Bill: Proposed Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act

[multiman155]

Sponsor: Multi Man, MP
Type: Act of Parliament

A
BILL
TO
AMEND THE NEW CRIMINAL CODE ACT, THE JUDICIARY ACT, AND THE RECALL ACT; REPEAL THE PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE ACT, THE PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITY ACT, THE CONTINUITY ACT, THE REPEALED LEGISLATION ACT, THE PARLIAMENTARY VACANCY ACT, THE OPEN PARLIAMENT ACT, THE PRESS RELEASE CHANNEL ACT, THE MINISTRY CLARITY ACT, THE COMMUNITY PETITIONS ACT, AND THE ELDER GUIDANCE ACT; AND CONSOLIDATE PARLIAMENT'S NORMS AND PROCEDURES IN THIS ACT.​

Preamble: Before this Act, norms and procedures have been spread across many Acts. This Act consolidates them and makes substantial changes to parliamentary procedures to ensure that Parliament can operate effectively and with clear direction.

1. Short Title and Enactment​

(a) This Act shall be known as the "Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act".
(b) This Act shall take effect on Royal Assent.

2. Preliminary​

(a) Under this Act:

(i) "Member" or "MP" means a current Member of Parliament. "Deputy" means the Deputy Speaker. “Presiding officers” means the Speaker and Deputy.​

(ii) Votes by Parliament and its committees must follow section 6 unless a specific rule provides otherwise. Special procedures and disclosure requirements in other Acts must be followed.​

(iii) Parliament must conduct forum business in the Bill Proposals subforum of the Parliament forum on cityrp.org. Its Discord channels shall be #Parliament-floor for floor business and #Parliament-voting for votes and voting notices. These venues may be changed only by legislation.​

(iv) A point of order is a request to apply or explain Parliament's rules. A procedural ruling is a decision on those rules. In-game motions, points of order, and procedural rulings shall take effect when recorded in #Parliament-floor. The Speaker must record each act and its time. Warnings and chamber-removal orders given during in-game parliamentary sessions shall take effect when posted in #Parliament-floor.​

(v) An Aye is a vote in favor; a Nay is a vote against. Quorum is the minimum voting participation needed to approve a proposal or elect a candidate. Section 6(d) sets the general majority, quorum, and ballot-counting rules for Parliament and its committees. Section 4(e) governs voting rounds to elect the Speaker, Deputy, a committee chair, or a vice-chair. Section 10(c) adapts the general rules for committee votes.​

3. Proceedings of Parliament​

(a) Participation and government questions

(i) Posts in #Parliament-floor must be limited to Members' contributions and officers' official procedural notices.​

(ii) At in-game parliamentary sessions, the Speaker must manage proceedings and may invite any Minister to speak.​

(iii) Members may post relevant written questions to Ministers or agency heads at any time. Answers to ordinary questions are voluntary; section 11 governs compulsory inquiries.​

(b) Public and confidential discussion

(i) Discussion in Parliament must be public unless the Speaker or Parliament authorizes a confidential portion.​

(ii) Members and presiding officers may access confidential discussion and records. The Speaker or Parliament may admit others to specified portions.​

(iii) The Speaker may lift their own confidentiality order. Parliament may lift any such order.​

(iv) The Speaker must provide minutes of formal business to authorized participants, publish an account with authorized redactions, and give Members access to supporting reasons and material.​

(v) Opening notices, bill texts, revised texts, rulings, and vote results must be public. Section 6(c) governs secret ballots.​

(c) Parliamentary motions, resolutions, and memorandums must follow these procedures:

(i) A motion is a formal proposal for a decision. An ordinary motion must have a proposing Member and one other supporting Member.​

(ii) The Speaker must open voting within 24 hours after the required support is publicly recorded and any preliminary steps required for that motion are complete.​

(iii) Parliament may express opinions or make requests through non-binding resolutions and memorandums. Resolutions must follow the bill procedure; memorandums must follow the ordinary motion procedure.​

(d) Standing orders and suspension of rules

(i) Parliament may adopt, amend, or revoke its rules for conducting business, called standing orders, by ordinary motion. Standing orders must comply with the Constitution and this Act.​

(ii) Parliament may suspend a procedural requirement of this Act by a two-thirds vote, subject to the Constitution.​

(iii) A motion to suspend a procedural requirement must identify the rules suspended and the business or period covered. A suspension shall end no later than dissolution.​

