CISBBoard

Congress of the United Provinces of Mathorn

190th Mathornian Congress

(20th June, 2022 - 20th January, 2025)

---

Type

Bicameral

Houses

Senate
House of Representatives

History

Founded

3 January 1570

Preceded By

Second Continental Congress

aa

First Continental Congress

Leadership

President of the Senate

Vice President, Sarah Walker (L)

Since 21 March 2023

Speaker of the House

Maddie Long (C)

Since 20 June 2022

President pro tempore of the Senate

Lewis Wood (C)

Since 20 June 2022

Structure

The Senate:

Seats:

100 Senators

Political Parties:

Wi Green Party (3)
Wi Labour Party (16)
Wi Liberal Party (30)
Wi Conservative Party (28)
Wi Republican Party (12)
Wi National Party (11)

The House of Representatives:

Seats:

650 Seats

Political Parties:

Wi Green Party (21)
Wi Labour Party (107)
Wi Liberal Party (191)
Wi Conservative Party (202)
Wi Republican Party (72)
Wi National Party (57)

Elections

Voting system:

Closed List Proportional Representation

---

House of Representatives Last election:

10 May 2022

House of Representatives Next election:

12 November 2024

---

Senate Last election:

10 May 2022

Senate Next election:

12 November 2024

---

Meeting Place

The Mathornian Capitol,
1 George Street,
Polaris, PA01 1GS,
The United Provinces of Mathorn

The Congress of Mathorn is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the The United Provinces of Mathorn and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress meets in the Mathornian Capitol, in Polaris. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election. Congress has 750 voting members: 100 senators and 650 representatives, the latter defined by the Reapportionment Act of 1929.

The sitting of a congress is for a two-and-a-half year term, at present beginning every other January or June; the current congress is the 190th. Elections are held every two-and-a-half years in the months of November or May. The members of the House of Representatives are elected just for the two-and-a-half year term of a congress. Senators are elected for a seven-and-a-half year term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election. Elections are held through a Closed List Proportional Representation, where each political party nominates a list of candidates and these candidates are allocated seats in proportion to the electoral performance of their respective political party.

Article 2, Section 2 of the Mathornian Constitution requires that any member of Congress must be at least 18 years of age, they must have been a Mathornian citizen for at least seven years and finally, any member of Congress must reside permanently in The United Provinces of Mathorn. The Congress was created by the Constitution of the United Provinces and first met on the 3rd January 1570, replacing in its legislative function, the Second Continental Congress.

Article 2 of the Mathornian Constitution states, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United Provinces, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers. However, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills.

The House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before an impeached person can be removed from office.

The sitting of a congress is for a two-and-a-half-year term, at present beginning every January or June; the current congress is the 190th. The members of the 190th Congress were elected in the 2022 Mathornian Congressional Elections, and their terms begun on the 20th June 2022. The term of the 190th Congress will expire on the 20th January 2025, after the 2024 Mathornian Congressional Elections, due to be held on the 12th November 2024. These Congressional elections will coincide with the 2024 Mathornian Presidential Election.

Article 2 of the Constitution creates and sets forth the structure and most of the powers of Congress. Sections One through Thirteen describe how Congress is elected and gives each House the power to create its own structure. Congress has authority over financial and budgetary policy through the enumerated power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United Provinces."

Congress has an important role in national defence, including the exclusive power to declare war, to raise and maintain the armed forces, and to make rules for the military. Some critics charge that the executive branch has usurped Congress's constitutionally defined task of declaring war. While historically presidents initiated the process for going to war, they had previously asked for and received formal war declarations from Congress.

Congress can establish post offices and post roads, issue patents and copyrights, fix standards of weights and measures, establish Courts inferior to the Supreme Court, and "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 Government of the United Provinces, or in any Department or Officer thereof." Article Four gives Congress the power to admit new provinces into the Union.

One of Congress's foremost non-legislative functions is the power to investigate and oversee the executive branch. Congressional oversight is usually delegated to committees and is facilitated by Congress's subpoena power. Some critics have charged that Congress has in some instances failed to do an adequate job of overseeing the other branches of government.

There have been charges that presidents acting under the doctrine of the unitary executive have assumed important legislative and budgetary powers that should belong to Congress. So-called signing statements are one way in which a president can "tip the balance of power between Congress and George House a little more in favor of the executive branch," according to one account.

