Discussion - Somerset Parliament- Voice of Somerset

Greetings my lords and ladies.
In today's schedule and for the next few days we will discuss the Somerset Parliament issue here.

I represent you the work of the Committee for an active Somerset
project led by Citizens lethion, Dylanlongbranch and Lady Clasp and here are the results of their work.
Suggestions, proposals are all welcome before we proceed to voting.

Thank you all in advance.

Quote :

005 Book V – The Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)


Preamble:
By the grace of the noble jah and all other divinities, does the County of Somerset recognise the Voice of Somerset (VoS) as the peoples voice. Literaly the voice of the people. In the halls of the house let no man be superior to another. Yet the civil rings of logical and methodical reasoning prevail over the rhetoric and mudslinging this house was made ot avoid. Let this house be the way for Somerset Citizens to be more involved with their government




Article 1 – Definitions

Art. 5.1.1.: The Lower House of Somerset, hereafter referred to as the Voice of Somerset (VoS), shall be the congregation of all Somerset citizens wherein each Somerset citizen has the ability to be recognized by the elected Ducal Council.

Art. 5.1.2.: Members of the VoS shall consist of every verifiable citizen of Somerset Duchy.
i. Level 0 citizens shall be included and afforded the unique ability to participate in their county politics.
ii. Councilors shall also be included in the VoS, in effect creating a dual membership in both the upper and lower governing bodies of Somerset.
iii. Members shall be verified by their mayors, Only people residing in Somerset may take membership in this body

Art. 5.1.3.: Parliamentary Motions are [discussions] which are later made into polls, The discussions must be made first so that an apropriate motion can be made by a member, The discusssion is so that the parliament may debate over the motion, Once the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been sufficient debate he/she locks the discussion and archives it, The parliamentary motion must be a clear document that clearly and succinctly defines the aim of the motion, It must be phrased as such that after the debate a simple poll can be used to determine wether or not the house supports it.

Parliamentary Voting procedure

i. All members of parliament are entitled to propose a motion in the VoS, which is put in a [discussion] format, after the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been enough discussion the initial proposer of the motion must signal that he/she is ready for the motion to be locked.
ii.Following the advice of the initial proposer the speaker locks the thread.
iii.The onus is then on the proposer to draft an oficial Parliamentary Bill that can be presented to the VoS, if he/she does not do so in 4 days he/she must move for a motion again. The bill must be a poll where the options must be Aye, Nay, or Abstain
iv. After 7 days the bill is locked whichever option has gained the simple majority is deemed the "will of Somerset" . If the majority is the "abstain" option then the bill must be revoted by a new poll. If a majority of the VoS are in oppozition to the bill then no bill of similar or identical content may be presented to the VoS for 17 days. After that period of time he/she can again make a motion again.
v.If a majority is obtained the county council is legally bound to examine that issue within 3 days.
vi. A county council representative must then report back to the VoS, with the county council's decision.
vii.If the margin in any passage of any bill is of a margin of 3% of the total votes or less any member of the VoS is entitled to call for a revote
viii.In the case of a revote the aproved bill is locked and no further action is taken until and unless the second bill is passed propoerly


Article 2 – Authority of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.2.1.: The sole authority of the VoS shall be to forward Parliamentary Bills(PBs) that have gained simple majority of votes by the citizens of Somerset who have access to the chambers and who have chosen to register a vote regarding the forwarded PB to the Ducal Council.

Article 3 – Restrictions of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.3.1.: The VoS shall be restricted to verified citizens of Somerset Duchy only.
i. Citizens shall be verified by the Mayor of their hometown and then granted access to the chambers.
ii. Mayors and town mentors shall be required to provide clear instructions to each citizen on where the chambers are located and how to request access.
iii. Every citizen of Somerset has the right to request access and be admitted. Likewise, it is every citizen’s responsibility to assist fellow citizens in obtaining access to the chambers.

Art. 5.3.2.: The VoS shall be subject to all Ducal Laws. The county council has every right to overule any parliamentary bill of the VoS. The County Council is superior in every right of governance to the VoS.

Art. 5.3.3.: The Speaker, the speaker is a person NOT on the county council who is directly elected by the parliament for a fixed term of 4 and a half months. The speaker is allowed re election for as many terms as they want. The speakers election goes through the term of the previous speaker. So in effect 3 weeks before the end of a speakers term nominations are taken for the position of speaker.
i. Voting on the speaker must take precedence of all other duties of the VoS
ii. The election of the speaker goes for 11 days at the bare minimum. All nominated and seconded candidates must then be put for election.
iii. The candidate/s securing a total of 51% must stand for a run off election in the event of no one candidate securing 51% of the VoS.
iv. If the margin is less than 4% the duke has the right to apoint the speaker in a run off election
v. Once one candidate has secured 51% of the VoS support, regardless of how many run off elections it takes, the duke must then apoint the person officially into office.
vi. In the even of someone deemed inapropriate gaining the majority then the county council may vote and apoint any candidate to the position.
vii. The county council may dismiss any serving speaker with a two thirds majority vote
iix. The VoS can push for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, thence a poll is made just like any other parliamentary bill it is sent to the county council after a majority is obtained. If two thirds the VoS or more are in favour then the duke may dismiss the speaker instantly. But in the case of the VoS not obtaining such a majority then the county council must aprove the decision. The county council may refrain from sacking the duke if they sight a mobb rules aproach,


