LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment (Sent to referendum)

[Sestak]

Seat expansion in regional legislatures is possibly the worst idea I've seen yet from S019.

[Adam Griffin]

I had planned to make a big upcoming speech about the need for regions to rein in these massive legislatures (and still will), but now is as good of a time as any. Even the 9-member model is too expansive: holding office should be a privilege and a reward, not a participation trophy. Likewise, elections should be competitive: having all of these elections where only one person loses is inevitably denigrating to the process of campaigning.

When holding office becomes "cheap", so does the effort put into it. The party machines will always be there, but with increased competition comes increased accountability on their end (namely, to ensure that those who win the bulk of seats actually will be active). Frankly, it's disturbing to see so many repeat the mistakes of the past by expanding office numbers and giving them out like candy. We literally brought the game to the brink because of behavior like this. There are now more elected offices (regional+federal) in the game than there was before the reset - and frankly, parliamentarism has played a role.

At any rate, I'm aware of all the pros and cons that people sell when it comes to expanding/constricting the size of regional chambers, but in net terms, expanding legislatures to this size at the regional level is suicide. Even 9 will pose a plethora of long-term problems - let alone 11.

[Former President tack50]

I had planned to make a big upcoming speech about the need for regions to rein in these massive legislatures (and still will), but now is as good of a time as any. Even the 9-member model is too expansive: holding office should be a privilege and a reward, not a participation trophy. Likewise, elections should be competitive: having all of these elections where only one person loses is inevitably denigrating to the process of campaigning.

When holding office becomes "cheap", so does the effort put into it. The party machines will always be there, but with increased competition comes increased accountability on their end (namely, to ensure that those who win the bulk of seats actually will be active). Frankly, it's disturbing to see so many repeat the mistakes of the past by expanding office numbers and giving them out like candy. We literally brought the game to the brink because of behavior like this. There are now more elected offices (regional+federal) in the game than there was before the reset - and frankly, parliamentarism has played a role.

At any rate, I'm aware of all the pros and cons that people sell when it comes to expanding/constricting the size of regional chambers, but in net terms, expanding legislatures to this size at the regional level is suicide. Even 9 will pose a plethora of long-term problems - let alone 11.

I have to agree with this analysis, a smaller regional legislature is needed. Not too small, but 7 members should be fine. Plus with fewer legislators, those that actually get elected will take their jobs more seriously and be more active.

Using the last elections as an example, with this ammendment 7 Councillors would have been elected, with Ninja, lfromnj and S019 being the ones left out. In practice, Labor would have run one candidate less (probably Dipper doesn't run) with Ninja making it in. I fully believe a 7 member council would have been more effective.

Going back further, February would have seen a 4 member Council with Lakigigar (who had to be recalled anyways) not making the cut.

I fully believe the smaller councils would bring more competition and more active councils as well as making party machines havee more to lose.

If you want to to help new players, the way to do so is by mentoring and coaching them, giving them advice. You can also appoint them to a government position of some sort or a vacant Legislature seat if one opens up. In fact I'd argue the South's lack of special elections (allowing appointees to serve a full term) helps newbies become better legislators; as my own experience demonstrate.

For the record, Griff, could you elaborate on how large legislatures and more elected offices (or since it was pre-reset; 5 regions instead of 3) brought the game to the edge of collapse, just as a reminder for all the new players who weren't there? (including myself)

I would like to end saying that, even if I disagree with it, I am willing to drop the Council reduction if that's what it takes for the ammendment to be passed; as we still need a 4/5 majority and the rest of this Ammendment seems to be fairly non-controversial

[S019]

Drop Council reduction and amendments should be hard to pass, leave the amendment amount at 4-5th

But, Council reduction is the main issue

[Sestak]

For people who are pointing out that Lincoln’s government is still able to be active with the large number: sure, I guess.

But Lincoln’s also underpulling it’s weight in the House as a result. Only one member out of 9. And on the other end of the coin, Fremont now has a majority of the House despite being the smallest region - and as a result has a candidate shortage on the regional level.

You know what, I’m going to make a longer post about this in the AFE board.

[S019]

For people who are pointing out that Lincoln’s government is still able to be active with the large number: sure, I guess.

