The Reform Plan, Reformed

[Mic’haglh Autófil, SMC EiP]

Based on my summary of feedback to the initial PdR reform plan, I submit for public review the "Reform" Plan, Reformed.

Key Points:

Ziu Reform:

• Unicameralism: The Senäts is abolished with the general election following ratification of the relevant Organic amendment.
  
  • Senators are still "grandfathered" into a "merged" Cosa as previously proposed, in slightly different ways depending on the electoral method below.
• Cosa Option 1: Biproportional Representation
  
  • One of the two proposed methods of Cosa election is the "biproportional representation" method previously proposed.
  • Seats are apportioned among each province based on how many votes were cast from that province in the previous election, and parties are awarded seats within a given province based on their proportion of votes within that province.
  • Any seats that cannot be assigned to a single party are awarded at the national level via a "topping-off" once all provincial seats possible are awarded.
  • The apportionment of seats to provinces and the awarding of seats to parties (both at the provincial level and the nationwide "topping-off" stage) is all accomplished via the Webster method.
  • Incumbent Senators at the time of the Senäts' dissolution (of which there would be five) are automatically assigned half of their respective province's seats for each election during the remainder of what would have been their current Senatorial term. Should any of these ex-Senators appear on a party's list (with their consent) during such an election, their automatic seat assignment will count towards that party's seats in that province instead.
• Cosa Option 2: Mixed-Member Proportional Representation
  
  • The Cosa is split between "provincial seats" and "list seats".
  • Each province is assigned an equal number of seats, such that the total number of provincial seats does not exceed one-half of the whole Cosa.
  • Provincial MCs are elected by Instant-Runoff Vote and hold all of their province's seats.
  • The remaining seats are apportioned between parties, taking the provincial seats into account in order to arrive at a proportional amount.
  • Incumbent Senators are considered their province's "provincial MC" for the remainder of their Senatorial term.

[Note: It may not be an awful idea to submit these two options, along with "Status Quo", to Ranked-Choice Referendum 2]

A Fixed Legislative Schedule:

• Elections now occur three times over a biannual schedule (every eight months).
• The Seneschal may still issue a single month of recess per Cosa term, but this no longer pushes back subsequent Clarks (in other words, this Cosa will instead have five Clarks instead of six).
• Because elections are now fixed, a Vote of Confidence is no longer capable of calling a new election. As a result, the current-style VoC is removed from the Clark.
• It is replaced by a "Constructive Motion of No Confidence" -- this bill, which can be moved through the Hopper quickly as it may be an emergency, names a specific candidate to take over as Seneschal. If it does not pass, the current Government remains in office.
• As an alternative, we could simply extend the ability to submit a "majority petition to name a Seneschal" throughout the term, since as the law is currently written it may only be usable upon the seating of a new Cosa.
  
  • This could potentially be harder to use, since the petition requires a majority of the whole Cosa, and not just a majority of seats currently held. As a result, an "absentee Government" could still be active enough to avoid losing their seats, blocking the usage of the petition.
  • On the other hand, this could also prevent a poorly-timed absence from a given Clark from allowing a minority government to take office based on little more than luck.

Other Reforms:

• The ability of MCs to petition the Chancery for official recognition / "parliamentary status" for a new party in the middle of a Cosa term is retained in this proposal, along with the same limitations on doing so.
• A convention to coordinate provincial mergers is also retained.

Removed:

• The "power-swapping" arrangement between the Crown and Ziu regarding Seneschal appointments and vetos. (This was the only plank to get a negative score when I summarized the feedback.)
• Retaining the entire country as a single electoral district when moving to a unicameral Ziu. This proposal, one of two for the method of electing the Cosa, was replaced with MMP in this new proposal.
• The move to a yearly Cosa schedule had quite a bit of support from the people who supported it, and quite a bit of opposition from the people who opposed it. (It actually registered a perfectly even 0 in my summary tally.) So while I believe we should continue to push for it, I also recognize that sometimes you need to walk before you can run. The point is establishing consensus, after all.

[Breneir Tzaracomprada]

This is really well done, this latest proposal and the style with which you've handled the discussion. Out of all the Avant coalition members the Reform Party has best demonstrated an ability to build consensus. I personally support Cosa Option 1 and hope to continue pushing for yearly fixed elections as I think more time for government action is not a bad thing nor is it bad for more time for the development of apolitical ventures.