Bill: Vote Standing Orders for the 30th Senate

[CaseyLeFaye]

A
BILL
TO

Establish Standing Orders for the 30th Senate​

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 - Election of the President of the Senate
(1) Nomination Period. The most senior Senator is to assume the Chair of the Senate and ask for those who wish to be elected President of the Senate to nominate themselves by notifying the Chair.
(a) The most senior Senator is to be the Senator who:
(i) Has served the most terms; or if equal:
(ii) of the most terms and who has the largest popular vote; or if equal:
(iii) by common agreement among them or by an informal Senate vote; and if still undecided:
(iv) The President will serve in place of the Senior Senator.
(b) The nomination period lasts 24 hours, or less with the consent of all Senators.
(c) Should only one member be nominated, then they shall be declared President of the Senate at the end of the nomination period.
(d) Should two or more members be nominated, all members are to vote for the President of the Senate in the voting period.
(2) Voting Period. The voting period lasts 24 hours, or less once a majority has been reached and declared by the President.
(a) In case of a failure for a candidate to reach an absolute majority, the election shall be redone with the top two candidates.
(b) In the event of a tie, the Vice President will cast a tie-breaking vote.
(3) Announcement Period. The President will announce the winning Senator from the election as the President of the Senate.
(a) Once announced, the President of the Senate is to assume the authority to enforce these Standing Orders and call the Senate to order.

2 - Election of the Deputy President of the Senate
(1) Nomination Period. After the selection of the President of the Senate, the President of the Senate is to assume the Chair of the Senate and ask for those who wish to be elected Deputy President of the Senate to nominate themselves by notifying the Senate President.
(a) The nomination period shall last for 24 hours, or less with consent of all Senators.
(b) Should only one member be nominated then they shall be declared Deputy President of the Senate.
(c) Should two or more members be nominated, all members are to vote for the Deputy President of the Senate in the voting period.
(2) Voting Period. The voting period lasts 24 hours, or less once a majority has been reached and declared by the President.
(a) In case of a failure for a candidate to reach an absolute majority, the election shall be redone with the top two candidates.
(b) In the event of a tie, the Vice President will cast a tie-breaking vote.
(3) Announcement Period. The President of the Senate will announce the winning Senator from the election as the Deputy President of the Senate.
(a) Upon certifying the election of the Deputy President of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate shall be vested with the power to enforce the rules of the Senate in the absence of the President of the Senate.
(b) The President of the Senate shall be presumed absent only in the case that they make a statement to the Deputy President of the Senate regarding the absence or have not made any sort of contact with a member of the House of Representatives for over four (4) days.
(c) The Deputy President of the Senate may also perform the duties of the President of the Senate when specifically delegated by the President of the Senate.

3 - Motions
(1) Proposal. Any motion originating in the Senate will be proposed in #senate-floor, and the President of the Senate will be notified.
(2) Votation. The President of the Senate will post the motion to #senate-voting, create a thread in which Senators can cast their votes, and notify Senators.
(a) The President of the Senate must put motions up to vote in the order proposed.
(i) For the purpose of Sub-subsection 2(a), motions originating in the House of Representatives shall be considered "proposed" when the President of the Senate is notified of their officially declared passage.
(3) Voting Timeframe. Once the motion has been put up to vote by the President of the Senate, the Senators will have 48 hours to vote on the motion.
(a) Senators shall be able to change their vote on the motion until the voting period has ended.
(b) The voting period may end early, should the motion reach such a point where further votes would not influence whether it passes or fails.
(c) Senators can choose to vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain. Any Senator abstaining on a motion must provide a reason.

4 - Senate Confirmation Hearings
(1) Holding of Confirmation Hearings. When the President or President-Elect nominates any player to a position which requires Senate confirmation, a Senate Confirmation Hearing must be held.
(2) Confirmation Vote. After a nomination is made, a confirmation vote shall open within 24 hours.
(a) The voting shall be exempt from the time limit imposed by clause 3(3). Once the hearing has closed or has been skipped, there will be 48 hours left to vote on the nomination until voting closes.
(3) Creation of Hearing Space. The President of the Senate will then create a space in #oversight for the Senators to ask the nominee questions and for the nominee to respond.
(4) Motion to Skip Hearing. In the event that no Senator wishes to ask the nominee any questions, a Senator can motion for a vote to skip the hearing. The vote must pass with a simple majority to skip the hearing.
(5) Automatic Closure. Confirmation hearings will automatically close:
(a) following three days of no new questions or motions regarding the hearing; or
(b) upon the confirmation or failure of the nominee.

5 - Standing Orders
(1) Amendments. These Standing Orders can be amended at any time with the simple majority approval of the Senate.
(2) Effective Period. These Standing Orders are extant, for the Senate, regardless of session, until otherwise amended.