Post by Mo'i Kakali on Apr 30, 2008 8:37:40 GMT -5
An Address to His Majesty’s Grand Parliament
On matters of reform and government operation that will be elemental in the success of the United Kingdom of Luthoria
On matters of reform and government operation that will be elemental in the success of the United Kingdom of Luthoria
To the Honorable Members of Parliament, and the Minister of State,
It has come to my attention that there are several areas of our government’s operation need to be modified and reformed to better meet the needs of our population. Therefore, I am hereby submitting for your review a sweeping reform bill that, in my opinion, will benefit all citizens of this country. So, without further adieu , the Great Reform Act of 2008.
Great Reform Act of 2008
This act has been written to further improve the government, culture, and simulation. The policies laid out in this act will also protect our freedoms, and will help establish a better system of checks and balances to compliment our constitution.
Article 1: Reforms to Parliament
Section1: Parliamentary Procedures:
1.01 When a bill is presented to Parliament, there must be a minimum of 48 hours time allotted for discussion before a motion to vote will be recognized by the Speaker.
1.02 When a motion is made to vote on a bill, and the motion is seconded, the Speaker will put the bill up for a vote, and will remain up for vote for at least 48 hours, but no longer 96 hours. The voting time will be determined by the person who originally makes the motion to vote, and cannot be changed once seconded.
1.03 A bill may be ‘fast-tracked’ through parliament. To do so:
1.03.1 When a bill is first presented to the discussion chambers, a motion may be made by the presenter to ‘fast-track’ the bill.
1.03.2 If the motion is seconded, and there is no objections for a period of 12 hours, the bill will be put to a vote.
1.04 Before a topic is started in the parliamentary discussion boards (as opposed to the public forum), it must be in bill form. Now, it should be noted that a bill can be directly presented before parliament, as long as it is presented by a representative. A bill presented by a non-member, even the King, must be presented in the public forum.
1.04.1 Bill form is defined as having some sort of preamble, at least 1 article, which will be subdivided into multiple sections and subsections as needed.
1.04.2 When a bill is submitted to the floor of the Parliament, it shall be numbered, for record keeping, as follows: PB(parliament bill)-000(number)-00(year)
1.04.2.1 An example would be PB-001-08
1.04.3 When an amendment is submitted to the floor of the Parliament, it shall be numbered, for record keeping, as follows: PA(Proposed Amendment)-000(number)-00(year)
1.04.3.1 An example would be PA-001-08
1.04.3.2 When an amendment is passed, the constitution that is displayed as the ACTIVE constitution should be updated, with the amended part in italics and in red, and it should be annotated to state which amendment it came from. An original copy of the constitution should be kept in the Archives maintained by RLU
1.05 When a Bill is passed by parliament, and then signed into law by the King, it shall be entered into the official Statutory Code of Luthoria, which will be set up as follows:
1.05.1 Section A- (Royal Law): -1: Royal Operation, -2 Foreign (this will include all treaties, that will be included as part of Luthorian Law), -3 Defensive (all military law, traditions, awards, etc..), -4 Interior (relating to internal law, including transportation, culture, etc..)
1.05.2 Section B- (Executive Law): -1 Executive Operations, -2 Defense, -3 Interior, -4 Finance, -5 Judicial
1.05.3 Section C- (Parliamentary Law): -1 Parliamentary Operation, -2 Interior, -3. Finance, -4 Judiciary.
1.05.4 When a bill is passed, it will be written into the law code. When a bill covers multiple areas and has to be split up among the law code, the entry must site what bill created it.
1.06 Only the following people will be allowed to speak and discuss laws before parliament:
1.06.1 The members of Parliament, the Minister of State (or whoever is Speaker of the Parliament), and the King.
1.06.2 All other citizens must put in a request in the public forum before the are allowed to speak and discuss something in parliament.
1.06.2.1 When a request is given, it must be approved of by the Minister of State (or whoever the speaker of Parliament is)
1.06.2.2 Permission may only be given to a person to speak on one particular topic/bill, not the entire session in general.
Section 2: Forums Rules
2.01 Except for the forums of private businesses, all sections of the national forums are ‘owned’ by the government.
2.02 Unless a forum is marked ‘private office’, or something similar, or if the forum is specifically designated as a private discussion forum for sensitive matters of state, a government forum may NOT be locked. (this will go into effect as soon as Luthoria switches over to the invisionfree forum)
