A BILL
to Properly Establish the Congressional Government Oversight Committee
BE IT ENACTED BY THE STATE OF FIRESTONE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
SECTION 1: The Congressional Government Oversight Committee shall be created to properly investigate all branches of government and the heads of departments, to ensure of no criminal activity, corruption, wrongdoing, etc, using the powers vested in this bill.
SECTION 2A: The Congressional Government Oversight Committee shall consist of a maximum of twelve (12) members. Elections in each chamber will be held to elect five (5) members of the House of Representatives and five (5) members from the Senate. The Speaker of the House and Lieutenant Governor may run for these positions, in their respective chambers, however, another member of their chamber who is not running for the position must hold the election instead. Then, once a total of ten (10) people are elected to the Congressional Government Oversight Committee, those ten (10) will elect a chairperson. If the chairperson is a Representative, another Representative from the House of Representatives will be elected, and vise versa if the chairperson is elected from the Senate. The chairperson will have the power to hold sessions in either of the Chambers or a designated Committee room, and will be considered as the Presiding Officer. The chairperson also must hire a scribe, which only needs to be an active and willing citizen. The scribe will be tasked with recording all evidence, releasing orders, recording any and all testimony and questions, and anything further as ordered from the Chairperson. The scribe does not hold the power to vote, and never will, and may not have any input on any situation.
SECTION 2B: The Congressional Government Oversight Committee shall enter a
“regular session” every two weeks, for a minimum of 10 minutes. Each committee member will be recognized by the chairperson (the chairperson and scribe will be recognized last) to make a motion, formally present a proposal, make a speech, initiate in debate, or yield. The chairperson will be recognized second to last, and will have the same powers. The scribe will be recognized last, and will strictly only inform the committee of all motions, proposals, a very short summary of what every debate/speech contained [ie. “Senator Jane_Doe spoke to the committee regarding Secretary Corrupt_Bob urging an investigation, but Representative Henchman1942 dissented in form of debate.], any summons that were forwarded to those required to testify in front of the committee, any information the committee members request (through a successful motion), or any information the chairperson requests (doesn’t need a motion). Motions prescribed in SECTION 3A and SECTION 3C are allowed the only motions allowed to be used. Once everyone has been recognized for a first time, the chairperson can open the floor to debate, and will proceed as if it is a normal Congressional session.SECTION 2C: The Chairperson of the Congressional Government Oversight Committee may initiate an investigations session at any time, but must initiate an “investigations session” when proposal to begin investigations has passed within 3 days of it passing. Motions prescribed in SECTION 3A, SECTION 3B, and SECTION 3C are allowed the only motions allowed to be used.
SECTION 3A: Every committee member, including the chairperson but excluding the scribe, during any sessions may motion for any of the following motions which are exclusive to the committee:
Motion to initiate a vote on [issue/topic]
Essentially motion to previous question, but is more broad. Requires a second and â…” supermajority.
Motion to initiate debate on [issue/topic]
Essentially motion to open debate, but is more broad. Requires a second and ½ simple majority.
Motion to initiate debate behind closed doors on [issue/topic]
Essentially motion to open debate, but is more broad, and removes any and all members of the audience for the duration of the debate. Classified material may be discussed. The scribe will only record information if directly allowed by the chairperson, and will purposely leave out any and all classified info. Once debate ends, the audience may return.
Motion to summon [username]
Requires a citizen to testify in front of the Congressional Government Oversight Committee. Requires a second, â…” supermajority, and consent of the chairperson (tie = fail).
Motion to close doors for the remainder of the session
Removes any and all members of the audience until the session has concluded. Classified material may be discussed. The scribe will only record information if directly allowed by the chairperson, and will purposely leave out any and all classified info. Requires a second, â…” supermajority, and consent of the chairperson.
Motion to close doors for [time]
Removes any and all members of the audience until the time period allotted has passed. Classified material may be discussed. The scribe will only record information if directly allowed by the chairperson, and will purposely leave out any and all classified info. Requires a second and â…” supermajority.
Motion to open doors
Allows members of the audience to return until the session has concluded or a motion to close doors (of any variety) successfully passes.Classified material is no longer allowed to be discussed, and the scribe will continue recording any and all information. Requires a second â…” supermajority, and consent of the chairperson.
Motion to request the scribe record…
Orders the scribe to begin recording a certain event, ie. speech, debate, testimony word for word. Requires a second and ½ simple majority.
Motion to request the scribe provide…
Orders the scribe to provide information to the committee. Requires a second and ½ simple majority.
