We are working on a brand new version of the game! If you want to stay informed, read our blog and register for our mailing list.
Bill: Term length adjustment discussion
Details
Submitted by[?]: AM Populist Social Democrats
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill asks for an amendement to the Constitution. It will require two-thirds of the legislature to vote in favor. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: May 2340
Description[?]:
| This is all OOC, as it's about game mechanics: We had had four year terms (48 months). I agreed with the LITP that it seemed too long, and thus once we had 2/3 between us, we lowered it to 36 months along with some other changes I still very much like (while indifferent to the HoS also being HoG; either way is fine with me on that). However, what I've found is that this causes approximately the last half of the term to be in full "election mode," in which instead of focusing on making policy, the parties are proposing huge bills that are more extreme than they really believe in, in order to distinguish themselves from each other and reposition themselves. I'd like to suggest 42 months. This is extremely unrealistic in a roleplay sense, as a 3 1/2 year term makes little sense and no country would actually do that. However, in an OOC/game sense it would mean the elections would be the same day each week, and it would give us about four real-life days within the term to primarily make policy before we start proposing the huge bills usually not meant to pass primarily to win votes. We might additionally agree to all vote for early elections precisely one month early for this term only, as we seem to be Americans and election results would then come in at 10 pm Eastern time, giving everyone a chance to view them without staying up extremely late. As an adjunct faculty member in real life who manages to avoid teaching early morning classes, I can stay up for the 2 am elections, and would most often be up that late anyway; but that suggestion is for the benefit of everyone else. I'm putting the 42 month term proposal in this bill, but will only bring it to a vote if others like it. For what it's worth, I'd oppose a return to 48 month terms unless yearly quotas were returned to 10 per year. Despite that at the moment I'm the one most affected by quotas, a 48 months term with 12 per year would basically mean that a party or coalition of parties could completely change the nation in one term (rather than at least needing to win a second election). I think 42 month terms with the current 12 proposals per year and 12 max accumulation (the 12 max accumulation was an idea I pressed for) would be close to ideal, though. 12 per year means we know we get precisely one new proposal per month, and I like that-- but only with 42 or 36 month terms. Note that I'm making this proposal before seeing the election results; so however they go, it has nothing to do with that. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change The length of a legislative and executive term, in months. Should be between 24 and 72.
Old value:: 36
Current: 36
Proposed: 42
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 20:56:22, January 04, 2007 CET | From |  Likaton Coalition of the Willing | To | Debating the Term length adjustment discussion |
| Message | We would not be averse to trying this. We would like early elections to be called once we agree this bill, so we can pick an election day/time (I suggest late saturday, as this would mean that the 9 months pre-election dead time would be at the part of the week where least happens, and no one could bring sneak bills in just before it). |
| Date | 22:17:16, January 04, 2007 CET | From | AM Populist Social Democrats | To | Debating the Term length adjustment discussion |
| Message | (This, like all I write in this thread, is OOC) I would accept 10 pm (Eastern time) Saturday as the weekly election time. Whether I happen to be home at that time on a particular Saturday or not, I and I assume other parties run by Americans would find little trouble checking the results before heading to bed. Either way, I take the LITP's support of this proposal along with the lack of opposition from the ARLP as general support (given that no one commented on some other amendment I made, and then everyone voted for it). I'll thus bring it to a vote, as if we are going to schedule early elections we should have time to agree on when; and we cannot schedule them unless we know at least whether or not this proposal will pass. |
subscribe to this discussion - unsubscribe
Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 199 | ||||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | ||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Before creating a party organisation, check to see whether there are any existing organisations which cover the same agenda. |
| Random quote: "Politics is all about compromises and negotiations, nothing more, nothing less." - Augusto Amadeo, former Istalian politician |