An Amendment to Article I of the State of Firestone Constitution and the Preamble
BE IT ENACTED BY THE STATE OF FIRESTONE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
SECTION 1: Article I of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be amended.
SECTION 2A: Article I, Section I of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “Establishment of Congress” and now read:
“I. All legislative powers granted herein shall be vested in a Congress of the State of Firestone, the sole state legislature.
II. Congress shall be a bicameral legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
III. Congress shall have legislative jurisdiction over the entire State of Firestone and its subordinate entities, including counties and municipalities.”
SECTION 2B: Article I, Section II of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “The House of Representatives” and now read:
“I. The House of Representatives shall be recognized as the lower chamber of Congress and shall consist of thirteen citizens elected by the people of the State of Firestone.
II. Representatives admitted during a regular election shall serve a term of three months simultaneously. If there are below nine members within the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House shall be mandated to hold a special election to fill the vacant seats. After a period of three months, the Governor of the State of Firestone will be obligated to host new elections to replace all thirteen representatives. Representatives shall not be limited in the number of terms of office they may serve unless barred from said office.
III. The House of Representatives, under an election hosted by the Governor of the State of Firestone, will choose a Speaker of the House of Representatives from their membership who shall act as the presiding officer of regular legislative meetings of the House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House may be removed with a simple majority vote through an internal resolution
IV. Each representative shall be afforded one vote in legislative sessions with the exception of the presiding officer of the session unless the votes are equally divided.
V. A Speaker pro tempore may be freely chosen by the Speaker of the House, but may be removed by simple majority vote through an internal resolution. The Speaker pro tempore shall exercise the duties of the Speaker of the House in the case of their absence.
VI. The House of Representatives may draft and ratify its own standing rules and procedures with an internal resolution with a simple majority vote of its members.”
SECTION 2C: Article I, Section III of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “The Senate” and now read:
“I. The Senate shall be recognized as the upper chamber of Congress and shall consist of ten citizens elected by the people of the State of Firestone.
II. Senators admitted during a regular election shall serve a term of six months in a staggered form, consisting of an election every two months. If there are below seven members within the Senate, the President of the Senate shall be mandated to hold a special election to fill the vacant seat. After a period of two months, the President of the Senate will be obligated to host new elections to replace three members of the chamber, extending to four members every third election. Senators shall not be limited in the number of terms of office they may serve unless barred from said office.
III. The Lieutenant Governor of the State of Firestone shall be recognized as the President of the Senate and shall preside over the Senate during regular legislative meetings of the Senate.
IV. Each Senator shall be afforded one vote in legislative sessions with the exception of the presiding officer of the session unless the votes are equally divided.
V. A President pro tempore may be freely chosen by the President of the Senate but may be removed with a simple majority vote through an internal resolution. It shall be the job of the President pro tempore to exercise the duties of the President of the Senate in their absence.
VI. The Senate may draft and ratify its own standing rules and procedures with an internal resolution with a simple majority vote of its members.
VII. The Senate shall hold the sole power of confirming executive nominations through a simple majority vote.
VIII. The Senate shall hold the sole power of ratifying or nullifying treaties through a supermajority vote and may nullify executive agreements through a supermajority vote.”
SECTION 2D: Article I, Section IV of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “The Powers of Congress” and now read:
“I. The House of Representatives and the Senate shall be vested with the power to pass legislation and to establish minimum and maximum sentences or punishments for the violation thereof. Congress shall not pass any bill of attainder.
II. Each bill which shall have passed by majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor of the State of Firestone. If they approve they shall sign it, if not they shall return it, with their objections to the chamber in which it shall have originated, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration a supermajority of that chamber shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent to the other chamber, who will likewise reconsider it, and if approved by a supermajority of that chamber, it shall become law. Congress shall also be vested with the power to nullify an executive order, or nullify sections thereof, with a supermajority vote from both chambers.
III. If any bill shall not be signed or returned with objections by the Governor within five days after it has been passed by Congress, the bill shall become law in the same manner if they had signed it.
IV. Both chambers may pass internal resolutions for their respective chambers by majority vote to govern the operations of their chamber. Both chambers may pass joint internal resolutions by majority vote in both chambers to govern the operations of both chambers.
V. Both chambers may expel members of the same with a simple majority vote for reasons of ineptitude, misconduct, or any other plausible reason as decided by the respective chamber. Congress may also bar members from future admission with a simple majority vote in both chambers for reasons the same as that of expulsion. Bars from office may be rescinded by Congress with a simple majority vote from both chambers.
VI. The Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House shall be permitted to call a Joint-Congressional session, with the Speaker of the House presiding over both chambers, for a reason deemed plausible, with a matter that requires attention to the extent that it cannot wait until the next session of the respective chambers.
VII. With a declaration of war being announced by the Governor, Congress shall be vested with the power to either provide legitimacy to this declaration of war or dismiss it with a simple majority vote from both chambers in either case. In accordance with Article IV, the Governor may deploy soldiers for twenty-four hours without congressional approval.”
SECTION 2E: Article I, Section V of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “The Convening of Congress” and now read:
“I. Each chamber shall convene regularly at the State Capitol to hear legislation and deal with official business unless there is no legislation or business to be dealt with, and may meet sooner than obligated if the presiding officer of their respective chamber deems it necessary.
II. If required, each chamber may hold a meeting through the use of alternate venues to hear legislation and deal with official business provided Congress is unable to convene at the State Capitol in a prompt enough manner. For an alternate venue, a supermajority of the respective chamber must vote for any action to be officially binding.
