Senate Protocol Act (04/09)

Parliament of eAustralia
Purpose: This Senate Protocol Act, outlines Senate Protocol and Procedures as well as Speaker and Deputy
Speaker Nomination and Election.

Definitions
Majority Approval of elected Senators - Stated agreement with a proposal in a Discussion Topic by 50%+1 of
eRepublik elected Senators

Procedure:
1. Policy Proposals
a) All Policy Proposals or amendments intended to be debated by the Senate and Cabinet shall be placed in the
eAustralia Senate forum for discussion under these procedures before being voted on, either here on the forums
or in-game.

b) Any Policy Proposal made using the eRepublik Congress system that doesn't follow the procedure explicitly
as described below, requires all Senators to vote "No" automatically.

c) The Policy Proposal procedure is as follows;

(i) Any Senator, Department Minister, Deputy Minister or the Prime Minister interested in making a proposal
must first declare the proposal using one of the required Templates, as a new topic in the Senate section on the
eAustralian forums. This topic will be discussed, starting from the date and time the Discussion Topic is posted,
for a period:
a. no less than 48 hours for standard legislation, or
b. no less than 12 hours with the majority approval of elected Senators for emergency legislation.

(ii) The Senate Speaker and Deputy Speaker shall preside over all Senate discussions and topics, act as
moderator, and rule on any points of order in relation to the proper process for debating and passing of
legislation.

(iii) Proposers are required to amend their own proposal topics where required if they choose to do so. Failure
to do so will mean that the proposal will be voted on specifically as the proposer stated, unless in the case of sub-
section (vi).

(iv) The proposer of the proposal may propose that the discussion is closed at any time after the appropriate
discussion time period has expired. If the proposer does not propose that the discussion is closed, the Speaker /
Deputy Speaker may declare that the discussion is closed after the minimum discussion period. The Speaker /
Deputy Speaker will then lock the topic with a final post directing voters to the Voting Hall and the vote taking
on the proposal as a new topic.
(v) The Vote shall be taken simultaneously in the Voting Hall and in eRepublik. Senators must duplicate their
eRepublik vote in the Voting Hall. This poll in the Voting Hall will be voted on, starting from the date and time
the Vote Topic is posted, no less than 24 hours, and closed when the eRepublik poll closes.

(vi) Further to (iii), the result of a discussion may be the general consensus of the Senators. Such examples
include:

- A Senator, Minister or the Prime Minister makes a proposal but there are various resolutions counter-proposed
and supported by Senators. In this case, if the proposer refuses to amend their original proposal, both the
original proposal and the counterproposals will become a multiple choice for the proposal to be voted on, in a
poll created by the Senate Speaker or Deputy Speaker. This is known as a "multiple-choice vote".

(vii) Regardless of the voting options presented in any individual bill, elected members have the right to abstain
or vote in the negative even when the option to do so has not been presented. Following a positive result of a vote
(ie if a majority vote of "yes" in a yes-no vote or the proposal with the most votes in a multi-choice proposal), any
Senator is authorised to make the actual proposal using the eRepublik Congress system if required. As the game
mechanics state, this vote runs for 24 hours.

(viii) Policy Proposals and Amendments will not be accepted from a Senator, unless they have signed the Senate
Protocol Act for the current term. The Speaker or Deputy Speaker will immediately lock the proposal/amendment
thread, and no futher discussion will be allowed.

2. Senate Speaker/Deputy Speaker Elections

a) The Speaker of the Senate from the previous term shall call for nominations in a post on the 26th and 27th of
the month. Senators may nominate themselves or nominate others for the positions during this time. Any Senator
who is not the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime or a Cabinet Minister may apply or be nominated. Deputy Ministers
and Apprentices, who have been elected to the Senate may be nominated. Any elected senators may run.

i. Nominations and applications may be for specific positions as either the Speaker or Deputy Speaker, or they
may be as general nomination or application.

ii. Nominees nominated by others should accept or reject nominations prior to the closing time, otherwise they
will be included in vote.

b)On the 28th and 29th of the month the Past Speaker shall institute a vote in the Senate with those Senators who
have been nominated. Senators will then vote for those they wish see as Speaker and Deputy Speaker for that
term.

c) The Vote shall run for a period of 2 days. After the New Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be those with the
Majority of the votes.

d) The Past Speaker will add both winners to the respective Speaker and Deputy Speaker Forum Groups and
remove himself within 3 days so as to offer help if needed. The New Speaker may ask the Past Speaker to stay in
the group to assist for a period of no more than 3 extra days.

e) If at some point the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has to resign their post during any given month the current or
out going Speaker will appoint a Speaker or Deputy Speaker to fulfill the remainder of the term. If the 2nd
Deputy Speaker (if filled) resigns it is the discretion of the current Speaker to appoint a new 2nd Deputy Speaker
or not.

