WHEREAS the Senäts has its own standing orders, and
WHEREAS the Cosă also needs them in the events of Living Cosăs and their informal counterparts, and
WHEREAS there are already draft rules informally adopted during the last informal sessions, and
WHEREAS it would be a good idea to add them to the books, even if non-binding then at least for continuity's sake, and
THEREFORE be it resolved that the Cosă wishes to adopt the following rules of procedure for Living Cosăs and Informal Sessions:
Quote1. On the issue of the presiding officer.
a. The presiding officer is the Túischac'h. The Mençei acts as their deputy, e.g. when the Túischac'h is absent, speaking on a bill or making a Terpelaziun.
b. Further deputies may be appointed for the duration of both the Túischac'h and Mençei's absence, speaking on a bill or Terpelaziun whenever necessary.
c. The presiding officer shall enforce proper decorum during the proceedings.
2. On the issue of agenda.
a. The agenda by default consists of Terpelaziuns, bill debates, and voting, in that order.
b. Members may move to have other items added to the agenda at an appropriate time. Such items are to be added if this motion is micked by another member and passes a majority vote.
c. If there are no more items on the agenda, and no member wishes to add another item, the session is to be adjourned by the presiding officer.
3. On the issue of Terpelaziuns.
a. Terpelaziuns are addressed to the presiding officer and to be answered by a present Government minister of the questioner's choosing.
b. The Tanaischteu has the first opportunity to make a Terpelaziun. The Tanaischteu may appoint a deputy to make use of this first opportunity in their absence ahead of time.
c. The questioned minister must make an honest attempt to answer the Terpelaziun truthfully and completely, as far as the circumstances allow. Exceptions to this follow from existing Law.
d. The questioner may ask one follow-up question.
4. On the issue of debates on bills.
a. Bills are debated on in order of the Clark, followed by individual bills in the Hopper as moved by the main sponsor and micked by another member. In a Living Cosă, only Clarked bills may be debated.
b. The bill's main sponsor has the first opportunity to speak. If the bill's main sponsor is absent, a co-sponsor may speak first. After that, members from Government and Opposition parties may speak alternatingly if possible.
c. Members may signal to the presiding officer that they wish to ask a question or make a brief statement during a speaker's turn. The speaker may then choose whether or not to give way.
d. Bills may not be amended, tabled, referred to committee or indefinitely postponed.
e. Debate on a bill ends when either no more members either wish or are eligible to speak.
5. On the issue of Points of Order.
a. At any time, members may raise a Point of Order by raising both hands. Points of Order have precedence over the regular agenda and must be resolved immediately, and may interrupt a member on the floor in the process.
b. Points of Order may be raised for the following reasons:
i. Appeal. This must be raised immediately after a decision by the presiding officer. It takes precedence over all other motions and must be micked by another member to be considered. In the event of an appeal, the decision in question may be overturned by majority vote. If the vote is tied, the decision stands.
ii. Breach of rules. This is to draw attention to a breach of rules, improper procedure, breaching of established practices, and so on.
iii. Recess. Recess of no more than 30 minutes is taken if this motion is micked by another member and passed a majority vote.
iv. Closure of debate. The debate is closed if this motion is micked by another member and passes a majority vote.
v. Limiting of debate. The debate is limited to a certain amount of additional time or number of additional speakers if this motion is micked by another member and passes a majority vote.
vi. Personal privilege. This is to address issues pertaining to the comfort of the meeting, such as volume, muting, connection quality, or so on. Members may also use it to address the accuracy of published reports or the accuracy of a member's conduct.
6. On the issue of voting.
a. Clarked bills are voted on by each House separately, according to Law.
b. Procedural motions are voted on by both Houses together. Members of the Cosă each have as many votes as they have seats assigned to them. Senators each have 25 votes.
c. A "majority vote" is successful if there are more votes in favour than against.
d. A "vote by unanimous consent" is successful automatically unless at least one member audibly objects, at which point a majority vote is conducted instead. It can be requested by any member instead of a majority vote on matters that are of minor importance or for which opposition is not expected.
Uréu q'estadra så,
Marcel Tafial (MC-URL)
Usually, one of the first things a newly elected Bundestag (= German parliament) does is vote to adopt rules of procedure, and they usually agree to adopt the same ones that the previous Bundestag, maybe with small changes. I would like to establish this practice in Talossa as well, even if because of the Clark system the adopted rules would only ever enter into force from the 2nd Clark onwards and not cover the State Opening... maybe we can fix this at some point in the future.