Functions of the Senate Amendment
Functions of the Senate Amendment
Preamble
Whereas the current text of the legislative section of our constitution leaves many doubts of the Senate’s functions and powers.
Thus the current amendment to do a light overhaul and rewrite of that section of our constitution.
Part I - Amendments to the Constitution
Article I. The Senate
§1. Article I: The Senate shall be replaced in its entirety with the following text;
Article 1: The Senate
§1. The Senate shall be the primary legislative body of SimDemocracy and shall represent the interests of the people by wielding legislative authority.
§2. The functions of the Senate of r/SimDemocracy shall be the following, but are not limited to;
§2.1. Constituent function, to reform the Constitution through constitutional amendments.
§2.2. Legislative function, to prepare, reform and repeal laws and codes in all branches of legislation.
§2.3. Electoral function, to confirm the judges and justices of the judiciary, confirm the executive officers of the departments of the executive, and confirm a Vice President in the absence of one.
§2.4. Administrative function, to establish the organization and operation of the senate and its divisions.
§3. The Senate shall have the power to pass legislation with a simple majority vote.
§4. The Senate holds the power of impeachment, being able to impeach any government official for improper conduct, as decided by the Senate, with a 2/3rds majority.
§4.1. If the vote is to impeach the President, the Vice President, a Senator, a Judge, a Justice, or a Supervisor the vote must also be confirmed by a two-thirds (⅔) majority in a public referendum.
§4.2. Senators may not vote on their own impeachment in the Senate vote.
§5. All votes performed by the Senate must have a quorum in order for them to be valid.
§5.1. A quorum shall be defined as a simple majority of the members of the relevant deliberative body of the Senate (whether the full Senate or any officially established subdivision) casting a vote or formally declaring their intention to abstain.
§5.2. The absence of Senators from a vote shall not be taken into consideration when deciding the results of that vote except when determining whether there is a quorum, or when establishing a vote’s duration according to further legislation.
§5.3. Votes that do not achieve a quorum shall be repeated until a quorum is reached, except for any cases specified by further legislation.
§5.4. Further legislation may determine penalties and/or sanctions for Senators intentionally blocking a quorum from being reached.”
§6. In the event of a tied vote in the Senate the Vice President shall have the power to cast a tie breaking vote.
§7. Senators may not concurrently hold any other high office in other branches of the state.
§7.1. These high offices are the following: President, Vice President, Executive officer, Judge or Justice.
Article II. The Speaker
§1. Subarticles §3. And §4. Of Article 2: Speaker of the Senate, shall be replaced in their entirety with the following;
§3. The Senate may vote to impeach the Speaker of the Senate with a simple majority. The Vice President shall be responsible for scheduling and overseeing the vote.
§4. The inaugural session of the Senate shall be presided over by the Speaker Pro Tempore, who shall be the senator with the most terms served. If no such senator exists, the presiding officer shall be the first elected senator for that term.
§2. Additionally the following subarticles will be amended onto the same article;
§5. The Speaker of the Senate shall appoint any Senator to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Senate immediately after the election of the Speaker.
§6. If the Speaker of the Senate is absent, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to fulfil their duties, authority shall pass to the next available official in the following order:
§6.1. The Deputy Speaker of the Senate,
§6.2. Speaker Pro Tempore,
§6.3. The Vice President.
Article III. Additions
§1. The following article and their text will be amended onto Part 1: The Legislative;
Article IV. Oversight
§1. As part of its political and judicial functions, the Senate shall have the authority to conduct oversight of governmental bodies and individuals. It shall also have the power to subpoena current and former government officials.
§2. In the course of conducting oversight, the Senate shall have the power to appoint a special counsel to process charges against any senior State official and present them before the Senate.
