[2352.AB] Amendment to the Legislator Act

Assembly
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21

It strikes me that there is some value in requiring the Chair to proceed promptly with removals on a specific timeline. Assembly votes can take place at any time, so it’s important to know as soon as possible at the end of each month who is eligible to vote in the next month.

I actually might be inclined amend the Citizenship Act to impose a first week of the month removal timeline. On the one hand, removals seem somewhat less pressing with citizenship. After all, if a citizen misses voting in an election, the next election is nearly three months away, so as long as Cit Com removes citizenship at some point in the ensuing month, it will cover the next election. But citizenship also affects legislator status, so the need for timely removals is actually just as pressing, albeit in a somewhat more removed way.

22

I agree with a prompt removal, but I’m wary of requiring it be on a specific timeline. In case that timeline gets exceeded, what happens then? If there’s no teeth to a requirement, then it probably shouldn’t be a requirement.

23

That’s fair. I think the remedy would be primarily political. The Assembly can more easily monitor the Chair’s (or Cit Com’s) performance when there is a specific timetable in which they are expected to effectuate removals. If they fail to meet that deadline, then the Assembly could hold them to account and, if the officer’s negligence were sufficiently serious, remove them from office. On the other hand, if there is no specific timeline, it’s a bit harder to determine that the officer is failing in their duties; at some point the delays would get intolerable, but when? The deadline creates a clear metric against which the officer’s performance can be measured by the Assembly.

To be sure, a political / accountability remedy is not an immediate one. If the Chair ran over the seven day deadline, nothing would happen at that exact moment. It is at least conceivable that a more immediate judicial remedy could be available, but that strikes me as a long shot.

24

While I am still not wholly convinced in the need for a hard set deadline, it’s also not enough to justify a prolonged discussion. This draft is fine for me to come to a vote.

25

Is it really a deadline or is it more a requirement that, if not done at any other time, the Chair must at least conduct a legislator check at the start of the month?

26

What are “the eligibility requirements as described in this Act” supposed to be? If that’s meant to refer to Legislator Act 1(1), I’m not sure we should be giving the Chair of the Assembly the broad power to remove legislator status for ‘bad faith’ especially without the option of appealing to the Assembly.

27

Yes, the eligibility requirements are meant to be those in section 1(1). And I agree that the Chair should not be able to remove legislator status for “bad faith.” I’m not sure that the proposed language empowers the Chair to do that, as the text of 1(1) suggests that bad faith is only considered when a citizen is “seeking legislator status,” i.e., at the time of their application, rather than being an ongoing eligibility requirement. Nevertheless, I think it is worth clarifying, as I acknowledge my interpretation is open to debate. I think it will be easy enough to model off of the Citizenship Act’s structure. I will try to get to that this evening.

28

This project has certainly expanded, but I think it is worthwhile. If passed, these amendments would make the Legislator Act closely mirror the Citizenship Act in structure and content, which should be helpful for clarity and ease of administration.

Legislator Act

An act to establish and manage legislator status

1. Legislator Status Requirements

(1) Members of the Coalition are eligible to attain legislator status if:

  1. they are citizens of the Coalition at the time of and during their application for legislator status; and
  2. the Chair of the Assembly does not opine that they are seeking legislator status in bad faith.

(2) To retain legislator status once granted, legislators must:

  1. remain citizens of the Coalition; and
  2. meet the Assembly voting requirement.

12. Legislator Applications

(1) Any citizen of the Coalition is eligible to attain legislator status if the Chair of the Assembly does not opine that they are seeking legislator status in bad faith.

(21) An application for legislator status must include at least:

  1. A link to their accepted citizenship application, and
  2. Any relevant updates to the citizenship application that changed since the application was made.

(32) Upon acceptance or denial of an application, the Chair of the Assembly shall post the result (including a sufficient reason in case of a denial) both in response to the application as well as per telegram to the applicant nation.

  1. The applicant may appeal a rejection to the Assembly at large for a vote.

23. Legislator Checks

(1) Continued legislator status requires active membership and good behavior.

(1) Legislators retain their legislator status until resignation or removal by the appropriate authority.

(2) Within the first week of each calendar month, the Chair of the Assembly will remove legislator status from a legislator if they failed the Assembly voting requirement in the past month., if applicable, or otherwise no longer meet the eligibility requirements as described herein. If a legislator no longer meets the eligibility requirements (not including the voting requirement), and it would be impossible for them to meet the requirements before the first week of the following calendar month, the Chair of the Assembly may remove their legislator status at their discretion before the appointed week. The Chair of the Assembly may exercise discretion and not remove legislators under reasonable extenuating circumstances.

a. The Chair of the Assembly may exercise discretion and not remove an otherwise active legislator for failing the Assembly voting requirement under reasonable extenuating circumstances.

(3) A legislator fails the Assembly voting requirement if:

  1. The Assembly finished at least three votes in the previous calendar month and the legislator was absent for more than one-third of those votes; or
  2. The Assembly finished exactly two votes in the previous calendar month and the legislator was absent for both of those votes.

(4) Legislators may request a leave of absence for a non-indefinite period, specifying the end date of such leave, which will be subject to discretionary approval from the Chair of the Assembly or their deputies. During such time, legislators on a leave of absence are exempt from the Assembly voting requirement.

(5) The Chair of the Assembly will at once remove legislator status from a legislator if they no longer meet the eligibility requirements as described in Article 1, Section (2) of this Act.

(56) The Chair of the Assembly may suspend legislator privileges for disruptive members. Frequent suspensions may be grounds for ineligibility, if found appropriate in a fair trial by the High Court.

29

Even better!

30

For the most part, looks good. Only thing I would comment on is this:

Could theoretically provide for a timeframe between application and its approval where citizenship was not maintained. Is there a way to include some words to clarify that citizenship should be maintained cleanly throughout?

31

Yes, a good catch. My solution is a bit clunky, but it should plug the gap.

32

What about:

they are citizens of the Coalition at the time of and during their application for legislator status

33

Ah great–much cleaner. Will edit now.

34

Unless there is any further discussion, I would move these amendments to a vote.

35

Second.

36

Chair of the Assembly

We are now at a vote!

37

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