Art. 5.2.2.: Art 5.2.2: An elected representative from the VoS elected from the VoS must be present at council discussions, although silent (cannot post in council forum, but can watch it), and watch for any misdeeds by an Somerset elected councilor. This elected representative's sole duty will be to report any conduct unfitting a Somerset elected councilor to the VoS. The VoS shall then vote on any action to be taken against the Somerset elected councilor.
i: Misdeeds and conduct unfitting a Somerset elected councilor are verbally attacking the personage of another Somerset elected councilor, purposefully spamming the council forum, failure to participate in council discussions for a period of over one month.
ii: At the beginning of each council term, a VoS member must be nominated by another member or members to be the elected representative of the VoS to the council. At that point, a poll is created for all members of the VoS to vote in, where all nominated representatives are voted upon. If one nominated representative does not recieve 50% or more of the votes, a new poll is created to vote between the top two recievers of votes.
iii: A member of the VoS cannot nominate himself to be representative.
iv: The option of Abstain will be integrated into all representative election polls. If, at the end of the poll, the Abstain option has recieved 50% or more of the votes, then all nominated representatives cannot be reconsidered, and new nominations must take place.
v: At the time a misdeed or conduct unfitting is reported by the representative, the speaker of the VoS determines the severity, and if it should be voted upon. The representative must report the misdeed or conduct unfitting without naming the councilor. At no time should any member of the VoS be allowed to know the name of the councilor being voted on. The only people to know the name of the councilor being voted upon should be the councilor representative to the VoS (unless he is the one being voted upon, in which case the name would fall to the Duke of Somerset), and the VoS elected representative. If the speaker of the VoS determines it should be voted upon, he will put the misdeed or conduct unfitting into a poll, with three options. Forgive, Impeach, or Abstain. The Impeach option must recieve at least 85% of the vote for it to be put into effect.
vi: The councilor representative to the VoS has the right to challenge any Impeach decision made by the VoS, unless the impeach decision is against the councilor representative himself, in which case the duty falls to the Duke of Somerset to challenge the decision. At that time, the speaker will put together a group of VoS members to investigate the alleged misdeed or conduct unfitting. If found to be completely faulty, the VoS elected representative to the council shall be brought before the VoS for answering questions, in the form of a [discussion] thread.
vii: Upon an unchallenged Impeach vote, the councilor will be immediately removed from the council room by denying access on the forum, and the next person to take his place will be given access to the forum.

Art. 5.2.3.: Although the Duchy Council is in effect more powerfull than the VoS, any councillor exempting the duke may be subject to a vote of no confidence and thereby after a majority of 65% of atleast 95% of the "Active" membership, votes in a period of a minimum of 3 days, the vote is limited to a maximum of 21 days, after that time the speaker may lokc the thread as it is deemed invalid.

Art. 5.2.4.: Legal Bindings, The VoS may implement legally binding writs, which are limited to calling a councillor to report to the VoS, to overturning the impeachment of a councillor, to if aproved by the Duchy council a change to the Legal Corpus, to drafting diplomatic treaties, The writs may not be of military or trade nature. For a writ to be determined legally binding a qorum must be present, a qorum is equivalent to 80% of the active membership voting upon the writ, any inactive member of the VoS should be deleted, speakers, and council members are given a 7 day grace to explain their inactivity. Prior explanation is acceptable. If a quorum does not vote on the issue it is not valid. Inactive members may be deleted after a writ such as this mentioned above. A low ranking member who has never posted in the forums in question can simply be deleted at the leisure of the speaker, and then re admitted after a pm to the speaker.

Art. 5.2.5.: The VoS is a body of dignity and integrity is that is ever compromised through actions of it's members the members in quesiton are forced to face the described disceplenary action. Any court case against a VoS member who has voted atleast thrice can be assisted by the VoS, through the VoS supplying the member in question with a defence counsel, if the defence cousel deems the person is guilty he/she can refrain from the pursual of defence actions. Any case against the insitution it's self or the house, will demand that any defence counsel with membership obligated to defend the faculty.

Statute of Secrecy (partaining to Art. 5.2.5.

i) documents in the VoS dorums may not be reproduced without the express consent of speaker and 51% of the Parliamentary majority without quorum.
ii)Men and Wemen may speak freely without fear of retribution for their words, aslong as they maintain forums rules, and if accusing the member must phrase their accusation politely and must provide evidence.
iii) Breach of this statute is considered contempt for the Parliamentary proceedings and the member in question can be suspended imediately by the Speaker then the breach must be considered in a thread that polls a simple question as to wether the member acted in sontempt of the court.
iv)All members may not discuss any findings or votes of the VoS without the permission of the Speaker, with any person/s of non membership in the VoS


Article 4 – Responsibilities of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS) and of the Ducal Council regarding the VoS

Art. 5.4.1.: The sole responsibility of the Ducal Council to the VoS shall be to officially enter into [Discussion] any proposal that gains a simple majority vote within the chambers of the VoS. The Ducal Council shall not be required to pass into law any proposal put forth by the VoS, only to consider the proposal as a valid [Discussion] within the Ducal Council chambers, requiring the mandatory 2-day debate of proposals put forth in chambers.


Article 5 – Hierarchy of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)
i. There can be sub committee's formed from the VoS to deal with projects or initiatives
ii. The chair of any such sub committee would be limited to simply reporting back to the VoS and undertaking liasing betweent he apropriate parties.
iii. Mayors and members of the County Council are elected members of the higher order of governance thereby they must be given respect, any member of the VoS not doing so may be suspended or expelled from the house.
iv.A group of elected members of the VoS may be elected by simple majority to liase with the county council and or apropriate bodies

Disceplenary Action

i. If any member of the VoS who breached this constitution or the legal corpus of Somerset or the existing forum rules, they are automaticaly suspended by the speaker
ii. A privelleges committee is formed to decide further action/s against a member
iii. If the priveleges committee deems the circumstances right they may suspend, expell or eject any member from the house.
iv. No member of the county council may be disceplined, If they are convicted of wrongdoing, the county council decides further action

Clauses
1. These clauses overwrite all other articles in this book
2. The speaker may not be disceplined\
3. Bodies such as the Court of Appeals or the College of Heraldry or any other foreign body, hold any power over the VoS as an institution.
4. VoS is the inferior of no person/s, The body is simply bound to respect the wishes of the Duchy Council
5. The speaker can't be a member of the council
6.While party politics and bloc voting is not barred or banned, party domination or insulting will result in a temporary ban by the speaker. Voting in blocs or factions is in no way against the laws mentioned above.
7. A duchy council member who has been impeached may continue in his role if he retains the support of the Duchy Council
8. The VoS may change it's own laws at any time with a writ, that requires 90% of the active membership as a raised quorum. The duchy Council may vetoe the changes if and only if the changes give greater power to the VoS.



