Information Legislative Standards Act

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Congressional Affairs Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been co-sponsored by: President of the Senate Derpy_Bird
(4) This Act was authored by: Speaker xEndeavour and President of the Senate Derpy_Bird

2 - Reasons
(1) The structure is outdated and needs a refresh
(2) Providing more flexibility for Congressional leadership and staff
(3) Improving the efficiency of the office

3 - Removal of the Presiding Officers' Office (POO)
8 - The Office of the Presiding Officers
(1) The Office of the Presiding Officers is responsible for several tasks including:
a. Make all necessary changes to documents of law on the server (The Constitution, Laws and Changes to Departments).
b. Assists the speaker in the running of Congress.
c. Communicates with the Press and assists in the formatting, jurisdiction and legality of Bills.
d. Manage, publish and write congressional transparency reports.
e. Publicizing motions via a Record of Motions thread under Government > Congress > Reports.
f. Regularly informing the public of motions of significant public interest via government-announcements. Motions of significant public interest include but are not limited to the following:
i. Nominations/Confirmations
ii. Impeachments/Removals
iii. Censures
iv. New committees or changes to committees
v. Veto overrides
vi. New national symbols
(2) The roles within this Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff' and will comprise of the following:
a. Clerk
b. Draftsman
c. Press Assistant
d. Deputy Clerk
(3) Hiring
a. All people wishing to be appointed to a position within this Office must be nominated by the speaker and confirmed by the Congress.
b. All Staff Members of the Office of the Presiding Officers will receive a base salary of $15/ 15 minutes.
(4) Dismissal Process
a. Members of the Office of the Presiding Officers serve at the Presiding Officers pleasure.
(5) In the Presiding Officer’s absence, or if otherwise delegated, the Deputy Presiding Officer will assume the Presiding Officer's powers.

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4 - Establishment of the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA)
8 - The Office of Congressional Affairs
(1) The Office of Congressional Affairs is a statutory body which provides both chambers of congress with administrative support.
(2) The Office of Congressional Affairs is overseen by the Presiding Officers.
(3) The Office of Congressional Affairs is charged with:
a. Making all necessary changes to documents of law
b. Assists the Speaker with the administration of the House
c. Assists the President of the Senate with the administration of the Senate
c. Communicates with the Press and assists in the formatting and drafting of bills, if requested.
d. Manages and publishes congressional transparency reports.
e. Publicises motions via the Record of Motions
f. Regularly informs the public of motions of significant public interest via government-announcements. Motions of significant public interest include but are not limited to the following:
i. Nominations/Confirmations
ii. Impeachments/Removals
iii. Censures
iv. New committees or changes to committees
v. Veto overrides
(4) The roles within this Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff' and will comprise of the following:
a. Clerk
b. Draftsman
(5) Hiring
a. The Presiding Officers must receive the approval of the Congress to hire Congressional Staff by way of nomination.
b. Congressional Staff will receive a level 3 Government salary (or equivalent).
(6) Dismissal Process
a. Congressional Staff serve at the Presiding Officers pleasure.
(7) In the Presiding Officer’s absence, or if otherwise delegated, the Deputy Presiding Officer will assume the Presiding Officer's authority over Congressional Staff.

House Vote: 7-0-2
Senate Vote: 4-0-2

The people of Democracy Craft, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Formatting Amendment Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) The Act has been co-sponsored by: Sen. President Derpy_Bird

2 - Reasons
(1) A general clean-up
(2) Addition of commonly used subsections to standardise bills

3 - Amendments to Resolution Format

4 - Amendments to Resolution Format

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5 - Amendments to Bill & Resolution Formatting

1 - Section
(1) Subsection
(a) Sub-subsection

A
BILL
TO

Amend the Legislative Standards Act

The people of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Congressional Subpoena Clarification Act.”
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) Authored by Rep. xEndeavour
(4) Co-Sponsored by Sen. Derpy_Bird

2 - Reasons
(1) The current wording of the LSA is ambiguous and this has led to inconsistencies in how Congressional Subpoenas are approved.
(2) Improves Congressional information accessibility.