(iv) Procedural suspensions shall apply to steps taken after approval. A suspension motion must follow the voting and quorum rules already in force.​

4. Presiding officers​

(a) Speaker

(i) The Speaker must be elected by Parliament and must be a Member or citizen. The Speaker must conduct proceedings and administer this Act impartially.​

(ii) A Speaker who is an MP shall have the same rights as other Members, including the rights to belong to a party, debate, sponsor bills, and hold executive office. They shall have one ordinary vote.​

(iii) The Deputy must make procedural rulings on bills introduced or sponsored by the Speaker. The Speaker may handle routine administration of those bills.​

(b) Deputy Speaker

(i) The Deputy must be elected separately. A Deputy who is an MP shall have the rights stated in section 4(a)(ii).​

(ii) The Deputy may exercise powers delegated by the Speaker.​

(c) Clerks

(i) Parliament may appoint clerks on the Speaker's nomination. The Speaker may dismiss them.​

(ii) Clerks shall serve as unpaid volunteers and may perform only delegated clerical and recordkeeping work. Anyone exercising procedural powers under this Act must perform those tasks personally.​

(d) Elections for Speaker and Deputy must follow these rules:

(i) When both offices need filling, the Speaker must be elected before the Deputy.​

(ii) The Speaker or Deputy conducting the election must open nominations within 24 hours after a new Parliament first convenes or a vacancy arises. When both offices need filling, Deputy nominations must open within 24 hours after the Speaker is elected.​

(iii) Nominations must remain open for 24 hours. Members may nominate eligible Members or citizens, including themselves. The Speaker or Deputy must include each eligible nominee on the ballot. A candidate may withdraw only before the first voting round opens.​

(iv) The Deputy must conduct the Speaker election, and the Speaker must conduct the Deputy election.​

(v) If a candidate becomes legally ineligible during a round, the Speaker or Deputy must finish the round and exclude votes for that candidate from the result and quorum. If no eligible candidate remains, the Speaker or Deputy must reopen nominations after the round.​

(vi) If no eligible candidate remains after nominations close and before the first round opens, the Speaker or Deputy must immediately reopen nominations for 24 hours.​

(e) Voting rounds to elect the Speaker, Deputy, a committee chair, or a vice-chair must follow these rules:

(i) Each round shall have a scheduled duration of 24 hours. At closing, a candidate shall be elected if quorum is met and they receive more than half the valid votes.​

(ii) If only one candidate remains, the Speaker or Deputy must hold a vote between that candidate and an option to reopen nominations. If the round meets quorum but does not elect the candidate, the Speaker or Deputy must reopen nominations immediately.​

(iii) After an unsuccessful round, the Speaker or Deputy must eliminate the candidate with the fewest votes. If two or more candidates tie for fewest votes, the Speaker or Deputy must hold one extra round. If the lowest position remains tied, the Speaker or Deputy must draw lots among those tied to select one for elimination.​

(iv) Votes for candidates and votes to reopen nominations must count toward the voting body's quorum.​

(v) The Speaker or Deputy must repeat a round that lacks quorum with the same eligible candidates. Only rounds that meet quorum may count for elimination and tie-breaking.​

(vi) The Speaker or Deputy may close a round early to elect a candidate using the test in section 6(e).​

(vii) After nominations close, the Speaker or Deputy must open the first round within 24 hours. The Speaker or Deputy must open each further round within 24 hours after the previous round ends, unless nominations reopen.​

(f) A motion to remove the Speaker or Deputy by no confidence must follow this process:

(i) The motion shall become pending when its required support is publicly recorded.​

(ii) The officer shall have 24 hours to respond, ending sooner when they publish a formal response.​

(iii) The Deputy must conduct a no-confidence motion against the Speaker. The Speaker must conduct a no-confidence motion against the Deputy.​

(iv) Passage shall remove the officer from office.​

(v) For seven days after a supported motion lawfully ends without removing the officer, any new motion against that officer must also have the support of more than half of all Members entitled to vote.​

5. Acting officers​

(a) The following rules shall apply when an officer acts in another's place:

(i) A person is unavailable if they decline to perform the required act or cannot reasonably perform it within its deadline.​