3. Code of Ethics
a) Anything posted in the Sensitive Discussion area must not be repeated, screenshotted or copy/pasted to
anyone who is not a member of The Senate or member of Cabinet.

b) All Senators will endeavour, to the best of their ability, make an informed decision and vote accordingly upon
that decision (rather than looking what everyone else has voted and voting the same way,) and discuss
accordingly all topics covered by The Senate.

4. Acceptance
a) All Senators should familiarise themselves with this Act and the Protocols encompassed within as each month
a copy of this protocol will be posted into a separate topic in The Senate Forum and ALL Senators are required to
read, understand and sign the document.

Senators will have a period of 3 days grace after the senate elections to sign the document, before full senate
access on the forums is revoked. To regain full senate access, they must contact the Speaker or Deputy Speaker
who will return access. Failure to sign the document after this time, will result in full access being revoked for the
rest of the current elected period.

Exceptions: The exception to part of the Senate Protocol Act is Sensative Issues, which will be placed in the
Sensitive Issues Forum as a topic similar to standard proposals. All such discussions relating this topic will be
done there. Voting will take place in the same location and time frame as stated above.

Responsibility: General responsibility for most of this document will be that of the Senators and the Speaker
and Deputy Speaker.

After the election of every new Senate, the Old Speaker / Deputy Speaker is required to copy the following code
into a new topic, fill in the required areas and the Newly elected Senators are required to read and sign.

Code:
Subject: [Parly Protocol] 08/09 09 - All Senate & Cabinet Read & Sign

[quote][center][img]http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv25/xaviergriffith/eau-
coa.jpg[/img]
[size=150][b]Senate Protocol Act (04/09)[/b][/size]
[size=85][b]Parliament of eAustralia[/b][/size][/center]

The Following Protocol is a direct copy of the

[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=433][b]Senate Protocol Act (04/09)
[/b][/url]. [b]ALL Senators and Cabinet Members[/b] are to read it carefully and reply
post [b]“Signed”[/b] to show you understand and agree.

[b]"All" Senators and Cabinet Members[/b] are to read the following Acts to familiarise
themselves with the workings of eAustralian Parliament:
[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=434][b]eAustralian Parliamentary
Process Act (04/09)[/b][/url]
[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=432][b]Cabinet Protocol Act (04/09)
[/b][/url]
[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=635][b]Government Secrets Act
(04/09)[/b][/url]
[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com./viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2397][b]Political Process Act
(08/09)[/b][/url]
[url=http://forum.auserepublik.com./viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2509][b]Citizenship and Quota for
Immigration Act (08/09)[/b][/url]
[color=#8000BF][size=125][b]A Breach of any of these will be strictly enforced, "I didn\'t
read that Act" will NOT be an acceptable excuse.[/b][/size][/color]

[b]Procedure: [/b]
[b][u]1. Policy Proposals[/u][/b]
a) All policy proposals being presented to the Senate and Cabinet shall be placed in The
Senate Forum in the Form of Bills/Treaty/Agreements/etc. for discussion under these
procedures before being voted on, either here on the forums or in game.
b) Any proposal made using the eRepublik Congress system that doesn\'t follow the
procedure explicitly as described below, requires all Senators to vote [b]"No"[/b]
automatically.

c) The Policy Proposal procedure is as follows;

i. Any Senator, Department Minister, Deputy Minister or the Prime Minister interested in
making a proposal must first declare the proposal using one of the required Templates, as a
new topic in The Senate section on the eAustralian forums. This topic will be discussed
for a period no less than 48 hours, starting from the date and time the topic is posted.

ii. The Senate Speaker and Deputy Speaker shall preside over all Senate discussions &
topics and act as moderator.

iii. Proposers are required to amend their own proposal topics were required if they
choose to do so. Failure to do so will mean that the proposal will be voted on
specifically as the proposer stated, unless in the case of vi..

iv. After the 48 hours has passed the Speaker / Deputy Speaker will lock the topic with a
final post directing voters to the voting hall and the vote taking on the proposal as a new
topic.

v. The Vote shall be taken in the Voting Hall. This poll will be voted on for a period no
less than 48 hours from the date and time of the Vote Topic.

vi. Further to (iii), the result of a discussion may be the general consensus of the
Senators. Such examples include;

- A Senator, Minister or the Prime Minister makes a proposal but there are various
resolutions counter-proposed and supported by Senators. In this case, if the proposer
refuses to amend their original proposal, both the original proposal and the
counterproposals will become a multiple choice for the proposal to be voted on, in a poll
created by the Senate Speaker or Deputy Speaker. This is known as a "multiple-choice
vote".

vii. Regardless of the voting options presented in any individual bill, elected members
have the right to abstain or vote in the negative even when the option to do so has not
been presented. Following a positive result of a vote (ie if a majority vote of "yes" in a
yes-no vote or the proposal with the most votes in a multi-choice proposal), any Senator is
authorised to make the actual proposal using the eRepublik Congress system if required. As
the game mechanics state, this vote runs for 24 hours.

