[Sample Bill] The Congressional Code of Procedure

NOTE: THIS DISPATCH IS A SAMPLE FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXEMPLIFICATION ONLY.

LIN: GIB 1
CIN: C.R. 1.1
Date Passed: 1/22/2021
Author: Gibraltarica
Congressional Sponsor: Gibraltarica
Category: Bill of Congressional Procedure
The author has given explicit permission for the reproduction of the text of this bill by Congress.

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§1. The Speaker
1. The First Session of the Legislature shall begin with the election of the Speaker:
i. Candidates for the Legislature may nominate one other candidate each (not including themselves) for election to the position of Speaker, to be considered immediately upon the election of those individuals.
ii. The nominations shall be closed upon the conclusion of the election.
iii. The Speaker Pro-Tempore of Congress shall present the valid nominations as such:
“Here are the certified nominations for Speaker of Congress, as presented below, per Article I Section 1, Subsection 1, Subsubsection iii of The Congressional Regulations Code.”, followed by the presentation of the nominations.
iv. The Speaker Pro-Tempore shall allow Legislators to rank as many nominees as they should like for the election, and present their vote publicly.
i. The Speaker Pro-Tempore shall count the first choices of the Legislators, and should no majority be reached, he shall strike out the nominees with the least votes, or in the case of a tie for the votes such that all candidates have an equal number of first votes, he shall strike out at random one of the options, and shall then count the second choices of the struck votes, and shall assign those votes as equal to the first votes for the appropriate second choices. This shall continue to the third choice, et cetera, until a majority of votes is reached.
v. Should there be no valid nominations, nominations by Legislators of Legislators shall be reopened for twenty-four hours by the Speaker Pro-Tempore as such:
“There are no valid nominations for Speaker of Congress, as such, nominations shall be reopened until this time tomorrow. Nominations may be presented by Legislators below.”
vi. Should there be only one valid nomination, the nominee shall be elected immediately as Speaker.
vii. When the Speaker is elected, his election shall be acknowledged by the Speaker Pro-Tempore as such:
“The Congress of Conch Kingdom, per Article I, Section 1, Subsection 1, Subsubsection vii of the The Congressional Regulations Code, elects [Legislator] as Speaker. The Speaker Pro-Tempore shall now proceed to administer the oath of office.”
viii. When the Speaker is announced, he shall be administered this oath by the Speaker Pro-Tempore:
“I do solemnly swear to administer and preside over the Congress of Conch Kingdom faithfully.”
ix. Should the office of Speaker ever become vacant, nominations may be made by Legislators for his replacement in otherwise the same manner as prescribed by law.
2. The Speaker shall, after his election, notify the Prime Minister of his election.
3. The Speaker shall notify the Prime Minister and the Speaker Pro-Tempore of any leaves of absence he should take.
4. The Speaker shall regulate all debate and discussion of bills, the presentation of bills to vote, and the enforcement of the code of conduct.
i. The Speaker shall recognize a motion as such:
“The Honorable Member’s motion is recognized.”
ii. The Speaker shall deny a motion as such:
“The Honorable Member’s motion is denied.”
iii. The Speaker shall table a motion as such:
“The Honorable Member’s motion is tabled for [x] hours.”
iv. The Speaker shall recognize a member of government from outside the congress to speak as such:
“The [position] of Conch Kingdom is recognized.”
v. The Speaker shall recognize all other persons to speak as such:
“[Person] is recognized.”
5. The Speaker shall, after a bill’s vote is tallied, announce the result as such:
“The ayes have [x] votes, the nays have [x] votes, and [x] Honorable Members have announced their presence. The [ayes/nays] have it.”
6. The Speaker shall record all legislation passed, and the results of all votes, in the Archives of Congress.
7. The Speaker shall have the authority to convene Congress.
8. The Speaker shall have the authority to dismiss Congress, but never before all motions and votes have been properly addressed.
9. Acting Speakers who are not the Speaker Proper shall retain their voting rights unless otherwise prescribed by the Conch Creed.

§2. Seniority and the Speaker Pro-Tempore
1. The Speaker Pro-Tempore shall be chosen by default as soon as the election for Congress has concluded.
2. The Speaker Pro-Tempore shall serve as Acting Speaker in the absence of the Speaker.
3. Should the Speaker be inactive for more than one day while Congress is in convention, the Speaker Pro-Tempore shall serve as Acting Speaker until his return.
3. Seniority shall be established as such, in order of weight of consideration:
Longest time in the Legislature
Longest time as Prime Minister
Longest time as Minister of Domestic Affairs
Longest time as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Longest consecutive residency in Conch Kingdom
4. In the Conch Creed, the legislators not in the position of Speaker or Speaker Pro Tempore shall be listed in order of seniority.

