WHEREAS Organic Law VII.5 sets a small list of which Talossans are entitled to "submit legislative proposals... for the consideration of the Ziu", i.e. to "clark Bills";
AND WHEREAS Organic Law VII.4 states that the Secretary of State is to maintain the Hopper as "a public venue for the inspection of legislative proposals before they become bills";
AND WHEREAS the word "public" in OrgLaw VII.4 is ambiguous as to exactly who is entitled to participate in the Hopper, outwith the specific power to turn legislative proposals into bills;
AND WHEREAS the sections of El Lexhatx governing the Hopper (H.6, 7, 13 and 21) do not resolve this ambiguity;
AND WHEREAS it is my general belief that maximising public participation in the legislative process is a good thing, and I see absolutely no reason why all Talossan citizens should not be entitled to participate fully in the Hopper, including submitting draft legislation, only excluding the power to actually "Clark bills";
AND WHEREAS the Regent has humbly offered his opinion over and over again that excluding Talossans from the legislative process depresses activity, and this measure will allow all citizens to help shape the law, while ensuring that the legislative power remains with elected officials and not beneficiaries of patronage of party bosses;
AND WHEREAS , while doing research for this bill, I found quite a few messes, missing sections, and notes by the Scribe of Abbavilla which should be cleaned up, no matter the substantive question of this bill;
AND WHEREAS the amendment to H.6.4 below removes the possibility of someone dredging up a "stale bill" which has remained un-proposed for months or even years and putting it on the Clark long after everyone's forgotten the issues involved;
AND WHEREAS H.13. is a noble sentiment, but the phrase "if at all possible" makes it inoperative and a waste of space:
BE IT ENACTED by the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa as follows:
1. El Lexhatx H.4. shall read in its entirety:
On each Clark, the Vote of Confidence shall read as follows: "Do you wish the current Government to continue in its term of office?"
2. El Lexhatx H.6.4 shall be amended to read as follows:
If a legislative proposal has remained in the "The Hopper" for more than 59 days, the Secretary of State may remove it it shall be considered to have been removed, though any person entitled to do so may subsequently re-publish it.
3. A new section, H.6.8, is added to El Lexhatx as follows:
All citizens of Talossa are entitled to participate fully in discussions and debates in the Hopper, within the bounds of law and of the decisions of the administering and presiding authorities of the Hopper. Any citizen may submit a draft of legislation to the Hopper, though these shall not be considered to be "legislative proposals" within the meaning of H.6 until sponsored by one or more individuals authorised to submit legislative proposals under Organic Law VII.5, under the process contained in H.8.
4. El Lexhatx H.13, currently reading:
If at all possible, bills presented for review in the Hopper should be translated into Talossan before being Clarked.
is DELETED IN ITS ENTIRETY and replaced with the following text:
All bills submitted for the Clark shall be in one of the national languages.
5. The numbering of El Lexhatx H.24 is hereby confirmed, and the Scribe's note there attached is DELETED.
Ureu q'estadra så,
Dame Miestră Schivă (Seneschal)