Constitution of the Sovereign Province of Garibaldi
We the people of Garibaldi, formerly of Benito and Florencia, brought together in Talossan brotherhood and the exigencies of our present circumstances, and cognizant of our shared roots and our heretofore divergent histories, do hereby adopt this Constitution for our newly-formed mutual Province, as the instrument of good government and the guarantor of our rights and liberties.
The name of this Province shall be “La Provinçù Soveran da Garibaldi” in the national tongue, or “The Sovereign Province of Garibaldi” in English.
The Province shall consist of all Talossan territory bordered as follows:
On the west, by the center line of the Milwaukee River, the center line of the footbridge spanning the River between the Milwaukee Riverwalk and Caesar Park, the center line of the footpath below Boylston Street stemming from the footbridge, and the center line of Warren Avenue;
On the north, by the center line of Kenwood Boulevard;
On the east, by the center line of North Maryland Avenue, the center line of North Prospect Avenue, the center line of Lafayette Street, and the center line of North Farwell Avenue; and
On the south, by the center line of Brady Street.
Any islands formed through natural or artificial methods, or any land reclaimed, shall be held as provincial territory.
The province shall be divided into the following cantons:
Lançacuratx, also known as Garibaldi, which shall serve as the capital of the Province, consisting of all provincial territory north of the center line of East Park Place.
Utulfaçeir, also known as Mazzini, which shall consist of all provincial territory south of the center line of East Park Place and north of the center line of East North Avenue.
Florencia, which shall consist of all provincial territory south of the center line of East North Avenue.
The Province shall have as its official languages Talossan and English, with preference given to the former. Additionally, the French and Italian languages shall have recognition.
The Flag of Garibaldi shall be a banner in dimensions five by the hoist to eight by the fly, registered with the Royal Talossan College of Arms per the blazon per bend sinister vert and gules, a bend sinister argent, over all an inescutcheon azure bordered argent bearing a fleur-de-lis or.
The legislature of the Province shall consist of a single chamber, the Cußeglh Provincial (in English, the Provincial Council), whose members shall be known as Cunçeleirs Provinciais, or in English Provincial Councilors or PCs.
The Provincial Council shall consist of 13 seats, awarded to political parties following an election in accordance with the largest-remainder (Hare-Niemeyer) method.
Before or at the commencement of the session of a new Council, the commonly recognized and known leader of a political party entitled to any number of seats on the Council shall assign the same in any whole number, but only to bona fide citizens of Garibaldi who remain qualified residents thereof. Such assignments shall be made publicly, given to the Premier, and maintained in good faith by the same.
The limit of seats held by a single individual shall be equal to 65 divided by the number of valid votes cast in the most recent election, rounded down to the nearest whole number.
Elections to the Provincial Council shall be held in concurrence with elections to the national Cosa.
Elections shall be overseen by the Premier and at least one appointee from a different party than the Premier. The Premier may also request that the Chancery conduct elections on the Province’s behalf.
Each citizen of the Province qualified to cast a vote for Senator for Garibaldi as per Organic Law and other Talossan law shall be considered a qualified elector for Provincial Council elections and any provincial referenda.
All elections to the Council shall include an option of “None of the Above”; receiving fewer votes than “None of the Above” shall disqualify that party from any seats on the Council for that term.
A qualified elector for the Council shall exercise such vote by written ballot and indicate thereon an exclusive preference for one political party, for “None of the Above”, or, if without a preference, shall participate by abstention and indicate thereon the word “Present”.
Each Provincial Council shall serve a term of six months, to begin on the first of the month following verification of election results by the Chancery. The term of a Council may be extended by the Premier, should the Cosa be prematurely dissolved and the next elections held prior to the expiration of a Council term. This may not however be repeated to extend the same Council term a second time. The extension must be announced by the Premier within one week of the dissolution of the Cosa.
Provincial Councilors must themselves be qualified electors for the Provincial Council. Neither the Sovereign or the Viceré may serve as a Councilor.
Provincial Councilors may be removed from office following conviction by the Cort pü Inalt, dismissal from the Talossan Military, their death or incapacitation, or failure to vote in 3 consecutive votes in the Provincial Council (with abstentions considered as valid votes).
Removal from office shall not be automatic.
Following such an incident, any Councilor may present a Motion to Remove a Councilor ("That Councilor X be removed from this House and their seat be vacated") to the Council at the next legislative session which shall clearly state for which of the aforementioned reasons a Councilor should be removed. The Motion shall be authorized upon receiving a 3/5 majority vote, and upon passing shall determine the vacation of the seats held by the Councilor.
