Bill: Pending P.B.00-021 | Civic Engagement Act

[Real42]

A
Bill
To
Outline Petitions and Referendums​

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Civic Engagement Act.'
(2) This Act may be numbered as P.B.00-021.
(3) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.
(4) This Act has been authored by Deputy Prime Minister TheReal42Person.
(5) This Act has been co-sponsored by Minister winterwolf.

2 - Reasons
(1) Constitutional amendments require referendums, but there is no referendum procedure outside of what the Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to do.
(2) Citizens should have the right to petition their government.
(3) Citizens should have the right to recall a Member of Parliament.

3 - Definitions
(1) A ‘petition’ is an initiative created by any citizen in a designated discord channel where other citizens can sign it.

(2) A ‘referendum’ is a public vote where citizens can vote on a petition or a bill that requires a referendum (e.g. constitutional amendments).

(3) A ‘signature’ for a position will be counted only if it is reasonably similar to the following: “I, <username>, sign this petition.”.

4 - Petitions
(1) A petition may be initiated by any citizen in the #petitions channel in the StateCraft discord server.

(2) A petition must reach 15 signatures within 14 days in order to pass.
(a) A signature shall be valid if it is in line with the definition in Section 3 of this act.
(b) Only players who meet the voting requirements outlined in the Constitution may sign a petition.

(3) Once 15 signatures are met, the player shall inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and they shall host a public referendum regarding the petition.

(4) If the referendum passes with a simple majority, the government is obligated to comply with the result, unless the petition is relating to:
(a) A judicial matter;
(b) A matter relating to a player’s employment with a government Ministry;
(c) Repealing a law;
(d) A foreign relations matter.

5 - Referendums
(1) A referendum is a vote hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
(a) The only vote options for a referendum shall be ‘Aye’ or ‘Nay’.

(2) Referendums shall have the same voting requirements as any other election.

(3) Referendums must receive a simple majority to pass unless otherwise required.

6 - Recall Elections
(1) A recall election shall be an election where the citizens vote on the removal of a Member of Parliament.

(2) In order to initiate a recall election, a petition to remove the specific Member of Parliament must meet the normal petition requirements of 15 valid signatures.
(a) A recall election will then be held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

(3) In order for the recall to pass, a supermajority in favor of the removal must be achieved.

(4) In the event that the election is successful, the Member of Parliament shall be removed from their position immediately.