Article 3. GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE cont'd
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Section 3.4. Legislative Branch
At the Common Government level, all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United Territories, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives.
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The Senators and Representatives, and the members of the Territory Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the Common Government and of the Territories, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United Territories.
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No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United Territories, or under any Territory, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United Territories, or as a member of any Territory Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any Territory, to support the Constitution of the United Territories, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against it, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
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No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United Territories, which shall have been created, or the compensation whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any other office under the United Territories, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.
Senators and Representatives shall receive for their services a compensation, which shall not change during the term for which they have been elected, and they shall not receive within that period any other compensation from either the Common Government of the United Territories, or from any of the Territory governments or local governments within.
They shall not receive any allowance, stipend, or other compensation from the government for travel, lodging, meals, or any other expenses.
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The terms of Senators and Representatives end at noon on the 3rd day of January, and the terms of their successors shall then begin. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the 2nd Monday in January. Congress shall convene no more than 3 regular sessions, for a combined maximum of 180 days in any calendar year.
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Each Territory shall prescribe a Recall Election procedure for removing Senators and Representatives from office through a Recall Election by the votes of the people of that Territory.
To lay and collect taxes on retail sales, and imported goods and services, to pay the expenses and provide for the common defense of the United Territories; but all Import taxes shall be uniform throughout the United Territories;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations;
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To establish uniform rules of naturalization and citizenship, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United Territories;
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To protect the progress of literature, art, and technology by securing for limited times to authors, artists, and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings, works, and inventions;
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To constitute courts inferior to the Supreme Court;
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To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against international law;
To declare war, grant letters of reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
To provide and maintain armed forces, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;
To provide for organizing, arming, and calling forth the National Guard to enforce the Laws of the United Territories, suppress insurrections and repel Invasions; and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United Territories, reserving to the Territories respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the National Guard according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over a district which, formed adjacent to particular Territory(s), and with the acceptance of Congress, is the seat of the government of the United Territories, where the Congresses assemble, without bias toward any particular Territory, and to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Common Government of the United Territories, or in any department or officer thereof.
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Section 3.6. House of Representatives
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The House of Representatives shall be composed of at least two members from each Territory. They shall be directly chosen by the voters of each respective Territory.
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Each Representative shall have attained the age of 25 years. Each Representative must be either a founding citizen of the UTL, or have been a citizen of the United Territories for 5 years prior to being elected. Each Representative must also be a resident of that Territory from which he is elected.
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Each Representative shall serve for a term of four years, with a maximum of two terms, and have one vote.
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Immediately after they are assembled as a result of the first election, the Representatives shall be divided equally into two classes. The seats of the Representatives of the first class shall be subject to an election at the expiration of the 2nd year, and of the second class at the expiration of the 4th year, so that one-half may be chosen every 2nd year.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the Territories which may be included within this Union, according to the respective number of voters in each, which shall be noted from each Territory’s official records of the number of people who voted in the most recent national election. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every 100 thousand voters, as recorded in the most recent election, but each Territory shall have at least two Representatives. All voters in each Territory shall have the opportunity to vote for any candidate for Representative for each open seat in that Territory.
The House of Representatives shall select their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
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When vacancies occur in the House of Representatives, the executive authority or legislature of the respective Territory shall appoint a representative to serve until the people of that Territory elect a replacement.
Section 3.7. Senate
The Senate of the United Territories shall be composed of two Senators from each Territory, directly chosen by the voters of each respective Territory.
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Each Senator must have attained to the age of 30 years, and must have been either a founding citizen of the UTL, or have been a citizen of the United Territories for 10 years prior to being elected. Each Senator must be a resident of that Territory from which he is elected.
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Each Senator shall serve for a term of six years, with a maximum of two terms, and have one vote.
Immediately after they are assembled as a result of the first election, the Senators shall be divided equally into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be subject to an election at the expiration of the 2nd year, of the second class at the expiration of the 4th year, and of the third class at the expiration of the 6th year, so that one-third may be chosen every 2nd year. All voters in each Territory shall have the opportunity to vote for any candidate for Senate for the open seat in that Territory. When vacancies occur in the Senate, the executive authority or legislature of the respective Territory shall appoint a senator to serve until the people of that Territory elect a replacement.
The Vice President of the United Territories shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless the Senate is equally divided.
The Senate shall select their other officers, and a President Pro Tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United Territories.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When convened for that purpose, they shall be under oath. When the President of the United Territories is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside. Conviction of the President requires the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.
Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any public office of honor, trust, or profit in the United Territories. But the person convicted shall remain liable and subject to Indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law.
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Section 3.8. Congressional Proceedings
A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.
Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish it, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the votes of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Neither House, during a session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Section 3.9. Passage of Bills
All bills for raising and appropriating revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. A bill passed in one house of Congress must be submitted to the other house to be voted on without any changes. All bills and laws shall apply equally to all members of Congress, the judiciary, the President, citizens, visitors, and diplomats. All laws shall be enforced.
Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United Territories: If he approves, he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by a voice vote, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively.
If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall become a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United Territories; and before it shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Statutes passed by the Congress may be overridden by a majority vote of two-thirds of the Territory Legislatures.
