The State Opening of the Cosa Redux Act

[Eðo Grischun]

WHEREAS it is a plank of the coalition government to introduce legislative proposals that seek to create explicit cultural duties for the Monarch, and

WHEREAS current law allows for a State Opening of the Cosa, but this is rarely done as the concept only really applies to Living Cosas, so

THEREFORE be it enacted by the Ziu assembled that El Lexhatx H.1 which currently reads:

Future elections shall be followed, when practical, by an official Living Cosă which shall be styled the "State Opening of the Cosa". At the State Opening, the Prime Minister shall read his Speech to the Nation, and the Leader of the Opposition shall have a chance to rebut. A Living Cosă shall be carried out at the same time, on the Government's first Clark. At the start of the State Opening, the new Prime Minister will be sworn in publicly. The State Opening shall feature food, drink, and as many Talossans as possible will be invited to attend.

is hereby amended to read:

Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Cosa". At the start of the State Opening, the new Prime Minister will be sworn in publicly.  The Monarch shall then deliver a Speech from the Throne outlining his government's legislative agenda and programme for government; The contents of this speech shall be communicated to the Monarch by the incoming Prime Minister prior to the ceremony. The Prime Minister shall then deliver a Speech to the Nation and, if desired, may announce Cabinet Ministers during the ceremony. Rebuttal speeches by the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Third Party shall then follow. When practical, The State Opening shall be held during an official Living Cosă and shall feature food, drink, and as many Talossans as possible will be invited to attend.(This stricken section has been left here to show changes and edits being made during the Hopper debate, but will not be included in the Clarked version)

Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Cosa". 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 programme 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. When practical, the State Opening shall be held during an official Living Cosă for which food and drink shall be featured and as many Talossans as possible shall be invited to attend.

[Açafat del Val]

May I suggest the following changes, some for style, some for consistency, and some for actual policy?

Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Cosa". At the start of the State Opening, the new Prime Minister Seneschal shall be sworn in to the office publicly.  The Monarch Sovereign shall then deliver a speech from the Throne outlining his the Government's legislative agenda and program for government the term. The contents of this speech shall be communicated to the Monarch Sovereign by the incoming Prime Minister Seneschal prior to the ceremony. The Prime Minister Seneschal shall then deliver a Speech to the Nation and, if desired, may announce Cabinet Ministers during the ceremony. Rebuttal speeches by the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Third Party A rebuttal by the Leader of the Opposition shall follow. When practical, the State Opening shall be held during an official Living Cosă for which food and drink shall be featured and as many Talossans as possible shall be invited to attend.

Or cleanly and without formatting...

Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Cosa". 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. When practical, the State Opening shall be held during an official Living Cosă for which food and drink shall be featured and as many Talossans as possible shall be invited to attend.

[Eðo Grischun]

Fair enough, I suppose. 

Prime Minister to Seneschal: Yeah.  I used Prime Minister because the original paragraph being amended used that term.  We probably have loads of instances in law where either/or has been used.  I don't think that's a major issue, but it might be beneficial if we pick the term we want to be using and then go through the law and make sure all instances match.  That's a thing for a later day. For now, yeah, I can make this change.

Monarch to Sovereign: Similar to above.  Although I think we will find the term King used most often in law, which bugs me because one day we may end up with a Queen.  I prefer Monarch over Sovereign as a matter of styling (I would much prefer to be using the term 'the Crown', but that nomenclature hasn't really stuck in Talossa), but again, yeah, I can make this change.

Overall styling and changes to sentence structure:  Sure.  Thanks for cleaning it up.

The only thing I want to debate is the bit about a rebuttal speech from the leader of the third largest party.  I have thought for a while that the third party leader should have a greater role in parliament.  If we were holding live debates or 'in-turn' terpelaziuns then the order would probably go as I suggested, but we don't do those things.  It would be neat, though, to start recognizing the third party that way and start including it in the order programme for events such as hearings and ceremonies.  I'm not going to remove it from this draft Bill just yet, but will amend the language from "Third Party" to "third largest party", and make it optional. 

In the meantime, let's discuss it.  Why did you feel a need to remove it from your suggested edits?

(also, I'm keeping 'programme' instead of 'program'.  I can't remember exactly where it is or whether it's a law or just a convention, but whenever regional spelling variations exist, we are supposed to adopt the British spelling over all others).

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Bill now reading as thus at present:

Following each General Election there shall be an official "State Opening of the Cosa". 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 programme 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. When practical, the State Opening shall be held during an official Living Cosă for which food and drink shall be featured and as many Talossans as possible shall be invited to attend.