2.03 All Parliament forums are to be open and viewable by the public.
2.03.1 The ‘Parliamentary Discussions Board’ will be open to the public. However, unless a person has permission to speak in this board, they may only observe, not speak. Should a person post without permission in the parliamentary discussion, the will face the following punishments:
2.03.1.1 First Offense: 500 MK fine
2.03.1.2 Second Offense: 1000 MK fine
2.03.1.3 Third Offense: 5000 MK Fine, 2 week ban
2.03.2 The government will stop ‘keeping tabs’ every year of these offenses
2.03.3 Should a non-parliament member vote in a parliamentary poll, they will face the following punishments:
2.03.3.1 First offense: 1000 MK Fine
2.03.3.2 Second Offense: 5000 MK fine, 3 week ban
Section 3: Growth Adaptation
3.01 When the population of the UKL reaches 20 active citizens (active citizens being defined as any citizen who has posted at least 5 times per week in the past 1 month), the Supreme Court justice may not hold any other public office (though he or she may hold private jobs)
3.02 When the population of the UKL reaches 25 active citizens, the King and the Minister of State may not hold any other positions not Constitutionally given to them
3.03 When the population of the UKL reaches 30 active citizens, the members of Parliament and the Royal Ministers may not hold any other positions in the government
3.04 When the population of the UKL reaches 35 active citizens, every province must hold constitutional conventions and elect at least a governor, possibly a legislature. (NOTE: a position in the provincial government does not count in the restrictions in the first parts of this section)
Section 4: Definition of Freedom of Speech in relation to other sections of the Constitution
4.01 Matters of opinion, as long as they don’t violate Section 7.03-a of the Constitution, may not be censored or blocked for any reason.
4.02 Religious speech, as long as it doesn’t violate Section 7.03-a of the Constitution, may not be censored or blocked for any reason
4.03 Posts may not be moved locked or moved if they are placed in a public area unless the person who started the thread agrees to it being locked or to it being moved.
Section 5: National Business Council
5.01 The National Business Council will consist of every registered business within Luthoria and will be responsible for regulating all business functions, such as setting standard measurements and prices for different commodities.
5.02 The ruling body of the National Business Council will be the Board of Owners, which will consist of the owners of each business in Luthoria (in the case of publically owned companies, the largest shareholder will represent the business).
5.02.1 The Board of Owners will be charged with all decision making regarding business regulations and rules.
5.03 The head of the NBC will be the Chief Executive.
5.03.1 the Chief Executive of the NBC will initially be elected by the Board of Owners, but afterward will rotate every six months in the order the businesses appear on the National forums.
5.03.2 The Chief Executive shall serve as spokesperson for the NBC and as the international ambassador for Luthorian Business.
5.03.3 The Chief Executive will serve as speaker of the Board of Owners. He will have no special authority, but will just guide the discussions of the Board of Owners.
5.04 Should a business refuse to abide by the rules made by the Board of Owners, the National Business Council has the right to revoke a business’s membership and government registration. Should a business be kicked out by the NBC and have it’s registration revoked, it may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Section 6: New Forum
6.01 The Parliament of Luthoria does hereby declare that as soon as Minister Clark completes work on the newly proposed InvisionFree forum, and the national forums will be moved to the new forums from the ProBoards forum.
This act has been written to further improve the government, culture, and simulation. The policies laid out in this act will also protect our freedoms, and will help establish a better system of checks and balances to compliment our constitution.
Article 1: Reforms to Parliament
Section1: Parliamentary Procedures:
1.01 When a bill is presented to Parliament, there must be a minimum of 48 hours time allotted for discussion before a motion to vote will be recognized by the Speaker.
1.02 When a motion is made to vote on a bill, and the motion is seconded, the Speaker will put the bill up for a vote, and will remain up for vote for at least 48 hours, but no longer 96 hours. The voting time will be determined by the person who originally makes the motion to vote, and cannot be changed once seconded.
1.03 A bill may be ‘fast-tracked’ through parliament. To do so:
1.03.1 When a bill is first presented to the discussion chambers, a motion may be made by the presenter to ‘fast-track’ the bill.
1.03.2 If the motion is seconded, and there is no objections for a period of 12 hours, the bill will be put to a vote.
1.04 Before a topic is started in the parliamentary discussion boards (as opposed to the public forum), it must be in bill form. Now, it should be noted that a bill can be directly presented before parliament, as long as it is presented by a representative. A bill presented by a non-member, even the King, must be presented in the public forum.
1.04.1 Bill form is defined as having some sort of preamble, at least 1 article, which will be subdivided into multiple sections and subsections as needed.
1.04.2 When a bill is submitted to the floor of the Parliament, it shall be numbered, for record keeping, as follows: PB(parliament bill)-000(number)-00(year)
1.04.2.1 An example would be PB-001-08
1.04.3 When an amendment is submitted to the floor of the Parliament, it shall be numbered, for record keeping, as follows: PA(Proposed Amendment)-000(number)-00(year)
1.04.3.1 An example would be PA-001-08
1.04.3.2 When an amendment is passed, the constitution that is displayed as the ACTIVE constitution should be updated, with the amended part in italics and in red, and it should be annotated to state which amendment it came from. An original copy of the constitution should be kept in the Archives maintained by RLU
1.05 When a Bill is passed by parliament, and then signed into law by the King, it shall be entered into the official Statutory Code of Luthoria, which will be set up as follows:
1.05.1 Section A- (Royal Law): -1: Royal Operation, -2 Foreign (this will include all treaties, that will be included as part of Luthorian Law), -3 Defensive (all military law, traditions, awards, etc..), -4 Interior (relating to internal law, including transportation, culture, etc..)
