On Change Request 15/2009 - Creation of a Legislature
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Blog of AdminThis is the first of a series pf posts in which we respond in detail to Change Request 15/2009 on the creation of a legislature. In our next post, upon analyzing the potential responses to this post, we will be coming forward with a plan of phased implementation, with the definition of the first phase.
First, some general statements:
1. As stated earlier, the change request is accepted in principle and will be scheduled for implementation in phases.
2. We will be asking the president to consider some technical changes to ease implementation. The purpose of this post is to help citizens understand the difficulties we face with this change request.
3. The change request is extremely complicated in terms of technicalities. Specifically, we have to consider what parts of the processes to support, therefore enforce, by software, and what parts leave to citizens to complete manually, therefore leaving room for breaches of rules. The ideal solution would be to enforce all rules by software, i.e. making breaches of rules technically impossible. However, this requirement is contradictory to the other important consideration, which is the ease and speed of implementation. We will have to make trade-offs here.
Second, we will analyze the change request itself in detail, in reference to our blog post of February 12, in which we have listed all the questions that need to be answered to be able to create a legislature. (See http://www.titulia.com/blog/view/172/About-a-Future-Titulian-Senate.html )
Below follow the original questions, with the relevant text, or the essence of the change request copied in:
(Please note we originally used the term "Senate", whereas the change request uses "Congress", this is now used interchangeably.) We also point out some of the points where clarification will be needed before implementation can begin.
WHAT DOES THE SENATE LOOK LIKE?
- How many senators are there?
This is not explicitly specified in the change request, however, from the description of the "five regions", it can be concluded that each region would have 1 seat, therefore the change request asks for a senate of 5 members.
- When should the senate be established (i.e. at what population of the Republic)?
The change request is immediate, i.e. as soon as it can be implemented.
- Does the senate itself have its officials, e.g. a president of the Senate or any other? If yes, what are their powers? Who nominates them, elects them and how? (Admin's note: this would double the work...)
The change request does not mention any officials, however, it implicitly appoints the vice president as one, by allowing him to decide on tie votes. Please note that the current constitution does not mention a vice president.
- Whom do the senators represent? A party? A geographical area (tricky)? Everybody? Anyone who voted for them? Some other subset of citizens?
The change request defines members of the upper house as representatives of a "region", of which there would be five. It is currently unclear from the change request how the number of citizens of a "region" would affect the setup of the senate.
WHAT ARE THE POWERS OF THE SENATE?
- How do we define the powers of the Senate in relation to the powers of the President? For example, is the president legally required to act according to the passed resolutions of the Senate? Does this apply to everything or to a defined set of areas? What would those areas be?
The relationship between the powers of the congress and those of the president is not explained in the change request.
- How do we define the powers of the Senate in relation to the powers of the Administrator when it comes to propositions that require changes to the website of the Republic?
It is assumed there will be no changes to these procedures - the president would have to continue submitting change requests to the Administrator, this time based on acts of the legislature.
HOW IS THE SENATE ELECTED?
- Who elects the senators?
All citizens of a "region" would be able to vote for the representative of that region.
- Who can be nominated for senator? Anyone, party members? Are there any other criteria?
Anyone of that "region".
- Who nominates someone for senator? Themselves, their party leaders? Someone else?
Anyone can nominate themselves.
- How do citizens vote for senators? For individuals? Party lists?
Voting would be for individuals.
- Is there one global senator election or separate elections by some sort of subsets of the citizens?
Voting would be by regions. However, it is unclear if and how the number of citizens of a region would impact the number of seats they have.
- Can a citizen vote for one senator candidate or more?
One vote per citizen.
- How often is the senate reelected?
It seems the change request asks for an upper house that would ALWAYS be in session, i.e. there would be no gaps due to elections. Elections would take place per region, on a rotation basis, i.e. one fifth of the members would be replaced each week. It is unclear what would happen to votes that span the period of replacement of a senator. Would the newly elected senators be prevented from voting on bills on which their predecessor already voted?
- Can a senator resign? If yes, what happens upon resignation?
This is not specified by the change request.
HOW DOES THE SENATE WORK?
- Who can initiate a proposition the senate will have to vote on? Any citizen? A senator? The president?
The change request states that the upper house "would receive any propositions that had reached substantive status in the lower house", but fails to define who exactly would put those propositions forward for voting.