(ii) The Deputy may act for the Speaker when the Speaker is unavailable or recused (has stepped aside or been excluded from handling the matter), or when the office is vacant. During the Speaker's leave, the Deputy must perform the Speaker's duties. If neither can act, a person selected under the parliamentary fallback order must act for the Speaker.​

(iii) If the Deputy cannot act in a proceeding assigned to them, a person selected under the parliamentary fallback order must conduct it.​

(iv) The vice-chair must act for the committee chair when the chair is unavailable or recused, or when the office is vacant.​

(v) While neither the chair nor vice-chair can act, ordinary committee business and its nonvoting deadlines shall pause. Already-open votes shall keep their deadlines. Elections and removal votes for either office shall proceed under section 10(b). Paused deadlines shall resume with their remaining time when the chair or vice-chair can act.​

(vi) A person acting in another officer's place must perform that officer's duties and may exercise that officer's powers for the proceeding or duty assigned.​

(b) The following rules shall apply to particular proceedings:

(i) At a new Parliament's first convening, if both presiding offices are vacant, the first available person in this order must conduct the Speaker election: the Parliamentary Steward, the Governor General, then each Supreme Court Justice from longest to shortest tenure. That person must perform the duties assigned to the Speaker or Deputy for that election.​

(ii) While a no-confidence motion is pending, the other presiding officer or a replacement under subsection (a) must take over the targeted officer's ordinary presiding duties.​

(iii) The Speaker must not be selected as a replacement to make procedural rulings on a bill the Speaker introduced or sponsors.​

(iv) When the Deputy conducts a vote, the Deputy must perform the duties assigned to the Speaker for that vote.​

(c) The following rules shall govern who may conduct a proceeding:

(i) A person whose ruling or failure to act is appealed must not conduct the appeal.​

(ii) A person targeted by a no-confidence or disciplinary motion, or a motion to remove a committee chair or vice-chair, must not conduct that motion. A no-confidence target must not perform the ordinary presiding duties transferred under subsection (b)(ii).​

(iii) A person barred from conducting a proceeding must not conduct it through another office.​

(iv) An eligible person shall remain eligible after voting, expressing an opinion, proposing or supporting a motion, or standing as a candidate.​

(d) Replacements under the parliamentary fallback order must be selected as follows:

(i) The order shall be:​

(1) the Prime Minister;​

(2) the Deputy Prime Minister;​

(3) the available Member with the most individual votes at the prior general election; then​

(4) the available Member with the longest parliamentary service.​

(ii) At each stage, one eligible, available person must be selected, skipping anyone considered at an earlier stage or barred from the proceeding.​

(iii) Parliamentary service means the total time served as a Member or Speaker, counting overlapping service once. Service ties must be broken by current consecutive service, including successive reelections, then by drawing lots. Other ranking ties must be broken by drawing lots.​

(e) After dissolution, the following rules shall apply:

(i) Until the next Parliament first convenes, acting authority under this section shall be limited to completing votes under section 17(c).​

(ii) If the person conducting a vote that was open at dissolution is or becomes unavailable, a replacement must be selected under the parliamentary fallback order. The replacement may finish that vote, access its records, and certify and send its decision under section 17(c).​

(iii) For that vote, the person completing it must perform the voting duties assigned to the Speaker or committee chair.​

6. Voting​

(a) Filled-seat minimum

(i) Parliament may begin ordinary business only when at least half the legally established parliamentary seats are filled.​

(ii) Below that minimum, Parliament may elect presiding officers, request special elections, or ask the Prime Minister to seek constitutional dissolution.​

(b) Votes in Parliament and its committees must follow these timing, notice, and recording rules:

(i) Votes shall have a scheduled duration of 48 hours unless another period is specified. The Speaker must not extend them.​

(ii) Forum voting shall start when the poll opens; Discord voting shall start when the opening notice is posted.​

(iii) The Speaker must publish the proposal and scheduled voting duration and ping all Members when voting opens.​

(iv) Members may change their votes until voting closes.​

(v) The Speaker must record in-game votes in a thread in #Parliament-voting.​

(c) Public and secret ballots

(i) Individual votes in Parliament must be public unless Parliament authorizes a secret ballot. Results must be public.​

(ii) For a secret ballot, votes must be submitted privately to the Speaker with the voter’s name. The Speaker must verify and count the ballots and publish the totals and whether quorum was met.​

(d) Votes in Parliament and its committees must be counted as follows:

(i) A proposal shall pass with more Ayes than Nays unless a different threshold applies. Abstentions must be excluded from majority and quorum calculations.​

(ii) To meet quorum, the number of Aye and Nay ballots must be at least half the number of seats filled when voting closes. Without quorum, a proposal shall not be adopted and an election round must be repeated under section 4(e)(v).​

(iii) When a voter leaves Parliament, their valid ballot shall remain counted toward both the result and quorum and may no longer be changed. An incoming Member, including a successor to the same seat, may vote separately.​

(iv) For a two-thirds threshold, at least two-thirds of valid Aye and Nay ballots must be Aye.​

(e) Early closure of votes in Parliament and its committees shall follow these rules:

(i) A result is certain if the proposal would pass or the candidate would win with retained ballots and current supporting votes unchanged, even if every other eligible voter voted in opposition.​

(ii) The Speaker may close a vote in Parliament early when its result is certain and quorum is met. The Speaker or Deputy may close election rounds under section 4(e)(vi), and committee chairs may close ordinary committee votes under section 10(c)(ii).​

7. Bills​

(a) Submission and form

(i) Only a Member may submit a bill. Any Member publicly identified as the bill's introducer or sponsor may request debate.​

(ii) A bill must have a title, the text of the proposed law, an identified MP introducer or sponsor, and clearly shown changes to existing law. Author identification, templates, and amendment colors are optional.​

(iii) The Speaker must identify missing requirements and withhold debate until the bill meets them. The Speaker must open debate within 48 hours after the bill meets the requirements and a Member identified under section 7(a)(i) requests it.​

(iv) Before debate on a bill opens, the Speaker may correct clerical or formatting errors without changing legal meaning and must document each correction. Once debate opens, changes must be approved by an amendment vote.​

(v) An Act must not be invalidated for a formatting defect unless the defect materially prevented Members from understanding what they approved.​

(b) Debate on a bill must follow these rules:

(i) The normal debate period shall be 48 hours. During debate, any Member may request continued debate by point of order. Debate must then remain open until Parliament votes to close it.​

(ii) Parliament may close debate by vote at any time. Pending amendments and Members’ review time under section 7(d) must be completed before the final vote on the bill.​

(iii) Ministers may send voluntary responses to a Member or presiding officer for publication with the bill's debate.​

(c) Motions to amend a bill or close its debate must follow these rules:

(i) Each motion must have a proposing Member and one other supporting Member. An amendment motion must identify and link the bill and state the exact changes.​

(ii) The Speaker must run amendment votes together when the amendments can be applied together. The Speaker must queue amendments that cannot be applied together in the order they become valid and supported. For a queued amendment, the opening deadline in section 3(c)(ii) shall start when its turn arrives.​

(iii) An amendment must receive a two-thirds vote if the bill contains constitutional changes before or after that amendment.​

(iv) Before the final vote on the bill, Parliament must decide every amendment supported before debate closes or during the review period under section 7(d).​

(v) If an earlier amendment makes a queued amendment impossible to apply as written, the Speaker must identify the problem and the motion shall end without a vote. A replacement motion must have fresh support and a new queue position.​

(d) After an amendment to a bill passes:

(i) The Speaker must publish the complete revised bill and ping all Members within 24 hours.​

(ii) The Speaker must allow at least 24 hours after publication before the final vote on the bill, even if debate has closed. Any longer remaining debate shall continue.​

(iii) If debate has closed, the amendment stage shall reopen during this review. New supported amendments must be decided, and each passing amendment shall start a fresh publication and review period.​

(e) Withdrawal

(i) During ordinary debate, a bill's current MP sponsors may withdraw it by public notice if they all agree.​

(ii) Withdrawal of a bill must also have Parliament's permission if an amendment or closure motion has passed or awaits a vote with the required support.​

(iii) When Parliament's permission is required, a sponsor may publicly request it without another Member's support. Permission shall be granted after 24 hours without objection. A Member's objection during that period shall trigger an ordinary vote.​

(iv) Unresolved requests to withdraw a bill shall lapse when debate closes.​

(f) For the final vote on a bill:

(i) The Speaker must open voting within 24 hours after debate closes, eligible amendments are decided, and the review period under section 7(d) ends.​

(ii) Constitutional changes must also meet the approval and referendum requirements in Article 7 of the Constitution.​

8. Rulings and appeals​

(a) Procedural rulings by the Speaker or Deputy and requests for the reasons behind them must follow these rules:

(i) A Member may request reasons for a ruling by point of order. The officer who made the ruling must provide them within 24 hours.​

(ii) The officer who made the ruling must publish it, give public notice when reasons are available, and give Members access to confidential supporting detail.​

(b) Procedural appeals to Parliament must follow these rules:

(i) A Member may appeal a ruling on parliamentary procedure, an announced refusal to perform a required step, or a missed deadline set by legislation. One other Member must support the appeal.​

(ii) The Member must file within 24 hours after the ruling, refusal, or missed deadline is publicly announced. If reasons are requested within that period, the appeal period shall restart when they are provided.​

(iii) Support must be recorded by whichever is later: six hours after filing or the end of the appeal window.​

(iv) For a continuing failure that was not announced, a Member may file at any time while the step remains undone. The appeal must receive support within 24 hours of filing.​

(c) An appeal under subsection (b) must be administered and decided as follows:

(i) The Deputy must conduct appeals against the Speaker's rulings or failures to act. The Speaker must conduct other appeals.​

(ii) The ruling shall remain effective while an appeal is pending.​

(iii) On a successful appeal concerning a bill not yet law, the Speaker must correct the error and repeat later steps whose result could have been affected.​

9. Discipline​

(a) Misconduct and chamber order

(i) Parliament may discipline Members for misconduct in or outside proceedings, including criminal misconduct. It may assess the conduct independently of criminal proceedings.​

(ii) For misbehavior in Parliament, the Speaker may warn a Member or, during an in-game session, show the Mace of the Parliament of the Azalea Isles.​

(iii) If misconduct continues after the Mace is shown during an in-game session, the Speaker may order removal for the rest of that session. The Speaker must provide another way for the Member to vote.​

(iv) Other restrictions may be imposed only with Parliament's approval.​

(b) Parliamentary discipline of Members shall meet these limits and voting requirements:

(i) Restrictions short of expulsion must not total more than seven days for the same misconduct.​

(ii) A motion to expel a Member for serious or repeated misconduct must meet both conditions when voting closes, before the expulsion takes effect:​

(1) at least two-thirds of Aye and Nay ballots must be Aye; and​

(2) Ayes must number more than half the occupied seats.​

(iii) Expulsion shall vacate the Member's seat. The person may stand for election if otherwise eligible.​

(c) Parliament must follow this process to discipline a Member:

(i) Proceedings shall begin when a motion has a proposer and one other supporting Member, or upon an activity violation requiring an expulsion vote under section 12(a)(iv).​

(ii) When proceedings begin, the Speaker must publish the grounds and proposed sanction in #government-announcements. The response period shall start when that notice is recorded. The Member shall have 24 hours to respond, ending sooner when they publish a formal response.​

(iii) The Speaker must conduct the vote.​

(d) Protected rights and lifting sanctions

(i) A Member shall retain the right to vote, respond to allegations, request reasons, file or support appeals, and initiate or support no-confidence motions until expelled.​

(ii) Parliament may lift or shorten its temporary disciplinary sanctions. The Speaker may lift or shorten a chamber-removal order; Parliament may overturn it.​

10. Committees​

(a) Establishment and membership

(i) Parliament may establish or dissolve committees and appoint or remove their members by ordinary motion. The motion establishing a committee must define the committee's work.​

(ii) Voting committee members must be MPs. Others may participate as witnesses or advisers.​

(b) The following rules shall apply to committee chairs and vice-chairs:

(i) A committee must elect its chair and vice-chair separately from different voting members, with the chair elected first. Both elections must follow sections 4(d)(iii), 4(d)(v), 4(d)(vi), and 4(e), with committee members nominating and voting. The Speaker must perform the duties assigned to the Speaker or Deputy in those provisions.​

(ii) The Speaker must open nominations within 24 hours after the committee first convenes or an office becomes vacant. When both offices need filling, vice-chair nominations must open within 24 hours after the chair is elected.​

(iii) The committee may remove its chair or vice-chair by ordinary vote while retaining them as a member. An officer who leaves the committee shall leave office.​

(iv) The Speaker must conduct elections and removal votes for committee chairs and vice-chairs and may close a removal vote early using the test in section 6(e).​