The Rights of all members:
-To be heard
-To be valued
-To operate within the VoS in a safe and friendly environment
-To have any beliefs that they deem fit
-To be heard by the speaker if they feel they were ejected, expelled or suspended unfairly

OK a couple questions?

2. The speaker may not be disceplined\
3. Bodies such as the Court of Appeals or the College of Heraldry or any other foreign body, hold any power over the VoS as an institution.

2. May not be disciplined? I don't like that myself

3...... any other foreign body..... This could be interpreted as a foreign army that has invaded, the king of France, anything. I think that is to vague myself.

This is a big document I had other questions but it is early and I haven't had my coffee yet, so I forgot them. .

Minor issue spelling needs to be cleaned up a little before it becomes official.

OH, thought of one:

By the grace of the noble jah and all other divinities,

Only Jah is god..there are no other gods, I object to this. There are only three religions officially recognized, all recognize Jah in one form or another.

rp people just rp

This is a large document and I don't have time to evaluate it right now but my opinion is it is well scrutinized, questioned, and thought out before we even consider voting on it.
I share the objections raised by Greg and think we should try to find all the potential loopholes.
I think the finished product should be posted in the somerset inn for all the people to read and comment on. Mayors could advise their citizens to visit the forum and review it for them selves and hopefully we would get a broarder base of opinion from the citizens of somerset and not just the comments of a select few.

Yes concillors, that's why this document is here ,to discuss on it before voting it.
A committee worked on this days and days,in a Public discusion area and everyone had the oportunity to post there his thoughts.

Despite that,we can make the changes needed as County council before we proceed in a in game voting directly.
For this purpose, we will talk furhter than the 2 days needed for this issue.

I agree completely with Greg on the diviinities stuff, just eliminate all references, they are not needed in a legal document.

Next, the definition of parlimentary motions states that the speaker determines when to lock a discussion, but the first article goes on to say that the speaker needs the proposer's approval to lock the topic, which seems contradictory to me.

I further question the 4 and one half month term of office. Ducal councils and Regents are 2 months, why should this position be more than twice that amount of time?
Eleven days is a very long time to subject the populace to an election, again, couldn't this be shorter?

My biggest concern is Article 5.2.2. which states that a representative from VoS would be present at council discussions. All council discussions? Private as well as public? With what reassurances that needed secrecy will be protected? There are laws in place to discipline councilors who violate the security of the council. What safeguards are there to insure similar compliance of this representative? I cannot say I approve of a "policing action" by a person who sits and listens only to correct any words, phrases or emotional tones expressed by a councilor.

Another topic considered worthy to report as a misdeed is non-participation in a discussion by a councilor. I can understand concern about non-participation in votes, but discussions are not mandatory actions for council members. It often happens that one person posts an opinion that is the same another holds and therefore does not need to be repeated in an additional post.

Current law allows for two ways ingame for a councilor to be removed from office: the councilor can resign, or the Duke/Duchess can remove them from office. I do not agree that "misconduct" as judged by VoS should be a legally binding way to remove a councilor from office. As written, it seems to compell the Duke/Duchess to remove someone from office because of public acclaim.

The job description of the Duke/Duchess is to monitor the work of the council members, and moderate the discussions. I do not feel that VoS or its representative should take over this function. It may be that the current Duke/Duchess uses their diplomatic ability to overlook a comment in order to see what the real problem is that provoked a certain reaction.
Further discussion may resolve the issue without the interference of an outside representative who is only looking for isolated misconduct, or comments that seem to the representative to be a personal attack at the moment.

I do not believe that any councilor can give their honest opinion or response to an issue knowing that their words or phrases are being scrutinized for possible missteps.

More later...as I am sure this is plenty to look over.

First off, great job to everyone who put this together. It is a massive document and I know it wasn't easy. Next, I agree with everything said thus far in the discussion.

Right, now starting from the top, (many suggestions are very minor):

1) The first sentence is unnecessarily wordy in addition to being heretical. Perhaps something along the lines of, "The County of Somerset recognizes the Voice of Somerset (VoS) as the people's voice." I am a fan of clear cut, easy to read documents, especially legal ones.

2) I do not really like having level 0 written in a RP legal document. Level 0 are vagrants in RP, but I do understand that it is used for clarity. Similarly locked is not fitting within RP. Locked would be the "end of discussion"

3)

Quote :

Once the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been sufficient debate he/she locks the discussion and archives it

In addition to the comment by Lady Suan, I dislike the power that this gives the speaker. I understand that is the role of a moderator (to moderate discussions and length). Admittedly I am an advocate for not locking threads unless necessary. The Speaker should not just arbitrarily decide when the discussion is over, but instead ask if "Shall we call the question and bring this to vote?" then seeing no further discussion, move to vote. In other words, give a little warning before the thread is locked.

4) I do not agree that so much onus should be placed on the originator of the idea. Once proposed, and especially if accepted, it is an idea from the VoS not the originator, which is what the current wording makes me think. I think it should be the job of the Speaker.

5)

Quote :

iv. After 7 days the bill is locked whichever option has gained the simple majority is deemed the "will of Somerset." If the majority is the "abstain" option then the bill must be re-voted by a new poll. If a majority of the VoS is in opposition to the bill then no bill of similar or identical content may be presented to the VoS for 17 days. After that period of time he/she can again make a motion again.

I have two issues with this. First, that is a misuse or misunderstanding of abstention. An abstention is used when the person is ambivalent, not present (parliamentary procedure), or has a conflict of interests. An abstention should not be counted towards the number of votes. Effectively when one abstains, s/he is saying, "I do not feel strongly either way (or cannot vote), so I leave this decision to those who have a clear opinion. I am comfortable with whatever the body decides." If most people abstain, the motion should still carry one way or the other. This should be stricken from the document.
Secondly, I do not think 17 days is long enough to wait for an opposed bill to be revoted. I say make it a full month minimally.