- Can a senator "endorse" a citizen's proposition and bring it to the senate to work on, or would a senator have to word his own proposition?
This is not answered clearly in the change request, due to the ambiguous definition of an "amendment", and the processes related to it.
- Can the senate work on any proposition of their own or should it be one raised by a citizen, and voted on by citizens first?
This is answered clearly - the upper house can only work on propositions that the lower house (i.e. the citizenry) accepted by the current proposition processes.
- How do we avoid the senate having to work on stupid propositions, such as "We love pizza"?
There is no answer to this in the change request.
- Can ordinary citizens speak in the senate whenever they wish, or is the senate forum restricted to senators?
This is currently unclear.
- When is a proposition passed? Majority of all senators or majority of senators in attendance?
This is clearly answered in the change request, however, the process is rather complicated.
FURTHER AREAS OF CONCERN:
1. What are the rules of "amending" a lower house proposition by the upper house? Who can do that? Any member? Will there be potentially multiple amendments up for vote?
2. Who would decide if an "amendment" to the original proposition is "substantial"?
3. If an amended proposition needs to go back to the lower house, who is responsible for initiating that vote with the new text?
4. What is meant by "these regions would correspond to the map of Titulia and their precise areas would be agreed upon by proposition"? As of today, no one is obliged to own property in Titulia city, therefore the idea of "regions" and their relationship to Titulia City is completely unclear.
For your reference, this is the text of the original change request:
The legislature would consist of two houses.
The lower house would consist of the entire citizenry (as now) and would be the place where any new propositions were introduced. Any citizen would be able to submit a proposition to this house, including the President, cabinet members and members of Congress. Propositions would reach substantive status based upon whatever proposition legislation exists at that point, whether it be as now, or amended. Nomination and budget propositions would only require a simple affirmative majority in this house, in order to pass. As now, nomination and budget propositions would not be required to pass to substantive status and both of these forms of proposition would be active for 5 days only. All other original propositions would be active for 7 days only.
The upper house would consist of those members elected to Congress by the citizens and would act as an amending and revising body. It would receive any propositions that had reached substantive status in the lower house. It would discuss the proposition and apply any amendments or revisions that it thought were necessary. A substantive proposition would be active for 3 days, after which voting (by Congress) would close.
Without substantial* amendment a simple affirmative majority** would be required to pass the proposition, at which point it would be put forward for implementation (either by admin, or by the executive).
If substantial* amendment (to the proposition) has been instituted and passed, (voting rules as outlined previously) then the proposition returns to the lower house, where a simple affirmative majority (over 3 days) is required to pass the proposition, at which point it would be put forward for implementation, as already outlined above. If the amended proposition is rejected by the lower house, then it returns to the upper house for further amendment or revision (or to return to it's original form). The process would proceed as previously, with the legislation either being passed without substantial* amendment (as per the original proposition) and forwarded for implementation, or it being returned to the lower house for a further vote, with the same rules applying as before.
If amended propositions are rejected by the lower house on two occasions then the upper house must vote on the un-amended propostion, (as per the original proposition) with the same voting rules as outlined (for the upper house) previously. At this stage the proposition would either be passed or rejected.
*(substantial is taken to mean any revision or amendment to the original proposition that would change its effect in practice, or the intent of the original proposer).
** 60% (3/5) of Congress must vote in order for any vote to be legal. Any tied vote would go to the casting vote of the VP.
Electoral Process & Organisation (for Congress)
For the purposes of congressional elections, Titulia would be divided into five regions/states/counties/constituencies. They would consist of Central, Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Titulia. These regions would correspond to the map of Titulia and their precise areas would be agreed upon by proposition, after submission by the executive. I would propose that the 'Central' area be slighly smaller than the other areas, as this is, at present, the heart of Titulia and thus has more 'weight' than the outlying areas of Titulia.
All citizens would be required to register for one, and only one of these areas. Thus if a citizen registers themselves in Southern Titulia, they may only vote for congressional candidates that are standing for the seat of Southern Titulia.
Similarly, those who wish to stand for Congress, may only stand in whichever region they are registered in.
Citizens may change their registration during the one week period immediately after Congressional elections have taken place in the area they wish to change their registration to. This will allow freedom of movement without electoral manipulation. For similar reasons citizens may only change their registration a maximum of 3 times in a calendar year and there must be a 2 month interval between changes of registration.
