The South Pacific

Alright everyone, so we know that over time the in-game platform as developed out to give the Delegate more powers through the World Factbook Entry, polls, etc. As such, I think our system of government -- which as been set up strictly as an off-site government -- needs to evolve as well.

We have active, thoughtful nations who stay on the RMB for various reasons. While -- at one time -- we had little means to give them a role in governing, the addition of polls gives us some ability to give these nation a say.

As such, I propose the following changes to the Charter and Code of Law as a means to bring the RMB into the region's government.

Change to the Charter:

Quote:Article 3: Legislature

Section 1 - Construction of the Legislature
1. The legislature will consist of a bicameral legislature in which any nation in The South Pacific make participate.
2. The legislature will consist of a lower house, hereafter referred to as the General Congregation, and an upper house, hereafter referred to as the Grand Assembly.
3. The General Congregation will consist of all native residents of The South Pacific.
4. The Grand Assembly will consist of citizens as designated by the Charter.

Section 2 - Powers of the Legislature
1. The Legislature is responsible for the drafting and discussion of General Laws, and amendments to the Charter and Code of Laws.
2. The Legislature may pass and amend a Law with a vote resulting in 50% + 1 in favor, in both houses.
3. The Legislature may amend the Charter with a vote resulting in a 75% majority in favor, in both houses.
4. If the General Congregation rejects a Law or Amendment, the Grand Assembly may override the failure. A 75% majority vote in favor of an addition or change to the Code of Law and a 90% majority vote in favor of an Amendment to the Charter will be required to override the General Congregation.
5. Proposed legislation may be moved to a vote by the Legislative Chair after a Motion and a Second to vote is lodged in either house.
6. The voting period will last three days for all General Laws and five days for Amendments to the Charter.

Section 3 - Powers Reserved for the Grand Assembly
1. The Grand Assembly has the sole power to declare a state of war exists with another region or organization.
2. The Grand Assembly has the sole power to pass a treaty with another region or organization.
3. The Grand Assembly may override the denial or Cabinet removal of citizenship upon the affected nation appealing and a vote resulting in a 75% majority in favor.
4. Declarations of War and Treaties require a 60% majority in favor by the Grand Assembly to be enacted or repealed.
5. The voting period will last five days Declarations of War and Treaties.

Section 4 - Legislative Chair and Duties of the Chair
1. The Legislature will elect a Chair which, in conjunction with the Delegate, will be responsible for the administration of all aspects of the drafting, debate, and passage of legislation.
2. The Legislative Chair has the clerical duty to maintain the Charter, Code of Laws, and all subsidiary documents, ensuring that all laws comport with proper standards and formatting, and all minor changes made are publicly recorded.
3. The Legislative Chair will serve on the Cabinet and act as the Legislative Liaison between the Cabinet and Assembly.
4. The Chair will serve a term lasting four months.
5. Procedures for the election of the Chair must be defined in Code of Laws.

Change to the COL:

Quote:Article 1: Elections

Section 2 - Position Specificities
1. The Delegate and Vice Delegate will run on a joint ticket and be elected by a majority vote. If no ticket receives a majority vote a runoff election with the two tickets receiving the most votes will occur.
2. Cabinet offices will be voted on separately and be elected by a plurality vote. Court Justices will be voted through a single ballot, with the three candidates who receive the most votes winning seats.
3. In all elections an option to re-open nominations will be included. For non-judicial elections, if this option receives the most votes the nomination period for that office will be restarted.
4. For Court Justice elections, if the option to Re-Open Nominations receives enough votes to be placed within the top four, then the nomination period will be restarted for all seats with lesser votes than this option. The candidates who receive the top votes will win however many seats are left to be filled.
5. The Legislative Chair will be subject to an approval vote in the General Congregation.

I think this works on several levels. It gives all native nations in the region (nations with more influence in TSP than any other region, per NS) the ability to get involved in the government. For those who want to be more involved, the upper house will still be open to all residents who wish to join.

