IN THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF FIRESTONE
JANUARY 5, 2023
The Right Honorable Lieutenant Governor Sharkfish82 and Mr. SirCalebXVI proposed the following bill:
A BILL
To define and establish inferior governments; to modernize and organize standing law pertaining to inferior governments.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 “Inferior Governments Act” or “IGA”.
§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 “mutual aid” shall be defined as a municipal police force providing policing aid to another police force in an attempt to quell crime or maintain public order.
§6. Repealments
(a) The following Acts shall be repealed in entirety and declared null and void—
(i) A Bill to Save the Stapleton County Government;
(ii) A Bill to Define County Executive Terms and Limitations.
CHAPTER ONE
Establishing the county, its jurisdiction and its authority.§7. Stapleton County
(a) Stapleton County shall hereafter be established and shall hold a physical jurisdiction over areas, except for that of state government property, within the map of Stapleton County v2. Stapleton County shall additionally hold legal jurisdiction over all Discord servers, Trello boards & workspaces, alongside any other asset, document, or entity established by or declared as part of Stapleton County or its respective government. This shall also include the Stapleton County Sheriff’s Office and Stapleton County Fire Department.
(b) Stapleton County shall maintain authority at the county level, and shall be inferior to the State of Firestone only. All law and legislation enacted by the State of Firestone, except for that of Executive Order, shall hold superiority and shall be applied with full force to Stapleton County and its government.
(c) Stapleton County alongside its municipalities shall not obtain any sort of jurisdiction or authority over areas and property belonging to the state. The Stapleton County Sheriff’s Office shall maintain the ability to enforce state law alongside exercising their law enforcement duties within these areas and shall still be bound by county law unless such is conflicting with state law.
(d) State law enforcement officers shall be fully exempt from, and is not obligated to enforce county and municipal law whilst conducting their official duties.
CHAPTER TWO
Establishing the executive branch.
§8. The County Executive
(a) Stapleton County shall obtain a government, which shall be led by the County Executive. Only one (1) individual may hold the office of County Executive at a time, and it shall be only an elected position.
(b) An election, hosted by the Governor, either through position vacancy (special election) or on the basis of every four (4) months shall be required in order to seat a County Executive.
(c) The County Executive may be removed from office by impeachment of the House of Representatives and conviction of the Senate. Stapleton County shall have the ability to establish law or legislation permitting the removal of the County Executive, such as impeachment or expulsion.
(d) No person may run for County Executive after having served four (4) full terms.
(i) If an individual is specially elected into the office of County Executive with less than thirty-one (31) remaining in their term, such shall not be rendered as a full term. This threshold may be shortened, but not lengthened, by a relevant county charter.
CHAPTER THREE
Establishing the legislative branch.§9. The County Legislature
(a) The Stapleton County legislature shall consist of a County Council, which shall be regulated by the County Charter. A member of the County Council may be removed via a passing joint resolution of Congress.
(b) The County Charter shall be recognized as the highest legally binding document within Stapleton County. Such shall be established by the County Council and it shall be the responsibility of the County Council to amend the County Charter when necessary. Necessary reasons may include the amending of processes for County Council elections, alongside other procedures otherwise defined within this Act.
(c) Congress shall maintain the ability to amend or nullify county or municipal legislation, inclusive of decree and executive order, through a passing joint resolution of Congress. Congress shall also maintain the ability to reject proposed legislation of Stapleton County and its municipalities, which shall effectively prohibit it from becoming law, through a passing joint resolution of Congress.
(d) Stapleton County shall maintain the ability to bar individuals from holding any sort of public office within Stapleton County, inclusive of its municipalities. Such abilities may be regulated or further outlined within the County Charter. Bars from elected office must be approved by an appropriate County or Municipal legislative body in a vote of at least 2/3. Bars may be nullified or amended via a passing joint resolution of Congress.
(e) Stapleton County may not establish any tort and such already established shall be declared null and void.
CHAPTER FOUR
Establishing inferior municipalities and their physical jurisdictions.§10. Municipalities
(a) Municipalities may only be established by an Act of Congress, and shall be inferior to Stapleton County and the State of Firestone.
(b) A municipality shall obtain a government, led by a Mayor, and shall consist of a Council of elected councilpersons. The County Charter shall make (further) provisions regarding municipal governments, including for the municipalities to establish their own Charters. Municipal Charters shall require the consent of the County Council, by whatever means declared within the County Charter, before entering law.
(c) Municipalities shall hold physical jurisdiction over their physical area (as defined by state law) and legal jurisdiction over all Discord servers, Trello boards & workspaces, alongside any other asset, document, or entity established by or declared as part of the municipality or its government.
(d) Where permitted by county or municipal law, municipalities shall maintain the ability to establish legislation that governs matters in their jurisdiction. Municipalities shall hold the ability to establish criminal offenses, traffic offenses, or any sort of citable infractions, as long as such offenses do not conflict with county or state law. No municipality may establish any tort and such already established shall be declared null and void.
(e) The municipality known as the “City of Redwood” shall be established and shall hold a physical jurisdiction over all areas, except for areas primarily controlled by the state government, highlighted in blue in this image.
(f) The municipality known as the “City of Arborfield” shall be established and shall hold a physical jurisdiction over all areas, except for areas primarily controlled by the state government, highlighted in red in this image.
(g) The municipality known as the “District of Prominence” shall be established and shall hold a physical jurisdiction over all areas, except for areas primarily controlled by the state government, highlighted in green in this image.
§11. Municipal Police Forces
(a) A municipality may establish its own police force through municipal legislation. Such police force may be regulated by Mayoral Decree so long as such does not conflict with municipal or superior legislation.
(b) Municipal police forces shall only hold a physical policing jurisdiction over the areas defined in subsections (e), (f), and (g) of §10 of this Act.
(c) Municipal police forces shall be able to provide mutual aid to other municipal, county, or state policing forces upon request. Such requests must be compliant with relevant department policy in order to remain lawful. Upon reasonable indication that a mutual aid request has expired or has been rescinded, officers of municipal police forces shall return to their jurisdiction utilizing the quickest intelligible route.
(d) Municipal police officers shall be permitted to temporarily vacate their jurisdiction to engage in a pursuit with a suspect of a crime. Upon conclusion of the pursuit, municipal police officers shall return to their jurisdiction utilizing the quickest intelligible route. While engaged in pursuit, such pursuit may be terminated by:
(i) A supervisor of the police officer’s department;
(ii) A supervisor of the Stapleton County Sheriff’s Office;
(iii) A supervisor of the Firestone State Patrol; or
(iv) An agent of the Firestone Bureau of Investigation.
(e) During States of Emergency, the Governor shall have the ability to extend the jurisdiction of municipal police forces in writing.
(f) When a municipal police officer is out of their outlined jurisdiction for a reason permitted by this Act or other applicable statute, such officer shall hold the ability to detain or restrain individuals as long as such is compliant with applicable law on such.
(g) On-duty firefighters or medical technichians shall have the ability to request an officer from a nearby municipal police force to an unincorporated area to assist with law enforcement at the scene of a fire or medical situation, should no other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over that area be immediately available.
(h) Municipal police officers may not place individuals under arrest whilst outside of their outlined jurisdiction unless one of the following circumstances are met:
(i) Such individual is a suspect of a pursuit that was initiated by the officer’s respective municipal police force; or
(ii) A State of Emergency has been declared by the Governor.