WELCOME
Welcome to the Office of Assembly Affairs. This Office is jointly managed by the Office of the Chair and the Legislator Committee.
Legislators are encouraged to ask any question or make any comment to these two institutions in this thread.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ASSEMBLY
The Assembly offers rich, lively political debate as it debates our region’s laws. It’s the perfect venue for you to voice your beliefs and shape our region.
Tell Me More!
The Assembly is our regional legislature and it makes laws covering the rights of residents of our region, our foreign policy towards other regions, the way our regional officer powers are allocated, and more. It’s a great way for anyone to get started crafting our regional laws and participating in our regional politics.
How Do I Join?
To become a legislator and join the Assembly, simply head over to the Getting Involved wizard! For more information on what you can do as a legislator, please read our own Legislators’ Guide to the Assembly!
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
About a Leave of Absence
Legislators may apply for a Leave of Absence in this thread. This thread is the only place Legislators should ask for Leave of Absence, barring exceptional circumstances in which they cannot post on the forum or their reasons for requesting leave are of a sensitive and private nature. Under such circumstances, Legislators may privately request leaves of absence from the Chair of the Assembly. Non-Legislators should not request a Leave of Absence.
Application Form
**Start Date:** **End Date:** **Reason(s):**
Guidelines
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A Leave of Absence permits exemption from Assembly voting activity requirements for a calendar month.
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Legislators should only request a Leave of Absence if they believe they may miss more than half the Assembly votes during a calendar month.
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Except under exceptional circumstances, a Leave of Absence should not cover more than one calendar month.
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Should legislators require an extension of their Leave of Absence, they should request an extension in this thread.
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Legislators are not expected to be completely absent during Leave of Absence and may participate in discussion and voting.
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A Leave of Absence does not cover the requirement to maintain a nation in TSP. Nations should be set on vacation mode during absences.
Please note
Barring other extenuating circumstances as determined by the Chair of the Assembly, Legislator Status will be revoked from any Legislator who has not been granted a Leave of Absence and who misses more than half the Assembly votes that have occurred in a calendar month provided at least two votes occurred. Such revocations will take place within the first week of the following calendar month.
CODE OF CONDUCT
General Guidelines
The following points are intended as general guidelines. They are not set in concrete and the Chair may exercise leniency. However, all Legislators should attempt to abide by them so as to ensure an orderly operation of the Assembly.
First offences will consist of a warning. Subsequent offences will be subject to further penalties including but not limited to the suspension of Legislator privileges. Frequent suspensions may be grounds for ineligibility if found appropriate in a fair trial by the High Court.
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Gravedigging — Gravedigging is the act of posting in a thread which has seen a significant period of inactivity — typically a month or more. If a Legislator wishes to restart the discussion, they should create a new thread and post a link in the Opening Post (OP) to the previous discussion.
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Bumping — Bumping is to post in a thread to bring attention back to the discussion. It differs from gravedigging by the amount of time. Generally speaking, bumping a thread which is two to three weeks old is acceptable.
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Disorderly Conduct — Legislators are to behave respectfully at all times. Degrading, rude, or otherwise inappropriate comments which occur in either within the Assembly’s sub-forum or the Legislators’ Lounge in Discord is not acceptable and will be acted upon by the Chair.
Voting
Legislators should cast their vote using the poll in a voting thread. This allows for the Chair to easily note their vote in the Voting Record. However, in instances when poll voting is not an option, Legislators should cast their vote by posting ‘Aye’, ‘Nay’ or ‘Abstain’ in the thread. Legislators should not vote by both poll and post.
The voting thread is intended solely as an avenue for Legislators to cast their vote in. Should a Legislator wish to comment on the bill, they should do so in the debate thread. That thread will be linked in the OP of the voting thread. If a Legislator does happen to post a comment in the voting thread, the Chair will move it to the debate thread.
INFORMATIONAL INDEX
What’s in the Office?
- Chair Guide — An in-depth guide to Chair duties
- Legislators’ Guide to the Assembly — A comprehensive general guide to the Assembly
- List of Historical Chairs — A list of former Chairs of the Assembly
Other Useful Links
- Gazette Subscription Service — Gameside Assembly Ping Signups
- Legislator Roster — Spreadsheets with historical votes and all current legislators
- Law and Treaty Index — An index of laws, treaties, and resolutions in the South Pacific
- Press Gallery — A place for legislators to post press releases and statements
- Get Involved — Information on how to apply for legislatorship and the ministries