Congress also has implied powers deriving from the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause which permit Congress 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 Government of the United Provinces, or in any Department or Officer thereof." Broad interpretations of this clause and of the Commerce Clause, the enumerated power to regulate commerce, in rulings such as McCulloch v. Anerst, have effectively widened the scope of Congress's legislative authority far beyond that prescribed in Article 2 of the Constitution.

The Senate was intended to be a check on the power of the House. In addition, the Senate has aimed to be a less partisan institution than the historical adversarial nature of the House, were simple majority voting is the norm. As such, in the Senate, under Senate rule XXII - commonly referred to as the cloture rule - 60 votes are needed to bring any bill to a vote, requiring that any major legislative initiative has bipartisan support.

The filibuster is a tactic employed by opponents of a proposed law to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote. The Senate rules permit senators to speak for as long as they wish, and on any topic they choose, until "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn" (currently 60 out of 100) vote to close debate by invoking cloture under Senate Rule XXII. The most common form of filibuster occurs when one or more senators attempt to delay or block a vote on a bill by extending debate on the measure. 51 votes may be needed to approve any bills, but in practice, the support of three-fifths (60) of Senators is required to pass legislation.

Checks and Balances:

The Constitution provides checks and balances among the three branches of the federal government. Its authors expected the greater power to lie with Congress as described in Article Two. The influence of Congress on the presidency has varied from period to period depending on factors such as congressional leadership, presidential political influence, historical circumstances such as war, and individual initiative by members of Congress. The impeachment of Noah Rackham in 1652 made the presidency less powerful than Congress for a considerable period afterwards.

In recent years, Congress has restricted presidential power with laws such as the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 and the War Powers Resolution. Nevertheless, the Presidency remains considerably more powerful today than during the 19th century. Executive branch officials are often loath to reveal sensitive information to members of Congress because of concern that information could not be kept secret; in return, knowing they may be in the dark about executive branch activity, congressional officials are more likely to distrust their counterparts in executive agencies. Many government actions require fast coordinated effort by many agencies, and this is a task that Congress is ill-suited for. Congress is slow, open, divided, and not well matched to handle more rapid executive action or do a good job of overseeing such activity, according to one analysis.

The Constitution concentrates removal powers in the Congress by empowering and obligating the House of Representatives to impeach both executive and judicial officials for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Impeachment is a formal accusation of unlawful activity by a civil officer or government official. The Senate is constitutionally empowered and obligated to try all impeachments. A simple majority in the House is required to impeach an official; however, a two-thirds majority in the Senate is required for conviction. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the future. Impeachment proceedings may not inflict more than this; however, a convicted party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.

In the history of the United Provinces, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. Another resigned before the Senate could complete the trial. Only two presidents have ever been impeached: Noah Rackham (1652) and Sam White (2021). The trial of Noah Rackham ended in the Senate voting 88-12 for conviction on charges of Treason. Famously, during the Senate's roll-call vote in 1652, Senator (and future President) Jake Parker was physically assaulted by an ally of President Rackham, Senator Tom Cutter. Four impeachment charges were passed by the House and brought against Sam White. White was removed from office shortly after the Senate found him guilty on all four accounts of impeachment, with the then Vice-President, Adam Carver, assuming the Presidency.

The Senate has an important check on the executive power by confirming Cabinet officials, judges, and other high officers "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." It confirms most presidential nominees but rejections are not uncommon. Furthermore, treaties negotiated by the President must be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to take effect. As a result, presidential arm-twisting of senators can happen before a key vote. The House of Representatives has no formal role in either the ratification of treaties or the appointment of federal officials, other than in filling a vacancy in the office of the vice president; in such a case, a majority vote in each House is required to confirm a president's nomination of a vice president.

In 1703, the Supreme Court established judicial review of federal legislation in Polaris Journal vs Mathorn holding, however, that Congress could not grant unconstitutional power to the Court itself. The Constitution does not explicitly state that the courts may exercise judicial review; however, the notion that courts could declare laws unconstitutional was envisioned by the founding fathers. It is a huge check by the courts on the legislative authority and limits congressional power substantially. In 1857, for example, the Supreme Court struck down provisions of a congressional act of 1811 in its Lewis Scott decision. At the same time, the Supreme Court can extend congressional power through its constitutional interpretations.

