SENATE BILL: Atlasia Territorial Statehood Act (Passed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

SENATE BILL

To provide statehood to the territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa

Be it Enacted in Both Houses of Congress Assembled,

Section 1: Title
1. This act shall be titled the “Atlasia Territorial Statehood Act”

Section 2: Granting Statehood
1. The territory of the Virgin Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
2. The state of the Virgin Islands shall be located within the Lincoln Region
3. The territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
4. The territory of Atlasian Samoa shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
5. The states of Guam and Atlasian Samoa shall be located within the Fremont Region

Section 3: Granting Citizenship
1. All Atlasian nationals within the territories of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship
2. Any person born in the territory of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship

Section 4: Implementation
1. This act shall go into effect immediately

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Sponsor: OntarioProgressive
Senate Designation: SB 9013

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senator OntarioProgressive has 24 hours to begin advocating for this bill. Senators shall have 72 hours generally to respond to this bill and make comments, ask questions etc. Failure to do so in that 72 hours.....you'll see what happens!

YOU'll SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!


YOU'll SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

[MAINEiac4434]

I propose an amendment

SENATE BILL

To provide statehood to the territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa

Be it Enacted in Both Houses of Congress Assembled,

Section 1: Title
1. This act shall be titled the “Atlasia Territorial Statehood Act”

Section 2: Granting Statehood
1. The territory of the Virgin Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
2. The state of the Virgin Islands shall be located within the Lincoln Region
3. The territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
4. The territory of Atlasian Samoa shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
5. The states of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa shall be located within the Fremont Region

Section 3: Granting Citizenship
1. All Atlasian nationals within the territories of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship
2. Any person born in the territory of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship

Section 4: Implementation
1. This act shall go into effect immediately

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Sponsor: OntarioProgressive
Senate Designation: SB 9013

[ON Progressive]

I propose this bill to the Senate because I believe this would be the simplest way to fix the issue of how we deal with the Atlasia territories that haven’t been granted statehood like Puerto Rico was previously.

Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa are put into Fremont not only because the only region with a Pacific coast is the most natural fit geographically, but also because Fremont Parliament in the past has petitioned Congress to admit Guam/AS as states before.

Lincoln is given the Virgin Islands because I think it would be unreasonable to deny Lincoln when the other two regions will have former territories as states in the event of this bill passing.

[tmthforu94]

Have these territories expressed that they want statehood?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

SENATE BILL

To provide statehood to the territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa

Be it Enacted in Both Houses of Congress Assembled,

Section 1: Title
1. This act shall be titled the “Atlasia Territorial Statehood Act”

Section 2: Granting Statehood
1. The territory of the Virgin Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
2. The state of the Virgin Islands shall be located within the Lincoln Region
3. The territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
4. The territory of Atlasian Samoa shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
5. The states of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa shall be located within the Fremont Region

Section 3: Granting Citizenship
1. All Atlasian nationals within the territories of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship
2. Any person born in the territory of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship

Section 4: Implementation
1. This act shall go into effect immediately

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Sponsor Feedback: None Given
Status: Need Sponsor Feedback!!!

[ON Progressive]

I originally merged Guam and the NMI to make a more large state, though I suppose since the NMI is larger than Atlasian Samoa, it probably wouldn’t be too unreasonable to have the NMI as a seperate state.

[Former President tack50]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

[ON Progressive]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

I personally would be against annexing these territories to existing states, in particular the Virgin Islands with Puerto Rico. This was the original proposal when PR statehood was first brought up, and it was found that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are too fundamentally different culturally to be in the same state. I happen to agree with that.

I would also imagine there are very significant cultural differences between most of the Pacific Island territories and Hawaii, especially because Guam and the NMI are Micronesian while Hawaii is Polynesian.

[Former President tack50]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

I personally would be against annexing these territories to existing states, in particular the Virgin Islands with Puerto Rico. This was the original proposal when PR statehood was first brought up, and it was found that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are too fundamentally different culturally to be in the same state. I happen to agree with that.

I would also imagine there are very significant cultural differences between most of the Pacific Island territories and Hawaii, especially because Guam and the NMI are Micronesian while Hawaii is Polynesian.

