Legislation Introduction Thread

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Based on a suggestion by Xahar. This is his edit of a proposal of mine.

Gubernatorial Amendment

1. The Preamble to Article 1 of the Constitution is amended to replace "Senate" with "Legislature".

2. The Legislature shall be composed of the Senate and the Council of Governors.

3. Each region shall have one vote in the Council, which shall be cast by its head of state.

4. This body shall have the power to veto legislation passed by the Senate, by a majority vote.

5. By a two-thirds vote, the Senate may choose to override a veto of the Council and present legislation directly to the President.

6. In order to maintain activity within the Senate, the Governors shall have the power to appoint a Senator to keep them informed of all bills that pass the Senate.

7. Any other powers of this body may be granted by the Senate, upon request of that power by any Governor.

[Associate Justice PiT]

World War II Commemoration Act

1. V-E Day, short for Victory in Europe Day, shall be made a national holiday.

1a. V-E Day shall be observed on the eighth day of the fifth month of the Gregorian calender year.

1b. Should V-E Day occur on a Saturday or Sunday, it shall be observed on the following Monday.

2. V-J Day, short for Victory over Japan Day, shall be made a national holiday.

2a. V-J Day shall be observed on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Gregorian calender year.

2b. Should V-J Day occur on a Saturday or Sunday, it shall be observed on the following Monday.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Separation of Powers Act

1. The following powers shall be the perogative of the Office of the Secretary of External Affairs:

1a. The power to bestow recognition of sovereignty upon any foreign nation.

1b. The power to propose economic sanctions against another sovereign nation, subject to the approval of a quorum of Senators, as well as the President.

1c. The power to propose military action against another sovereign nation, subject to the approval of a quorum of Senators, as well as the other members of the cabinet, of the Vice-President, and of the President.

1d. The power to engage in formal alliances with other sovereign nations, subject to the approval of the President.

2. If the Secretary of External Affairs has not logged in for a period of at least 72 hours, the duties of the office shall devolve upon the President, until the Secretary of External Affairs reassumes his post.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I'm withdrawing this & may re-introduce it pending the fate of the Secret Ballot Amendment.

[Associate Justice PiT]

End to Protectionism via Social Engineering Act

1. F.L. 10-2: Protection Act (Textiles, Clothing, Footwear & Steel) is hereby repealed.

2. A tariff of 5% will instead be levied on all imports of foreign textiles, clothing, footwear, & steel.

[Associate Justice PiT]

End to Protectionism via Social Engineering Act

1. F.L. 10-2: Protection Act (Textiles, Clothing, Footwear & Steel) is hereby repealed.

2. A tariff of 5% will instead be levied on all imports of foreign textiles, clothing, footwear, & steel.

I'd like the tariff to be raised higher, but I suppose that works.

     For future reference, this thread is for commenting on legislation. Also, I made it 5% to try to preserve the current effect, just without the social engineering factor.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Gold and Silver Standard Act

1. The value of currency in circulation shall be directly based on the value of the gold snd silver held by the Federal Reserve, at the rate of $900 dollars per ounce of gold or $11 per ounce of silver.

   a. Any currency printed after the passage of this act shall not become legal tender until the Federal Reserve shall have procured an equivalent amount of additional gold or silver.

2. Any citizen of Atlasia may trade official currency to the federal reserve of the Republic of Atlasia for the currency's value in gold or silver, and vice versa.

3. Gold and silver shall have equal legal standing to that of official currency of the Republic of Atlasia.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Gubernatorial Amendment

1. The Preamble to Article 1 of the Constitution is amended to read "All Legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in the Legislature of the Republic of Atlasia. The Legislature shall be composed of the Senate and the Council of Governors. "

2. Article I, Section 3, Clause 3 is amended to read:  "For any Bill or Resolution to pass the Senate, it shall have gained a majority in a valid vote. Before the Bill or Resolution becomes Law, it shall be presented to the Council of Governors and to the President of the Republic of Atlasia, unless it be concerning the rules for the proceedings of the Senate. If both approve, the President shall sign it, and it shall become Law. If the President does not approve, he shall return the Bill with his objections to the Senate, and it shall not become Law. If the Council of Governors does not approve, they shall return the Bill with their objections to the Senate, and it shall not become Law. Upon reconsidering the Bill, if the Senate shall approve the legislation by two-thirds of its number, it shall become Law. If a Bill is not returned to the Senate by the President or the Council of Governors within seven days after it shall have been presented to them, they shall be considered to have approved of the legislation.. "

3. The title of Section 5 is amended to read "Powers of the Legislature". The preamble of Section 5 is amended to read "The Legislature shall have the power save where limited by other provisions in the Constitution". The title of Section 6 is amended to read "Powers denied to the Legislature".

4. The Council of Governors shall consist of the heads of state of the regions. Each head of state shall have one vote. The votes of a majority of the current membership shall be required to not approve of any legislation.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Amendment to the Marijuana Legalization and Taxation Act

1. The first section 1 is amended to read "The possession, sale, and consumption of marijuana, and the plants needed for its processing, shall not be considered illegal by the federal government of Atlasia. Individual regions may regulate it as they see fit."

2. The latter section 1 is renumbered section 3.

3. The latter section 2 is renumbered section 4.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Free Communications Bill

1. The Federal Communications Commission, nor any other federal agency, shall have the power to regulate the content of television or radio broadcasts.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     One more time:

Free Communications Bill

1. The Federal Communications Commission, or any other federal agency, shall not have the power to regulate the content of television or radio broadcasts.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Third Amendment to the Consolidated Electoral System Reform Act

Section 2, Clause 2 is amended to read:

2. If no candidate has a majority of highest preference votes, the candidate with the fewest highest preferences shall be eliminated, and his or her votes redistributed according to the next-highest preferences of the voters.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Party Name Change Bill

1. If the membership of a major political party, by vote of a quorum of all members of that party, decides that it wishes to change the name of that party, an officer of that party shall, within 14 days, notify the Secretary of Forum Affairs of this fact.

2. Once notified, the Secretary of Forum Affairs shall change the official party membership of all members registered within that party to the new name approved by the party membership.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     This thread is not the place for these discussions. Let's take them to another thread.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Student Loan Reform Bill

1. Federal student loans across all categories shall be capped at an aggregate total of $5,000/year for undergraduate students and $10,000/year for graduate students.

2. Student loans shall be retroactively made dischargeable in bankruptcy under circumstances of undue hardship. Undue hardship may be shown if the lendee meets any of the following criteria:
     a. The lendee's debt exceeds 200% of the lendee's income and has done so for at least 12 consecutive months.
     b. The lendee has ongoing expenditures that will continue indefinitely and can demonstrate that these expenditures render the lendee unable to meet the minimum loan payments.
     c. The lendee is, due to circumstances beyond their control, unable to hold or retain gainful employment.

3. These rules will go into effect for the 2016-17 academic year.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Industrial Labor Relations Decentralization Bill

1. The Collective Bargaining Modernization Act of 2014 is hereby repealed.

[Associate Justice PiT]

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[Associate Justice PiT]

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     I will sponsor this on the citizen's behalf to be introduced upon ratification of the new Constitution.