3 - Amendments
(1) Subsection a will be amended to subsection b:

a. Current

17 - Congressional Subpoenas
(1) Process
a. Any member of the Congress may propose a motion to subpoena any number of people to testify.
b. Should a majority of the Congress approve such a motion, the subject(s) of the motion will be compelled to testify before Congress by the date specified in the motion.
c. Should the subject of a subpoena fail to appear before Congress without reasonable justification they will be charged 1% of their balance for each day with a minimum of $100.
d. Subjects of Congressional subpoenas may invoke their right not to incriminate themselves during the hearing.

b. Proposed

17 - Congressional Subpoenas
(1) Process
a. Any member of the Congress may propose a motion to subpoena any number of people or entities to testify.
b. Motions to exercise Congressional Subpoenas are accepted or denied by the chamber that they are proposed. Congressional Committees are also able to accept or deny Congressional Subpoenas.
c. Should the motion pass, the subject(s) of the motion will be compelled to testify before Congress by the date specified in the motion.
d. Should the subject of a subpoena fail to appear before Congress without reasonable justification they will be charged 1% of their balance for each day with a minimum of $100.
e. Subjects of Congressional subpoenas may invoke their right not to incriminate themselves during the hearing.

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Congressional Staff Reform Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act was authored by Representative Mhadsher101.
(4) This Act is co-sponsored by Senator Dusty_3.

2 - Reasons
(1) The line between clerk and draftsman is already blurred in practice. Thus, the roles can be combined, with a clerk acting in its traditional sense or acting like a traditional draftsman, depending on the needs of Congress at a given time.
(2) There need to be more roles with the official duty of working to update the laws than just a single draftsman.

3 - Amendments
From:
(4) The roles within this Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff' and will comprise of the following:
a. Clerk
b. Draftsman

To:
(4) The roles within this Office will be referred to as 'Congressional Staff’ and will comprise of at least two clerks.

A
BILL
To

Amend the Legislative Standards Act

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'LSA Amendment Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Aladeen22
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Mhadsher

2 - Reasons

The current way this section of the LSA is written leaves it up for interpretation since it does not specify if the house of representatives or the senate could propose this motion without the other chambers' approval.

3 - Amend section 20 of the LSA

From:

20 - Contempt of Congress
(1) Congress votes to hold a person "in contempt" by a majority vote. The Speaker will then report the incident to the Department of Justice to be actioned.
a. To refuse to testify, won't provide information requested by the House or the Senate, or obstructs an inquiry by a congressional committee.
First Offence: $200 fine
Second Offence: $300 fine
Third Offence: $400 fine

To:

20 - Contempt of Congress
(1) The House of Representatives, Senate, or any committee may vote to hold a person "in contempt" by a majority vote. The Speaker will then report the incident to the Department of Justice to be actioned.
a. To refuse to testify, won't provide information requested by the House or the Senate, or obstructs an inquiry by a congressional committee.
First Offence: $200 fine
Second Offence: $300 fine
Third Offence: $400 fine

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘The_Donuticus Anti-Vanity Act'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: The_Donuticus
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: VanillaChai79

2 - Reasons
Too many of our bills have been stamped with a vanity mark. As members of Congress we are meant to serve the people, not try to make our names go down in history. On some occasions this gets ridiculous with a large amount of letters prefacing the bill name, it serves no purpose other than the vanity of those proposing it.

3 - Add the following to ‘9 - Bills’ in the Legislative Standards Act
(1)
“(5) When assigning a title to a bill it may not contain any personal identifier such as, any names, initials, abbreviations or other such personal identifiers. The bill title should exist to explain the purpose of the bill.”

The people of DemocracyCraft, through their elected Representatives in Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “LSA Amendment Act”
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon passage and Presidential assent.
(3) This bill has been authored and proposed by Speaker of the House ElainaThomas29
(4) This bill has been co-sponsored by President of the Senate ItsMeVoid

2 - Reasons
(1) The Congressional discord is now public, making all motions able to be seen by citizens, therefore removing the need to continue the record of motions thread on the forums.

3 - Terms
(1) The following are removed from the LSA:
(a) 8.1.e Publicises motions via the Record of Motions
(b) 13.1.b All proposed motions and their vote counts shall be made available to the general public via an edit to Record of Motions after votation has concluded, unless the motion has been classified.
(c) 13.1.c All motions under Record of Motions shall contain the following format: --
- Title:
- Proposer:
- Description:
- Status:
- House Vote Count (if applicable):
- Senate Vote Count (if applicable):

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Organisation Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: xEndeavour
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Rep. XaviersKarma

2 - Reasons
(1) For ease of use and organization of law.

