A Resolution to Establish New Floor Rules
Preamble: The previous floor rules, created by SwedishVic, have many errors and are insufficient for use in the District Council.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE DISTRICT COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF PROMINENCE HERE ASSEMBLED THAT,
SECTION 1. Definitions
“A Resolution to Establish Floor Rules and Motions” shall be defined here.
“Simple majority” shall be defined as an instance where one half (½) or more of the present Councilmembers vote in favor of a matter.
“Supermajority” shall be defined as an instance where four fifths (⅘) or more of the present Councilmembers vote in favor of a matter.
“Unanimous vote” shall be defined as an instance where all present Councilmembers vote in favor of a matter.
“Presiding Officer” shall be defined as the individual presiding over a session of the District Council. This can only be the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, or the District Chairperson.
A “quorum” shall be met when one half (½) or more of incumbent District Councilmembers are present at a District Council session.
SECTION 2. Nullifications
“A Resolution to Establish Floor Rules and Motions” shall be nullified.
SECTION 3. Session Motions
Section 3A.
Session Motions shall be established and shall be enforced by the Presiding Officer. Session Motions shall be defined as any request for specific action, as defined by the specific motion listed and defined in Section 3B and Section 3C. These motions, if proposed properly, shall usually be voted on by members of the District Council and, if passed, executed by the Presiding Officer of the session. Some motions only require a valid second to pass and do not need to be voted on by the entire District Council.
A “second” shall be defined as when an individual wishes to see a proposed Session Motion take effect within a session. A second is valid when a member of the District Council states “Second” in response to a proposed motion. The Presiding Officer is not permitted to second a session motion.
Section 3B.
The following session motions are to be considered valid motions to be used by members of the District Council:
- Motion to Debate
- Motion to Table a Legislative Piece
- Motion to Remove a Legislative Piece from the Table
- Motion to Call the Previous Question
- Motion to Recess the Session
- Motion to Amend Legislation
- Motion to Reconsider a Vote
- Motion to Eject
- Motion to Censure
- Motion to Close Chamber Doors
- Motion to Open Chamber Doors
- Motion to Adjourn the District Council
Section 3C.
The session motions listed in Section 3B shall be defined as the following:
Section 3C(a). Motion to Debate
(i.) Requires a valid second to pass.
(ii.) Opens the floor to debate. This can only be motioned during the reading of a legislative piece.
Section 3C(b). Motion to Table a Legislative Piece
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a supermajority to pass.
(ii.) Suspends the consideration of a legislative piece and sets it onto a separate “Tabled” docket until further notice. A proposal that is placed on the “Tabled” docket may be amended by its Chief Sponsor while it is there, but may not be amended further if placed back onto the session docket. If a Chief Sponsor does choose to amend their legislative piece while it is on the “Tabled” docket, they must make the Presiding Officer aware of all changes made when the bill is next considered.
Section 3C(c). Motion to Remove a Legislative Piece from the Table
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a simple majority to pass.
(ii.) Moves a legislative piece from the “Tabled” docket back onto the session docket and allows for consideration of the legislative piece.
Section 3C(d). Motion to Call the Previous Question
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a simple majority to pass.
(ii.) Ends debate on the item being considered and moves to voting.
Section 3C(e). Motion to Recess the Session
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a supermajority to pass.
(ii.) Ends all session proceedings for a specified amount of time. The session shall re-commence upon the ending of the specified amount of time. This amount of time cannot be greater than 48 hours.
Section 3C(f). Motion to Amend Legislation
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a supermajority to pass.
(ii.) Modifies the piece of legislation being considered. While presenting the motion, the individual presenting it shall specify which section they intend to amend. They will read what that section of the legislative piece currently states, as well as what it will be amended to state.
Section 3C(g). Motion to Reconsider a Vote
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a supermajority to pass.
(ii.) Redo a vote that took place earlier in the session.
Section 3C(h). Motion to Eject
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a supermajority to pass.
(ii.) Removes an individual from the chamber. This must be presented with valid reasoning.
Section 3C(i). Motion to Censure
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a unanimous vote to pass.
(ii.) The District Council shall express disapproval at the behavior of an employee of the Executive Branch of the District of Prominence.
Section 3C(j). Motion to Close Chamber Doors
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a unanimous vote to pass.
(ii.) Closes the District Council chambers from the public for the duration of the session.
Section 3C(k). Motion to Open Chamber Doors
(i.) Requires a valid second to pass.
(ii.) Opens the District Council chambers to the public. This motion can only be proposed if the District Council chambers were closed previously in the session.