Likewise, by offering a mechanism to override the lower house, if needed, we still have the protections from manipulation and the like we might be concerned about.

Some things to consider:

Treaties and Declarations of War. Should they be ratified in both houses? And, if so, how do we deal with sensitive information? I would be happy to have these voted on by both houses, but I'm not sure what the general sentiment is here.

Elections: Right now we have provisions for the Legislative Chair. Should we have other provisions?

What other thoughts/suggestions/concerns do we have?

Quote:Section 2- Powers of the Legislature
...
4. If the General Congregation rejects a Law or Amendment, the Grand Assembly may override the failure. A 75% majority vote in favor of an addition or change to the Code of Law and a 90% majority vote in favor of an Amendment to the Charter will be required to override the General Congregation.

I still do not like the idea. The idea that the government can override the decision of the people sounds a little anti-freedom of speech for TSP if you ask me.

It's not the government, it's all registered citizens.

And it's not freedom of speech you are talking about.

(01-12-2015, 04:05 PM)Kris Kringle Wrote: [ -> ]It's not the government, it's all registered citizens.

And it's not freedom of speech you are talking about.

Read that again. I misread it. I thought it was Chair. But what do you mean by this? And by freedom of speech, I meant our freedoms of voting.

Quote:3. The General Congregation will consist of all native residents of The South Pacific.

Do you mean all the 4000 nations in TSP?

Voting in the Assembly is not a matter of freedom of speech, unless you mean how you vote, which I don't think you are.

(01-12-2015, 04:11 PM)Kris Kringle Wrote: [ -> ]Voting in the Assembly is not a matter of freedom of speech.

Never mind that. Can you answer my 2nd question, please?

I think my position on this is well-known, but I will repeat it here for posterity. Including the general region into the debate and passage of laws is a bad idea that will likely fail our region. I am okay with a non-binding role, as a way to bring users onto our forums, but including them in a binding way is something I cannot support. What we do here on these forums rarely affects the on-site region. We are our own subset of the community. I would like to grow that community, not fundamentally alter it by forcing a change in our system that will make it easier to game and quicker to fall into dysfunction.

(01-12-2015, 04:20 PM)Sandaoguo Wrote: [ -> ]I think my position on this is well-known, but I will repeat it here for posterity. Including the general region into the debate and passage of laws is a bad idea that will likely fail our region. I am okay with a non-binding role, as a way to bring users onto our forums, but including them in a binding way is something I cannot support. What we do here on these forums rarely affects the on-site region. We are our own subset of the community. I would like to grow that community, not fundamentally alter it by forcing a change in our system that will make it easier to game and quicker to fall into dysfunction.

I agree with this. And if this is passed, you never know if our enemies are trying to sabotage our laws.

(01-12-2015, 04:09 PM)Ryccia Wrote: [ -> ]

Quote:3. The General Congregation will consist of all native residents of The South Pacific.

Do you mean all the 4000 nations in TSP?

If they want to vote in the poll, then yes.

(01-12-2015, 04:20 PM)Sandaoguo Wrote: [ -> ]I think my position on this is well-known, but I will repeat it here for posterity. Including the general region into the debate and passage of laws is a bad idea that will likely fail our region. I am okay with a non-binding role, as a way to bring users onto our forums, but including them in a binding way is something I cannot support. What we do here on these forums rarely affects the on-site region. We are our own subset of the community. I would like to grow that community, not fundamentally alter it by forcing a change in our system that will make it easier to game and quicker to fall into dysfunction.

GR -- I mean we talked about this, but let me just reiterate my point. I really don't understand the argument that the off-site government is independent from the in-game region. It makes little sense and I think is just a way to put distance between the two.

Without the in-game activity, we wouldn't have a region. I can be elected delegate all I want on the off-site, but without the endorsements in-game, that election is useless. Heck, if push comes to shove, the in-game region has survive without us, but so the other way around.

The in-game nations should be able to contribute more than simply their WA endorsements.

I'm with GR on this. Most of the regional community refuses to take part in the government. Why should we accommodate people who refuse to at least try?