Unitary Executive Amendments

[Cormac]

Unitary Executive Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica

(1) Article III of the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica will be amended as follows:

Article III. Presidency and Vice Presidency of Pacifica

Establishment of the presidency and vice presidency

(1) The President and Vice President will be elected on a joint ticket by the citizenry every four months by majority vote. Procedure for the President's and Vice President's election will be further defined by law.

(2) Following initial election, the President will be subject to challenge election. Upon initial election or following defeat of a challenge, the President will not be eligible for challenge for a period of four months.

(2) In the event that the office of President is vacated, the Vice President will assume office as President and automatically resign as Vice President, and may serve as President for the remainder of the previous President's term. In the event that the office of Vice President is vacant at the time the office of President is vacated, presidential succession will temporarily pass down a line of succession determined by law and a new election for President will be conducted as soon as practical.

(3) In the event that the office of Vice President is vacated, the President may appoint a Vice President, subject to confirmation by two-thirds vote of the Regional Congress. The President may withdraw the nomination of the Vice President prior to their confirmation.

(3) (4) The Neither the President nor the Vice President may not serve in any other government office in Pacifica while serving as President or Vice President, except that their membership on the Guardian Council, if already duly appointed and confirmed, will be suspended and will automatically resume after they leave office as President or Vice President.

(5) The President will serve as the lawful World Assembly Delegate of Pacifica. The Vice President will be responsible for holding the second most World Assembly endorsements in Pacifica.

Powers of the presidency

(4) The President will be the head of state and lawful World Assembly Delegate of Pacifica, and will be responsible for regional diplomacy, military, security, and World Assembly affairs.

(6) The President will be the head of state and government of Pacifica, and will be responsible for the affairs of executive government, both external and domestic.

(5) (7) The President may sign or veto enactment, amendment, or repeal of a general law or resolution, or repeal of a treaty. Should the President fail to sign or veto enactment, amendment, or repeal of a general law or resolution, or repeal of a treaty, within seven days, it will automatically take effect and will no longer be subject to veto.

(6) (8) The President may establish and revise an endorsement limit for Pacifica, and may summarily enforce such a limit. The endorsement limit will be no lower than half of the President's endorsement count, except in the event that Pacifica is founderless, in which case a lower limit must be approved by absolute majority vote of the Regional Congress.

(7) (9) The President may pardon or commute the sentence of anyone convicted of a crime by the High Court. Pardon or commutation will be subject to approval by absolute majority vote of the Regional Congress.

(8) (10) The President may appoint a Council of State Cabinet to assist with programs and activities under the President's portfolio of executive government, and may dismiss Secretaries of State from office subject to confirmation by absolute majority vote of the Regional Congress.

(11) The President may withdraw nominations of Cabinet Secretaries prior to their confirmation, and may dismiss Cabinet Secretaries from office following confirmation.

(9) (12) The President may provide for the appointment and dismissal of deputies to Cabinet Secretaries of State.

(2) Article IV of the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica will be stricken in its entirety, and all subsequent articles will be accordingly renumbered.

(3) Article VI, Section 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica will be amended as follows:

(5) The Guardian Council may elect its own Chairperson to preside over the business of the Guardian Council according to its procedural rules, and may elect a new Chairperson at any time.

(5) The Vice President will serve as non-voting Chairperson of the Guardian Council, and will preside over the business of the Guardian Council according to its procedural rules. The Vice President will serve as liaison between the Guardian Council and other branches of government.

(4) Article VII, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica will be amended as follows:

(2) The President or the Prime Minister may, at their discretion, authorize residents of Pacifica who are not citizens to participate in programs and activities under their portfolios of executive government, but such residents may not serve as government officials, including as deputies or military personnel of officer rank.

(5) Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica will be amended as follows:

(4) The President or Vice President will be automatically removed from office upon their World Assembly nation in Pacifica resigning or being expelled from the World Assembly.

Section 2. Amendment to the Congressional Procedure Act

(1) Section 1(2) of the Congressional Procedure Act will be amended as follows:

(2) The minimum discussion period will be waived for votes related to states of emergency. In other cases in which a vote is time sensitive, the minimum discussion period may be waived by a joint decision of the President, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker of the Regional Congress.