1.05.2 Section B- (Executive Law): -1 Executive Operations, -2 Defense, -3 Interior, -4 Finance, -5 Judicial
1.05.3 Section C- (Parliamentary Law): -1 Parliamentary Operation, -2 Interior, -3. Finance, -4 Judiciary.
1.05.4 When a bill is passed, it will be written into the law code. When a bill covers multiple areas and has to be split up among the law code, the entry must site what bill created it.
1.06 Only the following people will be allowed to speak and discuss laws before parliament:
1.06.1 The members of Parliament, the Minister of State (or whoever is Speaker of the Parliament), and the King.
1.06.2 All other citizens must put in a request in the public forum before the are allowed to speak and discuss something in parliament.
1.06.2.1 When a request is given, it must be approved of by the Minister of State (or whoever the speaker of Parliament is)
1.06.2.2 Permission may only be given to a person to speak on one particular topic/bill, not the entire session in general.
Section 2: Forums Rules
2.01 Except for the forums of private businesses, all sections of the national forums are ‘owned’ by the government.
2.02 Unless a forum is marked ‘private office’, or something similar, or if the forum is specifically designated as a private discussion forum for sensitive matters of state, a government forum may NOT be locked. (this will go into effect as soon as Luthoria switches over to the invisionfree forum)
2.03 All Parliament forums are to be open and viewable by the public.
2.03.1 The ‘Parliamentary Discussions Board’ will be open to the public. However, unless a person has permission to speak in this board, they may only observe, not speak. Should a person post without permission in the parliamentary discussion, the will face the following punishments:
2.03.1.1 First Offense: 500 MK fine
2.03.1.2 Second Offense: 1000 MK fine
2.03.1.3 Third Offense: 5000 MK Fine, 2 week ban
2.03.2 The government will stop ‘keeping tabs’ every year of these offenses
2.03.3 Should a non-parliament member vote in a parliamentary poll, they will face the following punishments:
2.03.3.1 First offense: 1000 MK Fine
2.03.3.2 Second Offense: 5000 MK fine, 3 week ban
Section 3: Growth Adaptation
3.01 When the population of the UKL reaches 20 active citizens (active citizens being defined as any citizen who has posted at least 5 times per week in the past 1 month), the Supreme Court justice may not hold any other public office (though he or she may hold private jobs)
3.02 When the population of the UKL reaches 25 active citizens, the King and the Minister of State may not hold any other positions not Constitutionally given to them
3.03 When the population of the UKL reaches 30 active citizens, the members of Parliament and the Royal Ministers may not hold any other positions in the government
3.04 When the population of the UKL reaches 35 active citizens, every province must hold constitutional conventions and elect at least a governor, possibly a legislature. (NOTE: a position in the provincial government does not count in the restrictions in the first parts of this section)
Section 4: Definition of Freedom of Speech in relation to other sections of the Constitution
4.01 Matters of opinion, as long as they don’t violate Section 7.03-a of the Constitution, may not be censored or blocked for any reason.
4.02 Religious speech, as long as it doesn’t violate Section 7.03-a of the Constitution, may not be censored or blocked for any reason
4.03 Posts may not be moved locked or moved if they are placed in a public area unless the person who started the thread agrees to it being locked or to it being moved.
Section 5: National Business Council
5.01 The National Business Council will consist of every registered business within Luthoria and will be responsible for regulating all business functions, such as setting standard measurements and prices for different commodities.
5.02 The ruling body of the National Business Council will be the Board of Owners, which will consist of the owners of each business in Luthoria (in the case of publically owned companies, the largest shareholder will represent the business).
5.02.1 The Board of Owners will be charged with all decision making regarding business regulations and rules.
5.03 The head of the NBC will be the Chief Executive.
5.03.1 the Chief Executive of the NBC will initially be elected by the Board of Owners, but afterward will rotate every six months in the order the businesses appear on the National forums.
5.03.2 The Chief Executive shall serve as spokesperson for the NBC and as the international ambassador for Luthorian Business.
5.03.3 The Chief Executive will serve as speaker of the Board of Owners. He will have no special authority, but will just guide the discussions of the Board of Owners.
5.04 Should a business refuse to abide by the rules made by the Board of Owners, the National Business Council has the right to revoke a business’s membership and government registration. Should a business be kicked out by the NBC and have it’s registration revoked, it may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Section 6: New Forum
6.01 The Parliament of Luthoria does hereby declare that as soon as Minister Clark completes work on the newly proposed InvisionFree forum, and the national forums will be moved to the new forums from the ProBoards forum.