(c) Committee votes

(i) Committee motions and votes must follow section 3(c)(i)–(ii) and sections 6(b)–(e), applied to the committee's voting membership and subject to the confidentiality rules in section 10(e). For ordinary votes, the chair must perform the Speaker's duties. These differences shall apply:​

(1) ordinary votes shall have a scheduled duration of 24 hours;​

(2) quorum shall require Aye and Nay ballots totaling at least half the current voting membership at closing; and​

(3) opening notices must ping every voting committee member and follow the committee's confidentiality rules.​

(ii) The committee chair may close ordinary committee votes early using the test in section 6(e). Section 10(b)(iv) governs chair and vice-chair elections and removal.​

(d) Review of chair rulings

(i) A committee member may ask the Speaker or Deputy to review a procedural ruling by the chair or the vice-chair acting for the chair. The reviewing officer must decide within 24 hours after the request. The person challenged must not conduct the review.​

(ii) Members may appeal the review ruling to Parliament under section 8.​

(e) Confidentiality and reports

(i) Committee proceedings must be public unless the chair or committee authorizes a confidential portion. Parliament may designate a committee confidential by default.​

(ii) Committee members and presiding officers may access confidential records, including individual ballots, except secret ballots under section 6(c). The chair or committee may admit others to specified portions.​

(iii) The chair may lift their own confidentiality order. The committee may lift confidentiality orders made by the chair or committee. Parliament may lift any committee confidentiality order or change a confidential-by-default designation.​

(iv) The committee must publish inquiry findings and recommendations with authorized redactions. It may issue other non-binding statements or requests within its assigned work by ordinary vote.​

11. Compulsory inquiries​

(a) Authorization and scope

(i) Parliament, or a committee acting within its assigned work, may authorize a compulsory inquiry by ordinary vote.​

(ii) A compulsory inquiry may require answers and relevant existing documents in the recipient's possession or control.​

(b) Compulsory inquiry requests and responses must follow these rules:

(i) Parliament and its committees must send complete, accessible written requests by direct ping or direct message. The recipient must respond within 72 hours after the request is sent.​

(ii) The recipient may withhold information that could incriminate them and communications protected by legal privilege.​

(iii) The body that issued the request must allow reasonable extensions or narrower requests when an inability to comply or a disproportionate burden is demonstrated.​

(iv) The body that issued the request must decide disputed claims first. A claim or extension request made before the affected deadline shall pause that deadline until the claim or request is decided. The remaining response time shall then resume.​

(c) A criminal contempt referral for an unexcused failure to comply with a compulsory inquiry request must have Parliament’s approval. Parliament must consider disputed claims before approving the referral.

(d) Section 5 of the Judiciary Act governs judicial-appointment hearings. Final appointment votes must follow this Act’s voting rules, except that the voting periods in section 5(g) of the Judiciary Act shall apply.

12. Activity, leave, and proxy voting​

(a) Activity requirements and violations

(i) Members must have at least four hours of active playtime each week, measured by the weekly playtime in /profile.​

(ii) The Speaker must check each Member's playtime weekly, issue an activity violation for each failure to meet the requirement, and publish all activity violations.​

(iii) The first and second activity violations shall be warnings.​

(iv) A Member's third and each later activity violation shall automatically start an expulsion proceeding under section 9.​

(v) The Speaker may correct an activity violation issued in error.​

(vi) Activity violations shall expire at dissolution.​

(b) Members' leave must follow these rules:

(i) Members may use leave filed with the Ministry of Social Services (MoSS) under section 6 of the Death Act for an exemption from the weekly playtime requirement. The exemption shall apply to a week with at least four days of leave counted under section 12(b)(ii).​

(ii) The Member must announce the MoSS leave in #Parliament-floor and ping the presiding officers within 24 hours after the leave begins or is filed with MoSS, whichever is later. A presiding officer may post on the Member's behalf. Once the announcement and ping are posted, all days covered by the MoSS leave shall count toward the exemption, including days before the notice.​

(iii) Failure to give the notice on time shall count as an activity violation.​

(iv) A Member on leave shall retain debate and voting rights.​

(c) The Speaker may take leave from presiding duties by public notice.

