[BILL - VOTED] The Regional Officers Act

The Magisterium
1

BE IT ENACTED by the Magisterium of the East Pacific:

SECTION I. SHORT TITLE

This act shall be known and cited as the “The Regional Officers Act”

SECTION II. FINDINGS.

The Magisterium finds that –
(1) Many in-game features are not currently defined by our compendium of laws.
(2) Said features, outlined in the admin section of The East Pacific Regional Page, provide various powers not currently defined by our laws.
(3) Many nations are assigned these features.

SECTION III. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this act –
(1) Concordat is the main set of laws defined as The Concordat of The East Pacific
(2) Delegate as it is defined in Section A of the Concordat
(3) Viziers as they are defined in Section D of the Concordat
(4) Citizen as it is defined in Section E of the Concordat
(5) Regional Officers as they are defined, one-by-one, by their in-game characteristics and regional powers. These are not to be confused with minister or cabinet positions; rather, they can utilize the below powers ascribed to each particular position. <font color=“#9900FF”>Only citizens may be Regional Officers.</font>
…(a) World Assembly administers regional voting power on World Assembly resolutions, reserved exclusively to the delegate.
…(b) Appearance may change the regions flag/world factbook entry.
…(c) Border Control may eject or eject/ban a nation from the region, following provisions outlined in Section F of the Concordat or decree by the Conclave
…(d) Embassies may accept requests, close, and make requests with other regions for embassies.
…(e) Communications may send regional TG’s without stamps and may suppress RMB messages.
…(f) Polls can routinely set polls on the regional page of The East Pacific.
(6) Authority is the in-game ability of an Officer to wield said power defined by the particular Officer title.
(7) Standing Orders of the Magisterium is the defined set of protocols and procedures followed by the Magisterium to conduct routine business.
(8) Non-Vizier Officer are any citizens promoted as officers that do not relate to the Vizier role defined by this document.
(9) Regional Page is the in-game location where Regional Officers are denoted.
(10) New Delegate is a delegate who has either been elected or is a Vizier acting as a Delegate as defined in the Concordat of The East Pacific.
(11) Former Delegate is an ex-delegate that still possesses the in-game Delegate title.

SECTION IV. PROVISIONS.

(a) By merit, the Delegate shall have authority in the World Assembly, Appearance, Border Control, Embassies, Communications, and Polls Regional Officer positions. This grouping shall only be referred to as “WA Delegate” on the Regional Page.

(b) Viziers shall, by merit of being a Vizier of The East Pacific, have authority in at least Border Control and Communications Regional Officer positions. This grouping shall only be referred to as “Vizier” on the Regional Page. The amount of Viziers that have Border Control and its implementation may be further defined in law.

(c) All other titles not defined in the Concordat (Non-Vizier Officers) must be disclosed by the Delegate or a citizen appointed by the delegate to the Magisterium prior to implementation. This disclosure must outline the position title and description, the Regional Officer position(s) requested, and which citizen the delegate wishes to appoint to this position.
…(i) Magisterium will discuss and vote on said appointments as outlined in the Standing Orders of the Magisterium
…(ii) If appointment passes, the Delegate may immediately instate the appointee
…(iii) If appointment fails, the Delegate may amend the Regional Officer position(s) requested and/or citizen, beginning process IV(c) over again.
…(iv) Later changes to the particular office may be rejected by the Magisterium by simple majority vote as outlined in the Standing Orders of the Magisterium.

(d) The Conclave may dismiss a Non-Vizier Officer in a manner to be determined by The Concordat of The East Pacific. If no protocol exists, the Conclave may dismiss a Non-Vizier Officer by simple majority vote.

(e) The Delegate may dismiss a Non-Vizier Officer at any time.

(f) The Delegate may dismiss a Vizier Officer only as it is defined in law.

(g) At the start of a new delegate tenure, all Non-Vizier Officers may be dismissed by the Delegate, leaving only the Delegate and Viziers as Regional Officers.

(h) A New Delegate shall assume the Delegate authority and shall only be referred to as “Incoming Delegate” (or another title requested by the incoming delegate) on the Regional Page. The Former Delegate will also have the Delegate authority by merit of the in-game position until they are overtaken or resign. The Former Delegate may not exercise any Delegate Regional Officer power unless instructed by the New Delegate.

SECTION V. ENACTMENT.

(a) This bill shall be enacted upon its signature by the Delegate, except if the Magisterium votes to override a veto of this bill by the Delegate.

(b) All Non-Vizier Officer citizens will be subjected to a vote as outlined in Section IV, c. If after five calendar days the position remains unconfirmed, the Non-Vizier Officer citizen will be dismissed and the Regional Officer position will be removed. Procedure outlined in Section IV, c may be followed thereafter.

2

I’ve been working on this for about a week now. Frankly, this is legislation that TEP has needed ever since the Regional Officer concept came to fruition! It is a simple document that helps define exactly what these positions do and who can appoint / remove them. With something as critical to the region as these in-game powers facilitate, I think it’s important that we iron this out, and it would certainly get the other two branches involved. Since we’re already fleshing out some legislation, might as well strike while the iron’s hot.

I envision this procedure as such: delegate wants to create a new office, they define it, they appoint the officer, and so on. In-game, they want said officer to have X title and Y, Z Officer positions. Magisterium debates, it passes/fails. If it fails, delegate amends their request, and so on.

By this document, Viziers must be recognized as Regional Officers. I am unsure if that is stated elsewhere, but it will be here.

I also kept the current RO’s in mind. I didn’t want this document to outright dismiss them; rather, I wanted the Magisterium to have a chance to retain them or see if there is another option.

Anyway, debate away! I don’t think this is set up in its final version, and we’re a group of six, which means we should have five other sets of opinions on this. Of course, other citizens may comment as well.

