[PASSED] The Flexible State Opening Act

[Sir Lüc]

WHEREAS, pomp and circumstance is generally good insofar as it gives our legislature the trappings of macronational ones;

WHEREAS, said pomp and circumstance should however merely be accessory to our political process, rather than an integral part of it;

WHEREAS, flexibility and scalability should be features of our institutions as much as practical, owing to the generally discontinuous nature of citizens's political engagement;

AND WHEREAS this is also an opportunity to bring the language of our Oath in line with modern Talossan spelling;

THEREFORE, El Lexhatx title H section 1.1 and all subsections thereof, which currently read:

1.1. Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Ziu".

    1.1.1. At the start of the State Opening, the new Seneschal shall be sworn to the office publicly. The Sovereign shall then deliver a speech outlining the Government's legislative agenda and program for the term. The contents of this speech shall be communicated to the Sovereign by the incoming Seneschal prior to the ceremony. The Seneschal may announce Cabinet Ministers during the ceremony. A rebuttal by the Leader of the Opposition shall follow, which may be followed by a further rebuttal by the leader of the third largest party.
    1.1.2. When practical, the State Opening may include an official Living Cosă (and 'Living Senats') in which food and drink shall be featured and as many Talossans as possible shall be invited to attend.
    1.1.3. The event shall be organized and conducted by the Speakers of both Houses of the Ziu, working in coordination and cooperation with each other.
    1.1.4. The Seneschal shall be sworn in by reciting the historic Oath of Office in the Talossan language, if possible in the presence of a copy of the historic book, The Loom of Language. He shall raise his right hand and take the Oath verbally in the presence of the King or a member of the Uppermost Cort, either in person or over the phone. In place of reciting the entire Oath he may simply affirm by the word 'üc' his intention to abide by its terms.
    1.1.5. The historic Oath of Office is as follows: "Eu afirm, solenâmînt, që eu, [nôminâ], cün fidálità, rompliarhéu l'ôifisch da Sieu Maxhestà së Seneschál del Regipäts Talossán, és zefençarhéu, àl miglhôr da v'aválità, la sigürità del Estat Talossán. Så viva el Regeu!" (Translation: I do solemnly affirm that I, [name], will faithfully execute the office of His Majesty's First Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa, and will to the best of my ability defend the integrity of the Talossan State. Long live the King!)

are struck in full and replaced with the following:

1.1. Following each General Election, an official State Opening of the Ziu shall take place for the purpose of inaugurating the incoming Ziu and Government.
      1.1.1. The State Opening shall be organized and conducted by the Túischac'h and Mençei, working in coordination and cooperation with each other. They shall jointly set the place and time for the meeting to take place. The meeting may take place in person, using video conferencing tools, or on Wittenberg.
      1.1.2. Should there be a change in the holder of the office of Seneschal between the General Election and the State Opening, the new Seneschal shall be sworn in at the beginning of the State Opening.
         1.1.2.1. The Seneschal shall be sworn in by reciting the historic Oath of Office before the Ziu. The Oath shall be administered by the King, or a Commissioner delegated by the King.
         1.1.2.2. Should there be a change in the holder of the office of Seneschal after a State Opening has already taken place in the same term, or in such circumstances as to make it impractical to wait for a State Opening to take place, the new Seneschal may publicly deliver a written declaration addressed to the King to affirm their acceptance of the terms of the Oath.
         1.1.2.3. The historic Oath of Office is as follows: "Affirméu solenéămint q'éu, [nómină], rompliarhéu cün fidalità l'óifisch da Sieu Maxhestà sè Seneschal del Regipäts Talossan, es zefençarhéu, àl miglhor da v'avalità, la sigürità del Estat Talossan. Sà viva el Regeu!" (Translation: I do solemnly affirm that I, [name], will faithfully execute the office of His Majesty's Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Talossa, and will to the best of my ability defend the security of the Talossan State. Long live the King!)
         1.1.2.4. The Oath of Office may alternatively be administered to the new Seneschal in form of a question, as long as it contains an equivalent wording as the historic Oath. The new Seneschal shall affirm their acceptance of the terms of the Oath by answering positively.
      1.1.3. Other business of the Ziu and Government may take place before a State Opening has taken place, without any impediment or condition. A new Seneschal may perform all duties of their office as soon as they have been appointed.
      1.1.4. During the State Opening, the King - or a Commissioner delegated by the King - shall deliver a speech, written by the Government, outlining the Government's legislative agenda and program for the term. The speech may be followed by a rebuttal by the Leader of the Opposition - or a Member of the Cosă or Senator delegated by the Leader of the Opposition - and by further debate.

Ureu q'estadra så,

Sir Lüc da Schir (MC-IND/FreeDem)

[Sir Lüc]

This rationalises the structure of H.1.1 and makes the whole process of holding a State Opening more flexible. It also elaborates a bit more on the Oath, bringing its language in line with modern Talossan spelling, clarifying what can be done when the Seneschal changes mid-Cosă and in cases like the period between the 49/50th and 52/53rd Cosă.

(Honestly my preference was for moving the Oath to the title defining the composition of the Cabinet, but then I went down a rabbit hole trying to reorganise that bit of El Lexh too, so I gave up for now)

[King Txec]

I like the commissioner part.

[Sir Lüc]

I like the commissioner part.

Yeah, @Glüc da Dhi S.H. is going to pillory me for this, but the term is borrowed from the UK, where a royal commission of five members of the House of Lords usually represents the monarch in most of their dealings with Parliament except for the actual State Opening (eg. approbation of a Speaker, prorogation...).

As far as my bill is concerned, it's just the style and not the practice that I borrowed; clearly in our case the strong preference is that the King would be present himself, but I'm a strong proponent of having contingency options in place and, generally speaking, as much flexibility as possible.

[Sir Lüc]

Moving this to committee later today, unless I forget.

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Seems good to me.

[Sir Lüc]

Moved to committee; I personally approve.

[Sir Ian Plätschisch]

Approved