Yeah, considering cultural differences, it's probably best not to merge them. Still statehood is also not the best choice because of their low populations.

The Guam-NMI state would have slightly more than 210k people while the Virgin Islands would have around half that. Meanwhile Wyoming has almost 600k people, 3 times as much as Guam-NMI and 6 times as much as the USVI.

I think the best choice is probably to leave them as territories (or give them independence if they choose to, but that doesn't seem likely either). Giving territories almost the same rights as states might be a good idea in that case though.

[MAINEiac4434]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

I personally would be against annexing these territories to existing states, in particular the Virgin Islands with Puerto Rico. This was the original proposal when PR statehood was first brought up, and it was found that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are too fundamentally different culturally to be in the same state. I happen to agree with that.

I would also imagine there are very significant cultural differences between most of the Pacific Island territories and Hawaii, especially because Guam and the NMI are Micronesian while Hawaii is Polynesian.

Yeah, considering cultural differences, it's probably best not to merge them. Still statehood is also not the best choice because of their low populations.

The Guam-NMI state would have slightly more than 210k people while the Virgin Islands would have around half that. Meanwhile Wyoming has almost 600k people, 3 times as much as Guam-NMI and 6 times as much as the USVI.

I think the best choice is probably to leave them as territories (or give them independence if they choose to, but that doesn't seem likely either). Giving territories almost the same rights as states might be a good idea in that case though.

That would require an amendment to the constitution.

[ON Progressive]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

I personally would be against annexing these territories to existing states, in particular the Virgin Islands with Puerto Rico. This was the original proposal when PR statehood was first brought up, and it was found that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are too fundamentally different culturally to be in the same state. I happen to agree with that.

I would also imagine there are very significant cultural differences between most of the Pacific Island territories and Hawaii, especially because Guam and the NMI are Micronesian while Hawaii is Polynesian.

Yeah, considering cultural differences, it's probably best not to merge them. Still statehood is also not the best choice because of their low populations.

The Guam-NMI state would have slightly more than 210k people while the Virgin Islands would have around half that. Meanwhile Wyoming has almost 600k people, 3 times as much as Guam-NMI and 6 times as much as the USVI.

I think the best choice is probably to leave them as territories (or give them independence if they choose to, but that doesn't seem likely either). Giving territories almost the same rights as states might be a good idea in that case though.

That would require an amendment to the constitution.

Not only that, but I'm kinda skeptical of the notion we should be considering population here. It's actually quite common to have subdivisions that are equivalent to Atlasian states with populations in the hundreds of thousands or even lower.

For example, that Guam + NMI merger would still be higher population than some of these state equivalents worldwide:
Prince Edward Island, Canada (province with a population of 142k)
Aosta Valley, Italy (region with a population of 126k)
7 regions of Portugal (ranging from 206k to 118.5k)
The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Spain (both in the mid 80k population)
South Sinai Governorate, Egypt (population 104k)

There are quite a few more examples with populations just over the 210k mark I haven't included, but the point of the matter is simply that small populations shouldn't be an issue for these territories becoming states.

[MAINEiac4434]

Furthermore, these people are Atlasian citizens and pay Atlasian taxes. They deserve representation.

[YE]

Does population really matter for gameplay purposes? Should it stop ppl from registering (in game) in these locations?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

An amendment would merely add them to existing regions, since we don't give States representation either.

[Fmr. Representative Encke]

Furthermore, these people are Atlasian citizens and pay Atlasian taxes. They deserve representation.

Remember, however, that adding these territories to the regions would force them to pay extra regional taxes, many of which fund projects that will never provide them any benefit.

[Former President tack50]

Considering the populations involved, I'd prefer not to add them as states (maybe annex them to Hawaii and Puerto Rico if necessary), but if we were to do so, then Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands should be merged into a single state.

I object to the ammendment (though I'm pretty sure only the sponsor can formally object).

I personally would be against annexing these territories to existing states, in particular the Virgin Islands with Puerto Rico. This was the original proposal when PR statehood was first brought up, and it was found that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are too fundamentally different culturally to be in the same state. I happen to agree with that.

I would also imagine there are very significant cultural differences between most of the Pacific Island territories and Hawaii, especially because Guam and the NMI are Micronesian while Hawaii is Polynesian.