Whenever a vacancy arises following the resignation or removal of a Provincial Councilor, the vacated seats shall be reapportioned by the leader of the party to which they were assigned following the most recent election, in accordance with the limitations previously stipulated.
Those seats which remain unassigned by a political party shall remain vacant until such assignment be made and received by the Premier.
The Provincial Council shall have the power to pass any bill into law by simple majority, abstentions, present votes, and non-votes excluded.
Votes on bills shall last no longer than seven days following the receipt of a second on the motion, but may also end when all Councilors have voted, or when no possibility exists for any further votes to alter the current outcome of the vote at hand. Votes on other motions shall last 48 hours. All votes shall conclude at the adjournment of a Council term, with their result based on the current votes as cast at that time.
No Councilor holding more than one Council seat may subdivide their vote; their multiple seats vote as a bloc, though this vote shall count for the same number of votes as seats held by that Councilor.
The power to introduce any motion to the Council shall not be restricted to Councilors, but no motion shall be considered introduced until sponsored by at least one Councilor.
Should any province merge to form or join this Province, all legislators of that province shall be granted an identical number of Provincial Council seats to the number of legislative seats held in their former province, and shall be entitled to these supernumenary seats for the duration of the current Council term.
The Viceré, or in English Viceroy, is the representative of the Talossan Crown, and shall possess veto power over all laws of the Provincial Council.
The Viceré is appointed by the King pursuant to Organic Law. While the King may freely appoint a Viceré, it is the preference of the citizens of the Province of Garibaldi that the Viceré be a citizen of the Province for at least one year prior to appointment.
A period of inaction by the Viceré of three days on any motion adopted by the Council shall be taken as assent to said motion.
A veto by the Viceré may be overridden by a 3/5 majority vote of the Council.
If the office of the Viceré is ever vacant or generally unattended, the Premier shall petition without delay that the Sovereign appoint a new Viceré, and shall repeat this petition so often as may be necessary to effectuate the appointment. The Sovereign shall assume all powers and duties of the Viceré while the latter office is vacant.
The Premier shall be the leader of the government of Garibaldi, and shall serve as the presiding officer and parliamentarian of the Provincial Council.
No one shall be chosen as Premier but a bona fide citizen of the Province. The Premier is not required to be a Councilor, nor shall resignation from either the Premiership or the Council be construed to imply resignation from the other.
The Premier shall be elected by the Council as its first order of business in each term, but may also be chosen at any time by a Motion to Elect a Premier ("That Councilor X do take the post of Premier of the Sovereign Province of Garibaldi"), approved by a simple majority of the Council.
Only the Council may force the Premier to resign through a simple majority vote on a Motion of No Confidence ("That the Council does not have confidence in the current Premier of Garibaldi"). A Motion of No Confidence may not be made within thirty days of the failure of a previous Motion of No Confidence.
Motions to Elect a Premier and of No Confidence shall last no longer than seven days, but may end early under the same conditions as other motions of the Council.
Neither the Sovereign nor the Viceré may hold the office of Premier.
The Premier shall make public the text of all laws of Garibaldi, and shall be charged with the faithful execution and enforcement of the same. The Premier shall also serve as the representative of the Province in all suits to which it is party.
The Cort pü Inalt shall have original jurisdiction to try all cases arising under Garibaldine law. The Province shall have the right to form a justice system to meet its needs pursuant to Organic Law.
This Constitution may be altered by a resolution of the Provincial Council, passed via three-fifths majority, approved by a referendum of the people by a three-fifths majority, and promulgated by the Viceré.
This Constitution shall be the supreme law of the Province of Garibaldi, subject only to the national Organic Law. No law shall be passed in this province which contradicts this Constitution.
The constitutions of Benito and Florencia are below, with unused clauses retained from each. They are not yet held as part of the draft constitution, but I thought I would keep them listed if anyone has a good reason to include some of them, or perhaps for later inclusion in provincial statute law.
Art 13. The Maestro shall have the power to delegate some of his functions to appointed representatives, which shall be styled "aldermen", and to appoint a leader to the House he does not sit in, to serve as the representative of his government. He shall have the power to issue proclamations which have the force of law. These proclamations may be appealed or amended as regular laws.
Art 18. The Arviteir Prima (in English, Chief Umpire) shall serve as the nonpartisan presiding official of the Assembly. The rulings and judgments of the Arviteir Prima in this role may be appealed to a vote of the members of the Assembly.
Art 19. The Arviteir Prima is in charge of making sure new Maestros are elected when the position is open.
Art 20. The position of Arviteir Prima does not entitle the holder to a vote in the Chancellery, not even to break ties.
