Post by Bearlong on Jul 16, 2018 16:25:16 GMT -5
Purpose
The purpose of this chamber is to host the debates on legislation in a clear, calm, and respectful manner.
Legislative Process
This chamber represents the second stage of legislation: the second reading. All MPs reserve the right to speak to any bill posted here, to submit amendments for vote (or lobby the bill's author to change the bill), and question the decisions made by the Speaker via point of order, among other things. Bills are not to be posted here without having gone through a first reading.
Decorum and Procedure
Decorum. While engaging in parliamentary debate, please note that the Speaker reserves the right to name, silence, and remove members who are being disorderly. Please refrain from unparliamentary conduct.
The Debate Period. The period for debate will be negotiated between the Speaker and the bill's author during the first reading, and announced to the Parliament at the beginning of the second reading. Debate will close either at 17:00 UTC of the negotiated date or at the conclusion of voting of the latest-proposed amendment put to vote, whichever is later.
Amendments. The bill's author reserves the right to edit the bill however they like, so it may be advantageous for members to attempt to convince the bill's author to include their preferred changes in the legislation. Amendments can also be proposed by any member, at which point they are assigned a reference number and given a time to vote. For the time being, debate on amendments is only done on bills that have significant parliamentary interest, such as a major reform bill. No amendments, including those done by the bill's author, can be proposed later than twelve (12) hours before the initial close of debate, excepting basic grammatical and formatting changes.
Rulings made by the Speaker
Any member can call upon the Speaker to make a ruling regarding any particular quirk of procedure or behaviour. These rulings can be found in the Office of the Speaker and any inquiries into them, or any contact with the Speaker directly, can be made there.