Any citizen registered in a particualr area may stand for that seat.
The candidate receiving the most votes will be elected to Congress for that region. In the event of a tie, a run-off election consisting of the tied candidates only, shall take place. A sitting member of Congress will remain in place until the electoral process has been resolved.
Elections shall take place over 5 days. Run-off elections shall take place over 3 days. There will be no gap between elections and any run-off elections.
Nationally, congressional elections shall take place each week in one of the 5 regions. This shall occur on a rotational basis. Thus one week Central shall hold elections, the following week Northern, then Eastern etc, until all have held elections and the process returns to Central. I'd suggest the rotation follow this structure: Central/Northern/Eastern/Southern/Western.
Article published in The Titulia Post
Comments
I am declaring my intention to head a new party in Titulia. I have founded the Anti Admin Party (AAP) which exists to unify all free thinking people of Titulia. The recent actions by the Admin in the areas of Titulian law can not be understated.
Titulia is not a Republic, it is a Monarchy headed by the Admin. The AAP’s sole and only objective is to remove the Admin from the affairs of the people. Are you tired of political parties disconnected from a real purpose in Titulia?
Join a party with real purpose and drive.
Join a party that’s going to free this Republic from the grip of Admin intervention and interference.
Join a party that will create a bright future for Titulia by removing the Admin as the all encompassing ruler over the citizens of this great state.
AAP – Working for you and your freedom.
http://www.titulia.com/index.php?page=party_details,id=313
Titulia is not a Republic, it is a Monarchy headed by the Admin. The AAP’s sole and only objective is to remove the Admin from the affairs of the people. Are you tired of political parties disconnected from a real purpose in Titulia?
Join a party with real purpose and drive.
Join a party that’s going to free this Republic from the grip of Admin intervention and interference.
Join a party that will create a bright future for Titulia by removing the Admin as the all encompassing ruler over the citizens of this great state.
AAP – Working for you and your freedom.
http://www.titulia.com/index.php?page=party_details,id=313
Here are some of my ideas for answering some of the questions:
The electoral districts should still be divided based on the Titulia City map. All citizens who have purchased property in Titulia City must register in the district in which their property is located. However, restricting voting rights to property owners is not ethical. Therefore, any citizen should be able to register in any district they wish, so long as they do not own property in another. Citizens who own property in multiple districts will have to choose which they would like to establish residency in. In the future, perhaps we should zone to provide a difference between residential and commmercial property, but for our purposes today the landholder would make the choice.
The legislature would adopt propositions passed in substantive phase by the citizenry. The Congress must vote on the citizens' passed substantive proposition word for word. However, if this bill were to pass in initial phase, it could then be edited and presented for a final vote. A final, passed vote shall be put to the citizens for a confirmation vote, to ensure that any changes in the bill's language meet with the approval of the citizenry.
Once a bill has passed through substantive phase in the Congress, it shall be brought before the President. The President may use executive power to veto the bill, so long as it has not received a majority of greater than 75% in either a citizen or congressional vote. It would be unwise for a President to veto a bill that has received popular support in 4 phases, so I don't foresee this becoming a problem; however, Congress would be able to override a veto with a 2/3 vote. Once a bill has passed the President's approval, it must be sent as a change request to the Admin. At this point, the fate of the legislation lies in the hands of our site's administrator, and there is nothing more to legislate on the subject.
The electoral districts should still be divided based on the Titulia City map. All citizens who have purchased property in Titulia City must register in the district in which their property is located. However, restricting voting rights to property owners is not ethical. Therefore, any citizen should be able to register in any district they wish, so long as they do not own property in another. Citizens who own property in multiple districts will have to choose which they would like to establish residency in. In the future, perhaps we should zone to provide a difference between residential and commmercial property, but for our purposes today the landholder would make the choice.
The legislature would adopt propositions passed in substantive phase by the citizenry. The Congress must vote on the citizens' passed substantive proposition word for word. However, if this bill were to pass in initial phase, it could then be edited and presented for a final vote. A final, passed vote shall be put to the citizens for a confirmation vote, to ensure that any changes in the bill's language meet with the approval of the citizenry.