Yeah, considering cultural differences, it's probably best not to merge them. Still statehood is also not the best choice because of their low populations.

The Guam-NMI state would have slightly more than 210k people while the Virgin Islands would have around half that. Meanwhile Wyoming has almost 600k people, 3 times as much as Guam-NMI and 6 times as much as the USVI.

I think the best choice is probably to leave them as territories (or give them independence if they choose to, but that doesn't seem likely either). Giving territories almost the same rights as states might be a good idea in that case though.

That would require an amendment to the constitution.

Not only that, but I'm kinda skeptical of the notion we should be considering population here. It's actually quite common to have subdivisions that are equivalent to Atlasian states with populations in the hundreds of thousands or even lower.

For example, that Guam + NMI merger would still be higher population than some of these state equivalents worldwide:
Prince Edward Island, Canada (province with a population of 142k)
Aosta Valley, Italy (region with a population of 126k)
7 regions of Portugal (ranging from 206k to 118.5k)
The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Spain (both in the mid 80k population)
South Sinai Governorate, Egypt (population 104k)

There are quite a few more examples with populations just over the 210k mark I haven't included, but the point of the matter is simply that small populations shouldn't be an issue for these territories becoming states.

The main issue isn't with the population per se, but with the population ratio. There seems to be an upper limit between the most populated and least populated subdivision of around 100:1

Atlasia as it currently stands (or the US RL) has a ratio of 69:1 (CA divided by WY)

Of the examples you provide:

Canada: 94:1 (Ontario/Prince Edward Island)
Italy: 80:1 (Lombardy/Aosta Valley)
Portugal: 19:1 (Lisbon/Portalegre)
Spain: 98:1 (Andalucia/Ceuta)
Egypt: 55:1 (Cairo/South Sinai)

Meanwhile, even if Guam and the NMI were to be admitted jointly, the ratio between the USVI and California is of 377:1. That's probably too much to be a proper state.

[Former President tack50]

Does population really matter for gameplay purposes? Should it stop ppl from registering (in game) in these locations?

To be fair, I imagine it really doesn't for gameplay purposes (states in general are quite unimportant). Then again even if they were to remain as territories it shouldn't stop people from registering there in theory.

We allow people to register in DC after all.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Does population really matter for gameplay purposes? Should it stop ppl from registering (in game) in these locations?

To be fair, I imagine it really doesn't for gameplay purposes (states in general are quite unimportant). Then again even if they were to remain as territories it shouldn't stop people from registering there in theory.

We allow people to register in DC after all.

DC was added to the former Mideast region in the mid 2000s if memory serves me. I don't think it was originally like that at the beginning of the game in 2004 but I am not 100% sure.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

SENATE BILL

To provide statehood to the territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa

Be it Enacted in Both Houses of Congress Assembled,

Section 1: Title
1. This act shall be titled the “Atlasia Territorial Statehood Act”

Section 2: Granting Statehood
1. The territory of the Virgin Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
2. The states of the Virgin Islands and American Samoa shall be located within the Lincoln Region
3. The territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
4. The territory of Atlasian Samoa shall be granted statehood on October 1st, 2019
5. The states of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and Atlasian Samoa shall be located within the Fremont Region

Section 3: Granting Citizenship
1. All Atlasian nationals within the territories of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship
2. Any person born in the territory of Guam, Atlasian Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands shall be granted citizenship

Section 4: Implementation
1. This act shall go into effect immediately

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Here's another amendment that I wish for one of my Lincoln senators to sponsor for the sake of promoting Lincoln dominance.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

Shouldn't we respect basic geography with allocating territories between the regions?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

why isn't the Virgin Islands in the South?

[YE]

why isn't the Virgin Islands in the South?

[AustralianSwingVoter]

why isn't the Virgin Islands in the South?

Shouldn't we respect basic geography with allocating territories between the regions?

[tmthforu94]

Have these territories expressed that they want statehood?

Reiterating this again. It was my understanding that at least some of these territories have been pushing for more INDEPENDENCE from the United States IRL. Has it been shown to be different in-game? Right out of the gate, I would be hesitant to get on board with this without vocalized support from each territory that statehood is what they want. This change would also require a constitutional amendment.