Engagement Incentive Bonuses Act

Passed on the 28th of February 2025

Preamble

Whereas incentivizing engagement supports SimDemocracy, this Act establishes an incentive system to encourage active participation.

Article 1: Title

§1. This Act shall be known as the "Engagement Incentives Bonuses Act."

Article 2: Information Authority

§1. The Department of Expansion shall have the authority to access only the information necessary to review applications for engagement incentive bonuses.

Article 3: Incentives

§1. Citizens may receive an incentive bonus if they complete any of the following:

§1.1. Post at least 1,000 messages over a week in the general category channels.

§1.2. Vote in an election.

§1.3. Operate a registered and active business.

§1.4. Run for Senate and receive at least 1.5 (rounded up) first-choice votes per 100 voters. If elections have under 100 voters, then the required first-choice votes is 4.

§1.5. Run for President and receive at 10 first-choice votes per 100 voters. If elections have under 100 votes, then the required first-choice votes is 11.

§2. Citizens who meet one or more of these requirements must apply to the Department of Expansion to receive their bonus.

§2.1. If there are budgetary limitations, bonuses shall be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

§3. If a citizen meets one requirement within a given week, they are eligible for a 25 Tau incentive bonus.

§3.1. If a citizen meets more than one requirement, they shall receive an additional 5 Tau on top of the base bonus.

Article 4: Incentive Bonus Approval

§1. Citizens who meet one or more requirements may submit an application to the Department of Expansion for approval.

§1.1. If budgetary limits are reached, applications will be processed in a first-come, first-served manner.

§2. It is the citizen’s responsibility to provide evidence proving that they have met the incentive requirements.

§3. The Department of Expansion may refuse to approve an incentive bonus for the following reasons: the application is incomplete or improperly submitted, the application lacks sufficient evidence, the department has reached its budgetary limit, the citizen attempted to exploit or manipulate the system, and any other reason that is appropriately explained and justified.

§4. The Department of Expansion is not required to communicate the reason for a refusal unless: It chooses to do so or A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is submitted.

§4.1. The department must record the reason for denial and keep it for at least three weeks in case of an inquiry. If it fails to do so then the refusal is automatically reversed.

§5. If an application is approved, the Department of Expansion must issue the incentive bonus within one week of the application being submitted.

§6. For checking for §1.4, the department of expansion may use the formula of [=if((countif(##,1))>(roundup(#,0)),"Yes","No")]. # is the answer to ROUNDUP( 1.5 * (total of voters/100) , 0) or equals 4 if the election saw under a hundred votes. ## stands for the candidate's column in the released google spreadsheet of the election.

§7. For checking for §1.5, the department of expansion may use the formula of [=if((countif(##,1))>(roundup(#,0)),"Yes","No")].# stands for the answer to ROUNDUP( 1.5 * (total of voters/100) , 0) and 4 if under a hundred voters will be used on each candidate's column of votes to determine they meant the standard. ## stands for the candidate's column in the released google spreadsheet of the election.

Article 5: Budget

§1. The Department of Expansion shall allocate a minimum budget of 250 tau for engagement incentive bonuses.

§2. The Department of Expansion may increase its budget beyond the minimum amount at its discretion.

§3. The Senate may vote to increase or decrease the engagement incentive budget by a simple majority.

§3.1. If the Senate lowers the budget below 250 Tau, the reduction shall only last for two weeks before reverting to the legal minimum of 250 tau.

Article 6: Departmental Changes

§1. If the Department of Expansion ceases to exist, responsibility for the Engagement Incentive Bonus shall be transferred to another department chosen by the President.

§1.1. This transfer must occur within one week of the department’s dissolution.

§2. If the Department of Expansion is merged with or replaced by another department, responsibility for the Engagement Incentive Bonus shall be transferred to that department.

Article 7: Implementation

§1. The Engagement Incentive Bonus program shall begin within 14 days of the passage of this Act.

§2. If the Senate votes to change the budget of the Engagement Incentive Bonus, the change shall take effect immediately.