III. For legislation to be heard and business dealt with, each chamber must be quorate before any action can be taken. A quorum shall consist of one-half of a chamber’s current membership being present at the meeting of the legislature. Presiding officers of either chamber shall not be counted towards the total quorum. If action has been taken at a session found to be held without proper quorum, any and all actions taken at said session are to be considered null and void.
IV. During a meeting of the legislature, the Presiding Officer shall maintain the order and decorum of the chamber in which they are presiding, and may remove any person from said chamber insofar as they are not participating in the meeting of the legislature. This power may be concurrently vested in a law enforcement officer for the duration of the meeting of the legislature and any action taken by the Presiding Officer or a designated law enforcement officer may be repealed through a simple majority vote of the present members of the convening chamber.
V. Following the conclusion of a session of either chamber of Congress, a record of the votes tallied on all legislation must be publicly published within twenty-four hours following the adjournment of the session. The method in which this record is compiled and published shall be left to both chambers to determine.”
SECTION 2F: Article I, Section VI of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “Impeachment” and now read:
“I. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment and the Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments.
II. Those officers who may be impeached shall consist of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the District Courts, members of Congress, cabinet members, subcabinet members, and department heads.
III. Judgement in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office and barring of any political office under the State of Firestone, but the party convicted shall not be disqualified from being subject to indictment, trial, judgement, and punishment according to law.
IV. When initiating impeachment proceedings, the Speaker of the House shall hold a vote on an internal resolution with charges brought forth by a Representative, which may be amended, before being approved by the House with a simple majority vote and sent to the Senate. The subject of the charges then shall be considered impeached. In drafting charges of impeachment, they may only extend to that of treason, bribery, gross misconduct, ineptitude, neglect of duty, or commission of a felony or misdemeanour as defined by law.
V. When trying impeachments, the Senate shall review the charges brought by the House of Representatives and any evidence or witnesses, with the presiding officer holding a vote to convict the impeached party with a supermajority vote. While sitting as triers of impeachment, Senators shall be administered an oath of impartiality. Should the chamber fail to convict the impeached party, they shall be considered acquitted of all charges before the Senate, however, shall not be disqualified from being subject to indictment, trial, judgement, and punishment according to the law for the charges brought during impeachment. Should the impeached party be convicted, they shall be subsequently removed from office and barred from holding future public office until the end of the current gubernatorial term.
VI. In the case of a member of either chamber being subject to impeachment, they shall forego the privilege of voting for the duration of the impeachment and trial proceedings. If the Governor or Lieutenant Governor is the subject of impeachment, the Chief Justice of the State of Firestone shall preside over the trial proceedings.
VII. If an impeachment resolution is confirmed by the House, Congress shall not deliberate on other business until the impeachment process has concluded unless both chambers pass a joint internal resolution to do otherwise. In the case of a member of congress being the subject of impeachment, if Congress has passed a joint internal resolution to consider other business, then that member shall be granted the privilege to vote on matters not related to their impeachment.
VIII. In the case of a member being subject to impeachment resigns, they shall be indefinitely barred from holding future public office unless a joint internal resolution is passed among both chambers stating otherwise, as described in Section IV of this article.”
SECTION 2G: Article I, Section VII of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “The Oath of Office” and now read:
“I. At the start of every term, newly elected members of Congress shall take an oath or affirmation to support this Constitution before formally taking office. The Governor of the State of Firestone shall administer it to newly elected representatives and the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Firestone shall administer it to newly elected senators. Once appointed, the Speaker of the House, Speaker pro tempore, and President pro tempore may administer oaths to specially elected representatives and senators, respectively.
II. The oath of office shall read: “I [NAME] do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of Firestone against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God”. The plea “So help me God” may be included at the end of the oath of office if the congressperson so wishes.”
SECTION 2H: Article I, Section VIII of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be entitled “Staggered Election Initiation” and now read:
“I. Staggered elections will initiate in the next election of ten candidates into the Senate.
II. Staggered elections will occur three times within the six-month term length of the senators. These will be spaced out evenly across the six-months, creating an election every two months.
III. In the first election, the three senators who received the least votes will be up for re-election with a shortened term of two-months. In the second election, the three senators who then received the least votes in the original election will be up for re-election with a shortened term of four-months. On the third and final election, the remaining four senators will be up for election.
IV. Once these three elections occur, all Senators elected will resume a full-term of six months.
V. Following the implementation of staggered elections pursuant to this section, this section shall be considered null and void.”
SECTION 2I: Article I, Sections IX through XXII of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be repealed.
SECTION 3: The Preamble of the State of Firestone Constitution shall be amended to state:
“We, the People of the State of Firestone and our posterity, to ensure the foundation of a wholly perfect and unified state, commit ourselves to this Constitution as a beacon of hope for the liberty, security, and future successes of the People.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the highest governing documents in the State of Firestone. Any and all documents, regulation, and standards passed by any City, County, Legislature, Court, or other governmental entity must not disobey the Constitution or Bill of Rights nor try to go above the Constitution or Bill of Rights.
No one is above the law, regardless of status within society: those who break any law as set out in this Constitution or the Bill of Rights shall be prosecuted accordingly.
The Constitution and Bill of Rights may be amended by Congress, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, with a super-majority (2/3) vote from both chambers.
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Chief Court Justice, and any other citizen chosen by any of the preceding individuals must establish and maintain an accurate reflection of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and their respective amendments through any publicly accessible means.“
SECTION 3: In the case that a section of the State of Firestone Constitution conflicts with this amendment, the portion of the amended section that is in conflict shall not take effect until the conflict is remedied through additional amendments.
SECTION 4: This amendment shall go into effect upon completion of the constitutional process required for constitutional amendments.
Respectfully submitted to the Congress of the State of Firestone,
Chief Sponsors:
Speaker of the House FIoatmanjason