§3. Impeachment
1. A bill of impeachment may be registered with the Speaker, who shall have the authority to dismiss it unless he is the individual impeached, then it shall fall to the Speaker Pro-Tempore, and if he is also impeached, then the next most senior Congressman, who shall then act as speaker for the duration of the proceedings.
2. Bills of impeachment shall include the charges levied and the suggested punishment for the Speaker to execute.
3. The impeachment trial shall proceed as follows:
i. The Speaker shall say the following:
"The (Acting) Speaker of Congress recognizes a motion bring to presentation a bill to Impeach [Legislator], member of the Congress of Conch Kingdom for the reason outlined: [reasons]. Debate shall last no more than forty-eight hours on the bill, and all other current motions are tabled until at least seventy-two hours hereafter."
ii. All motions not related to the impeachment shall be tabled for the duration of the impeachment proceedings.
iii. Debate shall last no more than forty-eight hours.
iv. Immediately following debate, a vote shall be conducted lasting twenty-four hours.
v. Upon the conclusion of the proceedings, should all members voting have voted for the Impeachment, the Acting Speaker shall read out the following:
"The Congress of Conch Kingdom hereby impeaches [Legislator] for [reasons]. I prescribe the following punishment:[punishment]."

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§1. Structure of Bills
1. Bills shall be presented in dispatch format.
2. Bills shall be presented in appropriately legible format, in such as form as bills have taken under the precedent of the Conch Creed’s format.
3. Subdivisions of bills shall be referred to as such:
i. The first level of division shall be referred to, for bills numbering more than twenty-five total clauses, as ‘Article’
ii. The first level of division for bills numbering twenty-five or less total clauses, and the second level of division for bills numbering more than twenty-five total clauses, shall be referred to as ‘Section’
iii. Every subdivision of sections shall be referred to as subsections, and the divisions thereafter as subsubsections, etc.
4. Bills shall require a clear operative clause or clauses.
5. Bills shall require the following items included prior to the operative clauses.
i. A classification be included among the following types of bills:
Petition to the Executive (including a specification of which Senior Minister(s) it is addressed to)
Petition to the Delegate
Petition to the Monarch
Bill of Impeachment
Constitutional Amendment
Operative Legislation
Legislative Amendment
Override of a Premieral Veto
Bill of Commendation
Bill of Condemnation
Bill of Congressional Procedure
ii. A note of who the authors of the bill are
iii. Consent for the government of Conch Kingdom to reproduce the bills
iv. A serial identification number, assigned by the legislator the bill is presented to
v. The signature of the legislator presenting the bill
6. The minutiae of the structure of bills shall be regulated by the Speaker, and all bills shall be subject to his affirmation that they are indeed regular in form before being submitted as a motion.

§2. Presentation of Bills
1. Bills shall be presented by a legislator.
2. Should a resident present a bill to a legislator, the legislator shall review the bill within twenty-four hours of presentation to confirm it is regular in form as described in Article II Section I of The Congressional Code of Procedure (barring an assigned number), valid, not unconstitutional, and competently and consistently written.
i. Should the legislator decide it is lacking in one or more of these qualities, he shall reject the bill, state the reason for rejection, recommend corrections and permit the submitter to resubmit the bill once upon corrections.
ii. Should the legislator decide it is lacking in none of these qualities, and he desires to present it, he shall assign the bill a number determined as such: the prefix assigned to the legislator, followed by the order in which it was presented to the legislator.
iii. The legislator may decide he does not wish to present it, and reject the bill outright.
3. The legislator shall then submit the bill to the Speaker, and notify him of a pending motion for presentation on the bill.
4. The Speaker shall keep a register of all pending bills from legislators, and shall, upon a bill’s presentation, assign it to become a Congressional Resolution, with a number in the order that the bill was presented to the floor in the current Congress, preceded by the cardinal number of Congress.
i. The Speaker shall respond to the motion to present immediately upon the bill being next in line to be presented.
ii. The Speaker shall not deny a motion to present, nor table the motion by more than three days.
5. The Speaker shall hear debate on the bill for up to three days.
6. After a motion to vote is presented and recognized by the Speaker, or after the three days have expired, the Speaker shall hold a vote on the motion lasting twenty-four hours.
i. In the case of Constitutional Amendments, this vote shall last seventy-two hours.
7. The Speaker shall tally the votes, and shall respond to the result as such:
i. If the bill is an internal matter of Congress, then the Speaker shall enact the bill given the ayes have the majority.
ii. If the bill is a matter requiring the Prime Minister’s approval, then the Speaker shall present it promptly to him.
iii. If the bill is a Constitutional Amendment, if the ayes have a two-thirds majority, then the Speaker shall inform the Prime Minister of its passage and of the necessity of an amendment to the Conch Creed.
8. If it passes in Congress, the Speaker shall record the bill in a new dispatch, replacing the legislator’s serial number with the Congressional Resolution number, and adding to the document the date of the bill's passage. This dispatch shall be linked to, along with all other legislation, in a central document managed by the current speaker.
9. Should the passed legislation require the approval of the Prime Minister, the Speaker shall note if it passed, was vetoed, or is pending approval.
i. Should a bill have been considered by the Prime Minister for more than three days without his response after the communication of the bill to him, it shall be considered vetoed.
10. The votes on all Congressional Resolutions, along with their number and the bill title, and the date of the vote's conclusion, shall be recorded in the central document.
11. Should legislation modify any existing legislation, the modified original text of the bills shall be crossed out, and replaced with the new text.
12. Should legislation appropriately become law, it shall be marked as such by the Speaker.
i. Should any law be repealed in full, it shall be marked as "repealed" by the Speaker.
13. Upon the passage of a bill by Congress, the Speaker shall sign it. Upon its approval by the Prime Minister, he shall sign it.
i. Should a vetoed bill be overridden, the Speaker shall also sign a statement on the bill that the bill was overridden.