But Lincoln’s also underpulling it’s weight in the House as a result. Only one member out of 9. And on the other end of the coin, Fremont now has a majority of the House despite being the smallest region - and as a result has a candidate shortage on the regional level.

You know what, I’m going to make a longer post about this in the AFE board.

Maybe, none of us, want to be Atlasian Representatives

[Adam Griffin]

For the record, Griff, could you elaborate on how large legislatures and more elected offices (or since it was pre-reset; 5 regions instead of 3) brought the game to the edge of collapse, just as a reminder for all the new players who weren't there? (including myself)

Essentially, the game had too many regions to function at optimal capacity. Barring the occasional brief blip on the radar, there were never 5 working regions. More often than not, there'd be 3 active and functional regions, 1 on the verge of collapse and 1 that had completely collapsed (the specific regions in each category shifted over time, of course).

Throughout most of this time, the regional legislatures had 3 or 5 seats (I believe the Mideast and the South at various points experimented with 7). However, the game's size and active player base couldn't support a system with 10 federal legislative positions and 15-25 regional legislative positions (as of today, we have 15 federal legislative positions and 23 regional legislative positions). When the events of 2015 began to unfold as they did - culminating with a huge collapse in population - everybody finally realized that something had to be done, and the efforts I had been pushing for years finally achieved the necessary level of support to move forward. While it didn't get the lion's share of the focus, a huge part was that irrespective of the number of regions that existed, there were simply too many regional legislative positions to support a healthy and active game on all fronts.

It's my opinion that the game should be designed for a player base of approximately 150 people (as the post-reset system was designed, in effect). When the rolls fall below that number, sustainability becomes difficult (though even the post-reset system functioned properly at the onset with 120-140 players). However, increased population doesn't inherently produce boosts in activity in my experience: basically, there's no correlation between activity levels for a game with 160 people and a game with 220 people. I think the recent population boom (where we came close to 250 registered voters) gave many people the idea that we could/should expand the number of offices. However, this is a misguided belief to say the least (especially when you consider the game population has contracted by around ~20% over the past few months).

[Former President tack50]

The vote on Ammendment L 2:23 by S019 to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment is now closed

Aye: 1 (S019)
Abstain: 0
Nay: 3 (tack50, Griffin, Ninja)

Not voting: 5 (Dipper Josh, Zaybay, lfromnj, Pyro, thr33)

Well, that was a low attendance vote Anyways, the ammendment is defeated

[Former President tack50]

Drop Council reduction and amendments should be hard to pass, leave the amendment amount at 4-5th

But, Council reduction is the main issue

I assume this means you would vote against the bill if the ammendment amount isn't left at 4/5?

[S019]

Drop Council reduction and amendments should be hard to pass, leave the amendment amount at 4-5th

But, Council reduction is the main issue

I assume this means you would vote against the bill if the ammendment amount isn't left at 4/5?

Correct and you should write a bill to review the filibuster

#SavetheFilibuster

[Adam Griffin]

Mister Speaker, I would like to propose an amendment:

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

I hope I have not missed any formatting or contradictory issues; my apologies for the rush on this.

The primary changes (compared to Tack's original):

• The Council is fixed to 5 members, unless 10 or more candidates run (not including write-ins), which moves the Council to 7 members
• The Council is dissolved 3 days before the election (as opposed to 1 day or 1 week)
• The ability to amend the Constitution is shifted from three-fourths to three-fifths in a 7-person chamber, and two-thirds in a 5-person chamber: in the case of a 5-member chamber, two-thirds and three-fourths end up being the same in terms of needed votes (4 out of 5 Councilors) and in a 7-person chamber, three-fifths and two-thirds end up being the same (5 out of 7 Councilors); a lower - and variable - threshold is more practical given the mathematical realities of this particular amendment - and given the public's need to ratify in addition, an excessively high threshold seems, well, excessive
• Corrected a few typos

[Former President tack50]

Amendment L 2:26 by Adam Griffin to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

Sponsor feedback: Friendly
Status: Added to the bill

[Former President tack50]

Excellent amendment Griff, and I'm very happy with it. Come to think about it, we should probably clarify that those 9 candidates are candidates in the ballot, but I'm fine with the proposed changes.

As specified before, my concern would be whether or not this is going to pass in the first place.

