Commonwealth of Frémont • 15th Parliament

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

PARLIAMENT
OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

(1)

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! This house will now come to order!

On this, the third anniversary of the founding of our parliamentary system, it is both my privilege and distinct honor to welcome you, the members of the Fifteenth Parliament, to the people's house. May none but good and wise men and women ever rule under this roof.

Citizens and members may use this thread to introduce legislation, motions, and resolutions for the consideration of the house. I invite our new members to take the oath of office at their earliest convenience that we may proceed with the election of a speaker. In the meantime, as president of parliament, I will adjudicate in our proceedings.

Gloria Frémontis!

Harry S Truman, first minister

(1) Wikimedia Commons.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

MEMBERS OF THE FIFTEENTH FRÉMONT PARLIAMENT

Harry S Truman (Fianna Frémont—Labor, North Dakota), first minister
Australian Swing Voter (Meadowlark—Unaffiliated, Washington)
Ishan (Unaffiliated—Labor, Guam)
Koopa Danielle Quick (Frémont Trans Rights—Peace, Iowa)
Oregon Blue Dog (Meadowlark—Labor, Oregon)

[OBD]

Hereby nominating Koopa D. Quick for Speaker.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Hereby nominating Koopa D. Quick for Speaker.

Officially accepting the gentleman from Oregon's nomination.

[Continential]

Supporting Koopa D. Quick

[AustralianSwingVoter]

Nominating myself for Speaker.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

As all members have now had an opportunity to weigh in, I am opening the vote for speaker. Voting will last forty-eight hours or until a majority has been reached.

FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

Election of the fourteenth speaker

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

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

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

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

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
[ 3 ] HillGoose, prophet

[AustralianSwingVoter]

FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

Election of the fourteenth speaker

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

[OBD]

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

[Continential]

[1] Koopa Danielle Quick, MFP from Iowa
[2] John Dule, Intellectual
[3] Australian Swing Voter, MFP from Washington

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

FIFTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF FRÉMONT

Election of the fourteenth speaker,
official tabulation

[ 1 ] Australian Swing Voter, MFP from Washington
[ 4 ] Koopa Danielle Quick, MFP from Iowa
[ 0 ] abstaining

Koopa Danielle Quick is duly elected speaker of parliament.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Thank you very much, it's an honor.

[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.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

A RESOLUTION
to standardize rules of parliamentary succession

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Succession in Office Act of 2020." It may be cited as the "Succession Act."

Section 2 (Rules for determining successors)
i. Whenever a sitting member shall be reelected to the next parliament, they shall be considered their own successor.
ii. Whenever a member is appointed or chosen by means of a by-election to assume a vacant seat, they shall be the successor to that seat.
iii. Whenever a new member is elected and belonging to the same federal party as a retiring member, they shall be the successor to that seat.
iv. All conflicts shall be resolved in favor of the most senior member, as herein defined.

Section 3 (Seniority)
i. The relative seniority of members shall be determined according to the date and minute at which they originally took the oath of office, with the member whose earliest entry into office occurred at the earliest date and time being the most senior. However, a new member having previously been elected senator or first minister for this commonwealth, shall take precedence over all other new members entering office at the same time.

Section 4 (Succession in votes)
i. Should a new member enter into office at the moment when a vote is ongoing, and proceed to vote on the relevant amendment, bill, or resolution, their vote shall replace that of the member who they shall have succeeded in office.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to protect the right to organize against dishonest employer advertisement

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Right to Organize Act."

Section 2 (Mandatory anti-union training)
i. No employer may require persons in their employ to attend a training, seminar, or other assembly featuring a presentation the contents of which a reasonable person might construe as discouraging membership of a specific labor union, or general efforts to recruit for or organize labor unions.
ii. No employer may host or incentivize membership at a training, seminar, or other assembly such as described by §2(i) of this Act, which does not give equal time to a representative chosen by the relevant labor union or unions to explain the benefits of union membership.

Section 3 (Penalty)
i. Any employer found to have violated the provisions of this Act shall be fined 10% of their gross annual earnings in Frémont.

