How a Bill Becomes a Law

[Crushing Our Enemies]

How a Bill Becomes a Law
The saying goes that there are two things which you never want to see being made: laws and sausages. Here's a great video about sausages being made. Here's how to make a law:

• Decide what you want the law to do. Maybe you think that Eluvatar should be the official regional turtle. Great.
• Decide what documents need to be amended. Does your idea violate the Bill of Rights or the Constitution? If so, those documents will need to be changed, unless you want your law to be struck down by the Court. Does it contradict something in the Legal Code? If so, you'll need to resolve the contradiction with your proposal, either by modifying the portion of the Legal Code that your idea contradicts, or removing that portion altogether. If there is a need to amend multiple portions of the bill in one go, make sure that you add a clause stating "No portion of this bill will take effect unless/until all portions take effect." In this case, there is nothing unconstitutional about having an official regional turtle, so all you need to do is add a clause to the Legal Code.
• Write the text of your proposal. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time, but you need a rough draft to be going on with. It needs to be in formal, legislative language. If you're not sure what that sounds like, let a few veteran members of the RA look over your proposal before you post it. That's generally good advice anyway. This proposal might look something like this:

1. Section 10.1 of the Legal Code will be re-titled as follows:

Section 10.1: Arms, Flag, Seal, and Turtle

2. At the end of Section 10.1 of the Legal Code the following new clause is added:

Eluvatar is adopted as the official turtle of the North Pacific.

• Post your proposal in the opening post of a new thread, and enclose the whole thing in a

  [quote][/quote]

  tag. As people comment, and you think of changes that need to be made, edit the text of the proposal in the opening post of the thread. That will be the official text of the proposal during the debate stage.
• When you think you've got your proposal close to where it needs to be, move for a vote. (but make sure the text of your proposal is PERFECT before you do so!) You can do this by simply posting "I move for a vote" or something equivalent in your proposal's thread. The Speaker will then move the proposal into Formal Debate. This can last for five days, and at the end of that time, you can't change the text of the proposal anymore. You can also decide that the Formal Debate should be shortened.
• After formal debate is over, the Speaker will schedule a vote. If your proposal passes the vote and the delegate doesn't veto it, your idea becomes a law! Eluvatar becomes the official regional turtle! ...or something else. Doesn't have to be that... Long live Eluturtle!

 

[Fregerson]

Edited the above document to take into account formatting issues, as well as newer changes to how laws and proposals are done currently.