Touch Grass Act

Preamble

Whereas SimAddiction is real;

Whereas the Senate finds it necessary to do something about it;

THE SENATE OF SIMDEMOCRACY PROCLAIMS:

Touch Grass Act

An Act to create provisions for the physical interaction of citizens with greenery, and with specific regard to meadows, and such plants which may be found on them, and for other purposes.

Article 1: Right to Leave

§1. Any employed person has the right to unpaid leave from their work.

§1.1. A person who takes unpaid leave shall not be fired, unless the taking of the unpaid leave in the preceding 3 months by the person has been excessive.

Article 2: Self Exclusion Orders

§1. A person may apply to the SDBI for a self-exclusion order, which shall cause them to be banned or muted from the chats from the SimDem discord server for a period of time not exceeding three (3) months.

§1.1. The person must designate a contact, or be provided with a contact by the SDBI, who must be friended to the person on Discord, or be added to a group chat with the user.

§1.2. The person may apply, through their contact, to vary or discontinue the order after they have completed at least one-quarter (¼) of the order, or a minimum of one (1) day, and the contact must forward the application to the SDBI.

§2. No person with an ongoing criminal trial may be granted a self-exclusion order.

§2.1. Any person with ongoing civil proceedings may be granted a self-exclusion order for up to seven (7) days.

§3. The SDBI shall be provided with relevant permissions to enforce the order.

§4. The SDBI shall record such orders in a public channel.

Article 3: Postponement of proceedings, etc.

§1. No proceedings are to take place involving a person with a Self Exclusion Order in force unless –

(a) The proceeding is a criminal trial and the proceeding is certified by the Attorney-General to be essential to public safety;

(b) The proceeding has been previously delayed by a Self Exclusion Order; or,

(c) It is a non-government proceeding.

§1.1. If any proceedings are ongoing and not excluded under §1, they must be paused until at least the end of the Self-Exclusion Order, or whenever the Order is revoked.

§1.2. A contact who does not perform the duties provided under this section or Art. 2 §1.2 shall be guilty of an offence and sentenced to a mute not exceeding one (1) week, unless they were unable to contact the person through Discord.

§2. If the person is shown to be still active on the SimDemocracy Reddit during their self-exclusion order, the proceedings against them may commence or continue, regardless of this Article.

§2.1. The contact shall inform the person of such a commencement occurring.

§3. The contact must be informed by a relevant person to a proceeding if any proceedings are commenced or continued against the person.

§4. Any serving Senator who is subject to a Self-Exclusion Order may vote through their contact, or, if the Self-Exclusion Order specifies a mute, they may be allowed to speak in Senatorial channels and vote without being considered active according to §2.

§4.1. The Contact shall inform the Senator of any votes or motions that have been put up.

§5. If, by virtue of the exceptions in this act, a proceeding against a person takes place, the contact must inform the person undergoing the Order, and the person may apply to discontinue the Order even if they have not undergone the minimum duration stated in Art. 2 §1.2.

Article 4: Touching of Grass, etc.

§1. All persons must come into physical contact with grass, shrubbery, or some other type of plant, from time to time.

§1.1. Any person with allergies towards grass, shrubbery, and all other types of plants shall not be subject to this Article.

Article 5: Constitutionality

§1. If any part of this Act is found by a competent court to be inconsistent with constitutional requirements, the inconsistent parts of the Act shall be void.