Bill: In Debate Orderly Parliament Act

[jotoho]

Author: jotoho (Speaker of Parliament)
Sponsor: Nanicholls Nanicholls (Member of Parliament)
Type: Amendment to an Act

A
BILL
TO
Amend the Parliamentary Procedure Act​

Preamble:

The rules for Parliament being split across several Acts of Parliament and other documents is making conducting Parliamentary business more difficult than it needs to be.

In addition, the current legislation on this topic has a few weak spots that impose unnecessary restrictions, allow for political shenanigans to disrupt important proceedings or could cause other issues.

This Act attempts to resolve these concerns.

Attribution:

This bill contains (edited) text snippets from the Citizen Speaker Act (authored by Lysander Lyon) and the Parliamentary Standing Orders of the 7th Parliament (authors unknown).

Repeals

1. The Citizen Speaker Act is repealed by this Act.
2. The Parliamentary Standing Orders of the 7th Parliament are repealed by this Act.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 4 "Bill Formatting"

(a) Underneath the placement of this bill in article 1.4, a new thread will be created called bill format.
(a) Inside the 'Bill Proposals' sub-forum, a thread called 'Template' shall be created, if it does not already exist.
(i) The bill Format can be edited and updated by a simple motion or a bill.
(b) Any newly proposed bill must generally adhere to the standards in the "Bill Format" Template.
(c) The official title of a bill must reflect its general scope. Whereas the "Bill to" section will give a more detailed description of what the bill sets out to do.
(d) A bill that seeks to amend an existing Act or the constitution must:
(i) Have removed text appear in red and bold.
(ii) Have added text appear in green and bold.
(iii) Have a link to the original act.
(iv) Start the "Bill to" section with 'to amend' followed by the act(s) it seeks to amend
(e) The Speaker shall be tasked with making sure bills adhere to the standards set out in this section and may reject or amend bills if necessary.
(f) Once a bill has received a majority in parliament and is signed into law, it can no longer be challenged for lack of formatting.
(g) The speaker may add a formatting amendment to an existing act, to ensure compliance with the formatting rules, such an amendment may not alter any substantive content of the act and all changes must be well documented in the thread.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 6 "Parliamentary Floor"

(a) A Discord channel named #Parliament-Floor, shall be created within the Queen's Parliament discord for parliamentary use, accessible to all members of Parliament 24 hours a day. This channel shall be open for viewing to the public.
(b) Members may speak on the House Floor to:
(i) Propose a motion
(ii) Raise a point of order
(iii) To ask questions addressed to ministers cabinet members or heads of agencies about the government's business.
(c) Ministers Cabinet members and heads of agencies may speak on the House Floor to answer or clarify a question addressed to them or their government
(d) The #Parliament-Floor channel serves as the digital representation of the House. Official in-game motions and points of order must be documented there, excluding content specific to debate or an in-game event.
(e) The Speaker may authorize anyone to speak in the #Parliament-Floor channel if pertinent to parliamentary interest.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 7 "Parliamentary debate"

(a) Any bill that is introduced will be considered by the house as soon as the speaker opens the debate. Once the debate has opened members will be notified by the speaker.
(b) At any time during debate any members may raise a point of order, to keep debating a bill. That bill will be in debate until a cloture closure motion is invoked.
(c) If no point of order to extend the debate is raised after 48 hours, the speaker will commence voting on the bill.
(d) A cloture closure motion is any motion that seeks to move a bill in the debate stage to voting, such a motion requires a seconding member to be proposed and a simple majority to pass. It can be made at any time during debate.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 8 "Parliamentary Voting"

(a) A separate Discord channel named #Parliament-voting will be created within the Queen's parliament discord for recording votes on motions and bills. Notifications for active votes will be issued in this channel. This channel shall be open for viewing to the public.
(b) Once voting commences non-urgent bills or motions will remain open for voting for a period of 48 hours.
(b) Where not otherwise specified by law, the voting period lasts 48 hours. The Speaker may extend the voting period by up to 24 cumulative hours if they publicly provide a reason for the extension. Where not otherwise specified by law, motions, non-binding memoranda and resolutions require a simple majority of votes to pass.
(c) After 12 hours since the opening of voting members who have not yet voted are entitled to a reminder from the presiding office at least 12 hours before the bill voting period is set to close ends.
(i) If such a reminder is lacking a member who has not yet voted may raise a point to re-open the vote to include their vote for 12 hours. Such a point of order must be within 24 hours of the vote closing, and must be granted and cannot be made more than once for the same vote.
(d) Members can vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain
(e) A motion or a bill can include a passage that declares it urgent or can be made urgent with another motion. Such a motion or bill can be called before the closing of voting if the required amount of members have cast their vote such that any additional votes can not change the outcome of whether that motion passes or fails.
(e) The outcome of any vote can be called and take effect earlier if no combination of pending or changeable votes can change the outcome. The outcome being called early does not end the voting period early.
(f) After casting a vote, members have 30 minutes or until the end of the voting period, whichever comes first, to change it if they wish, before the vote is considered final, even if the voting period has not yet closed.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 9 "Speaker"