[b][u]2. Senate Speaker/Deputy Speaker Elections[/u][/b]

a) The Speaker of the Senate shall call for nominations in a Post on the 23rd and 24th of
the Month. Senators may nominate themselves or nominate others for the position during
this time. Any Senator who is not the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime or a Cabinet Member may
apply or be nominated.

i. Nominations and applications may be for specific positions as either the Speaker or
Deputy Speaker, or they may be as general nomination or application.

ii. Nominees nominated by others must accept their nomination in order to be considered a
valid candidate. If a candidate declines or doesn\'t respond, then that nominees will not
be considered a valid candidate..

b) At the end of the Elections of the New Senate, the Past Speaker shall institute a Vote
in the Senate with those Senators that have been re-elected listed on it. Senators will
vote for those they wish as Speaker and Deputy Speaker for that term of the Senate.

c) The Vote shall run for a period of 2 days. After the New Speaker and Deputy Speaker
will be those with the Majority of the votes.

d) The Past Speaker will add both winners to the respective Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Forum Groups and remove himself within 3 days so as to offer help if needed. The New
Speaker may ask the Past Speaker to stay in the group to assist for a period of no more
than 3 extra days.

[b][u]3. Code of Ethics[/u][/b]

a) Anything posted in the Sensitive Discussion area must not be repeated, screenshotted
or copy/pasted to anyone who is not a member of The Senate or member of Cabinet.

b) All Senators will endeavour, to the best of their ability, make an informed decision
and vote accordingly upon that decision [i](rather than looking what everyone else has
voted and voting the same way,)[/i] and discuss accordingly all topics covered by The
Senate.

[b][u]4. Acceptance[/u][/b]
a) All Senators should familiarise themselves with this Act and the Protocols encompassed
within as each month a copy of this protocol will be posted into a separate topic in The
Senate Forum and ALL Senators are required to read, understand and sign the document.

[b]Exceptions: [/b] The exception to part of the Senate Protocol Act is Sensative Issues,
which will be placed in the Sensitive Issues Forum as a topic similar to standard
proposals. All such discussions relating this topic will be done there. Voting will take
place in the same location and time frame as stated above.

[b]Responsibility: [/b] General responsibility for most of this document will be that of
the Senators and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

After the election of every new Senate, the Old Speaker / Deputy Speaker is required to
copy the following code into a new topic, fill in the required areas and the Newly elected
Senators are required to read and sign.

[b][u]Acknowledgment[/u][/b]
a) As a Senator you agree that you have read the above procedures for the Senate and you
need to sign below.

[color=#BF0000][size=125][b][u]Senators for ***/*** 2009[/u][/b][/size][/color]

[color=#00BF00][u]Signed[/u]
[/color]

[color=#0000BF][u]Yet to sign[/u]
[/color]

[color=#FF0000][u]Not registered on forums[/u]

[/color]

[color=#408000][size=125][b][u]Cabinet Members for *** 2009[/u][/b][/size][/color]

[color=#00BF00][u]Signed[/u]
[/color]

[color=#0000BF][u]Yet to sign[/u]
[/color]

[/quote]

Amendments:
1. [Senatorial Review] Senate Procedures
2. [Amend] Senatorial Voting Rights – <06/09>
3. [Amend] Speaker Election Amendments
4. [Amend Senate Protocol Act Amendment - (09/09)

References:
Initial: Senate Protocol – Pre-eAus Government Formation.
Amendment Discussion: 1. [Senatorial Review] Senate Procedures
Amendment Vote: [Vote] Senate Review of Speaker Nominations
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Xavier Griffith
Amendment enacted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 @ 7:19 pm

Amendment Discussion: 2. Discussion [Amend] Senatorial Voting Rights – <06/09>

Amendment Vote: [Vote] Senatorial Voting Rights
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Alex Australis
Amendment enacted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 @ 11:14 pm

Amendment Discussion: 3. [Amend] Speaker Election Amendments – <Aug/09>

Amendment Vote: [Vote] Speaker Election Amendments – <Aug/09> PASSED
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Newt Gingrich
Amendment enacted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 @ 11:30 pm

Amendment Discussion: 4. Senate Protocol Act Amendment - (11/09)

Amendment Vote: [Vote] Senate Protocol Act Amendment (11/09) PASSED
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Derek Apollyon
Amendment enacted: December 6th 2009

Amendment Discussion: 5. [Amend] Senate Protocol Act Amendment (12/09)

Amendment Vote: [Vote] Senate Protocol Act Amendment – (12/09)PASSED
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Majester
Amendment enacted: December 27th 2009

Amendment Discussion: 6. [Amend] Senate Protocol Act Amendment (04/09)

Amendment Vote: [VOTE][Amend.6] Senate Protocol Act (04/09) PASSED
Amendment Proposed by: Senator Infin
Amendment enacted: January 10th 2010