3 - Categories

(2) Sub forum
a. The Acts of Congress shall be split into two categories, Bills and Constitutional Amendments.
b. Bills will remain in the same Acts of Congress subforum, however inside of the Acts of Congress, a new subforum for constitutional amendments, titled “Constitutional Amendments” will be established. All constitutional amendments will be put in the "Constitutional Amendments" sub-forum upon its signage.

(2) Sub Forums
a. Acts of Congress shall be split into the following categories and Acts will be sorted between them based on their primary function:
i. Budgets
ii. Constitutional Law
iii. Property Law
iv. Wilderness Law
v. Economic & Business Law
vi. Breach of Peace Law
vii. Administrative Law
viii. Miscellaneous Laws
ix. Resolutions

House vote: 8-2-0​

Senate vote: 4-0-0​

​

A​

BILL​

TO​

Amend the Legislative Standards Act​

1 - Short Title and Enactment

1. This Act may be cited as the “Legislative Activity Amendment”
2. This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
3. This Bill was authored by Former President LilDigiVert, President of the Senate Vanquish69, Rep. Nanicholls & Sen. VanillaChai79
4. This Bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Vanquish69

2 - Reasons

(1) Clarify loophole in the ethical standards section of the LSA
(2) Create standards for legislative activity. If members of the public are held to a 6 hour activity standard to vote and maintain their property, and members of the judiciary are required to maintain a similar standard on all platforms, members of Congress should also be required to be active in-game, on discord, and on the forums.
(3) This bill connects legislative activity requirements to voter activity requirements outlined in the Electoral Act to maintain fair standards on both sides.
(4) This bill borrows language from Section 20 of the Constitution, establishing inactivity as a removable offense for members of the judiciary. This bill would apply the same standards to the legislative branch.

3 - Terms

(1) Section 24 - Ethical Standards

Replace:

(1) Representatives should recuse themselves from any investigations in which they may have a conflict of interest.
(2) Representatives cannot engage in questioning, proposing subpoenas, or any other investigative matter if they have a conflict of interest. This may only be overridden via a supermajority of Congress.


With:

(1) Members of Congress should recuse themselves from any investigations in which they may have a conflict of interest.
(2) Members of Congress cannot engage in questioning, proposing subpoenas, or any other investigative matter if they have a conflict of interest. This may only be overridden via a supermajority of Congress.
(3) Members of Congress should maintain the same level of activity required for voters in Section 16 of the Electoral Act. If a member of Congress continues to not be active on Discord, Forums, or in-game it may be considered a failure to perform duty and a removable offense.

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Censure Limitation Revamped Act or the CLR Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Representative bibsfi4a
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Senator zlost

2 - Reasons

- Prevent abuse of the motion to censure
-Prevent what happened in the 18th term of the house.

3 -Amendment.

The following paragraph shall be added to the legislative standard act's 13.6 section (i.e Motion of Censure)-

In accordance with the established procedural rules, a motion to censure can be directed against only one individual at a time. This means that in a singular motion, it is not permissible to include or motion to censure multiple individuals simultaneously. To censure an additional person, a separate and distinct motion must be made. A motion to censure may only be directed against an individual person and not against multiple individuals simultaneously within a singular motion. However, it should be noted that a collective entity, such as a government department or agency, may still be subject to censure as a whole. This distinction ensures that while individuals are addressed separately, the accountability of entities can still be upheld through appropriate censure motions.

House: 6-0-0
Senate: 6-0-0


Amend the Legislative Standard Act and amend the Constitution.

The people of Democracy Craft, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law, ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Clerk Easement Act.”
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) The Act has been co-sponsored by Speaker of the House Intercepticon
(4) This Act has been authored by Sen. Nacholebraa

2 - A bill set out to amend an Act of Congress should provide easy access to the Act it intends to amend.

3 - Amendment to Section 12(3) addition of point ‘c’
(1) c. When a bill intends to amend an Act of Congress, a link to the Act of Congress must be present within the reasons section of a bill.

House: 10-1-0
Senate: 4-0-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “AA Meetings Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) The Act has been co-sponsored by: Nacholebraa
(4) This Act has been authored by: Nacholebraa

2 - Reasons
1) Congressional Committees don’t function nearly as well as they used to be. The discussion process and progression of a committee's work are hindered by having the entire body within a committee.