§3. Legislative Motions and Amendments
1. The follow motions may be recognized or instigated by the Speaker:
i. Motion to adjourn
ii. Motion to adjourn until a certain day and time
iii. Motion to present
iv. Motion to amend
v. Motion to vote
vi. Motion to debate
2. Under any of the following conditions, a legislative amendment for a bill either presented or in the queue for presentation may be proposed:
i. That the Speaker and the Co-sponsor agree that it is valid, constitutional, and necessary
ii. That the Speaker and the author (or in the case of multiple authors, all authors) agree that it is valid, constitutional, and necessary
iii. That a majority of the Congress agree that it is necessary, as signified by co-motion on a motion to amend
3. The motion for amendment shall require submission of a dispatch to the speaker that includes:
i. The identifying number of the bill to be amended
ii. The proposed modifications, including the subdivisions of the bill to be cut out, added, or revised, with the revisions and additions included below
iii. The signatures of the appropriate parties as is outlined in Article II, Section 3, Subsection 2 of the Congressional Code of Procedure
4. The Speaker shall recognize or deny all motions on the floor pertaining to a bill before it is put to vote.

§4. Location and Schedule of Legislative Procedure
1. All motions and general procedure shall occur in the #round_table channel on the Augustin Alliance discord.
2. When a bill is brought to vote, the dispatch containing the bill must be linked in #round_table, and must also be presented by the speaker on the Regional Message Board with a notification that a vote is being had on the bill.
3. The result of all votes must also be presented on the RMB.
4. The Speaker shall convene congress for as long as is necessary to conduct business.
5. The Speaker may dismiss congress after three days in convention.
6. The Speaker may not dismiss congress for more than seven consecutive days.
7. The Speaker may not dismiss congress while a bill is at vote, while a vote is still being tallied, or while a bill is being debated.
8. The Speaker must permit for the discussion of and/or voting on at least two bills a day while Congress is in convention.
9. The Speaker shall, upon his election, release a tentative schedule for Congress’ session, and all edits to said schedule that involve the extension of conventions by more than two days, the cancellation of conventions, or an early start to conventions, shall require public notification at least two days in advance of the impact of the changes.
10. The Prime Minister may convene Congress at any time it is dismissed, with twenty-four hours notice, in periods of sufficient emergency.
11. The Legislature shall not infringe on the right of the Executive to use the #round_table discord channel.
12. The Legislature shall be dismissed or remain dismissed on the day of the Congressional elections, and shall remain dismissed until the elections have concluded.

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§1. Code of Conduct
1. Legislators shall act respectfully towards all members of government in #round_table.
2. Legislators shall faithfully execute their duties under the law.
3. Legislators shall vote regularly.
4. Legislators shall participate regularly in discussions about bills.
5. Legislators shall not breach conduct of NationStates, Discord, or of the region.
6. Legislators shall be diligent in receiving legislation from and communicating about legislation with their constituents.

§2. Reprimandation
1. Legislators may be subject to reprimand if they are in breach of the Code of Conduct.
2. Reprimand may include revocation of speaking privileges in #round_table, being barred from presenting legislation, a mandate for an apology, a warning, a motion for removal, or a petition to the Prime Minister for banishment.
3. Reprimands shall not be excessively harsh.

§3. Forbidden Bills
1. Bills preventing any branch of government from carrying out their legal duty are forbidden.
2. Bills of attainder are forbidden.
3. Bills of constitutional review are forbidden.
4. Ex-post facto bills are forbidden.
5. Bills that subpoena residents are forbidden.
6. Bills of multiple different purviews are forbidden.
7. If the Speaker believes that any bill or motion to amend violates these tenets, he shall note the bill or motion as discarded and shall not pursue further action with regard to it.

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Margin of Passage: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays, 0 Announcements of Presence
Executive Approval Status: Pending Approval by Prime Minister
Legal Status: Not Yet Law.
Signature of Legislator: [Insert Signature Here]
Signature of Speaker: [Insert Signature Here]
Signature of Prime Minister: [Insert Signature Here]