Motion to override the Chair
Should any motion require the consent of the chair and the chair does not grant consent, or a proposal is vetoed by the chair this motion may override the chairs decision and grant consent regardless. Requires a second and a absolute majority vote of all committee members, excluding the chairperson.SECTION 3C: Any motion Congress has already permitted through legislation is permitted in any session of the Congressional Government Oversight Committee.
SECTION 3D: A proposal shall be defined as: A formal document that contains a investigation request, a conclusion an investigation, an implementation of a new procedure for the committee, removal/expulsion of a member from the committee (including both the chair and scribe) or a formal statement on behalf of the committee.
SECTION 3E: All pending proposals will be read after every committee member is initially recognized at a weekly session. Proposals will not be read in investigation sessions, unless the chair believes said proposal pertains to the investigation. Every proposal needs a ½ simple majority vote in favor, and the signature of the chair. Should the chair veto the proposal, a motion to override the chair may be made.
SECTION 3F: The chairperson or “chair” for short shall be the presiding officer of all sessions, and will only vote in the event of a tie. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Speaker of the House will preside over the first session of the Congressional Government Oversight Committee (once all members are elected) (can’t preside if they’re in it) where they will strictly elect a chairperson. A chairperson candidate only needs a plurality of the votes to win, and will become the chairperson.
SECTION 3G: Members of the committee serve at their pleasure, and should they be re-elected to Congress, shall retain their seat if they wish. Should they either resign from Congress, be expelled, impeached, removed from the committee, or lose re-election, they will not retain their seat and their seat will be elected at the next Congressional session.
SECTION 3H: The Scribe serves at his/her pleasure, but the Chairperson has the power to fire them at any time. Should the Scribe resign, be removed from the committee by vote, or fired by the chairperson, the chairperson must hire a new scribe as quickly as possible. Failing to hire a scribe within 1 week of the position coming vacant warrants grounds for removal as chair.
SECTION 4A: Should a person be summoned to testify in front of the Congressional Government Oversight Committee, they must appear at the next session they are available to attend. The citizen that is summoned must be notified 7 days prior to the next session, before attendance is compelled. If said citizen has a legal inactivity notice, the summon is void until 7 days have passed at the end of the legal inactivity notice. The person summoned to testify must be given a minimum of 7 days to receive the notice, after that, should they not appear, they shall be charged with “Contempt of Congress” and will be prosecuted accordingly.
SECTION 4B: Should a person be ordered to provide documents to the Congressional Government Oversight Committee, they must provide said documents within 7 days of the order, as soon as possible. If said citizen has a legal inactivity notice, the order is void until 7 days have passed at the end of the legal inactivity notice. Should they either refuse or withhold the documents from Congress, they shall be charged with “Contempt of Congress” and will be prosecuted accordingly.
SECTION 4C: Should any user, in any testimony or evidence given to the Committee, lie, provide, or otherwise spread false information, in any way shape or form, in an attempt to dissuade or falsify information given to the Congressional Government Oversight Committee, shall be charged with “perjury” and be prosecuted accordingly.
SECTION 4D: Should the Courts find any user guilty of “Contempt of Congress”, they will spend a minimum of 1 hour, and a maximum of 5 hours, in a State penitentiary.
SECTION 4E: Should the Courts find any user guilty of “Perjury” under the circumstances that they were in front of a Congressional Committee, they will serve a minimum of 1 hour, and a maximum of 5 hours, in a State penitentiary.
SECTION 4F: The Speaker of the House and Lieutenant Governor, under A Joint Resolution to Establish the Congressional Investigations Committee, are both chairpersons of the committee. Said resolution will still apply (the committees name will change, but that is all), and it is asked that the Speaker of the House and Lieutenant Governor respectfully conclude as to who should be the chairperson of the committee. Should they be unable to conclude who is the sole chairperson, the committee will vote on who should be the sole chairperson. Should the committee tie, the Governor will break the tie.
SECTION 5: The Legislative and Judicial Branches of the State of Firestone shall enforce this legislation.
SECTION 6A: SECTION 1 and SECTIONS 2B-6C shall take effect immediately. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
SECTION 6B: SECTION 2A shall take effect September 18th, 2018. SECTION 4F will no longer take effect on September 18th, 2018.
SECTION 6C: “A Joint Resolution to Establish the Congressional Investigations Committee” shall be declared null and void on September 18th, 2018.
Respectfully submitted to the Congress of the State of Firestone,
Chief Sponsors:
Senator DevMartavis
Chief of Staff & Solicitor General OfficerVideoGame