[S019]

Do not touch Council elections, I think that it should always be 1 minus the number of candidates, unless there 3 or less, in which case, all candidates are elected (and no election is needed)

[Adam Griffin]

Excellent amendment Griff, and I'm very happy with it. Come to think about it, we should probably clarify that those 9 candidates are candidates in the ballot, but I'm fine with the proposed changes.

As specified before, my concern would be whether or not this is going to pass in the first place.

I agree about clarification on write-in candidates - and for that matter, some additional clarification in VI.1 (I tried to make sure it indicated specifically that a majority of voters must approve, but the language could be improved - I've seen court cases in the past over stuff like this and so we want to be sure it is iron-clad when enacted).

[Peanut]

Excellent amendment overall, and one I'll be quite happy to steadfastly support when it comes before the people.

The concerns raised by Councillor SNJC belie the truth that regional legislatures need to function properly, and they simply cannot do so with a size larger than the federal House.

Nothing much that can be added that hasn't been said by Griffin or Tack, but could there be any chance we could drop the minimum to 3? I feel 5 is a bit too high a number, taking into account dips in activity. All-around, though, awesome amendment.

[Former President tack50]

Excellent amendment overall, and one I'll be quite happy to steadfastly support when it comes before the people.

The concerns raised by Councillor SNJC belie the truth that regional legislatures need to function properly, and they simply cannot do so with a size larger than the federal House.

Nothing much that can be added that hasn't been said by Griffin or Tack, but could there be any chance we could drop the minimum to 3? I feel 5 is a bit too high a number, taking into account dips in activity. All-around, though, awesome amendment.

For what's worth, the original version did allow for a 3 member Council (anywhere from 3 to 7). The current one only allows 5 or 7. I am in favour of introducing a 3 member option as well, though it should be avoided as much as possible. Maybe make it so there's a 3 member council only when there are 4 (or maybe 5) candidates at most?

This would also require tweaking the constitutional ammendment section, so that 3 member parliaments require unanimity; 5 member councils require 4/5 and 7 member councils require 5/7

[Former President tack50]

To try and get the concerns brought up by the Governor solved, here's my proposed amendment.

This restores the part about amendment ratification to its original wording (a 2/3 majority in all cases except for 3 member Councils where a unanimous vote is required). The underlying numbers are the same as with Griffin's wording (5 councillors when the Council has 7 members; 4 Councillors when the Council has 5 members); but I felt it was better to have simpler wording.

This also adds a 3 member Council option in cases where we may have very few candidates. Getting to 5 is easier than getting to 7. A 5 member election can be performed with 6 candidates (only 1 loser) while a 7 member election needs 9 (2 losers). I considered bumping the 5 member Council requirement up to 7 candidates; but a 3 member election with 6 candidates felt a bit harsh and if we want an odd number of Councillors in all circumstances, there aren't many other options.

Amendment L 2:33 by tack50 to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be as follows:
a) In cases where there are 5 candidates on the ballot or less (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 3
b) In cases where there are between 6 and 8 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 5
c) In cases where there are 9 or more candidates on the ballot (excluding write ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 7

five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Two-thirds of all sitting Councillors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council; except in Councils with 3 members, where a unanimous vote of all 3 Councillors shall be required In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

Sponsor feedback: Origination
Status: Added to the bill

I am looking forward to Griff's opinion on these changes.

[Former President tack50]

Does someone else have anything to add? Otherwise I'll start pushing for a final vote so we can get a referendum on this next weekend alongside the budget amendment (hopefully)

[S019]

I have an amendment

To try and get the concerns brought up by the Governor solved, here's my proposed amendment.

This restores the part about amendment ratification to its original wording (a 2/3 majority in all cases except for 3 member Councils where a unanimous vote is required). The underlying numbers are the same as with Griffin's wording (5 councillors when the Council has 7 members; 4 Councillors when the Council has 5 members); but I felt it was better to have simpler wording.

This also adds a 3 member Council option in cases where we may have very few candidates. Getting to 5 is easier than getting to 7. A 5 member election can be performed with 6 candidates (only 1 loser) while a 7 member election needs 9 (2 losers). I considered bumping the 5 member Council requirement up to 7 candidates; but a 3 member election with 6 candidates felt a bit harsh and if we want an odd number of Councillors in all circumstances, there aren't many other options.