6)

Quote :

v.If a majority is obtained the county council is legally bound to examine that issue within 3 days.

This should be rewritten to say something like, "If the majority of the VoS are in favor of the bill, then the county council is legally bound to examine the bill within three days." As currently worded, it is too confusing.

7)

Quote :

Art. 5.2.1.: The sole authority of the VoS shall be to forward Parliamentary Bills(PBs) that have gained simple majority of votes by the citizens of Somerset who have access to the chambers and who have chosen to register a vote regarding the forwarded PB to the Ducal Council.

This needs to be rewritten, as it is too wordy and confusing. Perhaps something like, "The sole authority of the VoS shall be to forward bills that have gained the approval of the body to the county council." I do not think "Parliamentary Bill (PB)" is necessary as it is not anywhere else in the document; simply "bill" or "legislation" should suffice. The term "citizens of Somerset who have access to the chamber and who have chosen to register a vote" is far too long a term to call the people of VoS. What should they be called? Collectively "body" should suffice. Individually, they are what? People, representatives (though they aren't really in the truest sense of the word), VoSer (meant in jest), delegate, member, or something else?


Okay, I must run, but more to come later.


-Rebo

The New version of Book V with the additions:

Quote :

005 Book V – The Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Preamble:
Let the eyes of heaven stand witness, to the establishing of this congregation. Which must always act in honor and in the interest of the people, Let there be no prejudices in these halls, nor any rhetorical insults to anothers honor. These hall stand firm for the rights of all Somerset. These halls are the voice of Somerset. The people’s say in governance.
The Voice of Somerset (VoS) was established to entrench the true values of honor and participation, of involvement in all Somerset citizens’. As the sun shines true let honesty come first. Let logical argument take precedence, let not the clouds of biases come between the truth and the fallacy, May these halls perpetuate in eternal honor and honesty. Stand firm ye citizens’ of Somerset, for thine rights which many have fought for, be thankful for this freedom which has been granted. May the citizens’ use these halls for the betterment of our glorious county Somerset.

Article 1 – Definitions

Art. 5.1.1.: The Lower House of Somerset, hereafter referred to as the Voice of Somerset (VoS), shall be the congregation of all Somerset citizens wherein each Somerset citizen has the ability to be recognized by the elected Ducal Council.

Art. 5.1.2.: Members of the VoS shall consist of every verifiable citizen of Somerset Duchy.
i. Level 0 citizens shall be included and afforded the unique ability to participate in their county politics.
ii. Councilors shall also be included in the VoS, in effect creating a dual membership in both the upper and lower governing bodies of Somerset.
iii. Members shall be verified by their mayors, Only people residing in Somerset may take membership in this body

Art. 5.1.3.: Parliamentary Motions are [discussions] which are later made into polls, The discussions must be made first so that an appropriate motion can be made by a member, The discussion is so that the parliament may debate over the motion, Once the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been sufficient debate he/she locks the discussion and archives it, The parliamentary motion must be a clear document that clearly and succinctly defines the aim of the motion, It must be phrased as such that after the debate a simple poll can be used to determine whether or not the house supports it.

Parliamentary Voting procedure

i. All members of parliament are entitled to propose a motion in the VoS, which is put in a [discussion] format, after the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been enough discussion the initial proposer of the motion must signal that he/she is ready for the motion to be locked. After some discussion with those participating a general consensus must be reached as tot eh conclusion of the discussion.
ii.Following the advice of the initial proposer, and the participants in the discussion the speaker may lock the thread.
iii.The onus is then on the proposer and the speaker to work collaboratively and together with anyone else interested to draft an official Parliamentary Bill that can be presented to the VoS, if he/she does not do so in 4 days he/she must move for a motion again. The bill must be a poll where the options must be Aye, Nay, or Abstain
iv. After 7 days the bill is locked whichever option has gained the simple majority is deemed the "will of Somerset" . If the majority is the "abstain" option then the bill must be revoted by a new poll. If a majority of the VoS are in opposition to the bill then no bill of similar or identical content may be presented to the VoS for 27 days. After that period of time he/she can again make a motion again.
v.If a majority is obtained the county council is legally bound to examine that issue within 3 days.
vi. A county council representative must then report back to the VoS, with the county council's decision.
vii.If the margin in any passage of any bill is of a margin of 3% of the total votes or less any member of the VoS is entitled to call for a revote
viii.In the case of a revote the approved bill is locked and no further action is taken until and unless the second bill is passed properly
iix: In the event of for whatever reason that more than 35% of the VoS, does not vote on the issue the period of voting may be extended to the speakers disgretion, The speaker may not act alone in this he/she must inform everyone of their intentions in the discussion thread, and ask to see if there are any objections.

Article 2 – Authority of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.2.1.: The sole authority of the VoS shall be to forward bills that have gained the approval of the congregation to the county council.

Art. 5.2.2.: Although the Duchy Council is in effect more powerful than the VoS, any councilor exempting the duke may be subject to a vote of no confidence and thereby after a majority of 65% of at least 95% of the "Active" membership, votes in a period of a minimum of 3 days, the vote is limited to a maximum of 21 days, after that time the speaker may lock the thread as it is deemed invalid.

Art. 5.2.3.: Legal Bindings, The VoS may implement legally binding writs, which are limited to calling a councilor to report to the VoS, to overturning the impeachment of a councilor, to if approved by the Duchy council a change to the Legal Corpus, to drafting diplomatic treaties, The writs may not be of military or trade nature. For a writ to be determined legally binding a quorum must be present, a quorum is equivalent to 80% of the active membership voting upon the writ, any inactive member of the VoS should be deleted, speakers, and council members are given a 7 day grace to explain their inactivity. Prior explanation is acceptable. If a quorum does not vote on the issue it is not valid. Inactive members may be deleted after a writ such as this mentioned above. A low ranking member who has never posted in the forums in question can simply be deleted at the leisure of the speaker, and then re admitted after a pm to the speaker.

