Passed A Really Chonky Omnibus

[JaxsonWinter]

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A MOTION

To amend the Constitution,
Introduced into the Council of State of the Union of Democratic States on the 22nd of November, 2023, by Guess and Check
As follows:
​

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BELIEVING that the Union’s current single-leader Executive system has served the Union in an alright capacity in the previous few years,
CONTENDING that this structure nonetheless presents multiple issues that have put the Union in harm’s way, such as the structure’s inability to maintain long-term visions for the region or making its occupants more prone to burn out,
URGING that a change in structure is important to keep the Union going,
BE IT ENACTED by the Council:

Section 1: Amendments to the Constitution
1. The phrase “President” in Article II, Clause 3 shall be replaced with “elected Director”.

2. The phrase “Presidential promulgation” in Article II, Clause 7 shall be replaced with “promulgation by the Directorate”.

3. The phrase “President” shall be changed to “Directorate” in Article II, Clause 8.

4. The phrase “unelected Vice Presidents” in Article II, Clause 9 shall be replaced with “appointed Directors”.

5. Article II, Clause 10 shall be rewritten in full as follows: “The Council may remove from office the Cabinet Ministers, Justices, the World Assembly Delegate, and the Speaker by a successful motion to that effect due to”. Said clause’s subclauses shall remain the same.

6. Article III shall be retitled from “The President” to “The Directorate”.

7. Article III shall be wholly rewritten as follows:

“1. The Directorate shall be the institution whose Directors serve as Heads of State, Commanders-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Head of Government, and Leaders of the Executive Branch, those who execute the law and lead the region on behalf of the people. The Directorate shall execute a long-term vision for the Region and maintain regional stability.

2. There shall be three Directors, two appointed and one elected, that make up the Directorate with equal status. The Directorate shall select one of the two appointed Directors to serve as Director Primus inter pares, or Director Primus, to organize the Directorate and guide it in its duties.

a) In cases wherein the Directorate cannot come to a consensus on a decision, the Director Primus shall have the final say.​

3. The one elected Director shall be elected every six months. Directorial Elections shall occur on the first day of January and July. Elections shall be carried out in accordance with regional law.

a). If the elected Director resigns before ending their term, a by-election for the office shall be held if more than three months remain in the term. If less than three months of the term remain, the Directorate shall appoint a third Director with Council confirmation vote to serve in the position of elected Director for the term's remainder.​

4. The two Directors who are appointed shall be confirmed through a confirmation vote by the Council of State after nomination by the Directorate. The Council shall decide the first two appointed Directors upon passage of the Directorate’s establishment. There may only be two appointed Directors at any time.

a). The Administration Team of the Union, as founded by Thatcher Whitehall and existing beyond the scope or powers of this Constitution, shall be granted the power to remove appointed Directors. If both appointed Directors are removed, then the Administration Team may work with the elected Director to nominate two new appointed Directors for Council confirmation.​

5. During the term of the elected Director, citizens may petition to recall the elected Director, provided that their petition has at least eight citizen signatures. After such a petition is presented to the Electoral Commission, a by-election for the office shall be held in which the incumbent officeholders shall automatically be on the ballot. Such petitions may only be submitted thirty days after the Director assumes office.

6. Following the passage of a law in the Council, the Directorate has five days to either promulgate the law and make it legally binding or veto it. Before promulgation or a veto, the Directorate may consult the Attorney General for legal advice regarding the law and its impacts.

a). Unless it is vetoed, a law automatically becomes promulgated after five days.​

b). The Council may overturn a veto with a three-fourth supermajority.​

7. The Directorate shall have the following powers, subject to regulation by law:

a). The issuance of Executive Orders, directions for the implementation of laws and regulations for the business of executive governance.​

b). The issuance of Persona Non Grata Declarations, which shall censure non-citizens and prohibit their entry into the region.​

c). Signing interregional agreements and introducing them into the Council.​

d). Command of the armed forces.​

8. The Executive shall be composed of the office of the Directorate of Directors, the Ministries and the Ministers who lead them.