Congress also plays a role in presidential elections. Both Houses meet in joint session on the sixth day of January following a presidential election to count the vote total submitted by the Provinces, and there are procedures to follow if no candidate wins a majority. The main result of congressional activity is the creation of laws, most of which are contained in the United Provinces Code, arranged by subject matter alphabetically under fifty title headings to present the laws "in a concise and usable form."

Composition of the Senate:

Composition of the House of Representatives:

House of Representatives Last Election: 2022
House of Representatives Next Election: 2024

Historical composition of the Senate:

Historical composition of the House of Representatives:

Taking cognizance of

- Founders Decree No. 3 of 2019; and

- the referendum of 27 December 2019 ratifying abolition of the CISB Constitution;

The Founder hereby decrees as follows:

(1) Governance of CISB

(a) CISB will operate on a communal basis, without a formal government.

(b) All legislation in CISB enacted under the prior Constitution is suspended except:
(i) Sections 2 and 6 of the Voter Registration Act of 2017; and
(ii) Section 5, Paragraph 1 of the Regional Dependencies Act of 2019.

(b) The Founder will issue binding rules for map claims in a separate Decree.

(c) The Founder will issue binding RP Rules and recommended (but non-binding) RP Guidelines in one or more separate Decrees.

(d) The Founder will appoint several RP Officers to administer the RP Rules and roleplay within various different timelines and scenarios within CISB, CISB 2030, Minera and other dependencies of CISB.

(2) RP Timelines

(a) RP may commence immediately in any or all of the following time periods, which are declared "officially supported RP scenarios":

(i) In CISB, the years 1750, 1899, 1947, 1965 and "Current-Era" (current era is 2020 as of the date of this Decree).

(ii) In CISB 2030, the years 2030, 2035 and 2299.

(iii) In Minera, the "dawn of time" or a "post-apocalyptic era" using fantasy/magic.

(b) The Founder must appoint an RP Moderator for each of the nine (9) officially supported RP scenarios. The RP Moderator must be neutral and not participating in that specific scenario. A single player can serve as RP Moderator for more than one RP scenario, as long as he/she is not participating in that scenario.

(c) Players are free to RP in non-supported scenarios, on the following conditions:

(i) RP scenarios in CISB must take place on or before the year 2020. Neither future tech nor magic is allowed in CISB.

(ii) RP scenarios in CISB 2030 must take place after the year 2021. Magic is not allowed in CISB 2030.

(iii) If two or more players wish to RP in a non-supported scenario, they must identify another player who is willing to serve as neutral, non-participating RP Moderator for its desired scenario. An RP moderator is required only there will be interaction between two or more players. If a single player wishes to do internal RP in a non-supported scenario (for example, to develop a storyline or retcon that explains or harmonizes events between supported timelines), no RP moderator is required.

(3) Code of Conduct

The following rules apply to of CISB, CISB 2030, Minera or any other dependency of CISB:

(a) Players are not required to disclose their puppets, but players may not use puppets to deceive, defraud or mislead other players regarding OOC matters (i.e., map claims, RP moderation, regional administration, voting, etc.). Using undisclosed puppets for in-character RP purposes is allowed. If the Founder determines a player to be using puppets to deceive, defraud or mislead other players regarding OOC matters, the player is subject to discipline including banjection.

(b) Obscenity and profanity are not allowed on the RMB and will not be tolerated. The Founder will aim for a PG-13 environment. The Founder has absolute discretion to suppress posts he determines to be obscene or profane. The Founder may take further action against repeat offenders, including banjection and/or reports to the NS moderators.

(c) Personal attacks or insults directed out-of-character towards individual players are not allowed on the RMB and will not be tolerated. In character insults are permitted, so long as they do not violate the rules against obscenity or profanity or the Nation States rules. The Founder will try to mediate out-of-character disputes between players, but the Founder retains the right to take action against repeat offenders, including banjection and/or reports to the NS moderators.

(d) Posts discussing IRL politics are permitted on the RMB, but the Founder strongly urges players to avoid divisive political arguments on the RMB. There are ample other places where players may freely express their political views (including the CISB Discord server). We do not need divisive political arguments here.

(4) The Founder may amend this Decree as necessary to improve the quality of roleplay within CISB.

Issued this 25th day of January 2020
Pascala