Art 21. The Arviteir Prima shall provide advisory opinions to the Maestro and Chancellery upon request, and shall represent the province in national and provincial courts unless the Maestro appoints another representative.
Art 22. The Arvitier Prima is appointed by the Maestro, and shall serve until the Maestro appoints another to the job.
The provincial capitol is the Landmark Building located on the corner of East Kenilworth and North Farwell Avenue, the home of a bar, a bowling alley, a corner shop and the Oriental Theatre.
When either the Governor, a Senator for Florencia, or the Constable be an actual inhabitant within the territorial borders of Florencia, and during such inhabitation, the domicile of the first person so enumerated shall be considered the focal point of the province and be honored as the provincial capitol; and the domicile shall be known as the Manor of the street at which it stand, for example “Irving Manor”.
The provincial seal of Florencia is so blazoned as follows: On an oblong disc Azure a Florentine fleurs-de-lis all within a bordure Or inscribed with in chief the word “FLORENCIA” and in base the phrase “1996 XVII” Azure.
The provincial anthem is the song “Built A Little Empire” by They Might Be Giants. The same is and shall serve as a reminder of the origins of Florencia.
Florencia shall have equal and fair representation in the Senate of Talossa, in accordance with those procedures or qualifications determined by the Organic Law or other laws of Talossa; but none shall be so elected, nor continue to serve as a Senator for Florencia, who be not a bona fide citizen and a qualified resident thereof.
A Senator for Florencia shall be responsible to the people of the province for the exercise of his powers and duties, in addition to those laid down by the Organic Law; and, in order that an active and thoughtful dialogue be kept with the Nimlet, especially regarding issues of provincial concern, shall have by right of such office one mandatory and equal seat in the House of Shepherds.
If a Senator for Florencia choose to vacate any seat which he may hold in the House of Shepherds, the same shall be construed as resignation from the office of Senator.
If there be a ripe controversy with regard to the actual assignment of seats of the House of Shepherds, the controversy shall be adjudicated in the first instance by the Governor alone; and if a party to it be unsatisfied, an appeal may be made directly to the Uppermost Cort of Talossa, provided that the remedy of the Governor remain in effect until or unless the said court render a judgement.
Whichever citizen of Talossa may have the Confidence of the House of Shepherds shall be appointed without delay by the Constable to serve as the Governor of Florencia; but, before he enter upon the powers and duties of the office, the Governor-designate shall sing the provincial anthem as his oath of office in witness of the Constable at least.
Whenever the office of the Governor be vacant or generally unattended, then the longest-serving or, in the case of a tie, the eldest member of the House of Shepherds shall assume the powers and duties thereof as Acting Governor, until the Constable shall have duly appointed and installed a successor.
The legislative powers of the Nimlet shall extend to all subjects which are herein not forbidden or restricted, and be otherwise not violative of the principles of this Constitution or the Organic Law of Talossa.
All legislative measures of Florencia having the effect of statute or bearing the force of the law shall be made and passed by the Nimlet only in the form of a resolution.
Whenever a resolution of the Nimlet fail to pass on its deadline in the House of Shepherds, the Governor shall close the question and declare it rejected.
No resolution of one Nimlet, having substantially the same effect of a previous resolution of the same Nimlet which the Shepherds have rejected, shall be introduced again during the same Nimlet without the explicit approval of the Governor; provided that this limitation shall have no effect on Resolutions of Confidence.
No quorum whatsoever shall be required on any question in the House of Shepherds.
Whenever the House of Shepherds have passed a resolution, the Governor shall close the question, sign the instrument forthwith, and invite that Constable consider it for approval.
A Resolution of Confidence may be introduced by any member of the Nimlet, even by the Governor or the Constable, but shall require at least the countersignature of one other Shepherd as a co-sponsor; provided that upon a new session such Resolutions shall be introduced and sponsored as a matter of process solely by the Governor, notwithstanding any other Section or Clause herein.
This Constitution may be amended in whole or in part, or a new Constitution altogether proposed, by a referendum of the province, which shall be called by a resolution of the Nimlet limited to the purpose and prescribing the Amendment.
No resolution of the Nimlet calling for Amendment by referendum shall pass, unless it shall have earned such sum of affirmative votes on the deadline as equal a majority of the fixed number of seats of the House of Shepherds, less those unassigned by an entitled political party.
If the same should be passed by the House of Shepherds, the Governor shall promulgate it without presentation to the Constable, the Amendment shall be presented in referendum to the whole province, and each citizen shall have one vote; and if a majority of all bona fide citizens should approve, or if two thirds of those participating should approve, then it shall take effect at a prescribed time to become for all intents and purposes a part hereof, or to replace this Constitution, as may be the case.