3 - Amend Section 14(3.a) of the Legislative Standards Act from:

a)
a. Committees are responsible for a certain bill or action that congress wishes to take, they are to meet, discuss and vote on proposals of committee members and present their finalized proposal to congress for voting. Committees are open forums for a specialized focus group on a particular issue. Membership of the committee is automatic to the members of the chamber that the committee is housed in.

To:

b)
a. Committees are responsible for a particular bill or action that Congress wishes to take; they are to meet, discuss, and vote on proposals of committee members and present their finalized proposal to Congress for voting. Committees are open forums for a specialized focus group on a particular issue. Membership of a committee is limited to 5 individuals, with a minimum requirement of 2 Senators for joint committees. Committee membership is automatic on a first-come, first-serve basis. The committee chairperson is charged with notifying the Office of Congressional Affairs to process committee membership access.

Nay (accidentally voted rep nay) - this is a recipe for powerful parties to stack committees.

Committees should be a cross section of congress and all sides of the debate should have representation in them.

The congress has unfortunately turned down my amendment to safeguard committees from being abused again like they were previously.

How to stack a committee:
1. tell all the people who agree with you that you are making a committee and tell them the time it will be formed.
2. Committee is formed and all pers tracking what time it is formed join.
3. Everyone who wasn’t briefed in or lives on the other side of the world doesn’t get a seat at the table.

House of Rep: 7-0-1
Senate: 4-0-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Committee Fix Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Rep. GoldBlooded
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Sen. Nacholebraa

2 - Reasons
(1) Congressional Committees don’t function nearly as well as they used to be. The discussion process and progression of a committee's work are hindered by having the entire body within a committee.

3 - Amend
(1) Section 14 - Congressional Committees of the Legislative Standards Act shall be amended from:

(1) Process of Creating a Committee
a. Congressional Committees may be either permanent or temporary. They can be created in both the House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate and the House may form their own committees, or may form joint committees together.
b. In order for a Congressional Committee to be created a Senator or Representative must motion for the creation of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. If they wish to create a joint committee that applies to both chambers, such motion will originate in the House and be brought to the Senate.
c. Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Status: Permanent/Temporary
- Committee Purpose:
- Chairperson:
d. The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to create the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(2) Committee Leadership
a. Congressional Committees are led by the Committee Chairperson whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing and Chairing Committee Meetings and Hearings.
- Leading Committee Investigations, Reviews and actions.
- Putting Committee ideas and proposals to a vote.
- Updating the public and congress on the actions of the committee.
- Firing committee members.
b. The minority coalition of any Congressional committee may elect a Ranking Member whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing counter-reports to reports submitted by the committee majority in the event of disagreements between the majority and minority.
- Fulfilling the responsibilities of the Committee Chairperson during extended absences.
c. The Committee Chairperson can be removed from their position by the chamber(s) such committee applies to via a vote of no confidence.
(3) Internal Workings of a Committee
a. Committees are responsible for a certain bill or action that congress wishes to take, they are to meet, discuss and vote on proposals of committee members and present their finalized proposal to congress for voting. Committees are open forums for a specialised focus group on a particular issue. Membership of the committee is automatic to the members of the chamber that the committee is housed in.
b. A channel of communication shall be established for such respective committees.
c. After a Chairman election has been finalized, the chairman must motion for a "Baseline Assignment." This baseline assignment may act as the main focal point of the established committee. "Example: Economics Committee Baseline Assignment: Stock Market Regulations & Taxes."
d. Every month the Committee Chairperson must publish a transparency statement in #press-releases about what their committee has done in the past month. Certain information does not need to be released until agreed upon, such as if a committee is in the middle of an investigation with sensitive information, but a general statement should still be provided. Even if nothing of consequence happens, there should still be a statement saying that nothing of consequence has happened.
e. If a chairperson fails to provide a transparency statement within a reasonable timeframe, their position will be subject to a revote.