Section 3. Amendments to the Election Administration Act

(1) Section 1(1) of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

(1) Elections for President and Vice President will be administered by the Speaker of the Regional Congress. Elections for any other elected office will be administered by the President or Vice President.

(2) Section 2(2) of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

(2) An election period will begin ten days before the expiration of an elected official's term, if applicable, or in the case of challenge elections as soon as practical upon filing of a challenge, or in the case an elected office is vacated with no other constitutional procedure for filling the vacancy, as soon as practical following the vacancy.

(3) Section 2(4) of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

(4) In any election, voting citizens must rank all eligible candidates, or tickets in the case of elections requiring joint tickets, and the option to reopen nominations from most to least preferred on their ballots. Ballots will be publicly cast in the designated voting thread.

(4) Section 2(6)-2(8) of the Election Administration Act will be amended as follows:

(6) The candidate/ticket elected to office in any election will be the candidate/ticket who receives majority support in the election. If no candidate/ticket or the option to reopen nominations receives majority support in the first count, instant run-off voting will be conducted.

(7) Instant run-off voting will be conducted by eliminating the choice ranked first on the fewest ballots, then transferring the vote(s) of any citizen(s) who ranked that choice first to their next preferred choice, as indicated by their ballot. This process will be repeated until a candidate/ticket or the option to reopen nominations receives majority support, or until there is a tie between two choices.

(8) In the event of a tie between two choices, the tie will be broken in favor of the incumbent official(s), if applicable, or in favor of the most senior citizen remaining as a candidate or head of ticket. If the tie is between a candidate/ticket and reopen nominations, nominations will be reopened.

Section 4. Amendments to the Pacifica External Affairs Committee Act

(1) Section 1(2)-1(3) of the Pacifica External Affairs Committee Act will be amended as follows:

(2) The President shall, at his or her their discretion, appoint members to the PEAC to serve as advisers on foreign policy

(3) The President, Vice President, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (or an equivalent office) Cabinet Secretary responsible for foreign affairs, if applicable, shall serve on the PEAC along with four up to six other members

Section 5. Enactment

(1) Should the amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Pacifica contained herein fail to be enacted, amendments to other laws contained herein will not be enacted.

(2) The President in office at the time these amendments are enacted will continue to serve as President and will not be subject to election until four months from the date of their prior election.

[Cormac]

The results of the recent Coconut Review survey found that ~67% of respondents thought the executive government should be restructured so that the entire executive government is led by the President. To be clear, I don't see this as being at all a reflection on Wymondham's service as Prime Minister or on the rest of the Cabinet of Ministers, and should these amendments pass I hope to incorporate the individuals involved in the Cabinet of Ministers into the newly unified executive branch either as Secretaries or Undersecretaries insofar as possible. It's clear to me, and seems clear to a supermajority of the citizenry, that we've bitten off a bit more than we can chew with the split executive and that as a young region we need to simplify things a bit. Although we've only been trying the split executive for a short time, I think it's important to quickly respond to changing circumstances and evolving needs, particularly for a young region. That's why I'm proposing these amendments.

Thoughts, suggested revisions, etc. are welcome. Questions about what a particular provision does are also welcome.

[Deleted]

I’m indifferent to the amendments. I don’t think that we’ve bitten off too much to handle with a split executive, but I recognize the arguments for a unified executive branch.

I do have one question, however. Will the Vice President serve in any other role except as being first in the presidential line of succession. If so, what role will they play?

[qwabourharbour]

Just a question, who will be the VP before the next election?

[Constie]

It may be wise to merge the positions of Vice President and Chairman of the Guardian Council, and have the Vice President serve as a liaison between the two.

[Deleted]

Feb 14, 2019 7:17:35 GMT -5 Constie said:

It may be wise to merge the positions of Vice President and Chairman of the Guardian Council, and have the Vice President serve as a liaison between the two.

I really like this idea, as well as having the Vice President server as a chief adviser on all affairs and any other duties assigned by the President.

[phurthrette]

As we are talking about reforming the executive government, I think it may be prudent to amend this clause in the election administration act:

"(3) Should an election period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the election period, without regard for any mandated length of term."