Amendment L 2:33 by tack50 to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be as follows:
a) In cases where there are 6 candidates on the ballot or less (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 5, if there are less than 5 candidates, all candidates are elected
b) In cases where there are between 7 and 8 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 7
c) In cases where there are between 9 and 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 9
d) In cases where there are more than 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councilors elected shall be 10.

five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Two-thirds of all sitting Councillors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council; except in Councils with 3 members, where a unanimous vote of all 3 Councillors shall be required In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

Sponsor feedback: Origination
Status: Added to the bill

I am looking forward to Griff's opinion on these changes.

[Former President tack50]

Amendment L 2:36 by S019 to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be as follows:
a) In cases where there are 5 candidates on the ballot or less (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 4
b) In cases where there are between 6 and 8 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 6
c) In cases where there are between 9 and 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 8
d) In cases where there are more than 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councilors elected shall be 10.

five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Two-thirds of all sitting Councillors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council; except in Councils with 3 members, where a unanimous vote of all 3 Councillors shall be required In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

Sponsor feedback: Hostile
Status: 24h for debate, after which a vote shall be opened by the speaker

I thought we were trying to reduce the size of the Council, not expand it! While this amendment is much better than the earlier one you proposed, I'm still against it. I also don't like the fact that it onlhy leaves the option of even numbered councils. Either we allow both even and odd numbered councils (like currently); or we only allow odd numbered councils to avoid ties when all Councillors vote (then again in practice this does take away an important power from the governor, though I expect councillors to abstain from time to time or be absent)

[Former President tack50]

Councillors, a vote is now open on the following Amendment

Amendment L 2:36 by S019 to LC 2.15 Better Lincoln Governance Ammendment

Better Lincoln Governance Amendment

A constitutional Amendment to Make the Governance of the Lincoln Region Easier

SECTION I: BETTER GOVERNANCE

1. Article I.3 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

3. In all elections for the Council, the number of Councilors to be elected shall be as follows:
a) In cases where there are 5 candidates on the ballot or less (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 4
b) In cases where there are between 6 and 8 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 6
c) In cases where there are between 9 and 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write ins), the number of Councillors elected shall be 8
d) In cases where there are more than 11 candidates on the ballot (excluding write-ins), the number of Councilors elected shall be 10.

five, except in cases where there are more than 9 candidates, in which case the number of Councilors to be elected shall be seven.

2. Article I.12 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

12. The Council shall have the power to declare no confidence in the Chancellor’s government. A motion of no confidence shall require a sufficient second to be voted on by the Council, and if this is achieved, a simple majority of the membership of the Council voting Aye or Nay is sufficient to declare non-confidence in the government. If a loss of confidence occurs in the government, the governor must call a snap election or appoint a new candidate for Chancellor.

3. Article I.16 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

16. The Council shall be dissolved 72 hours before general and snap elections to provide for the election campaign period.

4. Article VI.1 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Council shall have the power to propose amendments to this Constitution. Two-thirds of all sitting Councillors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council; except in Councils with 3 members, where a unanimous vote of all 3 Councillors shall be required In cases where the Council consists of 5 members, two-thirds of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. In cases where the Council consists of 7 members, Four-fifths three-fifths of all sitting Councilors are required to vote in favor of the Amendment for it to be approved by the Council. Once approved by the Council, amendments shall become operative following their ratification in a public referendum by a majority of the vote.

SECTION II: CODIFYING THE STATUS QUO

1. Article I.10 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be amended as follows:

10. The Council, on the first day after the Governor’s appointment of a Chancellor, the Speaker or any member of the Council shall introduce a motion, “that this Council has confidence in His (or Her) Excellency’s government”. A simple majority of Councilors voting Aye or Nay shall be sufficient to establish confidence. If the new government should fail to gain the confidence of the Council, the appointed Chancellor shall be dismissed and the Governor shall advance the appointment of a new Chancellor whom he shall submit to the judgement of the Council. This vote of confidence in the Chancellor may also take the form of a vote in a thread opened by the Governor about the State Opening of the Council of Lincoln.

2. Article I.14 of the Lincoln Constitution shall be repealed in its entirety. The rest of Article I shall be renumbered accordingly.

Please vote AYE, NAY or Abstain
This vote shall last for 24h or until all councillors have voted

[Pyro]

Nay.

[Former President tack50]

Nay

[S019]

Aye