(a) The Speaker shall be elected at the start of each parliamentary term or when a vacancy arises. Such an election will be hosted by the steward of the house and follows the process described in this act.
(b) The speaker's duties include:
(i) Conducting and facilitating the parliamentary business including voting
(ii) Maintaining order and fairness in debates and the floor.
(iii) Enforcing the Parliamentary Procedure Act, Standing Orders, and general ethical standards in an impartial manner.
(c) The Speaker will relinquish any party affiliation during office and will refrain from voting on any motions or bills unless to break a tie.
(c) The Speaker shall be subject to the same rules and afforded the same privileges as a regular member of parliament unless otherwise described by law.
(d) If a member believes the speaker has made an error or acted in a partial way they may choose to override a decision made by the speaker with a simple majority motion requiring the support of at least two other members to be proposed.
(e) A Vote of No Confidence may be initiated against the Speaker with the support of at least two other members.
(i) The Speaker has 12 hours to prepare a response unless a supermajority of the house agrees to move straight to voting.
(ii) The Parliamentary Steward or Deputy Speaker will oversee the motion process whichever is available first.
(f) A Speaker that is not a Member of Parliament may not vote on any bill, resolution, or other legislative proposal, including motions. Their position may be regulated by later acts or legislative procedure, and they are subject to the normal restrictions a Speaker has in addition to being unable to vote.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 10 "Deputy Speaker"

(a) The deputy speaker shall be elected at the start of each parliamentary term after the speaker has been elected or when a vacancy arises. Such an election will be hosted by the Speaker of the House. And follows the process described in the act.
(b) The deputy shall assist the speaker in their duties when they are indisposed or take over as temporary acting speaker when the position is vacant.
(c) A Vote of No Confidence may be initiated against the deputy speaker with the support of at least two other members.
(i) The Depuy-speaker Deputy Speaker has 12 hours to prepare a response unless a supermajority of the house agrees to move straight to voting.
(ii) The Parliamentary Steward or Speaker will oversee the motion process whichever is available first.
(d) If the Deputy Speaker is not a Member of Parliament, any restrictions imposed on non-MP Speakers apply to them as well.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 11 "Speaker and deputy election"

(a) This section will describe the process for electing the Speaker and deputy speaker.
(b) Prior to the opening of voting, a 48-hour 24-hour period will commence during which eligible candidates will be able to declare their intent to run. Such a period can be shortened if all eligible candidates have declared their intention to run or not Members of Parliament may nominate any MP or citizen. If no new nominations have been made within the last eight hours, any MP may motion to close nominations.
(c) Once the declaration period has ended The first round of voting will commence. A round of voting will last 36 hours or until all members have cast their vote for a candidate.
(i) If no candidate manages to obtain the majority of all votes cast in the first round. The candidate with the least votes is removed from the ballot and another round of voting commences.
(ii) In the event of a tie between the candidates with the least votes, another round of voting will be held. If the tie persists in the new round the candidate to remove from the ballot is decided by random chance between the tied candidates.
(4) If at the end of a round, a candidate has obtained the majority of all votes cast in that round. Or at any point has reached a majority, such that no additional votes could change the outcome of the election. This candidate is declared the winner.
(d) If at the end of a round only one candidate remains, or if in any round a candidate receives a simple majority of parliament, they are declared the winner.
(e) If during a given round the Members have voted such that a winner via simple majority or the candidate to be removed is already decided and no combination of pending or changeable votes can change the outcome, the overseeing Steward or (Deputy) Speaker may announce the result of the round early and proceed to the next step.
(f) If only one individual was nominated, only one round of voting will be held between the nominee and restarting the process. If the majority vote to restart the process or on a tie, this election will restart, beginning with the nomination period as described in subsection §11.b.
(g) If the position of Speaker or Deputy Speaker is vacant at any time while Parliament is in session, the election process for the vacant role must begin within 48 hours. If both the role of Speaker and Deputy Speaker are vacant, the election for Deputy Speaker, as well as the time limit to start it, shall be put on hold until the Speaker has been elected.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 12 "Presiding office"

(a) The presiding office shall be tasked with aiding and assisting the speaker in discharging their duties.
(b) The presiding office is comprised, of The Speaker, The deputy speaker and any other staff appointed to it under Article 11.3 of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and Clerks.
(c) The speaker may appoint staff to the presiding officer's office, Clerks with the approval of parliament. This approval is sought via a motion from the Speaker. The speaker may dismiss these Clerks at will.
(i) Such a position will have a salary of $20/15min.
(i) Clerks will have a salary set by the Speaker, which must not exceed the salary of Members of Parliament.
(d) The speaker may grant additional remuneration with the approval of the parliament, sought via a motion from the Speaker.
(e) Dissolution of Parliament also dissolves the Presiding office, dismissing the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and all Clerks.

