide by this law will result in varying consequences depending on the institution in violation.
iii. Regarding the police system,
  a. If a police officer is found to have violated this act once, they will be issued a warning and put on supervised probation. A second violation will result in a six-month suspension without pay and an additional fine not exceeding $10,000. A third violation will result in permanent expulsion from their position as a deputy of the law, and a fine not exceeding $25,000.
  b. If a police officer violates this act in a manner that directly results in loss of life, they will be tried for the appropriate level of murder as defined by the Frémont Department of Justice.
  c. If a police department collectively violates this act once, they will be issued a stern warning and will be placed under direct monitoring from the Frémont Department of Justice. Any further violations will result in the immediate replacement of the sheriff, as well as mandatory vetting of all remaining officers. An especially egregious violation, as determined by the Frémont Department of Justice, could also result in the department's duties being folded into another local department, resources permitting.
iv. Regarding the criminal courts system,
  a. If a justice of the law is found to have violated this act once during the process of verdict rendering and sentencing, they will be issued a warning and their actions will be monitored for six months by the Frémont Department of Justice. A second violation will result in a six-month suspension without pay and an additional fine not exceeding $10,000. A third violation will result in permanent disbarment, and an additional fine not exceeding $25,000.
  b. If court officials (including justices, prosecutors and lawyers) are found to have violated this act in the purview of jury selection and/or 'change-of-venue' motions, they will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in §3(iv.a)
v. Regarding the incarceration system,
  a. If an employee of a public prison is found to have violated this act once, they will be issued a warning and put on supervised probation. A second violation will result in a six-month suspension without pay and an additional fine not exceeding $10,000. A third violation will result in permanent expulsion from their position as a public employee, and a fine not exceeding $25,000.
  b. If an employee of a public position is found to have violated this act in a particularly egregious manner, and/or in a manner that directly results in loss of life, they will be tried for the appropriate level of violation as defined by the Frémont Department of Justice.
vi. Regarding previous unjust convictions,
  a. A Frémont Committee on Ending Judicial Discrimination shall be created as a subdepartment of the Frémont Department of Justice.
  b. The Frémont Committee on Ending Judicial Discrimination will be responsible for reviewing cases within the statue of limitations whose result may have been affected by the convicted's status as a member of a protected class.
  c. If the Frémont Committee on Ending Judicial Discrimination finds that a case was indeed affected by bias, it will consider an appropriate amount of compensation to the victim and/or their families. This may include a reduction in jail time or monetary compensation, among other possibilities.

[OBD]

Frémont Emergency Schooling Act

an act to combat the effects of the coronavirus on our public schools

Section I (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be the "Frémont Emergency Schooling Act"

Section II (Definitions)
i. A 'public school district', in the purview of this act, is a school district receiving government funding.
ii. A 'class' is defined as a semester (half year) long course.

Section III (Provisions)
i. The government of Frémont shall allocate all necessary resources to create and implement an online schooling platform in public school districts, with priority given to secondary schooling.
ii. The government of Frémont shall assist public school districts in providing students in need with Wi-Fi hotspots, and as possible, computers.
iii. All public school districts will be mandated to have at least one food distribution point for students in FRL (Free or Reduced Lunch) programs. The government of Frémont will assist in providing necessary personnel, funds, and foodstuffs as possible, prioritizing school districts serving low-income communities.
iv. All public school districts will be mandated to provide full pay to all employees through June 2020.

Section IV (Graduations)
i. The following provisions only apply to Frémont public school students graduating in 2020 who cannot access online education for a reason deemed as legitimate by their local school district.
ii. Any student with a GPA above 3.0 or no prior dropped and/or failed classes who would have attained the credits necessary for graduation during the Spring 2020 semester will be allowed to graduate high school.
iii. Any student with a GPA above 2.0 who has not failed more than three classes who would have attained the credits necessary for graduation during the Spring 2020 semester will be allowed to graduate high school if a majority of their Fall 2019 or Spring 2020 semester teachers believe that they would have passed their Spring 2020 semester classes.
iv. Any student that does not meet the above criteria, but would have attained the credits necessary for graduation during the Spring 2020 semester, will have their cases considered by their school's principal.
v. If any decisions by school officials relevant to a student's graduation were influenced negatively by any factors other than the student's academic record and conduct, the offending official will be fined a maximum of $10,000 and the affected student will be allowed to graduate from high school.

