Legislation Introduction Thread

[Robespierre's Jaw]

On behalf of the Attorney-General:

Supreme Court Bar Bill
Section 1: Findings
   1. The role of legal professionals needs formal recognition and a framework under Law.
   2. The system for providing state counsel to criminal defendants would not provide as competent counsel as is feasible.

Section 2: The Supreme Court Bar
   1. There shall be a Supreme Court Bar.
   2. Admittance to the Supreme Court Bar shall be at the discretion of the Supreme Court.
   3. The Supreme Court may make regulations pertaining to the Supreme Court Bar, including regulations regarding activity (posting frequency), expulsion and admittance.
   4. The Supreme Court may delegate administrative duties to the Attorney General as it sees fit.

Section 3: Representation of Criminal Defendants
   1. Section 7, Clauses 1 through 3 of the Consolidated Criminal Justice Act is repealed.
   2. Defendants in criminal trials shall not be denied access to legal counsel from an active Atlasian citizen. A defendant shall have the right to waive his right to legal counsel.
   3. If a defendant requests that a Federal Court appoint counsel for him, then the Court shall appoint a member of the Supreme Court Bar to represent the defendant.
   4. A Supreme Court Bar member shall be able to refuse to represent a defendant on grounds of conflict of interest, however, final determination of conflict of interest shall be made by the Supreme Court.
   5. Any member of the Supreme Court Bar who refuses to represent a state criminal defendant without proper excuse shall be expelled from the Supreme Court Bar.
   6. The Supreme Court may make regulations pertaining to the appointment of counsel in a trial, including systems for rotation between different counsel.
   7. No person shall be a member of the Supreme Court Bar without being a registered Atlasian citizen who has had at least one vote counted in the past two regular scheduled elections. If a person was not a registered voter at the time of the last scheduled election, then he shall be able to hold a provisional membership of the Bar until the next scheduled election at the discretion of the Supreme Court.
   8. The Attorney General may nominate persons he deems fit for membership of the Supreme Court Bar to the Supreme Court. Individual citizens may nominate themselves for membership of the Supreme Court Bar, but shall require the sponsorship of an existing member of the Bar.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Amendment [to be determined] to the Atlasian Constitution

Be it resolved that:

The constitution of Atlasia be amended by insertion of the following text as Article IV, Section 1, Clause 5.

"In times of emergency or regional inactivity, the Secretary of Forum Affairs shall be empowered to open and close regional voting booths for regional office, referenda, and constitutional amendment ratification regions as to protect the peoples’ right to cast a ballot. Such power shall be granted on a limited basis at the president’s discretion."

[Robespierre's Jaw]

Introduced on behalf of President-elect Mr. Moderate:

Carbon Import Tax

Be it resolved that:

1. Manufacture of Goods for Import.  The government of Atlasia impose a carbon tax on all goods imported for sale. The tax imposed shall be equivalent to the carbon tax which would have been imposed had the goods been manufactured domestically. It shall be the responsibility of the foreign manufacturer to pay said tax upon the exchange of goods to an Atlasian individual or corporation.

2. Transportation of Goods for Import.  All fuel used for the primary purpose of importing goods for sale in Atlasia shall be subject to the Atlasian carbon tax. It shall be the responsibility of the foreign transporter to pay said tax upon the delivery of goods to an Atlasian individual or corporation.

3. Exemption.  Foreign manufacturers and transporters may apply any foreign-based carbon taxes as deductions from the carbon tax imposed by the country of Atlasia. No manufacturer or transporter shall be subject to rebate of foreign carbon taxes in excess of the Atlasian rate.