[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.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to guarantee fair and affordable medical coverage for all people

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Medical Price Control Act."

Section 2 (Price cap)
i. No hospital, clinic, practice, or other medical provider may charge for any service, procedure, or product in excess of 100% the real cost to the provider.

Section 3 (Enforcement)
i. For any provider found to have violated the provisions of this Act, the penalty for the first offense shall be probationary oversight by the Ministry of Health and Human Services (MHHS) for twenty-four months.
ii. The penalty for the second offense shall be revocation of the relevant medical or pharmaceutical license.
iii. The Commonwealth Insurance Commissioner shall have full power to enforce the provisions of this Act.

Section 4 (Implementation)
i. This legislation shall take effect 1 January 2021.

[AustralianSwingVoter]

AN AMENDMENT
to acknowledge and codify the true borders of the Commonwealth

Section 1 (Title)
The title of this Amendment shall be, the "Free Kansas Amendment." It may be alternatively cited by its ordinal number in order of ratification.

Section 2 (Amendment)
i. The Preamble of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Frémont is amended to read as follows:

We, the people of the States of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, 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.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to simplifying the regional party registration process

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF FRÉMONT RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE.
i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Reform Party Registration Act."

Section 2, RESOLUTIONS.
i. It is the belief of the Commonwealth of Frémont that:
(a) The current system of registering with a political party within the Commonwealth of Frémont is needlessly complicated.
(b) It is difficult for the average Frémonter to find the thread dedicated to registering for a regional political party.
(c) It’s harder for the Registrar-General of Atlasia to record regional party registrations in Frémont, as she is required to go to the regional registration thread to record these changes.
(d) Our region needs to fix the current system of political party registration.

Section 3, AMENDING THE RPLA.
i. §2 of The Regional Party Label Act is amended to read as follows:

i. Citizens of Fremont shall have the privilege to establish and enroll as members of any recognized Regional Party. Membership in a Regional Party shall be separate from and supplemental to the partisan registration of a citizen with the Census Bureau of the Republic of Atlasia. No party, faction, or caucus shall be recognized as a Regional Party which exists as or within a Federal Party.
ii. The executive magistrate of the Commonwealth shall maintain a thread on the Regional Governments board wherein citizens may register as members of a Regional Party, and shall accordingly keep a current list of those citizens registered as members of a Regional Party. For registrations to be valid, a citizen must give their full name as recognized by the Census Bureau of the Republic of Atlasia and the name of the Regional Party they wish to register with.
ii. A citizen of the Commonwealth may register as a member of a regional party by registering on the official New Register Thread managed by the Registrar-General of the Republic of Atlasia.
iii. The individual registering with a regional party must somehow specify that they are registering for a regional party, as opposed to a federal one.
iii. iv. The several partisan affiliations of candidates for office under this Commonwealth shall be given on ballots in the following order:
(a) Regional Party of registration
(b) Regional Parties, other than the candidate's party of registration, having endorsed the candidate
(c) Federal Party of registration

Section 4, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
i. This act shall take effect immediately after signature by the first minister.

[Continential]

Fremont Nicotine Tax

Section 1 (Title)

i. The title of this Act shall be, the "Fremont Nicotine Tax."

Section 2 (What classifies as an item with Nicotine)

i. Vapes, Cigarettes, Chewing Tobacco, and Roll Your Owns

Section 3  (Taxes)

i. There will be a 90% tax on all of the products covered in Section 2.


Section 4 (When will the Tax be Applied)

i. This bill will take effect on August 1st, 2020 if passed.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

AN ACT
to prevent anti-labor screening

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Fair Labor Hiring Act."

Section 2 (Prohibition against intrusive questionnaires)
i. No employer may require applicants for employment to complete a questionnaire or similar device, inquiring whether the applicant is, has been, or might consider becoming a member of a labor union, or inquiring as to their opinion of labor unions in general.
(a) Unionized employers having entered into a "closed shop" agreement with one or more unions shall be exempt from the provisions of this act.

[OBD]

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.

[OBD]

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.