[OBD]

Frémont Higher Education Reform Act
an act to reform higher education in Frémont

Section I (Title)

i. The title of this act shall be the “Frémont Higher Education Reform Act”. This bill may be referred to as “HERA” or the “college reform bill”.

Section II (Definitions)

i. a “public university” is defined as an institution funded by public revenue responsible for post-secondary education.
ii. “FSAT” is defined as an abbreviation for “Frémont Standardized Admissions Test”.
iii. “SAT-E”, or “SAT-Equivalent”, is defined as the rough SAT score that reflects the student’s FSAT test score. When the Frémont Department of Education finishes developing the FSAT scoring system, this terminology will be phased out.
iv. a “Frémont student” is defined as an of-age student residing within the boundaries of Frémont, as defined in the Preamble of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Frémont.
v. “academic tuition” is defined as tuition paid for instruction.
vi. “room-and-board tuition” is defined as tuition paid for food and lodging services.
vii. “local community college” is defined as the community college closest to a prospective attendee’s place of residence, or as all community colleges within 25 miles of a prospective attendee’s place of residence.

Section III (Standardized Admissions Testing in Frémont)

i. The Frémont Department of Education, in conjunction with local, state, regional, and national authorities on education, shall craft the FSAT, a scored test of knowledge to replace the ACT and SAT as an indicator of the academic abilities of a prospective college attendee.
ii. This test must contain both multiple-choice and written sections, to more holistically reflect the critical-thinking abilities of the testee. Additionally, the Frémont Department of Education will create a fair and rigorous system for grading these examinations, with a minimum of five educational professionals assessing the quality of each written section.
iii. Frémont students in high school will not be allowed to sit for the FSAT more than once in a six-month period. Frémont students in community college will not be allowed to sit for the FSAT more than once in a three-month period.
iv. All public secondary schools within the Commonwealth of Frémont will be required to offer the FSAT once it is avaliable at least twice an academic year. Additionally, schools and organizations outside of the Commonwealth of Frémont will be allowed to administer the FSAT on an application basis.

Section IV (Frémont Higher Education Authority)

i. All public universities in the Commonwealth of Frémont will be folded into the Frémont Higher Education Authority System.
ii. The FHEA shall be divided into the following districts:
a. The California District, consisting of the state of California.
b. The Northwest-Pacific District, consisting of the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and all outlying territories under the jurisdiction of Frémont.
c. The Southwestern District, consisting of the states of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
d. The Plains District, consisting of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Kansas.
iii. Each FHEA district will be responsible for:
a. distributing regional funding to schools in their jurisdiction,
b. redistributing faculty and reallocating dorm space to address capacity issues,
c. granting admission to eligible Frémont students,
d. purchasing or renting facilities previously owned by closed private universities, or purchasing new land to build educational facilities, as needed to address capacity issues,
e. establishing a new tenure system, with the consent of major teachers’s unions,
f. working in conjunction with local public transportation authorities to establish extensive commuter options for colleges in their jurisdiction, and
g. adjusting admissions requirements to address capacity issues.
iv. Due to outstanding political concerns, the public universities of the state of Kansas will not be integrated into the FHEA at this time.