3

This contradicts existing law so don’t forget to address that.

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4

Indeed - I will search our current laws and find any instances where it contradicts. I can add a clause that says something to the effect to render previous laws on the subject null, but that’s kind of shifty and could lead to confusion down the road.

5

I would assume that the Curia Act would be the conflicting law The Curia Act - The East Pacific - Tapatalk

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— Begin quote from ____

I would assume that the Curia Act would be the conflicting law The Curia Act - The East Pacific - Tapatalk

— End quote

I looked over that, but I didn’t really see anything as it pertains to Regional Officers… and now I realize I called this “The Officers Act”. I can change it to “The Regional Officers Act” - would that help?

7

From my understanding of the Curia Act is that it gives the Delegate the authority and flexibility to organize the executive as they see fit. To my understanding that would include regional officers.

8

Well, it’s possible, yes, but when I scan through Officers, it doesn’t seem to define anything as it relates to regional officers - only officers in the sense of the EPSA. The way I see it, this document would not inhibit the appointment / creation of offices or officers as they pertain to executive aspects, but it does create legislation for the regional officer position, which are in-game capacities. One can be a Minister of Foreign Affairs, for instance, without RO qualifiers (see 2.3, 2.4). Does that make sense, or does this appear to be a gray area?

9

You are correct. It does not directly mention regional officers and I agree it’s a gray area. It could be amended to the Curia Act but then we’re adding to an already complicated law that is like a hodgepodge of everything together.

10

I’ve added further stipulation that this is not to be confused with the conditions in The Curia Act, outlined in red. I’ve also changed the title of this bill.

That being said, I would not be opposed to revisiting The Curia Act to give further clarification. Or, if a situation does arise, we could beseech the Conclave and give them stuff to do.

11

This is in direct contradiction to the current regulations over Regional Officer roles as they pertain to Viziers. edit - this would have to be addressed. /edit

Currently, a Vizier has the DUTY to act on their powers when given a lawful order or be removed from Border Control. This new regulation simply gives it to all Viziers without stipulation.

I would be against this proposition as it infringes on the rights of the Delegate to govern the executive as necessary, frees up even more latitude for absentee Viziers/ROs, and creates more bureaucratic red tape around the creation/staffing of ROs.

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12

The Endorsement Caps Act says this:

— Begin quote from ____

…5.4- The top four endorsed Viziers shall be entitled to the in-game Regional Officer power “Border Control” if they opt-in to act on an ejection or banishment order made under this Act by the Delegate. The Delegate may revoke this power if the Vizier refuses a legitimate ejection or banishment order under this Act.

— End quote

This is one of the contradictions Fedele mentioned earlier! Make sure to fix the bill to deal with this :stuck_out_tongue:

Sorry if I’m not supposed to be here- woosh

13

— Begin quote from ____

The Endorsement Caps Act says this:

— Begin quote from ____

…5.4- The top four endorsed Viziers shall be entitled to the in-game Regional Officer power “Border Control” if they opt-in to act on an ejection or banishment order made under this Act by the Delegate. The Delegate may revoke this power if the Vizier refuses a legitimate ejection or banishment order under this Act.

— End quote

This is one of the contradictions Fedele mentioned earlier! Make sure to fix the bill to deal with this :stuck_out_tongue:

Sorry if I’m not supposed to be here- woosh

— End quote

Actually, I’m the only Magister who has commented on this idea - the rest have been people outside of the Magisterium.

But thank you for looking that up. I’ve been spending time looking through other laws to see if maybe maybe this would run afoul in other areas.

So how does this work? We have a contradiction that I missed! And that’s good - the fact that we’re catching these now means a lot less headaches later. And, actually, that may not be a bad clause to call back on, like, if we cite it in this act.

14

As far as I know the Endorsement Cap Act is indeed the only piece of legislation in TEP that mentions RO’s. I would support more encompassing legislation like this on RO’s.

What I’m not sure about is whether the Magisterium - can - legislate the Executive like this under the Concordat. Maybe that’s a question that can be put to the Conclave as well.

As I’m limited in time this week, I’ll try to give this a more detailed read over the weekend.

15

Checking this over for the question in the Conclave, just a thought:

What about in Section IV, part c), the Delegate also be required to disclose the nation/former RO position that a new RO will be taking?

Given how the Magisterium is being able to decide almost the most important aspects of the RO position, it would make sense that the Magisterium knows where the new RO is going and, if possible, what formerly voted-in RO that the new RO will be replacing, and why that RO, in particular, is being replaced out of all the Non-Vizier Officer ROs?

16

I figured I’d leave that up to the delegate to inform. Is there anything I should add to IV, c?

17

Alright, I’ve made a few changes, blown some dust off. I currently have three bills proposed right now, which is a lot, but there’s also a lot to do. Please let me know what you think. Recent changes are now outlined in blue.

18

Anything further on this?

19

I’m still good with it.

20

— Begin quote from ____

…(iii) If appointment fails, the Delegate may amend the Regional Officer position(s) requested and/or citizen.

— End quote

Can you clarify what this means? The language seems a bit confusing to me. :stuck_out_tongue:

— Begin quote from ____

SECTION V. ENACTMENT.

(b) All Non-Vizier Officer citizens will be subjected to a vote as outlined in Section IV, c. If after five calendar days the position remains unconfirmed, the Non-Vizier Officer citizen will be dismissed and the Regional Officer position will be removed. Procedure outlined in Section IV, c may be followed thereafter.

— End quote

A Magisterium vote is a week, so what’s the reasoning behind giving five calender days for a vote? This is also in addition to a debate that requires 48 hours before a motion to vote can be called as well.

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