Art. 5.2.4.: The VoS is a body of dignity and integrity is that is ever compromised through actions of it's members the members in question are forced to face the described disciplinary action. Any court case against a VoS member who has voted at least thrice can be assisted by the VoS, through the VoS supplying the member in question with a defense counsel, if the defense counsel deems the person is guilty he/she can refrain from the persual of defense actions. Any case against the institution it's self or the house, will demand that any defense counsel with membership obligated to defend the faculty.

Statute of Secrecy (pertaining to Art. 5.2.4.

i) documents in the VoS chambers may not be reproduced without the express consent of speaker and 51% of the Parliamentary majority without quorum.
ii)Men and Women may speak freely without fear of retribution for their words, as long as they maintain forums rules, and if accusing the member must phrase their accusation politely and must provide evidence.
iii) Breach of this statute is considered contempt for the Parliamentary proceedings and the member in question can be suspended immediately by the Speaker then the breach must be considered in a thread that polls a simple question as to whether the member acted in contempt of the court.
iv)All members may not discuss any findings or votes of the VoS without the permission of the Speaker, with any person/s of non membership in the VoS.

Article 3 – Restrictions of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.3.1.: The VoS shall be restricted to verified citizens of Somerset Duchy only.
i. Citizens shall be verified by the Mayor of their hometown and then granted access to the chambers.
ii. Mayors and town mentors shall be required to provide clear instructions to each citizen on where the chambers are located and how to request access.
iii. Every citizen of Somerset has the right to request access and be admitted. Likewise, it is every citizen’s responsibility to assist fellow citizens in obtaining access to the chambers.

Art. 5.3.2.: The VoS shall be subject to all Ducal Laws. The county council has every right to overrule any parliamentary bill of the VoS. The County Council is superior in every right of governance to the VoS.

Art. 5.3.3.: The Speaker, the speaker is a person NOT on the county council who is directly elected by the parliament for a fixed term of 3 and a half months. The speaker is allowed re election for as many terms as they want. The speaker’s election goes through the term of the previous speaker. So in effect 3 weeks before the end of a speakers term nominations are taken for the position of speaker.
i. Voting on the speaker must take precedence of all other duties of the VoS
ii. The election of the speaker goes for 11 days at the bare minimum. All nominated and seconded candidates must then be put for election.
iii. The candidate/s securing a total of 51% must stand for a run off election in the event of no one candidate securing 51% of the VoS.
iv. If the margin is less than 4% the duke has the right to appoint the speaker in a run off election
v. Once one candidate has secured 51% of the VoS support, regardless of how many run off elections it takes, the duke must then appoint the person officially into office.
vi. In the even of someone deemed inappropriate gaining the majority then the county council may vote and appoint any candidate to the position.
vii. The county council may dismiss any serving speaker with a two thirds majority vote
iix. The VoS can push for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, thence a poll is made just like any other parliamentary bill it is sent to the county council after a majority is obtained. If two thirds the VoS or more are in favor then the duke may dismiss the speaker instantly. But in the case of the VoS not obtaining such a majority then the county council must approve the decision. The county council may refrain from sacking the speaker if they see it as a mob rule approach.


Article 4 – Responsibilities of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS) and of the Ducal Council regarding the VoS

Art. 5.4.1.: The sole responsibility of the Ducal Council to the VoS shall be to officially enter into [Discussion] any proposal that gains a simple majority vote within the chambers of the VoS. The Ducal Council shall not be required to pass into law any proposal put forth by the VoS, only to consider the proposal as a valid [Discussion] within the Ducal Council chambers, requiring the mandatory 2-day debate of proposals put forth in chambers.

Article 5 – Hierarchy of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)
i. There can be sub committee's formed from the VoS to deal with projects or initiatives
ii. The chair of any such sub committee would be limited to simply reporting back to the VoS and undertaking liaising between he appropriate parties.
iii. Mayors and members of the County Council are elected members of the higher order of governance thereby they must be given respect, any member of the VoS not doing so may be suspended or expelled from the house.
iv.A group of elected members of the VoS may be elected by simple majority to liaise with the county council and or appropriate bodies

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Disciplinary Action

i. If any member of the VoS who breached this constitution or the legal corpus of Somerset or the existing forum rules, they are automatically suspended by the speaker
ii. A privileges committee is formed to decide further action/s against a member
iii. If the privileges committee deems the circumstances right they may suspend, expel or eject any member from the house.
iv. No member of the county council may be disciplined, If they are convicted of wrongdoing, the county council decides further action

Clauses
1. These clauses overwrite all other articles in this book
2. The speaker may not be disciplined, however if he/she is thought to be doing anything which violates any set codes of conduct a vote of no confidence may be brought against him/her as described above.
3. Bodies such as the Court of Appeals or the College of Heraldry or any other foreign body, hold any power over the VoS as an institution.
4. VoS is the inferior of no person/s, The body is simply bound to respect the wishes of the Duchy Council
5. The speaker can't be a member of the council
6.While party politics and bloc voting is not barred or banned, party domination or insulting will result in a temporary ban by the speaker. Voting in blocs or factions is in no way against the laws mentioned above.
7. A duchy council member who has been impeached may continue in his role if he retains the support of the Duchy Council
8. The VoS may change it's own laws at any time with a writ, that requires 90% of the active membership as a raised quorum. The duchy Council may veto the changes if and only if the changes give greater power to the VoS.
9. Any votes of no-confidence may be vetoed by the duke and council, with 55% majority; however a 66% majority of the council is needed in support to veto a motion to impeach a councilor.

The Rights of all members:
-To be heard
-To be valued
-To operate within the VoS in a safe and friendly environment
-To have any beliefs that they deem fit
-To be heard by the speaker if they feel they were ejected, expelled or suspended unfairly

PS: The document is in 2 parts, because i couldnt post it in one, was too big.

If there are not any objections here any more,
we can proceed the next few days in a in game voting.