9. The Executive shall carry out the day-to-day executive governance of the region, including the regulation of foreign affairs, domestic affairs, cultural affairs, and some legal matters.

10. Ministries may be established by law or by the Directorate. Ministers may be appointed to and dismissed from Ministries by the Directorate.

11. The Directorate shall govern the distribution and scope of powers between the different organs of the Executive, and the Ministers shall govern such distribution within their Ministries.

a). The Directorate shall have authority over the executive, and may override the actions of their subordinates within it.​

b). Ministers shall have subsidiary authority over their Ministries, and may override the actions of their subordinates within it.​

12. The Executive shall hold the following powers, subject to regulation by law:

a). Accepting, denying and processing citizenship applications.​

b). The conduct of diplomacy and defense of the region.​

c). The administration of programs and initiatives for the benefit of the region.​

d). The prosecution of criminal law cases.​

e). The execution of the laws of the Union.​

f). These powers may be expanded upon via law, either in regard to the Director or a specific Ministry.​

13. The position of World Assembly Delegate within the Union’s NationStates region should be held by the holder of the office of World Assembly Delegate as established in this constitution.

a). Vacancies in this office shall be filled by a Citizen appointed by the Commission and confirmed by the Council.​

b). The holder of this office shall be reconfirmed on the first day of Every March and September.​

”

8. Article V of the Constitution shall be rewritten fully as follows:
“1. The Electoral Commission, composed of Electoral Commissioners, shall monitor and administer all elections and referendums in the region.

2. The Commission shall be composed of three Commissioners: the two appointed Directors of the Directorate and the Chief Justice. The Director Primus shall lead the Electoral Commission.

a). In extraordinary circumstances, any other justice may serve on the Electoral Commission.​

3. Neither appointed Director may run in an election.

4. During a Judicial Election, the prior Chief Justice shall continue to serve on the Commission.

5. If no election or referendum regulations have been established in law, the Electoral Commission shall create election or referendum regulations. All election and referendum regulations, established in law or by the Commission, shall be publicly available and have the force of law.

a). The Electoral Commission’s rule and regulations are subordinate to any passed law.​

6. The Electoral Commission shall be responsible for all aspects of setting up and running elections and referendums, including:

a). The counting of votes.​

b). The distribution of candidacy and voting forms.​

c). The investigation of electoral fraud.​

d). The maintenance of an election calendar open for viewing.​

7. Following the conclusion of an election or referendum, the Electoral Commission shall release a detailed report on the results of the election or referendum. This report shall, among other things, include:

a). The total number of voters, as long as this respects each voter’s privacy.​

b). The percentages and votes won by each candidate.​

c). The placements of each candidate.​

d). The results of any runoffs that occurred.​

e). The results of any ties that occurred.​

"

9. Article VI, Clause 5 shall be rewritten in full as follows: “The offices of Director, Chief Justice, Justice, Speaker of the Council, and Deputy Speaker of the Council shall be mutually exclusive. No citizen may hold more than one such position at a time.”

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A MOTION

To amend various the Citizenship Act, the Regional Symbols Act 2020
Introduced into the Council of State of the Union of Democratic States on the 22nd of November, 2023, by Guess and Check
As follows:
​

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BELIEVING that the Union’s current single-leader Executive system has served the Union in an alright capacity in the previous few years,
CONTENDING that this structure nonetheless presents multiple issues that have put the Union in harm’s way, such as the structure’s inability to maintain long-term visions for the region or making its occupants more prone to burn out,
URGING that a change in structure is important to keep the Union going,
BE IT ENACTED by the Council:

Section 1: Amendment to the Citizenship Act

1. Section I, Clause 3 alongside Section III Clauses 8 and 10 shall have the phrase “President” changed to “Directorate”.

Section 2: Amendment to the Regional Symbols Act 2020

1. In Section II, Clause 4, Section IV, Clause 2, and Section VII, Clause 1 and Clause 1a, the phrase “President” shall be changed to “Directorate”.

