WHEREAS the Senäts organic law article needs to be revamped because of a few time-bombs and incongruities exists
AND,
WHERAS The Senäts currently has limited powers, yet is an important part of the Talossan governement AND,
WHEREAS provinces may currently choose the way it\'s Senator is elected AND,
WHEREAS I believe this is a Bad Idea because the Senate is a national institution and thus it\'s members should be
elected following national guidelines AND
WHEREAS currently, a province could name a Senator for Life, and since the Senat article is written in a way that
prevents a Senator from losing office unless death or resignation from the Senator\'s office, a Senator for life could resign
it\'s citizenship or even be convincted of Treason without losing his Senatorial seat AND
WHEREAS Provinces can already decide how to govern themselves,
WHEREAS if this is the only opposition you have to this bill, I request that you vote Pêr this act and propose a bill next
month to modify this new version of the Organic law AND
THEREFORE, the Ziu modifies the constitution as follows :
Article IV
The article IV : Senäts is removed
New articles
The following two articles are added : Article IV : Election to the Senats
Sec. 1. The Senäts, or in English the Senate, is the national legislative council and
shall be composed of a senator for each Province.
Sec 2. Elections for the filling of places in the Senäts shall be conducted by the Secretary
of State office of Talossa, and shall take place in the final month of the term of service of
the senator currently occupying the place. The failure of any Province to elect or appoint a
senator shall not affect the business of the Senäts.
Sec 3 The election shall take place between the 1st and the last day of the month, unless a
general election is scheduled to take place at some point during that period. In that case,
the Senator's election shall take place at the same time at the General Election.
Sec 4 : In case of a tie between several candidates in a general or partial election, the incumbent senator remains in place
and a new election is called on the following month using the same rules. However, if that election is tie, the governor of
the province is allowed to break the tie and nominate for a period of six months a temporary senator, after which the seat
returns to vacancy.
Sec 5 : Voting is not secret. As soon as one\'s votes are cast, they become public knowledge.
Sec 6. If a voter returns more than one vote, the first one cast is counted and the others are ignored.
Sec 7. When the Election Deadline has passed, a final tally of votes is publicly announced. Any votes
arriving after the Deadline, even if they were posted before the Deadline, are null and void.
Sec 8 : If a seat becomes vacant before the final three months of the term of service of a senator,
a partial election must be performed under the same rules as a normal senatorial election, with the
exception of the term of service of the winner of the election. In that case, the term of service is
reduced so that the next election occurs at the pre-determined time.
Sec 9 : If a seat becomes vacant during the final three months of the term of service of a senator,
the Governor of the province must submit to the Secretary of State and the Mencei a notice requesting either :
a ) a partial election for the remaining months,
b ) an early general election or
c ) the nomination of a replacement, subject to confirmation of the Senats.
Provinces may, by law, provide rules restricting the choice of the governor in this case.
Term of service Sec 10 There shall be one normal senatorial election every three months, in a way that
the term of service of a senator is three months times the number of provinces. The
Secretary of State office of Talossa is responsible for the maintenance of that list.
Sec 11 The actual duration of the term of service of a senator is not fixed in advance, but rather,
a senator term expires when the province he reprensents is scheduled for a general election. As such,
if the number of provinces change, the length of the term service of already elected senators will change
as well as the length of future elected senators. Also, a senator elected in a partial election will
have a shorter term of service and a senator elected in an early general election will have a longer term
of service.
Sec. 12 If for some reason, the Secretary of State office of Talossa does not call the normal election
of a senator at the scheduled time, a partial election shall be called as if the seat was vacant. However,
the incumbent senator shall remain in place until a replacement is elected.
Article V : Composition of the Senats Sec. 1. There shall be one Senators from each Province
Sec. 2. The qualifications of Senators shall be the same as those required of a member of the Cosâ, in
addition to the fulfillment of one of the following additional qualifications:-
a) He must have been a Talossan citizen for more than three years, or:
b) He must have served continuously as a Member of the Cosâ for two years, or:
c) He must have served for six months as either Seneschál, Secretary of State, or Justice of the Uppermost Cort, or:
d) He must have received a title of nobility or other meritorious decoration from the King.
However, notwithstanding any provisions by the Ziu, a senator shall never be required to vacate his
place during his term of service, due to a change in the qualifications of senators.
Sec. 3. The King shall not under any circumstances be eligible to be elected or appointed to a place
in the Senäts, and shall never be allowed to enter the Senäts, unless he is cited to testify in a Senate commission.
Sec. 4. Senators shall as far as is practicable be citizens of the Province in which they were chosen. Qualified
citizen from other provinces may receive votes in an election only if no votes have been received on the 16th
day of the election period.
Sec 5 A Senator vacates his seats if he fails to vote on two consecutive Clarks, or if he resigns from office,
loses his citizenship or dies.
POWERS OF THE SENÄTS
Sec. 6. The Senäts shall have equal powers with the Cosâ in respect of all proposed laws except that:-
a) bills appropriating revenue or moneys shall not originate in the Senäts:
b) the Government shall require the confidence of the Cosâ only, to remain in office.
In the event of the Senäts twice rejecting a bill appropriating revenue or moneys, the King may call
a joint sitting of both houses of the Ziu which shall vote on the bill as one body. In voting in the
joint sitting each member of the Ziu shall vote only once. The bill shall be passed in the joint sitting
if it receives the support of a majority of members of the Ziu. If the votes are equal, the bill shall not have passed.
If the bill appropriating revenue or moneys is not passed in the joint sitting, the Cosâ shall be dissolved
by the King and go to a general election.
Bills for the imposition or appropriation of fines or other monetary penalties,
or for the demand or payment or appropriation of fees for licences or services,
shall not be taken to appropriate revenue or moneys.
Sec 7 : The Senäts may also create Senatorial commissions according to guidelines which are to be defined by law.
THE MENÇÉI
Sec. 8. The Senäts shall, after every general election of a senator, choose one of it\'s members to be the
President of the Senäts to be called the Mençéi, or in English the Lord President; and as often as
the office of Mençéi becomes vacant the Senäts shall again choose a senator to be the Mençéi.
The Mençéi shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a senator. The Mençéi may be removed from
office by a vote of the Senäts, or he may resign his office or seat by writing addressed to the King,
or by public declaration.
Sec. 9. Before or during any absence of the Mençéi, the Senäts may choose a senator to perform
the duties of the Mençéi during such absence.
DESPATCH OF BUSINESS
Sec. 10. Questions arising in the Senäts shall be determined by a majority of votes, and each
senator shall have one vote. The Mençéi shall in all cases be entitled to vote; and when the votes
are equal the question shall not have passed.
Sec. 11. Section 10 takes precedence over bills requiring 2/3 of the Senate to vote such as
amendment to the organic law, with the exception of :
- bills changing sections of articles regarding the Senats
- bills changing sections of the article “Amendments to the Organic Law”
- bills changing sections of the article “Territorial Subdivisions”
- Bills creating new provinces or changing the number of provinces in any way
Which always requires 2/3 of Senäts
This Ammendment must be ratified in a Referendum.
Ureu q'estadra så,
Sir Martì-Páir Furxhéir (PC-Atatürk)