I still have objections, or, at least, a need for clarification. I know this is long, so please bare with me. If the Duke or any other member of the council can answer any of my concerns I will be greatly appreciative. I have 11 general concerns, with many specific questions within some of those concerns. As of right now, I cannot vote in favor of the bill, not because I am against the idea of the VoS, but instead because I have too many issues with the specific verbiage.

1) First, I still object to the use of the abstain vote in the Parliamentary Voting Procedures section; see my previous comment about my specific objection. Also in that section, there are no article numbers written, it only has roman numerals.. Is there a reason for this?

2) I also have problems with the following article:

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Art. 5.2.2.: Although the Duchy Council is in effect more powerful than the VoS, any councilor exempting the duke may be subject to a vote of no confidence and thereby after a majority of 65% of at least 95% of the "Active" membership, votes in a period of a minimum of 3 days, the vote is limited to a maximum of 21 days, after that time the speaker may lock the thread as it is deemed invalid.

First, why is the Duke exempt from a no confidence vote? I do not think that the Duke should be made this exemption. Next, what defines "Active" membership? Next, I actually think 65% might be too low for a no confidence vote. Next, what exactly happens if a councilor is voted to have no confidence? Is he/she removed from the council lists, and his/her membership effectively removed? This is a very powerful tool of the VoS and it certainly needs to be clarified before I could vote aye.

3) The following article confuses me greatly:

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Art. 5.2.3.: Legal Bindings, The VoS may implement legally binding writs, which are limited to calling a councilor to report to the VoS, to overturning the impeachment of a councilor, to if approved by the Duchy council a change to the Legal Corpus, to drafting diplomatic treaties, The writs may not be of military or trade nature. For a writ to be determined legally binding a quorum must be present, a quorum is equivalent to 80% of the active membership voting upon the writ, any inactive member of the VoS should be deleted, speakers, and council members are given a 7 day grace to explain their inactivity. Prior explanation is acceptable. If a quorum does not vote on the issue it is not valid. Inactive members may be deleted after a writ such as this mentioned above. A low ranking member who has never posted in the forums in question can simply be deleted at the leisure of the speaker, and then re admitted after a pm to the speaker.

Is this talking about writs or removing VoS members? It seems to be talking about both, which I do not think should be in the same article. Regarding writs, what is the power of a writ? If the VoS passes a writ to change the Legal Corpus, what exactly does this mean? How does a writ get passed? Simple majority? According to the wording of this article a writ is passed if there is a quorum. Why can a writ be passed about treaties? According to our Legal Corpus ALL treaties must remain in the private council room and are to be considered confidential.

4) Again I need clarfication on the following:

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Art. 5.2.4.: The VoS is a body of dignity and integrity is that is ever compromised through actions of it's members the members in question are forced to face the described disciplinary action. Any court case against a VoS member who has voted at least thrice can be assisted by the VoS, through the VoS supplying the member in question with a defense counsel, if the defense counsel deems the person is guilty he/she can refrain from the persual of defense actions. Any case against the institution it's self or the house, will demand that any defense counsel with membership obligated to defend the faculty.

First there are grammar mistakes which make it confusing. The first sentence should be rewritten to, "The VoS is a body of dignity and integrity. If the body is ever compromised through actions of it's members, the members in question must face disciplinary action." After that sentence, I am lost as to what it is saying. Does this mean that if any member of VoS is accused of a crime, the VoS will take over for the legal system of Somerset? This is what the wording seems to say to me, and if so, I cannot vote in favor of the bill. There should not be any exceptions made for VoS members to avoid justice.

5) Next on my list is the following:

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i) documents in the VoS chambers may not be reproduced without the express consent of speaker and 51% of the Parliamentary majority without quorum.

All documents are kept confidential unless another vote is conducted? That makes too much bureaucracy, and everything will take too long. Perhaps I am reading this incorrectly.

6) I still do not understand why the speaker is elected to a term lasting 3.5 months. That is too long. Councils and the regent are only elected to 2 months, mayors for one. Why would the Speaker get such a long term? Why would voting for the speaker last for 11 days? that is too long. 4 days is long enough. Considering the fact that "Voting on the speaker must take precedence of all other duties of the VoS" is written into the bill, this would make the VoS ineffective for 11 days - a VERY long time.
The following doesn't make sense:

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iii. The candidate/s securing a total of 51% must stand for a run off election in the event of no one candidate securing 51% of the VoS.

I think this should say, "The speaker elect must receive at least 51% of the voting VoS members. If no member receives 51%, then there will be a run-off election of the top two vote getters."

7) What does this mean:

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vi. In the even of someone deemed inappropriate gaining the majority then the county council may vote and appoint any candidate to the position.

Is the following against HRH LJS' edict:

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i. If any member of the VoS who breached this constitution or the legal corpus of Somerset or the existing forum rules, they are automatically suspended by the speaker
ii. A privileges committee is formed to decide further action/s against a member
iii. If the privileges committee deems the circumstances right they may suspend, expel or eject any member from the house.

I am not sure if I am reading this correctly, but if I am, we cannot expel someone for violating the law if they have been tried in the appropriate place (i.e. the courts) and paid their punishment.

9) The following article is conflicting with itself:

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2. The speaker may not be disciplined, however if he/she is thought to be doing anything which violates any set codes of conduct a vote of no confidence may be brought against him/her as described above.

First, why would the speaker be exempt from discipline? I do not think s/he should be exempt. Second, what discipline is s/he exempt from if s/he can be the subject of a vote of no confidence?

10) Lord Gregarious has voiced concern about the use of "any other foreign body," and I share his concern.

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3. Bodies such as the Court of Appeals or the College of Heraldry or any other foreign body, hold any power over the VoS as an institution.

11) Finally, there are many grammar mistakes, including the use of commas instead of periods.

Thanks for reading it all!
Rebo

I read it all,
and i will give your suggestions to the committee to work on them.

