45RZ10 - The Leaner Sir Humphrey Civil Service Act

WHEREAS we have reached a point where proper administration warrants stability, continuity and a separation from partisan politics and

WHEREAS we need to better define the role of cabinet ministers and

WHEREAS this can be done through our civil service system but

WHEREAS we shouldn't appoint such people until they are needed so

THEREFORE the Ziu enacts that 25RZ44 (The Commissioner of the Civil Service Act), 36RZ17 (The Cabinet Refinishing Act) and 35RZ24 (The Royal Household Cleaning Act) are amended as follows:

(a) Section 3 of 36RZ17 shall be amended to read: "Each Cabinet Officer shall be empowered to create within his Ministry other subdivisions not listed by this act, but any such reorganization shall require the approval of the Seneschal. Unless otherwise dictated by Talossan Coolness Factor considerations, the principal subdivisions of a Ministry other than the Prime Ministry shall be titled bureaus or sub-ministries, and the principal subdivisions within the Prime Ministry shall be titled agencies or administrations."

(b) Section 4 of 36RZ17 shall be abolished, with the numbering of the act preserved.

(c) Section 5 of 36RZ17 shall be abolished, with the numbering of the act preserved.

(d) The section related to the Civil Service within 35RZ24 is hereby amended to read:
"The Civil Service, headed by the Commissioner of the Civil Service. The function of the Civil Service is to appoint and dismiss Permanent Secretaries within the cabinet ministries as well as other non-political appointees as may be appropriate."

(e) Section 2 of 35RZ24 is amended to read:
"The Officers of the Royal Household shall have no fixed terms of office, and shall not be removed from office by the dissolution of the Cosa. The Officers of the Royal Household are appointed and removed by the King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The three exceptions to this are that the Secretary of State shall be appointed by the Prime Minister acting alone and may be removed by law; the Chancellor of the Royal Talossan Bar shall be appointed and removed by the King on the recommendation of a resolution of the Senäts; and the Commissioner of the Civil Service, who shall be appointed by the King, for a two year renewable term, after being recommended by a legislative civil service committee and approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the Cosa and a majority vote of the Senäts in favor of appointment. The Chancellor may be removed by the King on the recommendation of the Senäts."

FURTHERMORE, we enact as follows:

(a) The Commissioner shall appoint permanent secretaries to each ministry based upon their qualifications, willingness to work and taking into consideration the applicant's performance in prior positions. The commissioner shall remove from office any secretary for professional misconduct, inability to perform ones duties due to incapacitation or failure to perform their required duties.

(b) Dismissed secretaries shall be entitled to an appeal of their removal. The dismissed party may contest their dismissal by bringing complaint before the Magistrate's Court. The court shall consider if any of the petitioners rights, afforded by Organic, statutory or civil law code, have been violated. The court shall have the authority to order reinstatement where appropriate or dismiss the complaint, thus sustaining the dismissal.

FURTHERMORE,
1. We establish the following permanent secretary positions:

(a) The Admiral, as appointed pursuant to 35RZ32, shall hold the additional title of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. He will be subject accordingly to all regulations of Permanent Secretaries outlined within this bill and any future bills which refer to Permanent Secretaries.

(b) The Burgermeister of Inland Revenue, as appointed pursuant to 34RZ21, shall hold the additional title of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance. He will be subject accordingly to all regulations of Permanent Secretaries outlined within this bill and any future bills which refer to Permanent Secretaries.

2. The aforementioned offices and all future Permanent Secretary positions shall exist within the civil service and shall be non-political appointments which shall be held until lawful dismissal, resignation or incapacitation. An individual may not hold the offices of Seneschal, Distáin, Justice of the Uppermost Cort, Monarch, an Officer of the Royal Household, or any cabinet portfolio while simultaneously holding an active appointment to a secretary office. In addition, any Secretaries within the Ministry of Justice may not serve as a judge in any inferior court.
Additional permanent secretary level offices may be created for the Ministries of Home, Culture and Foreign Affairs, or any future Ministry, if needed. All Secretary Offices shall be established and dissolved by statute. A Permanent Secretary may only be assigned to administer a cabinet level Ministry.

3. Secretaries shall be styled "Honourable" during the course of their tenure.

4. Secretaries shall serve as the administrative chief of their respective ministries tasked with the day to day operation of the ministry's work.

5. Secretaries shall be empowered to appoint and dismiss non-political appointees within their ministry, including the Chiefs of Bureaus, with the approval of the Commissioner of the Civil Service.

6. Secretaries shall retain their offices through changes of government.

7. The precise duties, necessary qualifications and expected standards of each secretary shall be drafted by the cabinet minister and approved by a legislative civil service committee, consisting of five Members of the Cosa, appointed by the Túischac'h. The committee must not contain more than two members of a single party. If only two parties are represented in the Cosa, then the maximum number of members from a single party is raised to three. Once approved, these descriptions shall be considered to be part of civil service administrative code. Other portions of the code, including expanded procedures for appointment, dismissal and appeals, shall be approved in a similar manner.

8. Civil service administrative code can be amended by the Commissioner of Civil Service with the approval of majority vote of the civil service committee.

9. No portion of the civil service code may run contrary to the Organic or Statutory Law. Nor may any portion of the code restrict an individual or groups rights granted under the law.

Uréu q'estadra så,
Baron Alexandreu Davinescu (MC-RUMP)