IN THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF FIRESTONE
JANUARY 27, 2024
Chief Sponsor(s): Senator b_aconxv
Co-Sponsor(s): BCA Clonemep
Author(s): Senator b_aconxv, BCA Clonemep
PREAMBLE: Whereas, Section V of the state constitution states, “The process of determining absence and incapacity shall be prescribed by law.” However these terms have not been defined by law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE STATE OF FIRESTONE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT,
SECTION 1.
a. This Bill may be cited as “A Bill to Define Absence and Incapacity”
SECTION 2.
a. This act shall immediately take effect after it has gone through the constitutionally required processes.
SECTION 3.
a. The definitions below shall not constitute the definition of inactivity for impeachment proceedings and Congress may still impeach for inactivity regardless to if the following standards are met.
b. A Governor who fails to host elections when required by the law and the Constitution, reply to a member of their Cabinet within seven days if relating to the operations of the member’s department, respond to a lawful petition within the required timeframe, or meet any other standards or obligations required of them by the Constitution or state law shall be considered absent.
c. The order of designees to handle the administrative process of subsection (d) shall be the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro Tempore, then the Speaker Pro Tempore, and finally the Secretary of State. Should a designee fail to respond to the complaint within twenty four (24) hours, the complainant shall contact the next authorized designee listed above. A designee who fails to respond within the time limit shall surrender decision making to the next in line. Should a decision be made by a designee during their allotted time limit, that decision is what shall stand and no other designee’s may be contacted for the same incident.
d. Upon any of the thresholds in subsection (b) being met and the Governor is not on a leave of absence, the complainant shall notify the designee with evidence and a written declaration of incapacity shall be formally sent to the Governor and released to the general public in a publicly accessible location by the designee if the evidence provided is beyond a reasonable doubt in violation of this law. The Governor shall have two weeks in accordance with the Constitution to declare that an inability does not exist in which at that time the process to remove the Governor by Article II, Section V, Subsection II shall cease. This however shall not prohibit Congress from exercising their right to impeach. If the Governor fails to respond within two weeks of the written declaration of incapacity being published, the line of succession shall commence in accordance with Article II, Section V, Subsection I of the Constitution.
e. The Governor may take a leave of absence. The Governor cannot be on a leave of absence for a total of more than thirty (30) days in one term. During a leave of absence, the Governor shall not be considered absent for the purposes of this law.
f. In the event Article II, Section V of the Constitution is amended, this law shall become null and void.