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005 Book V – The Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Preamble:
Let the eyes of heaven stand witness, to the establishing of this congregation. Which must always act in honor and in the interest of the people, Let there be no prejudices in these halls, nor any rhetorical insults to anothers honor. These hall stand firm for the rights of all Somerset. These halls are the voice of Somerset. The people’s say in governance.
The Voice of Somerset (VoS) was established to entrench the true values of honor and participation, of involvement in all Somerset citizens’. As the sun shines true let honesty come first. Let logical argument take precedence, let not the clouds of biases come between the truth and the fallacy, May these halls perpetuate in eternal honor and honesty. Stand firm ye citizens’ of Somerset, for thine rights which many have fought for, be thankful for this freedom which has been granted. May the citizens’ use these halls for the betterment of our glorious county Somerset.

Article 1 – Definitions

Art. 5.1.1.:
1. The Lower House of Somerset, hereafter referred to as the Voice of Somerset (VoS), shall be the congregation of all Somerset citizens wherein each Somerset citizen has the ability to be recognized by the elected Ducal Council.

2. A quorum, involving active membership refers to the fact any person who has not voted 4 times straight on a motion is deleted from the usergroup. Any inactive member of the VoS should be deleted, speakers, and council members are given a 7 day grace to explain their inactivity. Prior explanation is acceptable. If a quorum does not vote on the issue it is not valid. Inactive members may be deleted after a writ such as this mentioned above. A low ranking member who has never posted in the forums in question can simply be deleted at the leisure of the speaker, and then re admitted after a pm to the speaker. All members may ask for their access back with a pm.


Art. 5.1.2.: Members of the VoS shall consist of every verifiable citizen of Somerset Duchy.
i. Level 0 citizens shall be included and afforded the unique ability to participate in their county politics.
ii. Councilors shall also be included in the VoS, in effect creating a dual membership in both the upper and lower governing bodies of Somerset.
iii. Members shall be verified by their mayors, Only people residing in Somerset may take membership in this body

Art. 5.1.3.: Parliamentary Motions are [discussions] which are later made into polls, The discussions must be made first so that an appropriate motion can be made by a member, The discussion is so that the parliament may debate over the motion, Once the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been sufficient debate he/she locks the discussion and archives it, The parliamentary motion must be a clear document that clearly and succinctly defines the aim of the motion, It must be phrased as such that after the debate a simple poll can be used to determine whether or not the house supports it.

Parliamentary Voting procedure

i. All members of parliament are entitled to propose a motion in the VoS, which is put in a [discussion] format, after the speaker of the VoS deems that there has been enough discussion the initial proposer of the motion must signal that he/she is ready for the motion to be locked. After some discussion with those participating a general consensus must be reached as tot eh conclusion of the discussion.
ii.Following the advice of the initial proposer, and the participants in the discussion the speaker may lock the thread.
iii.The onus is then on the proposer and the speaker to work collaboratively and together with anyone else interested to draft an official Parliamentary Bill that can be presented to the VoS, if he/she does not do so in 4 days he/she must move for a motion again. The bill must be a poll where the options must be Aye, Nay, or Abstain
iv. After 7 days the bill is locked whichever option has gained the simple majority is deemed the "will of Somerset”. If the majority is the "abstain" option then the bill must be revoted by a new poll. If a majority of the VoS are in opposition to the bill then no bill of similar or identical content may be presented to the VoS for 27 days. After that period of time he/she can again make a motion again.
v.If a majority is obtained the county council is legally bound to examine that issue within 3 days.
vi. A county council representative must then report back to the VoS, with the county council's decision.
vii.If the margin in any passage of any bill is of a margin of 3% of the total votes or less any member of the VoS is entitled to call for a revote
viii.In the case of a revote the approved bill is locked and no further action is taken until and unless the second bill is passed properly
iix: In the event of for whatever reason that more than 35% of the VoS, does not vote on the issue the period of voting may be extended to the speakers discretion, The speaker may not act alone in this he/she must inform everyone of their intentions in the discussion thread, and ask to see if there are any objections.

Article 2 – Authority of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.2.1.: The sole authority of the VoS shall be to forward bills that have gained the approval of the congregation to the county council.

Art. 5.2.2.: Although the Duchy Council is in effect more powerful than the VoS, any councilor exempting the duke may be subject to a vote of no confidence and thereby after a majority of 70% of at least 95% of the "Active" membership, votes in a period of a minimum of 3 days, the vote is limited to a maximum of 21 days, after that time the speaker may lock the thread as it is deemed invalid.

Art. 5.2.3.: Legal Bindings, The VoS may implement legally binding writs, which are limited to calling a councilor to report to the VoS, to overturning the impeachment of a councilor, to if approved by the Duchy council a change to the Legal Corpus, to drafting diplomatic treaties, The writs may not be of military or trade nature. For a writ to be determined legally binding a quorum must be present, a quorum is equivalent to 80% of the active membership voting upon the writ, any inactive member of the VoS should be deleted, speakers, and council members are given a 7 day grace to explain their inactivity. Prior explanation is acceptable. If a quorum does not vote on the issue it is not valid. Inactive members may be deleted after a writ such as this mentioned above. A low ranking member who has never posted in the forums in question can simply be deleted at the leisure of the speaker, and then re admitted after a pm to the speaker.

Art. 5.2.4.: The VoS is a body of dignity and integrity is that is ever compromised through actions of it's members the members in question are forced to face the described disciplinary action. Any court case against a VoS member who has voted at least thrice can be assisted by the VoS, through the VoS supplying the member in question with a defense counsel, if the defense counsel deems the person is guilty he/she can refrain from the persual of defense actions. Any case against the institution it's self or the house, will demand that any defense counsel with membership obligated to defend the faculty.

Statute of Secrecy (pertaining to Art. 5.2.4.)

i) documents in the VoS chambers may not be reproduced without the express consent of speaker.
ii)Men and Women may speak freely without fear of retribution for their words, as long as they maintain forums rules, and if accusing the member must phrase their accusation politely and must provide evidence.
iii) Breach of this statute is considered contempt for the Parliamentary proceedings and the member in question can be suspended immediately by the Speaker then the breach must be considered in a thread that polls a simple question as to whether the member acted in contempt of the court.
iv)All members may not discuss any findings or votes of the VoS without the permission of the Speaker, with any person/s of non membership in the VoS.

