Bill: Rejected OCA Expansion Act

[Real42]

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 'OCA Expansion Act'.
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(3) This Act has been authored by Representative TheReal42Person.
(4) This Act has been co-sponsored by Sen. v__d.

2 - Reasons
(1) The Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA) is currently required to have 2 Clerks.
(a) These Clerks do not have to be re-nominated after each term, and therefore can serve indefinitely.
(2) There are many more positions we could have that would be used.
(3) The establishment and definition of these positions should be explained in the LSA.

3 - Section “7 The Office of Congressional Affairs” of the Legislative Standards Act shall be amended as follows:
“(1) The Office of Congressional Affairs (abbreviated as 'OCA') 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.
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 positions:
a. Clerk. The Clerk is the head of the OCA (underneath Presiding Officers) and is responsible for moving/merging bills, updating the Constitution, Laws page, and Acts of Congress, assisting in training a Deputy Clerk, and any other tasks the Presiding Officers decide.
i. The in-game rank for this role shall be defined as ‘Clerk’.
ii. There shall be no more than one (1) Clerk.
iii. The Clerk shall have seniority if they have served more terms as a Clerk. If neither have served as Clerk before, it will be at the discretion of the Presiding Officers to determine which Clerk gets seniority.
b. Deputy Clerk. The Deputy Clerk has the same responsibilities as the Clerk, but no authority over the OCA. In addition, they are responsible for Votation Reminders 24 hours after voting opens for bills.
i. The in-game rank for this role shall be defined as ‘Clerk’.
ii. There shall be no more than one (1) Deputy Clerk.
c. Press Assistant. The Press Assistant assists the Presiding Officers in planning Legislative events (swear-in ceremonies, in-game hearings, etc.), writing announcements for the Speaker of the House and Senate President, releasing regular Press Releases, and hosting in-game Press Conferences.
i. The in-game rank for this role shall be defined as ‘Press Assistant’.
ii. There shall be no more than one (1) Press Assistant.
d. Draftsman. The Draftsmen are responsible for doing OCA menial tasks such as Moving/merging bills, updating the Constitution, Laws page, and Acts of Congress, and any other tasks the Clerk or Presiding Officers assign them.
i. The in-game rank for this role shall be defined as ‘Draftsman’.
ii. There shall be no more than two (2) Draftsmen.
(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).
d. Congressional Staff must be rehired at the beginning of each session.
e. At least one (1) of each position must be nominated at the beginning of each session.
(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.”

 

[End]

Nay - Congressional Clerks are not happy about this change either

 

[Dartanboy]

Nay - I don't see a reason to require at least 4 extra employees

 

[MrFluffy2U94]

Nay.

 

[Dartanboy]

(3 nay - 2 aye because Fluffy voted by responding rather than the poll)