Amendments to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 13 "Parliamentary Committees"

(a) Committees are sub-groups of parliament established groups established by Parliament for one or more of the following purposes:
(i) Examine issues.
(ii) Draft legislation.
(iii) Oversee government activities.
(b) Committees may be established or dissolved by a simple majority motion in the house.
(c) Committee members are appointed or removed by a simple majority motion in the house
(d) Committee members shall must elect their chair internally, as the first order of business.
(i) This election will be held by the (acting) Speaker, and follows the same rules and procedures as Speaker election, except with committee members voting, instead of MPs.
(ii) In the event of a successful majority motion by committee members to this effect, the (acting) Speaker may dismiss the current chair and restart the chair election process.
(iii) If the chair ceases to be a member of the committee for any reason, the (acting) Speaker is obligated to dismiss the chair and restart the chair election process.
(e) If an individual should fail to respond to committee inquiry during a hearing within 48 hours of being pinged with questions, with a reminder ping having been given at least 24 hours after having been pinged the first time, a committee member may motion to vote to hold the individual or entity in contempt.
(i) If a committee votes to hold an individual or entity in contempt, the matter shall immediately be relayed to the broader Parliament for a 24 hour vote a new motion shall be opened to vote in Parliament on whether the individual/entity should be held in contempt. The result will take effect upon a majority in favor of one side or the other
(f) If an individual should fail to respond to a formal Parliamentary inquiry made through a majority-approved motion of Parliament within 48 hours of being pinged with or directly sent the inquiry, with a reminder ping or direct message having been given at least 24 hours after providing the initial inquiry, any Member of Parliament may make a motion to vote to hold the individual or entity in contempt.
(i) When such a motion is made, the matter shall immediately be brought up for a 24 hour vote on whether the individual/entity should be held in contempt. The result will take effect upon a majority in favor of one side or the other.
(g) All remaining Parliamentary committees are dissolved with Parliament.
(h) Committees with no remaining members are automatically dissolved.

Addition to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 15 "Suspension"

15. Suspension
(a) Failure to abide by Parliamentary rules can result in Suspension from Parliament at the (acting) Speaker’s discretion.
(i) Suspensions must be no longer than 24 hours per infraction.
(ii) Suspensions must be announced within 48 hours of an infraction.
(iii) Members will have their vote discounted if they are suspended at any point during the period that a vote is open.
(iv) Suspended Members may not participate in votes which overlap their suspension by any amount of time.
(v) Suspended Members may not take part in debates during their suspension period.
(vi) Suspended Members are allowed to participate in votes of no-confidence against the Speaker or Deputy Speaker.
(vii) Suspension ends early if the (Deputy) Speaker who issued it lifts it or loses a vote of no confidence. If the Suspension was issued by the Deputy Speaker, it can also be lifted by the Speaker.

Addition to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 16 "Quorum"

16. Quorum
(a) More than half of all Parliamentary seats must be filled for Parliament to function.
(i) Seats with suspended Members still count as a filled seat.
(ii) Empty seats due to resignations or criminal expulsions will not be counted toward the total number of seats, unless a by election has been officially announced.
(iii) Seats whose Member is on Parliamentary Leave of Absence do not count as filled, unless they appointed a proxy voter.
(b) If the current Parliament has been permanently incapacitated due to not having enough members to satisfy the quorum, the Prime Minister must, as soon as possible, request from the Crown either the early dissolution of Parliament or a by-election for all vacant seats.
(c) When Parliament is dissolved for any reason, any ongoing or scheduled by-elections are cancelled in favor of the general election.

Addition to Parliamentary Procedure Act, Section 17 "Recess"

17. Recess
(a) The Speaker may recess Parliament for a total of no more than two weeks per term.
(b) During a recess, bills may be proposed, but not debated or called to vote.
(c) The beginning of all other types of votes, with the exception of a motion to end recess, is delayed until the end of recess.
(d) Any Member may motion to end an ongoing existing recess, so long as they have prior clearly stated support from two other Members.
(e) When a recess is called, all currently ongoing voting will finish normally. Debate will be paused until Parliament returns to session.
(f) The Speaker may end a recess at any time.
(g) Recess of Parliament applies to all Parliamentary committees, too.

Enactment: This Act comes into force immediately upon passage and ratification.