Senate Week in Review 07/15-07/22






Senate Week in Review 07/15-07/22
Guest Written by Evelyn
Edited by Grea Kriopia



INTRODUCTION

Hello, I'm Evelyn and I'll be guest-writing this week's edition of the EBC's Senate Week in Review whilst Kasa takes a well-deserved break.

PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY REFERENDA ACT

Senator Sopo's bill seeks to transfer the responsibility for the administration of referenda from the Supreme Chancellor to the PA Chair, with the Chancellor retaining the ability to administrate a referendum if the position of Chair is vacant or if they fail to open the debate period in time.

Though commending the "innovation" that the proposed bill represents, Senate Speaker Rand raised concerns that the bill represents a de-professionalisation of the referendum process, which may lead to an Inexperienced PA Chair failing to administrate a referendum correctly, given the complexities of the Referenda Act. Separately, Senator Cordova voiced their support for maintaining the Chancellor as the main administrator of referenda.

Senator Sopo sought to assuage these concerns by highlighting that the bill contains provisions that allow the Chancellor to step in if need be, and suggested that an instructive document could be produced to assist less experienced PA Chairs with administering a referendum.

Though the remaining senators and the current PA Chair are yet to comment on the bill, it seems that current senatorial opinion leans towards keeping things as they are, with the Chancellor administrating referenda rather than the PA Chair.

PAC SENATE VOTING ACT

Discussion continued this week regarding Senator Gem's bill to grant speaking rights to the Chair of the People's Assembly.

As outlined in last week's edition, senatorial consensus continues towards granting speaking rights to the PA Chair, without granting them voting rights. Senators Eldorin and Cordova reaffirmed their support for an amended version of the bill allowing only speaking rights, with Speaker Rand stating that "the current option holding consensus is to grant the PA Chair full speaking privileges."

Senator Gem was invited to write an amended bill, with Senator Sopo offering to write the updated bill if they are unavailable.

ELECTIONS ACT (2024)

The updated electoral reform bill continued its passage through the Senate this week, with the first piece of input from a sitting senator.

Senator Sopo reiterated the readability concerns that were raised regarding the previous bill, the Approval Voting Amendment Act, stating that they were "not sure [they] found this version any easier to digest". Senator Sopo also asked Attorney General Calvin Coolidge to state whether the new bill alleviated their concerns regarding the previous bill, to which they replied in the affirmative. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to sway Senator Sopo in favour of the bill.

Despite the significant ramifications that this bill will have on future Senate elections, no sitting senators despite Senator Sopo and the bill's author, Speaker Rand, have commented on the bill.

SENATE SUBSTITUTE REFORM ACT

The bill to remove voting rights from substitute senators was moved to a vote at the end of its second reading today.

Senators Cordova, Eldorin, and Sopo voted in favour of the bill, with Senator Rand voting against. Senator Gem opted to abstain. The bill has therefore passed the Senate, despite the public backlash surrounding substitute reform in the previous few months. This marks the first piece of legislation to be passed by the 95th Senate.

RESOLUTION 015: RECOGNISING THE NETHELIAN FAITH

No further Senate discussion has taken place on this resolution following its introduction by Senator Gem and Senator Sopo's statement belief that it should be handled by the People's Assembly. It is worth noting that no thread discussing the Resolution has been introduced to the PA, suggesting a lack of public interest in pursuimg this resolution further.

CONCLUSION

The 95th Senate successfully passed its first piece of legislation this week, seemingly bringing to a close debate around the area of substitute reform. Furthermore, the introduction of the People's Assembly Referenda Act and the continuing debate around the PA Chair Voting Act shows an increasing desire to increase the responsibilities of the PA Chair, though pushback against the bills suggests that there is debate around which areas of the PA Chair's responsibilities should be enhanced. Thank you for reading this week's Senate Week in Review, in which next week Kasa shall return as writer.

 
Great writeup!

I'm happy to see legislation passed, as the substitute reform was a big topic a while ago.

I haven't gotten around to fully reading the election act yet, but I do agree with the comment that it's not easier to digest. Given that this is a replacement for the elections act, I do think more explanation should be put into as to why it's being replaced and what parts differ.
 
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