To:

(1) Process of Creating a Committee
(a) Congressional Committees may be either permanent or temporary. They can be created in both the House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate and the House may form their own committees, or may form joint committees together.
(b) In order for a Congressional Committee to be created a Senator or Representative must motion for the creation of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. If they wish to create a joint committee that applies to both chambers, such motion will originate in the House and be brought to the Senate.
(c) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Status: Permanent/Temporary
- Committee Purpose:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to create the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(2) Committee Leadership
(a) Congressional Committees are led by the Committee Chairperson whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing and Chairing Committee Meetings and Hearings.
- Leading Committee Investigations, Reviews and actions.
- Putting Committee ideas and proposals to a vote.
- Updating the public and congress on the actions of the committee.
- Firing committee members.
(b) The minority coalition of any Congressional committee may elect a Ranking Member whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing counter-reports to reports submitted by the committee majority in the event of disagreements between the majority and minority.
- Fulfilling the responsibilities of the Committee Chairperson during extended absences.
(c) The Committee Chairperson can be removed from their position by the chamber(s) such committee applies to via a vote of no confidence.
(3) Internal Workings of a Committee
(a) After the commencement of each Congressional term, the presiding officers for that term will present nominations for committee membership from their respective chamber. These nominations require a majority vote for confirmation and establishment.
(b) Chamber-specific committees will be limited to five members. Committee nominations specific to each chamber require a majority vote within their respective chamber for confirmation to be established.
(c) Joint committees will be limited to seven members with a minimum of two Senators. Joint committee nominations require a majority vote in both chambers to be established.
(d) The House of Representatives exercises complete authority over the selection of its Representatives for committees.
(e) The Senate exercises complete authority over the selection of its Senators for committees.
(f) A channel of communication shall be established for such respective committees.

House: 9-0-0
Senate: 6-0-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Paper-Push Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Sen. Nacholebraa, Rep. GoldBlooded
(4) The Act has been co-sponsored by: Sen. Nacholebraa, Rep. GoldBlooded

2 - Reasons
(1) The office of Congressional Affairs employees are more effective when they are guaranteed job security. It’s hard to fill the position every two months with often bad replacements. This bill will provide the office of Congressional Affairs employees with a permanent job unless terminated by the presiding officers.

3 - Amend
(1) Amend Section 8 sub-section (5) of the Legislative Standards Act from:

(5) Hiring
a. The Presiding Officers must receive the approval of the Congress to hire Congressional Staff by way of nomination.
b. Congressional Staff will receive a level 3 Government salary (or equivalent).

To:

(5) Hiring
a. The Presiding Officers must receive the approval of the Congress to hire Congressional Staff by way of nomination.
b. The Congressional Staff position will carry over each term until the Presiding Officer actions Section 8(6.a) of this act.
c. Congressional Staff will receive a level 3 Government salary (or equivalent).

House: 9-1-0
Senate: 3-1-1

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Double Trouble Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Rep. GoldBlooded
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by: Sen. Nacholebraa

2 - Reasons
(1) Provide Committees with further structuring.
(2) Allowing the presiding officers the ability to facilitate committees, including chairperson elections.

3 - Amend
(1) Amend Section 14 of the Legislative Standards Act from:

(1) Process of Creating a Committee
(a) Congressional Committees may be either permanent or temporary. They can be created in both the House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate and the House may form their own committees, or may form joint committees together.
(b) In order for a Congressional Committee to be created a Senator or Representative must motion for the creation of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. If they wish to create a joint committee that applies to both chambers, such motion will originate in the House and be brought to the Senate.
(c) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Status: Permanent/Temporary
- Committee Purpose:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to create the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(2) Committee Leadership
(a) Congressional Committees are led by the Committee Chairperson whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing and Chairing Committee Meetings and Hearings.
- Leading Committee Investigations, Reviews and actions.
- Putting Committee ideas and proposals to a vote.
- Updating the public and congress on the actions of the committee.
- Firing committee members.
(b) The minority coalition of any Congressional committee may elect a Ranking Member whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing counter-reports to reports submitted by the committee majority in the event of disagreements between the majority and minority.
- Fulfilling the responsibilities of the Committee Chairperson during extended absences.
(c) The Committee Chairperson can be removed from their position by the chamber(s) such committee applies to via a vote of no confidence.
(3) Internal Workings of a Committee
(a) After the commencement of each Congressional term, the presiding officers for that term will present nominations for committee membership from their respective chamber. These nominations require a majority vote for confirmation and establishment.
(b) Chamber-specific committees will be limited to five members. Committee nominations specific to each chamber require a majority vote within their respective chamber for confirmation to be established.
(c) Joint committees will be limited to seven members with a minimum of two Senators. Joint committee nominations require a majority vote in both chambers to be established.
(d) The House of Representatives exercises complete authority over the selection of its Representatives for committees.
(e) The Senate exercises complete authority over the selection of its Senators for committees.
(f) A channel of communication shall be established for such respective committees.

