The following items are on the ballot:
1. Herr Schüttler's motion to increase
unemployment subsidies.
2. Herr Meningen's "Crisis Team Amendment":
Crisis Team Amendment
I. The Republic of Germany cannot act upon the Crisis Team's recommendations until the Chancellor approves them.
II. If the Chancellor does not approve of the Crisis Team's recommendations then the Crisis Team must devise a new strategy until one is approved.
3. Herr von Hohenzollern's Crisis Committee Reform Act
Crisis Committee Reform Act
An Act to limit the authority of emergency Crisis Committees in unilaterally creating foreign policy of the Republic of Germany
WHEREAS, the current practice of devolving important governmental powers, such as that of creating foreign policy, to a five-member committee is inherently undemocratic,
WHEREAS, granting the Foreign Minister the exclusive prerogative to select the four other members of such a committee concentrates power too greatly in the hands of one man,
WHEREAS, the Reichstag must approve all plans put forward by the Foreign Minister, and
WHEREAS, the Reichstag, being a democratic institution integral to the proper functioning of the Republic of Germany, ought to have to approve the plans put forward by Crisis Committees,
I. All emergency Crisis Committees, being defined as extraordinary committees assembled by the Foreign Minister during times of international crisis to provide recommendations to the Reichstag on German foreign policy as it pertains to the ongoing international crisis, shall be comprised of the Foreign Minister, the Chief of the General Staff, no less than one member from each of the two largest parties in the Reichstag, and no less than three other members of the Reichstag from any of the smaller parties.
II. Emergency Crisis Committees must present their recommendations to the Assembly for the Assembly's approval.
III. If no member of the Assembly raises an objection to the recommendations of the emergency Crisis Committee, its recommendations are considered approved by the Assembly, and the Conclave of Stadtholders, being a body primarily concerned with domestic matters and policy, will not be consulted.
IV. All approved recommendations from emergency Crisis Committees must be carried out by the Foreign Ministry and diplomatic corps, Finance Ministry, and military of the German Republic.
V. If any member of the Assembly objects to the recommendations of an emergency Crisis Committee, then the Committee's recommendations must be put to a formal vote in the Assembly. If the Assembly fails to pass the Committee's recommendations by a simple majority, then any member of the Assembly may propose his own plan, which will, at the appropriate time, be put to a vote in the Assembly.
VI. If the plan of a member of the Assembly is passed by the Assembly by a simple majority, then it must be carried out by the Foreign Ministry and diplomatic corps, Finance Ministry, and military of the German Republic.
VII. If the plan of a member of the Assembly fails to pass in the Assembly with a simple majority, proposals from other members of the Assembly may continue to be proposed and voted on until a plan is chosen.
VIII. If no plan is passed by the Assembly within two weeks of the first proposal by the emergency Crisis Committee, then the Republic of Germany will remain completely neutral in the crisis.
IX. If the plan passed by the Assembly, either by a formal vote or by implicit consent without objection, brings the Republic of Germany into a war, then a formal declaration of war must be voted on by the Assembly and the Conclave. If the declaration is passed by a simple majority in both houses, then the Republic of Germany will enter the war on the side of the country or countries she supported in the international crisis. If the declaration of war fails to pass by a simple majority in both houses, then the Republic of Germany will immediately withdraw from involvement in the international crisis.
X. This Act shall take effect 91 days after passage.
4. A proposal from Herr St. Gerard, just handed over to the Supreme Court:
The Legislative Efficiency Act
For any law to be formally added to the ballot, it requires at least one co-sponsor. Such a co-sponsor may be any lawfully elected member of the Reichstag, excluding only the President.
((This is one I've wanted to propose for a while, but I kept forgetting to do so.
))
The Supreme Court rules that Herr Meningen's proposal, as well as Herr von Hohenzollern's, are
not mutually exclusive; if both were voted into existence and signed, Herr Meningen's amendment would be added to the other measure, giving the Chancellor effective veto power over the Crisis Team's decisions.
Voting will now begin, and will continue for 48 hours. (Until 10 PM on Thursday, -6 GMT).
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
((Apologies for forgetting about the iAAR for a day or two. I was in a mad rush to finish a dissertation chapter and got almost no sleep last night thanks to work done on our roof; I am quite often a night owl and rarely go to bed before 4 or 5 AM, so construction at 7 AM is a real problem for me. I will try to be more vigilant in the future.
In the meantime, feel free to send me gentle reminders if I'm negligent and miss deadlines.))