(d) Proxy voting by Members must follow these rules:

(i) A Member on leave may authorize another Member in writing to vote on their behalf as a proxy. The Member on leave must choose someone from the same party where possible.​

(ii) The Member acting as proxy must submit their own ballot and the represented Member's ballot separately. They must follow the represented Member's written instructions. Without instructions, the represented Member's ballot must match the personal ballot of the Member acting as proxy.​

(iii) If the represented Member votes personally, that ballot shall replace the proxy ballot. For quorum, membership changes, and ballot retention, a proxy ballot belongs to the represented Member.​

13. Parliamentary vacancies​

(a) Special elections for parliamentary vacancies must follow these rules:

(i) The Crown or its delegated election official must call a special election within 72 hours after a parliamentary vacancy takes effect.​

(ii) A special election must not begin during the final two weeks of the scheduled parliamentary term.​

(iii) Dissolution shall cancel scheduled and ongoing special elections.​

14. Press access and releases​

(a) Parliamentary press licenses shall be issued and administered as follows:

(i) The Speaker must grant a parliamentary press license on application by a person holding the in-game Journalist role, unless their access remains revoked under section 14(a)(iv). The Speaker must not impose a waiting period.​

(ii) A license shall give read-only access to #Members Interests, #Parliament Motions, #Parliament Chat, and #Parliament Debate, subject to authorized confidentiality.​

(iii) License holders must notify the Speaker immediately when they leave the Journalist profession. The Speaker may suspend or terminate their license.​

(iv) The Speaker may revoke access for disruptive or abusive use after a warning. Access shall remain revoked until the Speaker restores it.​

(v) Parliament must provide #Press-office for licensed journalists to ask Members for comment. Members may choose whether to answer.​

(b) Parliamentary press releases must follow these rules:

(i) Parliament must provide #press-releases in the Parliamentary Discord server, linked to #press-releases under Media in the main Discord server. Only Members may publish directly through the Parliamentary channel to the main channel.​

(ii) The Speaker may remove releases that breach law, parliamentary rules, or authorized confidentiality.​

15. Community petitions​

(a) Community petitions to Parliament must follow these rules:

(i) Citizens may submit petitions to Parliament in the Petitions and Referendums forum. Citizens must be able to read and comment on petitions there.​

(ii) A petition must give the petitioner's name, briefly explain the issue, and ask Parliament to act or acknowledge it. The Speaker must publish a guide to these requirements.​

(iii) Within 48 hours after submission, the Speaker must open the petition for signatures by announcement in its thread or identify the missing requirements for correction.​

(iv) Signing must remain open for seven days from the opening announcement. To sign, a citizen must reply “Sign” with their Minecraft username and in-game legal name. Each citizen must be counted only once.​

(v) When signing ends, the Speaker must announce the closure and valid signature count in the thread.​

(b) Parliamentary consideration of petitions under subsection (a) must follow these rules:

(i) For a petition with at least 30 valid citizen signatures, the Speaker must open voting on whether to recognize and address it within 48 hours after the signing period ends.​

(ii) Within seven days after Parliament votes to recognize and address a petition, Parliament must issue a formal response stating its proposed action or explaining its decision. Any Member may propose the response. The response must be approved by ordinary vote and published by the Speaker in the petition's thread.​

16. Recess​

(a) Parliamentary recesses shall follow these rules:

(i) The Speaker may call a recess of up to 48 hours. Any continuation must have Parliament's approval before that period expires. A vote to continue recess shall have a scheduled duration of 24 hours.​

(ii) Recess must not total more than 14 days per term.​

(iii) The Speaker or Parliament may end recess early.​

(b) During a parliamentary recess, the following rules shall apply:

(i) New business must be limited to bill submissions, proceedings to end or continue recess, procedural appeals, no-confidence motions, elections for presiding officers, and the recovery steps in section 6(a)(ii).​

(ii) Bill debate, the review period for an amended bill under section 7(d), related administration, and committee business must pause. Deadlines for nonvoting steps blocked by recess shall pause and resume with their remaining time when recess ends.​

(iii) Open votes shall retain their deadlines. Witness response periods shall continue, subject to the deadline pauses in section 11(b)(iv).​

17. Dissolution and transition​

(a) Terms and dissolution

(i) Each parliamentary term shall end two months after it begins, unless Parliament is dissolved earlier under Article 3 of the Constitution.​

(ii) The Speaker and Deputy shall leave office at dissolution. Clerks’ authority to perform clerical and recordkeeping work under section 4(c) shall continue.​

(iii) At dissolution, committees shall dissolve and unfinished nonvoting business shall lapse. The next Parliament must start fresh proceedings for any lapsed business it takes up and make fresh appointments to any committee it reestablishes.​

(iv) At dissolution, standing orders that comply with the Constitution and this Act shall continue until Parliament changes them, and procedural suspensions shall expire.​

(v) Completed lawful decisions and existing liabilities shall remain in force after dissolution. Future duties under inquiries that lapse at dissolution shall end.​

(b) When Parliament dissolves, the outgoing Prime Minister and Cabinet shall remain in office through the general election until the next Parliament chooses a Prime Minister.

