Happy Manumission Day, y'all! To mark this auspicious holiday, I have here a draft bill that will keep us from ever having to celebrate it in the future.
Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit. What this really does is rework our structure of holidays. I've separated our current ones into fun days that we actively celebrate, and historical days that we remember for what they signify. I've chosen to do this because it's very hard for us to come up with good celebration ideas for the more somber holidays, or ideas that are sufficiently different for similar days. But at the same time, I didn't want us to lose institutional knowledge of our history by forgetting the dates of significant events.
I've inserted a clause that allows the delegate to proclaim additional one-time celebrations, and this could be used for anything! "Coup Day" or "TSP-TNP Friendship Day" or "McMasterdonia Day" or really anything you can think of. I think this will be some additional fun for the culture ministry, especially if it has ideas for celebrations that don't really fit with our current holidays, or wouldn't work as a recurring event every year.
Finally, I've included in the law the way Memorial Days will be recognized. It mandates that non-essential government business be halted for the day, and in particular that RA votes must be temporarily closed and then extended. This practice used to be observed by the Speaker's office but is no longer, and I think it would be nice to formalize it in law.
So, without further ado, here's the bill! I have not marked it up as it completely changes that whole section of the law.
Key questions:
1. Do people prefer Celebration Days or Festival Days, and Memorial Days or Remembrance Days? I can't decide.
2. What other dates, if any, should we add to 10.3? Toss out your suggestions!
Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit. What this really does is rework our structure of holidays. I've separated our current ones into fun days that we actively celebrate, and historical days that we remember for what they signify. I've chosen to do this because it's very hard for us to come up with good celebration ideas for the more somber holidays, or ideas that are sufficiently different for similar days. But at the same time, I didn't want us to lose institutional knowledge of our history by forgetting the dates of significant events.
I've inserted a clause that allows the delegate to proclaim additional one-time celebrations, and this could be used for anything! "Coup Day" or "TSP-TNP Friendship Day" or "McMasterdonia Day" or really anything you can think of. I think this will be some additional fun for the culture ministry, especially if it has ideas for celebrations that don't really fit with our current holidays, or wouldn't work as a recurring event every year.
Finally, I've included in the law the way Memorial Days will be recognized. It mandates that non-essential government business be halted for the day, and in particular that RA votes must be temporarily closed and then extended. This practice used to be observed by the Speaker's office but is no longer, and I think it would be nice to formalize it in law.
So, without further ado, here's the bill! I have not marked it up as it completely changes that whole section of the law.
Chapter 10, Section 2 of the legal code is deleted, and the following text is inserted in its place:
Section 10.2: Celebration Days
7. Flag Day will be observed on the twenty-sixth of April, to commemorate the adoption of the flag of The North Pacific.
8. Democracy Day will be observed on the seventh of July, to recognizes the day the Constitution was ratified, and honor the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Legal Code of The North Pacific.
9. Delegates' Day will be observed on the ninth of September, to acknowledge the hard work of delegates past and present and praise their great contributions to the region.
10. NationStates Day will be observed on the thirteenth of November, to celebrate the establishment of NationStates and provide an opportunity to extend fellowship throughout the NationStates communities.
11. Celebration Days may be observed by regional events, festivals, games, contests, or other activities designed to evoke the spirit of the holiday.
12. The Delegate may proclaim additional one-time Celebration Days during the year as desired.
Section 10.3: Memorial Days
13. Manumission Day will be observed on the twenty-sixth of May. It marks the end of the delegacy of Pixiedance and the return of democratic government to The North Pacific.
14. Liberation Day will be observed on the twenty-eighth of July. It marks the overthrow of Great Bight and the return of native government to The North Pacific.
15. Blue Day will be observed on the twenty-third of November. It marks the establishment of the first official forum of The North Pacific.
16. Memorial Days preserve and honor the memory of important historical events. They will be observed by a temporary halt to non-essential government business. Any open votes in the Regional Assembly must be temporarily closed for twenty-four hours, and their length must be extended by the same amount of time it was closed.
Key questions:
1. Do people prefer Celebration Days or Festival Days, and Memorial Days or Remembrance Days? I can't decide.
2. What other dates, if any, should we add to 10.3? Toss out your suggestions!