To:

(1) Process of Creating a Committee
(a) Congressional Committees may be either permanent or temporary. They can be created in both the House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate and the House may form their own committees, or may form joint committees together.
(b) In order for a Congressional Committee to be created a Senator or Representative must motion for the creation of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. If they wish to create a joint committee that applies to both chambers, such motion will originate in the House and be brought to the Senate.
(c) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Status: Permanent/Temporary
- Committee Purpose:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to create the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and henceforth be official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(2) Process for the establishment of already created Committee(s):
(a) In order for a Congressional Committee to be established a Senator or Representative must motion for the establishment of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. A motion for the establishment of a joint committee will originate in the House of Representatives and be brought to the Senate.
(b) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(c) The chairperson will be elected in committee if one is not listed.
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to establish the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and henceforth be official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(3) Committee Leadership
(a) Congressional Committees are led by the Committee Chairperson whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing and Chairing Committee Meetings and Hearings.
- Leading Committee Investigations, Reviews and actions.
- Putting Committee ideas and proposals to a vote.
- Updating the public and congress on the actions of the committee.
- Firing committee members.
(b) The Chairperson may either be appointed through motion or be elected by committee members following the establishment of the committee.
(c) The election of a Chairperson will be facilitated in committee by the respective presiding officer of the chamber where the committee is situated. An election of a joint committee chairperson may be facilitated by any presiding officer.
(d) The minority coalition of any Congressional committee may elect a Ranking Member whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing counter-reports to reports submitted by the committee majority in the event of disagreements between the majority and minority.
- Fulfilling the responsibilities of the Committee Chairperson during extended absences.
e) The Committee Chairperson can be removed from their position by the chamber(s) such committee applies to via a vote of no confidence.
(4) Internal Workings of a Committee
(a) After the commencement of each Congressional term, the presiding officers for that term will present nominations for committee membership from their respective chamber. These nominations require a majority vote for confirmation and establishment.
(b) Chamber-specific committees will be limited to five members. Committee nominations specific to each chamber require a majority vote within their respective chamber for confirmation to be established.
(c) Joint committees will be limited to seven members with a minimum of two Senators. Joint committee nominations require a majority vote in both chambers to be established.
(d) The House of Representatives exercises complete authority over the selection of its Representatives for committees.
(e) The Senate exercises complete authority over the selection of its Senators for committees.
(f) A channel of communication shall be established for such respective committees.
(5) Committee Oversight
(a) The Presiding Officers shall have oversight of all joint committees, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.
(b) The Speaker of the House shall have oversight of all committees specific to the House of Representatives, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.
(c) The President of the Senate shall have oversight of all committees specific to the Senate, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.

House: 8-0-1
Senate: 6-0-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Urgent Consideration Fix Act'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Rep. Yeet_Boy
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Rep. xAntho_ny & Rep. Bezzergeezer

2 - Reasons
(1) Representatives are the ones who propose bills, so they should be able to motion that their bill be put up for Urgent Consideration - but it is still up to the Speaker to judge whether the reasoning for the urgent consideration is valid.
(2) The current wording removes the whole point of urgent consideration, as the Speaker, the only person who can propose a motion of Urgent Consideration, can already decide when bills get put up for voting.

3 - Amendments
The Legislative Standards Act shall be amended as follows:

From:

(5) Motion of Urgent Consideration
a. Motions of Urgent Consideration are proposed by the Speaker and voted on by the House of Representatives.
b. Any bill that passes a motion of urgent consideration must be opened to voting within 12 hours.
c. If a Bill with Urgent Consideration passes the house it will be prioritised when it is being moved to the Senate as well.

To:

(5) Motion of Urgent Consideration
a. Motions of Urgent Consideration are proposed by a Representative and are voted on by the House of Representatives.
b. Any bill that passes a motion of urgent consideration must be opened to voting within 12 hours.
c. If a Bill with Urgent Consideration passes the house it will be prioritized when it is being moved to the Senate as well.

