Act of Parliament Open Parliament Act

[Library of Parliament]

Original Legislation:
Passed Bill Link: https://cityrp.org/threads/the-open-parliament-act.128/
Final Vote: 3-1-0
Ratified: January 11, 2025
Amendments:
- Amended October 10, 2025 by the Amendment to The Open Parliament Act

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Author: Jebediah Crumplesnatch, MP
Sponsor: Jebediah Crumplesnatch, MP

Open Parliament Act
Preamble: This bill would seek to give journalists access to the parliamentary discord, allowing them to report on debates and votes in a more informed manner, giving additional scrutiny to members of parliament.

1. Rights
(a) Journalists can apply for a "Parliamentary Press Licence" with the presiding office.
(b) These Licence holders will have access view, but not send messages in the #Members Interests, #Parliament Motions, #Parliament Chat, and #Parliament Debate channels.
(c) A New #Press Office channel will be created for these licence holders to ask members for comments regarding news stories.
(i) Members are not required to respond, but could face backlash should the press report this failure to comment.

2. Restrictions
(a) Licence holders must have been a journalist for a week before applying for the licence.
(b) Licence holders must immediately inform the presiding office should they change their profession and cease being a journalist.
(c) Licence holders are members of the press only, and should not stage questions in a manner that will influence debate.
(i) The Presiding office reserves the right to withdraw a licence should the licence holder fail to abide by this after repeated warning.
(d) Journalist, where used within this bill, shall refer to individuals possessing the Journalist role. Individuals must be and remain Journalists while holding a Parliamentary Press License
(i) Brief career changes are not required to be enforced for license removal, but extended changes in profession to another career outside of Journalist may result in the revocation of a Parliamentary Press License. Not being a Journalist during a spot check conducted by the presiding office is grounds for revocation
(ii) The one week requirement outlined in 2a is not necessary for individuals who have previously held a Parliamentary Press License. However, individuals who frequently switch between professions may have their request for a Parliamentary Press License denied until they have been a Journalist for another full consecutive week, to prevent frequent revocations and re-issuances.

Enactment: This Act comes into force at the beginning of the next parliamentary term.

 

[Library of Parliament]

Amending Legislation:
Passed Bill Link: https://cityrp.org/threads/amendment-to-the-open-parliament-act.2913/
Final Vote: 7-1-0
Ratified: October 10, 2025

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Author: Lysander Lyon, MP
Sponsor: Lysander Lyon, MP

Amendment to The Open Parliament Act

1. Short Title
(a) This bill shall be referred to as the "Amendment to The Open Parliament Act".
(b) This bill was authored by Lysander Lyon.

2. Clarification
(a) Section 2d shall be added to the Open Parliament Act, and shall state: "Journalist, where used within this bill, shall refer to individuals possessing the Journalist role. Individuals must be and remain Journalists while holding a Parliamentary Press License."
(b) Section 2d(i) shall be added to the Open Parliament Act, and shall state: "Brief career changes are not required to be enforced for license removal, but extended changes in profession to another career outside of Journalist may result in the revocation of a Parliamentary Press License. Not being a Journalist during a spot check conducted by the presiding office is grounds for revocation."
(c) Section 2d(ii) shall be added to the Open Parliament Act, and shall state: "The one week requirement outlined in 2a is not necessary for individuals who have previously held a Parliamentary Press License. However, individuals who frequently switch between professions may have their request for a Parliamentary Press License denied until they have been a Journalist for another full consecutive week, to prevent frequent revocations and re-issuances."

Enactment: This Act comes into force immediately upon passage.