Section V (Curriculum)

i. The FHEA will work to standardize curriculum quality across all public universities. It will do so by working with university faculty and regional education officials to:
a. align course offerings,
b. align course objectives and topics, and
c. ensure that all courses are taught at a universal high standard of quality
ii. The FHEA will aim to achieve maximum curriculum standardization by January 2025.
iii. All FHEA universities, if not already doing so, will be encouraged to offer a general “Honors Track”, a series of accelerated and/or advanced courses for general education or a specific area of study.
iv. The FHEA will establish “flagship schools”, or state universities academically renowned on the national level that would be overloaded with admissions requests due to their existing prestige, with higher admissions standards. The following schools will be considered for flagship status:
a. University of California at Berkeley
b. University of California at Los Angeles
c. University of California at Santa Barbara
d. University of California at Irvine
e. University of California at Davis
f. University of Washington
g. University of Minnesota at Twin Cities
h. Colorado School of Mines
v. After academic alignment and standardization is seen by the FHEA as complete, the need for flagship schools will be re-evaluated.

Section VI (Admissions)

i. Any Frémont student that scores over 1200 SAT-E will be offered admission to all non-flagship FHEA colleges.
ii. Any Frémont student that scores over 1300 SAT-E will be offered admission to the honors program of the FHEA college they choose to attend.
iii. Admissions requirements for “flagship schools” will be set by officials from the school in concern and district FHEA officials, based on school capacity and demand. However, these requirements may not exceed 1400 SAT-E.
iv. Requirements for individual schools may be subjected to change based on school capacity and demand. However, all such changes must be carefully vetted by the FHEA, and requirements may not exceed those enumerated in this bill by 50 SAT-E points.
v. Any Frémont student not meeting these requirements will be admitted to their local community college. If they can maintain a GPA above 3.25, they will be able to transfer to a FHEA college of their choice after two years, provided that they retake the FSAT and score above the admissions threshold for their desired college. .

Section VII (Reinstatement of Tuition)

i. Students whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of below $70,000 will not be charged academic tuition.
ii. For students whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of between $70,000 and $270,000 will be charged five cents of yearly academic tuition per dollar of yearly income over $70,000.
iii. For students whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of over $270,000, $10,000 in yearly academic tuition will be charged.
iv. Students commuting to the FHEA school geographically closest to them will be granted a yearly waiver for public transportation costs.
v. Students attending a school in-state, but not commuting, will be charged $2,000 in yearly room-and-board tuition.
vi. Students attending a school out-of-state whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of below $70,000 will be charged $3,000 in yearly room-and-board tuition.
vii.  Students attending a school out-of-state whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of between $70,000 and $270,000 will be charged three and a half cents of yearly room-and-board tuition per dollar of yearly income over $70,000.
viii. Students attending a school out-of-state whose parents or legal guardians have a combined yearly income of over $270,000 will be charged $10,000 in yearly room-and-board tuition.

Yes, we're actually gonna do it.

[OBD]

AN ACT
to aid amputee victims

Section I (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Right to Bear Arms Act"

Section II (Recognitions)
ii. The Commonwealth of Frémont recognizes the right of all human residents to bear arms, legs, hands, feet, toes, fingers, and limbs in general, whether natural or artificial.

Section III (Implementation)
iii. The government of the Commonwealth of Frémont shall fund in full all elective procedures for the purpose of replacing lost limbs (arms, legs, hands, feet, toes, and fingers), including the purchase and installment of prosthetic limbs and other relevant treatment.

[OBD]

Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and nominate myself for Speaker.

Is there a time limit on this?

[OBD]

A RESOLUTION
to correct a wrong

Section I (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Save our Sonics Resolution".

Section II (Provisions)
i. This body hereby recognizes that the 2008 move of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team known as the "Seattle Supersonics" to Oklahoma City was a terrible error, and that Seattle, as a premier population and economic center in the Commonwealth of Frémont and Atlasia as a whole, is deserving of an NBA franchise.
ii. This body hereby calls upon NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to grant the city of Seattle an expansion franchise by the 2022-2023 NBA season, and offers to negotiate a settlement between the NBA and the City of Seattle as to potential accomodations for this new team.

Here's another fluff proposal to close out the session.