House: 9-0-0
Senate: 4-1-0

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Make Contempt of Congress Matter Act'.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Rep. zLost
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Rep. CopTop_YT

2 - Reasons
(1) Contempt of Congress does NOTHING, as the fine is extremely low.
(2) There should be a heftier punishment for Contempt of Congress, due to inflation.

3 - Amendment
Section 20 of the Legislative Standards Act (link) will be amended from:
20 - Contempt of Congress
(1) The House of Representatives, Senate, or any committee may vote to hold a person "in contempt" by a majority vote. The Speaker will then report the incident to the Department of Justice to be actioned.

To:
20 - Contempt of Congress
(1) The House of Representatives, Senate, or any committee may vote to hold a person "in contempt" by a majority vote. The Speaker will then report the incident to the Department of Justice to be actioned.

House Vote: 9-0-0
Senate Vote: 3-2-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'LSA Formatting Act.'
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by xEndeavour.
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Real42Person

2 - Reasons
(1) LSA is formatted incorrectly

3 - Amendments
(1) LSA to be formatted IAW:

1 - Section
(1) Subsection
a. Sub-subsection

With no indentation.

House Vote: 7-1-0
Senate Vote: 5-1-0

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the Constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the 'LSA Cleanup Act'.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Senator TheReal42Person.
(4) This Act has been proposed by Representative MathTech.
(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Sen. TheReal42Person.

2 - Reasons
(1) §10(2) of the LSA is currently not done and will not be done, as §13 of the LSA is also being removed.
(2) §3(3.a) of the LSA is outdated, as the Vice President is no longer Presiding Officer of the Senate.
(3) Committees are currently unused and when they are formed, they do not do anything. As such, §13 of the LSA can be removed.
(4) §17(1.d) of the LSA is outdated, as the DEC has been reformed into the DOC.
(5) §18 of the LSA is ineffective and not a good way of enforcing activity. Members of Congress do not need to be in-game to be successful. Other means of communication (discord, forums) exist. Additionally, proposing bills, voting on bills, participating in discussions, and moving motions are ways a Representative or Senator can be active without being in-game.

3 - Section 10 of the Legislative Standards Act Shall be Amended as Follows:
“(1) The Bill is posted to forums by the sponsoring Representative as a Bill: Draft. A link will be posted to #bills by the representative.

(2) The Speaker of the House shall assign the bill, to a committee that shall first review the bill. After the committee is done with reviewing the chairperson shall notify the speaker who will then add a poll to the bill for a 48 hour voting period and the prefix will be changed to Bill: Voting.
(a) The Speaker of the House may also choose to bypass this process and directly, put the bill up for a vote, for example, if they believe there is no relevant committee to discuss the bill.
(b) Note; any bill with a motion of urgent consideration will override this process.

(2) After at least 24 hours have passed, the Speaker will then add a poll to the bill for a 48 hour voting period and the prefix will be changed to Bill: Voting.

(3) After the 48 hours have passed; all votes have been submitted; or a majority is reached, there will be 2 situations:
(a) If the Bill is passed, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Pending and move it to the Senate, notifying the Vice President President of the Senate; or
(b) If the Bill is rejected, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Rejected and move it to the Rejected sub-forum.
(i) Passage shall be considered as a simple majority of ayes out of all non-abstention votes cast, and rejection shall be a failure to reach such a majority.
(ii) No bill shall pass the House unless over 50% of all sitting Representatives have voted on the bill.

(4) When debate is finished in the Senate, the Presiding Officer will re-open the poll for 48 hours. The prefix will be changed to Bill: Voting.

(5) After the 48 hours have passed; all votes have been submitted; or a majority is reached, there will be 2 situations:

(a) If the Bill is passed, the Presiding Officer will move the bill to the Congressional forum applying the 'awaiting assent' prefix, notifying the President for their assent; or
(b) If the Bill is rejected, the Presiding Officer will change the Bill status to Bill: Rejected and move it to the Rejected sub-forum with Senate recommendations in the comments.
(i) Passage shall be considered as a simple majority of ayes out of all non-abstention votes cast, and rejection shall be a failure to reach such a majority.
(ii) No bill shall pass the Senate unless over 50% of all sitting Senators have voted on the bill.

(6) If a bill is passed by Congress, the President will do the following:
(a) The President will sign the Bill and move it to the Acts of Congress forum. The Speaker’s Office will update the relevant Rules and Laws; or
(b) The President will Veto the Bill and move it to the Rejected forum, providing the reason in the comments.