If I understand this clause correctly, it allows for an authoritarian official to indefinitely delay an election.
I therefore propose, that an election period may only be delayed, if a state of emergency is declared by 2/3 majority in the Regional Congress.

[Cormac]

Feb 13, 2019 22:04:20 GMT -5 @pallerdy said:

I do have one question, however. Will the Vice President serve in any other role except as being first in the presidential line of succession. If so, what role will they play?

The Vice President's most important role will be making sure there is someone ready and willing at all times to assume the presidency if needed. That said, I do think the President can and should include the Vice President in the executive, and as I've noted on Discord I think the vice presidency will be an opportunity for each President to choose someone who complements them, someone who has strengths the President lacks, who can bring those strengths to the executive and contribute. I do also think having the Vice President serve as Chairperson of the Guardian Council is a good idea, and I'll be addressing that in a minute.

Feb 14, 2019 2:54:33 GMT -5 qwabourharbour said:

Just a question, who will be the VP before the next election?

Per the procedure outlined in the amendments, because the vice presidency would be vacant, I would be appointing a Vice President subject to confirmation by the Regional Congress. I don't think now is really the time to discuss who that person will be, I think that would be better discussed following these amendments, should they pass, once I've appointed someone and the Regional Congress has a chance to ask questions and deliberate.

Feb 14, 2019 7:17:35 GMT -5 Constie said:

It may be wise to merge the positions of Vice President and Chairman of the Guardian Council, and have the Vice President serve as a liaison between the two.

Feb 14, 2019 8:00:13 GMT -5 @pallerdy said:

Feb 14, 2019 7:17:35 GMT -5 Constie said:

It may be wise to merge the positions of Vice President and Chairman of the Guardian Council, and have the Vice President serve as a liaison between the two.

I really like this idea, as well as having the Vice President server as a chief adviser on all affairs and any other duties assigned by the President.

I think having the Vice President serve as Chairperson of the Guardian Council is reasonable, and it's just something I hadn't initially thought to do. To make this happen, I'll be including the following amendment in the OP:

(5) The Guardian Council may elect its own Chairperson to preside over the business of the Guardian Council according to its procedural rules, and may elect a new Chairperson at any time.

(5) The Vice President will serve as non-voting Chairperson of the Guardian Council, and will preside over the business of the Guardian Council according to its procedural rules. The Vice President will serve as liaison between the Guardian Council and other branches of government.

In regard to the suggestion to have the Vice President serve "as a chief adviser on all affairs and any other duties assigned by the President," I don't think we need to formalize that. Each President would already be able to include the Vice President in executive affairs as an adviser and contributor, without enshrining that in the constitution, and I think it's best to leave the Vice President's involvement to be decided between each President and their Vice President. Let's keep that flexible.

Feb 14, 2019 8:58:01 GMT -5 phurthrette said:

As we are talking about reforming the executive government, I think it may be prudent to amend this clause in the election administration act:

"(3) Should an election period for any reason be delayed, the incumbent official will continue to hold office until conclusion of the election period, without regard for any mandated length of term."

If I understand this clause correctly, it allows for an authoritarian official to indefinitely delay an election.
I therefore propose, that an election period may only be delayed, if a state of emergency is declared by 2/3 majority in the Regional Congress.

Ah, I can see how you would interpret it that way, but actually the clause is just ensuring that if an election is delayed for a couple days that doesn't leave offices vacant until the election is completed. It's often the case in NationStates that elections will get delayed a couple or a few days because an election administrator is forgetful or busy, and in those situations, you don't want the incumbent officials' offices to be vacated until the election is completed. That's all this clause is intended to protect against. Both the constitution and the EAA are clear that elections have to occur in the event of an applicable vacancy as soon as practical, so to stretch this clause out beyond what is practically necessary would be illegal, and any reasonable court would rule it illegal and order an election to be conducted. I hope that helps explain why this clause exists and is an important clause to retain.

Thanks everyone for all the input, keep it coming!

[Cormac]

As there has been no further discussion for a couple days, I move for a vote.

[qwabourharbour]

I second the motion and it is at vote.