4. Effective Date.  The Carbon Import Tax shall enter into effect on January 1, 2009.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

On behalf of President-elect Mr. Moderate again:

Mass Transit Infrastructure Investment Act of 2008

Whereas the revenue expected from the FY 2009 component ($5 per metric tonne of a total $10 per metric tonne tax) of the domestic Carbon Tax is expected to be an estimated $30 billion, and;

Whereas the Atlasian Senate finds that this environmental-based impact fee is best spent through investment in new mass transit options and research into alternative energy,

Therefore be it resolved that:

1. Funding Allocation. Atlasia shall dedicate 50% of the FY2009 carbon tax component ($2.5 per metric tonne or $15 billion in total), as a one time grant towards the new construction, upgrade, and maintenance of mass transit options.
Said funds shall be apportioned based on Atlasia’s regional population figures as of July 4, 2008:

• Northeast Region, $4.77 billion (31.8%)
• Southeast Region, $3.585 billion (23.9%)
• Mideast Region, $2.73 billion (18.2%)
• Pacific Region, $2.55 billion (17.0%)
• Midwest Region, $1.365 billion (9.1%)

2. Funding Earmarks. The funds outlined in Section 1 shall be earmarked towards the planning and completion of the following proposed mass transportation projects:
Northeast Region

• SEPTA (Pennsylvania): Plan and construct a SEPTA extension from Philadelphia to Allentown on existing tracks via Bethlehem, Quakertown, and Lansdale.
• SEPTA (Pennsylvania): Plan and construct an extension of the Route 100 light rail service (Norristown High-Speed Line) to King of Prussia.
• NJ Transit (New Jersey): Plan and construct an extension of the Raritan Valley Line on existing tracks past the High Bridge, NJ terminus to Phillipsburg, NJ; Easton, PA; Bethlehem, PA; and Allentown, PA.
• MBTA (Massachusetts): Construct an extension of the Green Line MBTA service past the Lechmere terminus to include new stops in Somerville, MA at Washington St., Union Square, Gilman Square, Lowell St., and Ball Square; and new stops in Medford at College Avenue (Tufts), Winthrop St., and West Medford. (Estimated cost: $0.39 billion.)
• Metro North (Connecticut): Plan and construct commuter rail service between New Haven, CT and Springfield, MA via Hartford, including seven new rail stations with upgraded platforms (“max build” scenario as defined by the September 2004 Transportation Strategy Board proposal). (Estimated cost: $0.558 billion.)

Southeast Region
To be determined.
Mideast Region
To be determined.
Pacific Region
To be determined.
Midwest Region
To be determined.

3. Matching Funds Requirement. To be eligible for the mass transit grants outlined in Section 1, participating regional legislatures must agree to a minimum 25% match of these funds. “Matching funds” will be defined as the amount in excess of the regional FY 2008 mass transportation budget as adjusted for inflation.

[Robespierre's Jaw]

On behalf of President Moderate....again:

Green Energy Infrastructure Investment Act of 2008

Whereas the revenue expected from the FY 2009 component ($5 per metric tonne of a total $10 per metric tonne tax) of the domestic Carbon Tax is expected to be an estimated $30 billion, and;

Whereas the Atlasian Senate finds that this environmental-based impact fee is best spent through investment in new mass transit options and research into alternative energy, and;

Whereas significant investment into "green energy" will lead to improvement of clean technologies and better "economies of scale" in private sector power generating;

Therefore be it resolved that:

1.   Funding Allocation. Atlasia shall dedicate 50% of the FY2009 carbon tax component ($2.5 per metric tonne), or $15 billion ($15,000,000,000), as a one time grant towards the new construction of renewable energy power generating plants.
Said funds shall be apportioned as follows:
Hydroelectric Power, $2.5 billion
Geothermal Power, $2.5 billion
Wind Power, $5 billion
Solar Power, $5 billion
2.   Construction Locations. The generator locations funded by this bill shall be, as best possible, divided evenly across the regions according to logistics, population, need, and cost effectiveness.
3.   Estimate of Impact. It is estimated that the cost of generating capacity is approximately $20 per MWh for hydroelectric, $56 per MWh for wind, $60 per MWh for geothermal, and $110 per MWh for large-scale solar facilities. As provided for in Section 1, this bill will directly lead to the generation of 3.01 × 10⁸ MWh of electricity, or approximately 1.03% of the current Atlasian demand of 2.93 × 10¹⁰ MWh.