Section 3C(l). Motion to Adjourn the District Council
(i.) Requires a valid second to be voted on. Requires a simple majority to pass.
(ii.) Ends the session.
Section 3D. Permission to Propose Session Motions
Any District Councilmember, including the District Chairperson when not presiding over a session, has the authority to propose a session motion, as long as the proposed motion meets the requirements in Section 3C. Should a member of the District Council have already proposed multiple session motions while the same item on the docket is being considered, and should the Presiding Officer believe that the member is proposing session motions frivolously, the Presiding Officer may block the member from proposing any further session motions while that item is being considered.
Section 3E. Voting on Session Motions
The Presiding Officer must provide a reasonable amount of time for members of the District Council to vote on session motions. Voting on a motion may only be closed if at least 12 hours have passed, if the requirements for the passage of the vote are met, or if all present Councilmembers have voted.
SECTION 4. Session Requests
Section 4A.
Session requests shall be established and shall be enforced by the Presiding Officer. Session requests shall be defined as any request for specific action that is not voted on by the entire District Council. Session requests can be proposed by any member of the District Council, including the District Chairperson when not presiding over a session.
Section 4B.
The following session requests are deemed to be valid:
- Point of Personal Privilege
- Point of Clarification
- Point of Information
- Point of Order
Section 4C
The sessional requests listed in Section 4B shall be defined as the following:
Section 4C(a). Point of Personal Privilege
Allows the member to make a formal request to the chamber.
Section 4C(b). Point of Clarification
Allows the member to present a fact about the legislative piece actively being considered.
Section 4C(c). Point of Information
Allows the member to ask a question about the legislation piece to the Chief Sponsor.
Section 4C(d). Point of Order
Allows the presenting member to query whether or not the session procedure is being followed. Should the Presiding Officer believe that the floor rules and/or session procedure are not properly being followed, remedying action should be taken.
Section 5. Presiding Officer
Section 5A.
The Presiding Officer shall have the ability to set a limit for debate time of no less than 24 hours and no greater than 48 hours. This ability may not be exercised if the proposal in consideration is a nomination confirmation, a charter ratification, or any other matter that requires an extraordinary amount of time to be debated on, as determined by the Presiding Officer.
Section 5B.
The Presiding Officer is not permitted to unilaterally approve of a motion that has not satisfied all standards and procedures in Section 3. The Presiding Officer may propose a Motion to Adjourn the District Council themself if there are no remaining items on the session docket, but may not adjourn the District Council until the motion passes the necessary vote. The only exception to this is if the quorum is no longer met, in which case the Presiding Officer must adjourn the session, unless the quorum is met again within 10 minutes.
Section 5C.
When the floor of the District Council is open, the Presiding Officer may choose which member of the Council may have the floor. In special cases, such as the confirmation of executive nominations, the Presiding Officer may choose to give the floor to an individual that is not a member of the District Council. A limit may be set on the amount of time that an individual has to speak, though no member may be allotted less than 6 hours. No Councilmember that is present at the session and requests the floor may be denied the floor, unless that member has already spoken on the matter or if another member currently has the floor.
Section 5D.
When a session of the District Council is initiated, before any items on the docket may be considered, the Presiding Officer must take attendance. All District Councilmembers that are present at the session shall state that they are present. After a quorum is reached, the Presiding Officer may continue the session by moving to the first item on the docket. A Councilmember may join a session despite not initially being present, but must inform the Presiding Officer of their presence.
Section 6. Process of Voting
Section 6A.
The process of voting shall be executed by the Presiding Officer of the session and shall be followed in this order:
- The legislation is presented by the presiding officer.
- Members of the District Council are given time to read the legislation.
- The floor is opened by a successful Motion to Debate, defined in Section 3.
- The floor remains open until a Motion to Call the Previous Question is presented and passed.
- The voting period is open for a set time greater than 12 hours, but must be closed upon every member of the District Council placing their vote, or once the requirements for the passage of the vote are met.
- The Presiding Officer announces the votes on the legislation at hand and whether it passes or fails the process of voting.
Section 6B.
Any legislation proposed after the enactment of this resolution must be voted on in the manner outlined in Section 6A, or otherwise be deemed null and void. The Presiding Officer may not forbid a Councilmember from voting on a matter.
SECTION 7.
This District Ordinance shall go into effect immediately upon passing the legal processes as described by the District Charter.
Submitted to the District Council of the District of Prominence.
CHIEF SPONSOR
Councilmember T_xom
COSPONSOR(S)
Deputy Mayor legaalsp
Councilmember Plainsp
Chairperson skelet_n