Commerce Act of 2022
To fix errors regarding the current legislation that establishes the Department of Commerce and to formalize and modernize standing Commerce law.Chief Sponsor(s): Senator urdadcaleb, Senator clonemep, Representative cityuser
Co-Sponsor(s): Commerce Deputy Secretary GeneralCount, Lieutenant Governor Ash1835, Commerce Secretary TheGreenLego_Brick, Representative Baconman1499, Representative BlueLineEnforcement, Representative Jackfruitism, Representative AlexTheAviatorRBLX, Representative Hmmm_Poul
Author(s): Senator urdadcaleb, Representative cityuser
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Firestone in Congress assembled,
§1. Title
(a) This act shall be known, and may be cited as, the “Commerce Act of 2022”.
§2. Enactment
(a) This Bill shall go into effect as an Act of Congress upon completing the processes constitutionally required.
§3. Severability
(a) Should any part of this Act be struck down and/or declared unenforceable, then that part shall be severed with the rest remaining in full force and effect unless all is struck down and/or declared unenforceable.
§4. Enforcement
(a) This Act shall be enforced by any relevant parties.
§5. Definitions
(a) The term “business” shall refer to any organization that sells or offers goods or services.
   (i) This definition shall not include law firms recognized by the Department of Justice (hereafter known as “law firms”).
(b) The term “permit” shall refer to a permit issued by the Department of Commerce to a business allowing it to operate.
(c) Any business that holds or has previously held a permit shall be a legal entity that can be sued.
(d) The term “business owner” shall refer to an individual who leads, operates, or otherwise controls a business.
(e) The “Department of Commerce Act” shall be defined as this.
(f) The “Firestone Criminal Code” shall be defined as this
as established by the Criminal Code Revision Act.
(g) The “Private Business Protection Act of 2019” shall be defined as this.
§6. Repealments
(a) The Department of Commerce Act shall be repealed in its entirety and declared null and void.
(b) The Private Business Protection Act of 2019 shall be repealed in its entirety and declared null and void.
PART ONE
Establishing the department and its leadership§7. The Department of Commerce
(a) The Department of Commerce (hereafter known as the “Department”) shall be established.
(b) The Department shall be a department of the Executive Branch of the State of Firestone and shall be overseen by the Governor.
(c) The Roblox group of the Department shall be defined as this (with the group identifier 2808791).
   (i) Any ranks or roles in the Roblox group shall not be in relation to any powers, abilities, or employment defined in this Act.
(d) The Department shall be a legal entity that can be sued. A court may overturn unlawful actions by the Department, including violations of this Act.
§8. The Secretary
(a) The Department shall be headed by the Secretary of Commerce (the “Secretary”), who shall be recognized as the department head and a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. There may only be one (1) Secretary at any given moment.
(b) The Secretary may only enter office upon completing the processes constitutionally required.
(c) The Secretary shall maintain all powers of the Department.
§9. The Deputy Secretary
(a) The Department shall be co-headed by the Deputy Secretary of Commerce (the “Deputy Secretary”), who shall be recognized as the deputy department head and a member of the Governor’s sub-cabinet.
(b) The Secretary may limit the powers of the Deputy Secretary.
(c) The Deputy Secretary may be designated, by either the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, as the Acting Secretary, who shall take on the full responsibilities and duties of the Secretary in his or her absence, without bearing the title of Secretary.
§10. Employees
(a) The Department may employ persons in whom the Secretary may vest the powers of the Department.
PART TWO
The powers and duties of the department§11. Regulations
(a) The Department may create binding regulations (hereafter “commerce regulations”) that must be followed by any business holding a permit.
§12. Permits
(a) A permit shall be required in order for a business to operate in the State of Firestone. This permit may be issued to a business at the discretion of the Department.
(b) Permits issued by the Department may only be revoked with clear and convincing evidence of a violation of commerce regulations.
(c) The Department of Commerce may temporarily suspend the permit of a businesses during an investigation into a violation of commerce regulations where the allegations are supported by probable cause.
§13. Powers
(a) The Department may request access to view and inspect the property of a business with a permit with a plausible reason, including but not limited to a regular inspection.
   (i) Property shall include physical land along with non-tangible assets such as Discord servers or Trello boards.
   (ii) Failing to comply with such a request shall be considered a violation of commerce regulations for the purposes of this Act.
   (iii) A business in the process of applying for a permit may be denied a permit should they fail to comply with such a request.
   (iv) Any information uncovered by the Department or an employee thereof due to this access that does not reasonably show a violation of commerce regulation or law shall be confidential and may not be released by the Department without the permission of the business, except to comply with a court order.
(b) A person who has intentionally violated commerce regulations whose business had its license revoked may be blacklisted from attaining a business permit at the discretion of the Secretary.
(c) A person who has been convicted of violating Chapter 6, Section 18 of the Firestone Criminal Code is prohibited from attaining a business permit unless the conviction is expunged.
§14. Commercial Land
(a) The Department shall own all developed land in the State of Firestone not intended for use by the State or inferior governments or departments thereof, and not otherwise defined as government property. This land and any property upon it shall be known as “commercial land.”
(b) The Department may lease commercial land to any business with a permit, law firm, or government entity. The Department may set the length of this lease. This lease shall carry no rent, but may have other conditions. Should these conditions be violated, the Department may break the lease. The lessee shall be considered the owner of the commercial land only while the lease is in effect.
(c) Commercial land not leased shall be accessible to the public.
PART THREE
Business operations§15. Employment Disclosure
(a) Employees of a business must identify their business to law enforcement upon request.
§16. Unlicensed Operation
(a) The Department shall have standing against any business operating without a permit. A court may order such a business and its employees to cease operations.
§17. Unlawful Operation
(a) Section 22 shall be added to Chapter 4 of the Firestone Criminal Code. It shall be titled “Unlawful Operation of a Business” and state:
"(a) The act of unlawfully operating a business shall be recognized as a criminal offense in the State of Firestone.
(a1) Unlawful operation of a business shall be defined as two or more people selling goods or services in an organized fashion without a legitimate permit to do so."
(b) Chapter 4, Section 22 shall be a Class B Misdemeanor and carry a jail time of 300 (seconds) and a citation value of 300 (FSD).