Section 3: Amendments to the Awards Act

1. In Section 2, Clause 1c. and Section 3, Clause 1, the phrase “Presidential” shall be replaced by “Directorship”.

2. In Section 2, Clause 2, the phrase “President” shall be replaced by “Directorate”.

Section 4: Amendments to the Delegacy Act

1. Section One, Clause 2a. Shall be rewritten fully as follows: ““The Directorate” is the leading institution of the Union of Democratic States Executive Branch as established by the Constitution.”

2. Section Two, Clause 2 shall have the phrase “President” be replaced by “Directorate”.

3. Section 3, Clause 3 shall be rewritten as follows:
“3. As Chief Diplomats, the Directorate may direct the Delegate to vote for/against an at-vote WA proposal or approve/unapprove a WA proposal. The Delegate must follow the Directorate’s directive.
a. Regarding a directive on an at-vote WA proposal, such a directive shall be given to the Delegate within 48 hours of the vote in question commencing. The Delegate shall execute the directive immediately upon receiving it.”

Section 5: Amendments to the Executive Affairs Act

1. All instances of the phrase “President” within this Act shall be replaced by “Directorate”.

Section 6: Amendments to the Legislation Archive Act

1. All instances of the phrase “President” within this Act shall be replaced by “Directorate”.

2. Section 2, Clause 2b shall be rewritten as follows: “The President may delegate this task to any other person they believe can accomplish this task.”

3. Section 2, Clause 2c shall be struck null and void, and the following clauses renumbered as appropriate.

4. Section 5, Clause 3 shall be rewritten as follows: “The Chief Archivist shall continue serving until they either resign or are explicitly and publicly removed by the Directorate. The same shall be said for any Archivist, although Archivists may also be removed by the current Chief Archivist.”

Section 7: Amendments to the Legislation Archive Act

1. None of these amendments shall take effect unless the Constitutional Amendment motion they accompany is ratified in a referendum by the Citizenry. At such a time, these amendments shall take immediate effect.

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A MOTION

To nominate Directors
Introduced into the Council of State of the Union of Democratic States on the 22nd of November, 2023, by Guess and Check
As follows:
​

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BELIEVING that the Union’s current single-leader Executive system has served the Union in an alright capacity in the previous few years,
CONTENDING that this structure nonetheless presents multiple issues that have put the Union in harm’s way, such as the structure’s inability to maintain long-term visions for the region or making its occupants more prone to burn out,
URGING that a change in structure is important to keep the Union going,
RESOLVING that only a specific kind of individual can serve in the new structures proposed,
BE IT ENACTED by the Council:

Section 1: Appointments

1. The following appointments and changes shall be made immediately once/if the Constitutional Amendment motion they are accompanying is ratified in a referendum vote by the Citizenry:
a) The individuals commonly known as Phoenix Coalition (Phoenix) and The Glorious Hypetrain (Kade) shall be appointed as Directors of the Directorate.
b) The current elected President of the Union shall immediately take office as the elected Director of the Directorate, and continue service until the next scheduled Directorate election.

 

[JaxsonWinter]

I call upon the Honorable Member @Zukchiva to Introduce This Very Big List of Motions and their Meanings to this Union, Zuk!

 

[Zukchiva]

Thank you honorable Speaker.

Good day or night, my fellow Councillors.

I come to you today with probably one of the most important bills in recent UDS history - a bill that aims to change the fundamental governance of our region.

In short, this bill proposes to split the current Presidency between three people - two who are appointed, one who is still elected. This does mean our Executive will become a bit less democratic, but there is a reason for this and I ask for you to consider my points before rendering a final opinion, short essay this opening statement is.

The office of the Presidency as we’ve seen it in the Union is not a bad structure - it’s one that’s been utilized by the Union for years, alongside most other regions in NS. The issue is that it is no longer, nor has been, a good structure for the Union. Reason being is that it holds two key flaws: a) it places the burden of leadership solely upon one individual and b) it is not built around bringing a long-term vision for the region.