Article 3 – Restrictions of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)

Art. 5.3.1.: The VoS shall be restricted to verified citizens of Somerset Duchy only.
i. Citizens shall be verified by the Mayor of their hometown and then granted access to the chambers.
ii. Mayors and town mentors shall be required to provide clear instructions to each citizen on where the chambers are located and how to request access.
iii. Every citizen of Somerset has the right to request access and be admitted. Likewise, it is every citizen’s responsibility to assist fellow citizens in obtaining access to the chambers.

Art. 5.3.2.: The VoS shall be subject to all Ducal Laws. The county council has every right to overrule any parliamentary bill of the VoS. The County Council is superior in every right of governance to the VoS.

Art. 5.3.3.: The Speaker, the speaker is a person NOT on the county council who is directly elected by the parliament for a fixed term of 3 and a half months. The speaker is allowed re election for as many terms as they want. The speaker’s election goes through the term of the previous speaker. So in effect 3 weeks before the end of a speakers term nominations are taken for the position of speaker.
i. Voting on the speaker must take precedence of all other duties of the VoS
ii. The election of the speaker goes for 4 days at the bare minimum. All nominated and seconded candidates must then be put for election.
iii. The candidate/s securing a total of 51% must stand for a run off election in the event of no one candidate securing 51% of the VoS.
iv. If the margin is less than 4% the duke has the right to appoint the speaker in a run off election
v. Once one candidate has secured 51% of the VoS support, regardless of how many run off elections it takes, the duke must then appoint the person officially into office.
vi. In the even of someone deemed inappropriate gaining the majority then the county council may vote and appoint any candidate to the position.
vii. The county council may dismiss any serving speaker with a two thirds majority vote
iix. The VoS can push for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker, thence a poll is made just like any other parliamentary bill it is sent to the county council after a majority is obtained. If two thirds the VoS or more are in favor then the duke may dismiss the speaker instantly. But in the case of the VoS not obtaining such a majority then the county council must approve the decision. The county council may refrain from sacking the speaker if they see it as a mob rule approach.


Article 4 – Responsibilities of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS) and of the Ducal Council regarding the VoS

Art. 5.4.1.: The sole responsibility of the Ducal Council to the VoS shall be to officially enter into [Discussion] any proposal that gains a simple majority vote within the chambers of the VoS. The Ducal Council shall not be required to pass into law any proposal put forth by the VoS, only to consider the proposal as a valid [Discussion] within the Ducal Council chambers, requiring the mandatory 2-day debate of proposals put forth in chambers.

Article 5 – Hierarchy of the Lower House of Somerset (Voice of Somerset – VoS)
Art. 5.5.1.:
i. There can be sub committee's formed from the VoS to deal with projects or initiatives
ii. The chair of any such sub committee would be limited to simply reporting back to the VoS and undertaking liaising between he appropriate parties.
iii. Mayors and members of the County Council are elected members of the higher order of governance thereby they must be given respect, any member of the VoS not doing so may be suspended or expelled from the house.
iv.A group of elected members of the VoS may be elected by simple majority to liaise with the county council and or appropriate bodies

Disciplinary Action

i. If any member of the VoS who breached this constitution or the legal corpus of Somerset or the existing forum rules, they are automatically suspended by the speaker
ii. A privileges committee is formed to decide further action/s against a member
iii. If the privileges committee deems the circumstances right they may suspend, expel or eject any member from the house.
iv. No member of the county council may be disciplined, If they are convicted of wrongdoing, the county council decides further action

Art. 5.6.1.: Positions and their parameters
i. The speaker is the spokesperson for the VoS; moderator of the parliamentary chambers; and maintains decorum within the chambers.
ii. The speaker may decide to appoint Parliamentary clerks to help with drafting of bills and other paperwork
iii. For every Speaker election, an electoral supervisor is appointed by the speaker; he/she can’t be running for the position of speaker.

Art. 5.7.1.:
Statute of Parliamentary dignity and honor.
Only in the event of the disposal of the elected duchy council; by any form of illegal or armed means. The VoS may not only express their ire through a vote of no confidence, the VoS may bring about a writ of dissolution which dissolves the imposing council and formally recognizes the legal council.
No body which is not directly pertaining to the direct governance of the duchy; can interfere in parliamentary business and procedure.

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Clauses
1. These clauses overwrite all other articles in this book
2. The speaker may not be tried by the privileges committee, if the speaker is alleged of such charges that would warrant an investigation by the privileges committee, then a vote of no confidence may be brought against the speaker to remove him/her from office.
3. VoS is the inferior of no person/s, The body is simply bound to respect the wishes of the Duchy Council.
4. The speaker can't be a member of the council.
5. While party politics and bloc voting is not barred or banned, party domination or insulting will result in a temporary ban by the speaker. Voting in blocs or factions is in no way against the laws mentioned above.
6. A duchy council member who has been impeached may continue in his role if he retains the support of the Duchy Council
7. The VoS may change it's own laws at any time with a writ, that requires 90% of the active membership as a raised quorum. The duchy Council may veto the changes if and only if the changes give greater power to the VoS.
8. Any votes of no-confidence may be vetoed by the duke and council, with 55% majority; however a 66% majority of the council is needed in support to veto a motion to impeach a councilor.

The Rights of all members:
-To be heard
-To be valued
-To operate within the VoS in a safe and friendly environment
-To have any beliefs that they deem fit
-To be heard by the speaker if they feel they were ejected, expelled or suspended unfairly

I haven't had time to read over the newest draft yet, sorry; i will do it soon. I did notice, however, that

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If the majority is the "abstain" option then the bill must be revoted by a new poll.

is still in there. It is still a misunderstanding of what an abstention is, and I still object to it.

More to come soon. Thanks for doing the revisions by the way!

Rebo