(7) Once the changes have been made, the Speaker's office will announce the changes to the public, assuming the law is of significant public interest. Laws of significant public interest include but are not limited to the following:
(a) Changes to tax or property laws
(b) New restrictions against common or widespread crimes
(c) Laws requiring public referendum”

4 - Section 13 of the Legislative Standards Act Shall be Amended as Follows:
“13 - Congressional Committees
(1) Process of Creating a Committee
(a) Congressional Committees may be either permanent or temporary. They can be created in both the House of Representatives and Senate. The Senate and the House may form their own committees, or may form joint committees together.
(b) In order for a Congressional Committee to be created a Senator or Representative must motion for the creation of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. If they wish to create a joint committee that applies to both chambers, such motion will originate in the House and be brought to the Senate.
(c) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Status: Permanent/Temporary
- Committee Purpose:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to create the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and henceforth be official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(2) Process for the establishment of already created Committee(s):
(a) In order for a Congressional Committee to be established a Senator or Representative must motion for the establishment of a committee on the floor of their respective chamber. A motion for the establishment of a joint committee will originate in the House of Representatives and be brought to the Senate.
(b) Format:--
- Committee Name:
- Chairperson:
- Members:
(c) The chairperson will be elected in committee if one is not listed.
(d) The chamber's respective presiding officer must then put the motion to establish the committee to a vote, and if approved by a majority of the chamber the committee will then have been created and henceforth be official. If the committee has been motioned to apply to both chambers, it must be approved by a majority of both chambers.
(3) Committee Leadership
(a) Congressional Committees are led by the Committee Chairperson whose responsibilities are:--
- Organizing and Chairing Committee Meetings and Hearings.
- Leading Committee Investigations, Reviews and actions.
- Putting Committee ideas and proposals to a vote.
- Updating the public and congress on the actions of the committee.
- Firing committee members.
(b) The Chairperson may either be appointed through motion or be elected by committee members following the establishment of the committee.
(c) The election of a Chairperson will be facilitated in committee by the respective presiding officer of the chamber where the committee is situated. An election of a joint committee chairperson may be facilitated by any presiding officer.
(4) Internal Workings of a Committee
(a) After the commencement of each Congressional term, the presiding officers for that term will present nominations for committee membership from their respective chamber. These nominations require a majority vote for confirmation and establishment.
(b) Chamber-specific committees will be limited to five members. Committee nominations specific to each chamber require a majority vote within their respective chamber for confirmation to be established.
(c) Joint committees will be limited to seven members with a minimum of two Senators. Joint committee nominations require a majority vote in both chambers to be established.
(d) The House of Representatives exercises complete authority over the selection of its Representatives for committees.
(e) The Senate exercises complete authority over the selection of its Senators for committees.
(f) A channel of communication shall be established for such respective committees.
(5) Committee Oversight
(a) The Presiding Officers shall have oversight of all joint committees, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.
(b) The Speaker of the House shall have oversight of all committees specific to the House of Representatives, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.
(c) The President of the Senate shall have oversight of all committees specific to the Senate, but shall have no benefits unless added to a committee as a member through a majority vote of committee members.”
Subsequent sections shall be renumbered as needed.

5 - Section 17 of the Legislative Standards Act Shall be Amended as Follows:
“(1) Terms
(a) The Congress may pass legislation to dictate the tax code.
(b) No tax bill may specifically target any individual or corporation.
(c) Tax bills may target specific industries.
(d) The DEC DOC may enact tax policy so long as it does not conflict with Congressionally approved tax policy.”

6 - Section 18 of the Legislative Standards Act Shall be Amended as Follows:
“18 - Activity Requirements
(1) The Electoral Act sets out activity requirements for serving members of Congress.
(2) A member of Congress may petition their respective chamber to waive their activity requirements (by simple majority) for up to a month on compassionate grounds or in extenuating circumstances.
(3) It is otherwise expected that a member of Congress maintain the minimum level of activity required for election during their tenure or resign to allow other citizens to fulfill the role.
(4) If it is discovered that a member is below activity requirements, the Department of State must serve the member with a five day warning to return to the required activity requirements.
(a) Involuntary resignation will take place five days from being issued the warning if the member remains under activity requirements.”