Regarding b, the Presidency is elected every three months as y’all know. The problem with this is that this encourages a natural sense of expiry for the Presidency; at most, people serve perhaps a year, and then it’s over and someone else takes up the torch. In active regions, this isn’t too problematic - even if one or two Presidencies cause stagnation, there’s enough manpower in terms of Ministers and advisors to keep the region going through stagnant terms until a good President is elected. A leader is required for progress, but not necessarily for survival in the short term. In such cases, the Presidency’s benefits of cycling through different ideas and promises in a quick time span of 3 months is beneficial to such regions.

Compare that to a region like the Union, which is severely inactive. We don’t have loads of manpower of Ministers and advisors to pick up where certain Presidencies have failed - as we’ve seen through our recent and far past. The President is given the burden of pushing the region forward - not just in progress, but also in terms of its survival every day. When a President doesn’t step up to the task - and many unconsciously don’t, because it’s just difficult to do so - the Union immensely suffers in ways highly active regions do not. We *cannot* afford a lapse in leadership, because it nullifies the good work of previous leaders and sends us straight back to square one. We only have so many resets.

This proposal aims to change such things with the permanently appointed Directors. These two Directors will serve indefinitely, allowing their expertise and vision of the Union to remain consistent in the long-term. However, we are not foregoing democracy completely - one of the three Directors will be elected for a six month term, and is fully removable like the current President is. This elected Director will serve a dual purpose of keeping the Directorate energized and as a watchdog for the general Citizenry on what the Directorate is doing. Overall, this should help resolve the issue of us not having a long-term vision enacted for the Union, since the two appointed Directors will be there as a guiding hand for the Union’s long-term interests and needs.

Regarding a, the Presidency is a pretty tough job and can lead to burn out - especially in a region like UDS which places so much focus on the Presidency. The idea behind the Directorate is that splitting the job between three people will help ease the burden on each individual Director. This is important in keeping people around in the Union longer - people are not cogs to be used up, and we should not treat them as such.

I understand that this change does affect how our democracy operates substantially - but ultimately we still remain a democracy. Citizens still have an important voice in how the Executive runs by electing and removing one Director. Our rights are still protected. Any amendments to the Constitution must pass the Citizen referendum explicitly to go into effect.

I should note that this change, while important, will not fix anything on its own. The only thing that can fix our activity issues on a deep level is a) consistent recruitment and b) consistent community integration. However, what this will do is optimize our structure to choose and support leaders who will hopefully recognize the importance of, and promote, said recruitment and integration - and keep that important vision for multiple years, not just three months. You can't man a fort without people, but without a fort it's much more difficult to protect the people. This motion is improving our fort.

So I strongly implore EVERYONE to vote FOR this change. Let’s keep this region going.

Of the choices of Directors, the two appointed ones are pretty easy choices IMO. Phoenix and Kade have been the two mainstay individuals leading our region these past two years, and Phoenix especially was there BOTH times when our region nearly started getting back on its feet, until he had to resign and everything crashed. There are no better choices at present - so I will nominate them alongside this package.

 

[JaxsonWinter]

Thank you Zuk
I Now Open these Motions for Debate

 

[Kade]

Echoing what Zuk said, I think this will help us re: activity in the long run. Open to questions as relevant.

kv

 

[Ostro]

Support as written.

 

[Alfkarl]

I strongly support this

 

[Phoenix]

I support this. No bias at all.

Totally none.

Don't see this line at all:



I am a good boy.

 

[JaxsonWinter]

No Debate Has Occurred in Over a few Days, Therefore Debate will close

 

[JaxsonWinter]

Voting on the Motion Will Start
In Resepect of the Current Motion 'A Really Chonky Omnibus'

All who Agree and Support This Motion May Vote Aye
All who Appose and Do Not may vote Nay
Those who wish to vote but do not across with Either Nay or Aye May Abstain

Voting will be open for 2 Exactly from Now

 

[JaxsonWinter]

Vote has Ended

in Respect of The Motion 'A really Chonky Omnibus'
The Ayes Got 6
The Nays got 0
With no Absinations

So the Ayes Have it! The Ayes have it! The Motion will be passed by the CoS