Once a bill has passed through substantive phase in the Congress, it shall be brought before the President. The President may use executive power to veto the bill, so long as it has not received a majority of greater than 75% in either a citizen or congressional vote. It would be unwise for a President to veto a bill that has received popular support in 4 phases, so I don't foresee this becoming a problem; however, Congress would be able to override a veto with a 2/3 vote. Once a bill has passed the President's approval, it must be sent as a change request to the Admin. At this point, the fate of the legislation lies in the hands of our site's administrator, and there is nothing more to legislate on the subject.
Excellent commentary on some of the questions we still have to answer to successfully bring a legislature to Titulia.
I have begun to answer one of these questions by creating a prop stating that the VP should serve as Speaker of the Congress. http://titulia.com/index.php?page=topic,id=1797
I have begun to answer one of these questions by creating a prop stating that the VP should serve as Speaker of the Congress. http://titulia.com/index.php?page=topic,id=1797
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We agree then on many issues it’s just about how they should function. Modified requests:
1: (The Principle): The Admin is to strictly administer the website.
2: The Citizens will endeavour to create laws which require the least amount coding possible.
3: The Admin will be stripped of all law making powers.
4: The Admin will have NO veto over issues unrelated to the technical operation of this site.
5: The Admin to provide reasonable and clear reasons why a change request is denied. Only a valid technical issues will be acceptable.
6: The Admin is not to make binding statements on issues of Titulian law, public policy and administration of process of any kind without a request from the President of the Republic.
7: The ‘Terms and Conditions’ to only apply to the operation of this site and thus hold of no force or effect in over Titulian citizen created law.
8: The Admin is to separate those unchangeable automatic aspects of the technical operation of the site from the Constitution and create separate requirements for those if and when they need to be changed.
9: Changes to the Constitution: Required by the AAP (Below)
*****
The use of the Titulia website is subject to acceptance of the Terms & Conditions.
The Republic of Titulia is a limited democracy. It is limited by its web based existence. Some fundamental political and economic structures and the election processes are mandated by the software of the website of the republic, therefore the citizens or their elected representatives can not change them at will as these are under the ultimate control of the Administrators.
The power on any other matter is vested in the People of Titulia, who can directly, or indirectly through their elected representatives, create any other laws and regulations as long as they do not contradict the Constitution.
Article V. - The Legislative Branch of Government
1. All legislative power shall be ultimately vested in the People of Titulia.
2. The power to make any changes to the Titulia website shall be ultimately vested in the Administrator of Titulia.
3. The Administrator of Titulia shall have the right to:
(a) Amend the Terms & Conditions with reasonable notice to all citizens.
(b) Provide citizens with opinion on technical matters and how that may impact legislation.
4. The People of Titulia may choose at any time to exercise their powers either directly, or indirectly through an elected Government.
Article VI. - The Judicial Branch of Government
1. Judicial power shall ultimately be vested in the General Court.
2. The Administrator has delegated all judicial powers to a General Court, or any additional Courts, established by the People of Titulia through their elected Government except where the Administrator:
(a) Enforces the Terms & Conditions by stripping away any and all rights of citizens who violate them.
(b) Enforces ban judgments originating from the General Court by stripping away any and all rights of citizens who are found guilty of a criminal offence.
AMENDMENT III. - Propositions
All citizens have the right to vote for propositions.
Propositions on general political issues are accepted as official policy of the Republic as long as they receive majority support.
Propositions that, by their nature, result in required changes to the functionality of the website of the Republic, fall under the ultimate authority of the Administrator to accept or deny.
However, if the proposition is amended in such as way as not to affect any site functionality the Administrator of the website has no authority to accept or deny the proposition.
The Administrator of the Republic shall, on a regular basis, publish a report to summarize the status of these propositions.
AMENDMENT VII. - Changes to the Constitution
1. The Constitution can only be physically changed by the Administrator.
2. The Administrator changes the Constitution only when an official ‘citizens change request’ is filed from the President.
3. Upon receipt of the change request, the Administrator may
(a) Ask the president for further clarification
(b) Recommend minor changes to the change request for technical reasons
(c) Accept the change request.
(d) Reject the change request for reasons of a technical nature only.
6. If accepted, the Administrator shall analyze the work associated with the implementation of the change request and respond to the president with an estimated completion date.
7. If rejected, the Administrator shall respond to the President with a description of the technical reasons for rejection.
8. Change requests and official responses to them will be public.