Alternative to the "Refocusing...." bill

[Muizer]

This proposal is to serve as an alternative to Mimirswell's proposal to refocus the Curia on Decisions (and focus the HEX on legislation).

The proposal is substantially different. Changes are printed in bold. They include:

- installing a decemvirate requires a simple majority instead of 2/3.
- supporters of the decemvirate are assumed to have volunteered for a seat (ensuring no panel is installed when less than 10 volunteers are available).
- terms are shorter and defined unambigously (2 calendar months, one panel in existence at any one time)
- the decemvirate can act throughout the term instead of just one third of it.
- Council members have no automatic voting rights on the panel. As far as legislation is concerned they are citizens and can run for the decemvirate as such. As the Council, they have the veto. The council do have posting rights.
- one thing that is, I think, intended by the other proposal as well: whatever proposals come out of the decemvirate are voted on individually, not as a package deal.

Proposer: Muizer
Supporters:

Rationale: The Curia spends far too much energy focus on the Constitution and too little time focusing it's efforts on enhancing the site. Yet, Mimirswell's proposal gives council members a vastly tighter grip on legislation. In addition to the veto, it gives all of them a free seat on the panel whereas other citizens have to elect about 1 in 5 out of their active numbers.


The Section 2, Article 3 shall be amended as followed:

Article 3 - Legislative Procedure

Any Citizens may table a bill for discussion by posting a thread in the Prothalamos. Bills can take two forms:

• Decisions - A proposal for the creation of an official Decision of the Curia on a topic relevant to the functioning of TWC. The Curia has authority to direct the Officers of TWC in this way on any topic of which the primary say has been delegated from the Officers, who shall take such Curia Decisions under strong advisement. The Speaker of the House shall determine if proposed Decisions fall within the jurisdiction of the Curia.

• Decemvirate Panel - A proposal to alter the text of the Constitution through the formation of a Decemvirate Panel.

Process for Decisions

This individual who tables a decision remains the sole proposer for the thread. In order to move to a vote, a decision draft requires named support from at least three Citizens. The draft of the decision must be debated for at least three days in the Prothalamos before the proposer can request the Decision be moved to vote. When a Decision is moved to vote, the debate thread is left open, and the Curator shall post the final draft and a link to the debate, as a new poll in the Curia Votes forum. All Decisions shall be voted on for one week and shall pass on the basis of a two-thirds majority of non abstaining votes in favour. If a Decision fails a vote, no re-vote on a substantially similar Decision will be permitted within twenty-eight days.

Process for Decemvirate Panel

Proposals to form a Decemvirate Panel can only be made when no Panel is active. They require the support of at least ten Citizens. Once the required support has been obtained, the request for a Panel is moved to a vote. The formation of a Panel shall be voted on for one week and shall pass on the basis of a simple majority of non abstaining votes in favour.

Posts within the Curia Vote sub-forum, are limited to notification of having voted. Messages lobbying to vote for or against, including via Signatures and Avatars, are prohibited except in the original debate thread. All citizens are honour bound to not view the results of Curia Votes until they have themselves voted, unless necessary for the execution of any other duty to the site.

Upon passing a vote:

Decisions

The Curator shall post the text of all passed Decisions in a sticked "Decisions" thread in the Tabularium and consecutively in the order they pass. The poll is closed, moved to the Tabularium, and renamed to reflect the whether it passed or failed, and the numbers of votes.

Decemvirate Panel

Upon passing, elections are held for the 10 members of Decemvirate Panel using the procedures in Article 2 of this Section. The supporters of the Decemvirate panel are automatically assumed to have volunteered. The Panel shall consist the Curator and the elected Decemviri as voting members. Council members will have posting rights, but no vote unless duely elected as members of the Decemvirate. who shall convene for a period of two calendar months. At the end of the period, proposals that have the support of the majority of the elected panel members shall be ratified separately in the Curia Vote with a two-thirds majority of non abstaining votes in favour.

All Decisions are considered to have immediate effect and no retroactive effect unless specifically stated otherwise.

All references to Amendments are to be replaced with Decemvirate Panel where applicable and removed where not.

[Silver Guard]

My support is given, the refocusing bill was too extreme a bill to work well in the long term.