(c) At dissolution, the following rules shall apply to open votes and unfinished proceedings:

(i) Votes already open in Parliament and its committees, including election rounds, shall finish on their original deadlines.​

(ii) The person conducting each vote at dissolution shall retain authority to complete it and access the necessary records.​

(iii) Only the question already put to a vote shall survive dissolution. A bill awaiting its final vote must be reintroduced, and an election awaiting another round must restart in the next Parliament.​

(iv) The person completing each vote may certify and send the completed decision.​

(d) When this Act takes effect, the following rules shall apply:

(i) Completed lawful steps shall remain valid. The remaining steps in pending proceedings must follow this Act.​

(ii) Already-open votes shall finish under their previous rules and deadlines.​

(iii) Existing officers, clerks, committees, and standing orders that comply with the Constitution and this Act shall continue under this Act. Existing sanctions must follow section 9(d)’s rules on protected rights and lifting sanctions, subject to the previous voting rules preserved by section 17(d)(ii).​

(iv) Existing liabilities must be determined under the law applicable to the conduct.​

(v) Existing recognized leave, proxy authorizations, activity violations, and parliamentary press licenses shall continue under this Act.​

18. Effect of repeal​

(a) When a law is repealed, that repeal shall remain effective even if the Act containing the repeal provision is later repealed.

19. Amendments​

(a) In the New Criminal Code Act, section 11(e) et seq. (and the following provisions) shall be amended as follows:

(e) Contempt of Parliament
(i) Offense Type: Misdemeanor
(ii) Penalty
(1) Person - 10 minutes jail time; $2,500 fine
(2) Legal Entity - $5,000 fine
(iii) A person or legal entity commits an offense if they:
(1) fail to respond within 48 hours to a Parliamentary hearing; or
(2) fail to clearly answer a question asked of them in a Parliamentary hearing within 48 hours
(1) without excuse, deliberately or recklessly fail to answer clearly or produce required documents by the applicable deadline of a compulsory inquiry authorized under section 11 of the Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act after this amendment takes effect.
(iv) No charge shall be filed for Contempt of Parliament except upon referral by Parliament.
(v) Recklessness means consciously disregarding a known risk of failing to comply.
(vi) For inquiries authorized before this amendment takes effect, former section 11(e) shall govern criminal liability.

(b) In section 5(g) of the Judiciary Act, the reference to:

the Parliamentary Procedure Act

shall be struck and replaced with:

the Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act

(c) In section 3(c)(i) of the Recall Act, the sentence beginning "A by-election will be held" shall be amended as follows:

A by-election will be held for the seat immediately and the removed member is barred from running in it.
A special election must be called under section 13(a) of the Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act, and the removed member shall be barred from running in it.

(d) In the Recall Act, section 5(a) shall be amended as follows:

(a) If a recall petition is successful, and a by-election to fill the seat is required, the by-election candidacy registration period must open immediately.
(a) When a successful recall vacates a seat, candidacy registration must open when the election is called under section 13(a) of the Parliamentary Norms and Procedures Act. In other recall elections, candidacy registration must open within 24 hours after the petition succeeds.

(e) In section 5(e)(iii) of the Judiciary Act, the following sentences shall be struck:

The Code's 48-hour period for clearly answering a question applies. This paragraph neither creates an additional criminal offense nor shortens that period.

20. Repeals​

(a) The Parliamentary Procedure Act shall be repealed.
(b) The Parliamentary Activity Act shall be repealed.
(c) The Continuity Act shall be repealed.
(d) The Repealed Legislation Act shall be repealed.
(e) The Parliamentary Vacancy Act shall be repealed.
(f) The Open Parliament Act shall be repealed.
(g) The Press Release Channel Act shall be repealed.
(h) The Ministry Clarity Act shall be repealed.
(j) The Community Petitions Act shall be repealed.
(k) The Elder Guidance Act shall be repealed.